Funny part is... thats what everyone is reading into this... but it just says he wont extend his current contract (@8% annual increases) - but he wants to re-sign (and end his career in Houston...) which is something that could be done via his Bird rights in 2 years - and probably cheaper than Butlers contract will be at the time... He and Jimmy are the same age... Financially, the better move is to keep EGo rather than trade and re-sign Butler... that way you can evaluate where the team is at in 2 years (contending or lottery bound) and decide if you want to continue paying the huge repeater taxes - and use his Bird rights to re-sign (if desired) vs You are 2 years into 31 yr old Tomball Jimmy's 5 yr max deal and on the hook for mega repeater penalties... (while still paying a 35 year old CP3 his huge contract + Harden + CC) (really the best move financially is to trade him for Jimmy - then let Jimmy walk next off season - that saves mega bucks off future luxury tax costs... I wonder if thats the end game...?) I hate to be a conspiracy nut... but it seems to be a crafty utilization of the media... misleading title that gets everyone thinking "well we better trade him now..."
That's why we're going hard after Butler, Gordon might ask for too much money in a couple of years or might bolt regardless for a starting spot.
This reminds me of the Gary Gnu negotiation over at puff and stuff when he refused his extension. And you know how ugly that got.
EG saying he doesn't want an extension doesn't mean he doesn't want to be a Rocket. The cap will go up and his deal could be bigger. Therefore he could get a bigger contract via free agency than he would via an extension. The risk is his production may go down decreasing his value. That would be a lose-lose situation for all.
@Nook didn't you reference at some point that Eric would not mind moving on to a different situation. I don't believe that he was unhappy, but perhaps would like to have a bigger role. Maybe it wasn't you that mentioned, maybe it was somebody else.
If Ariza did a little better in Gm 7, eGo would of been a lifer as Rockets. This season, his number is going to drop. He maybe the 5th option. 1Hard2Paul3Capela4Melo5GGorEGO.
How so? We can currently only offer him an extension starting at $16.8m. If he waits and becomes a free agent then he's betting that he can do much better. The Rockets would gladly sign him to that extension immediately. Gordon is just trying to put himself in a position to make the most he can.
Our salary could be $155 million before repeater tax for 13 rosters if we use MLE. If the money is a bigger thing for him than Championship, let him go to join Clippers, Nets or Knicks.
We are not in a good position if he reject next summer. His trade value decreases. If tilman gives up money competition with Clippers, Knicks or Nets, we have to deal him now.
