The 2020-21 trade deadline is now in the past, and the next crop of free agents won’t come until the start of the 2021-22 league year. But that doesn’t mean that NBA teams are necessarily done with roster moves.
In the case of the rebuilding Houston Rockets, they appear likely to sign at least one developmental prospect in the weeks ahead, according to comments made Monday by general manager Rafael Stone. Options may include players from international teams, as well as young players who participated in the recently completed G League bubble. Houston reportedly had interest in Alize Johnson before he signed with Brooklyn.
When asked about spending this season’s MLE, Stone said:
The answer is really easy, yes. I think we likely will do something with it.
Rafael Stone says he believes the Rockets will use the portion of the MLE they have remaining.
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) March 29, 2021
The likelihood of an acquisition is enhanced by the fact that Houston still have a sizable chunk of its mid-level exception (MLE) remaining. The Rockets originally committed their MLE last offseason to Christian Wood, but they finalized that deal via a sign-and-trade, instead. However, teams accepting signed-and-traded players are subject to a hard salary cap, which made it impossible at that time to spend all of the “saved” MLE funds. (They did spend small portions of it to sign rookie forwards Jae’Sean Tate and KJ Martin to multi-year contracts.)
Since then, though, the Rockets have shed payroll through the trades of veterans like James Harden and Victor Oladipo. Thus, they suddenly have wiggle room beneath the hard cap and luxury tax. Any late-season signings could include an option for next season or beyond, as well, similar to how the Rockets added David Nwaba late last season. Using the MLE also allows Houston to offer deals with options for up to three or four seasons, which they cannot do if offering a minimum contract.
Stone’s complete press conference from Monday can be seen below.
[lawrence-related id=46969,46978]
SALARY CAP UPDATE: Depending on Olynyk incentives, the #Rockets are likely $4.5M-$5M below the luxury tax threshold. Plenty of room to put their MLE to work.
Also, if HOU wins the lottery & gets the No. 1 pick, they'd have < $5M in cap room, would likely operate OVER the cap.
— David Weiner (@BimaThug) March 29, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51XHW-5uEe4