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Pau Gasol trade. A few no-names, euro contract, draft picks and ending contract.
Milwaukee traded Ray Allen for Gary Payton's expiring contract as well as Desmond Mason's expiring contract.
Seattle traded Ray Allen for the #5 pick and cap filler.
You're helping me make my point. In the gasol trade, kwame's expiring contract was valued because it was $9.1M, not <$1M. In addition they got crittenton, a 1st round rookie with 3 more years before RFA, and Marc gasol who they thought could develop who also had 3 years before RFA.
Desmond mason was an upcoming RFA, he was not an expiring contract.
When Seattle traded Allen, the centerpiece was green, a top 5 pick who still had 4 years before RFA. Teams do not give up all-star caliber players in their primes for 3 expirings and a couple of draft picks, they just don't.
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But the bottom line is that keeping him for next year keeps you from having to fill that position this year, gives you max space this year and next year and gives you the option to try to sign and trade him next year.
Rockets still have $8.3M trade exception and $5.3M MLE to fill needs.
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He was much more valuable to be on his cheap contract and kept around for next year. Morey limited his options and put himself on the defensive.
Not really. Like I said, his ultra cheap expiring contract decreased his trade value. And making him RFA didn't prevent them from being able to bring in max free agent. So from that standpoint, it doesn't matter if it's parsons at $965k or ariza at $8M, your team's ceiling and potential haven't changed significantly.
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No, but it cost them cap space next year with the Ariza deal.
Not really. Only a difference of $6.4M (difference between what parsons cap hold would have been and ariza's $8.2M salary). That is more than offset by an $8.3M trade exception they possess.
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So Houston no longer has max cap space next year, but they would have if they had kept Parsons.
Plus, they could have used their cap space to fill needs rather than replace Parsons this year. Instead, they replaced Parsons with a player that isn't as good as Parsons and pretty much nothing else so far two weeks into free agency.
Having max space next year isn't going to do anything for the rockets, there will be no max-worthy players who will legitimately consider houston. Love, if he doesn't get traded to Cleveland, will go to Cali or NY, Celtics, or bulls if he leaves Minny. Aldridge is going to re-up with Portland, he wants his 5 year max deal. There isn't anyone else whose going to be worth $18-$20M annually to go after.
As for filling needs for this year, they have nearly $14M worth of exceptions to use.
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You showed two trades. But the Rockets lost out on the option of signing and trading Parsons and they regressed as a team by using cap space to fill Parson's position.
Time will tell if they've regressed. But as I explained earlier, the would-be $7.6M difference between ariza's salary this year and parsons $965k option is offset by the trade exception, plus the full mid level on top of that, so it hasn't cost them at all in terms of still being able to fill needs.
