Houston Rockets Salaries
Alright, we’ll split the contracts into two sections, above and below $5 million, let’s start with the above $5 million crowd.
- Tracy McGrady – $22.48 million
- Yao Ming – $16.38 million
- Shane Battier – $6.86 million
These three contracts combine to make $45.72 million.
Shane Battier and Yao Ming both have two years left on their contracts, although Yao Ming does hold an early termination option on his deal. Tracy McGrady is an expiring contract.
The rest of the team’s contracts
- Brian Cook – $3.5 million
- Luis Scola – $3.28 million
- Carl Landry – $3 million
- Brent Barry – $2.06 million
- Kyle Lowry – $2.03 million
- Chuck Hayes – $1.94 million
- Aaron Brooks – $1.12 million
- Joey Dorsey – $880k
These eight contracts combine to cost $17.81 million.
The Rockets total is up to $63.53 million for 11 players.
Other costs
- Non-guaranteed — James White has a non-guaranteed contract worth $825k. It looks like the Rockets will keep him, but it is not definite.
- Second Round Picks — The Rockets have two second round picks, Jermaine Taylor and Chase Budinger. Taylor is a certainty to be on their roster, and Budinger is likely to join him. Both players will be offered contracts similar to Joey Dorsey — four years, first two guaranteed, final two non-guaranteed, salary starting at $800k.
The Rockets have a base payroll of $65.99 million
The Cap + Luxury Tax
The salary cap is expected to be between $56 and $58 million, likely somewhere at or slightly above $57 million.
The figure mentioned for the new luxury tax figure in Stern’s memo at mid-season was $69.4 million.
Rockets vs Cap + Tax
The Rockets are $9 million above the salary cap. So they’ll have the MLE at their disposal this summer.
The Rockets are $3+ million below the luxury tax threshold so they can take back contracts comfortably enough.
Free Agency
The Rockets have one major free agent in Ron Artest, and it’s their intention to hold onto him. Artest will command a contract ranging from $8-10 million per annum, which will bring the Rockets into the luxury tax.
Houston also has another good free agent in Von Wafer, however, the combination of (1) the acquisition of Jermaine Taylor (2) the luxury tax (3) Von Wafer’s contract demands … make his return very unlikely. If he did return, he’d likely cost $2-4 million, let’s say $3 million per annum, which would bring the Rockets over the luxury tax by $8 million. That’s a huge payroll for Houston. He’s unlikely to return.
The Rockets are also searching for a backup center. I do not think they’ll find anyone with enough quality, especially due to their payroll concerns. Most likely they’ll just continue to use Scola and Hayes as the backup centers. They may sign a minimum contract 3rd string center to ensure some size on the squad.
Houston will have the MLE available to them, but due to cap concerns, I do not think they’ll use it.
Posted on June 28, 2009 by Dave