Though some fans have criticized the Rockets for again avoiding the NBA’s luxury tax, GM Daryl Morey says ownership is misunderstood.
Although the Rockets reduced team salary in the deadline trade sending out Clint Capela and others for Robert Covington, Houston GM Daryl Morey insists there was not a mandate from ownership to cut salary.
In fact, Morey suggests that owner Tilman Fertitta was encouraging him to add to the team’s payroll. That would jive with a report earlier this week from CNBC, which said that Fertitta had greenlighted Morey to improve the roster with “no financial restrictions.”
In a new interview after Thursday’s trade deadline with Mark Medina of USA TODAY Sports, Morey was asked how much significance luxury tax savings had in his dealmaking, since the Covington deal sent Houston from slightly above the tax line to nearly $6 million below it.
“None,” Morey replied. “I was happy because it gave us a window to add someone. But no one was moving any players in that window, unfortunately, that we thought could help us.”
The “window to add someone” came after the four-way trade involving Covington and Capela was agreed to but not finalized. At the time, reports said the Rockets were working to expand the trade, with the ability to take on a salary as large as ~$5.8 million and stay beneath the tax, or up to ~$12 million if they were willing to pay the tax.
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The Rockets ultimately did not expand the trade at all, with Morey saying their desired options didn’t materialize. Understandably, some wondered if Fertitta had asked Morey to limit payroll, since the Rockets had also narrowly avoided the tax in each of his first two seasons as owner.
But when asked about that scenario by USA TODAY Sports, Morey strongly pushed back on the notion:
No. Actually, I’m being totally up front. I was getting strong encouragement to go the other way. …
Ownership incorrectly gets beat up. We operate like every other team in the NBA. When you’re a contender, you’re right around the luxury tax line. That’s how we’ve always operated. That’s how we’ve operated since I’ve been here since 2006. We still have a huge payroll in the league. I know people like to focus on it. But that’s a weird thing. Focus on the team on the floor.
If people don’t like that we don’t have a big man or don’t like how we play, that’s fine. But judge us for how we are. Judge us on our wins and losses. We’ve had one of the best records in the league for 10-14 years and have been a perennial playoff contender. We got an exciting roster with top players. I would talk about that. I don’t understand why people are focused on the other stuff.
On Friday night, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski seemed to corroborate Morey’s version of events by noting that the Rockets attempted to trade for Brooklyn center DeAndre Jordan during the trade expansion window. Jordan will make nearly $10 million this season, which would have easily pushed Houston into the tax, but the Nets declined the deal.
Now 31 years old, the 6-foot-11 Jordan is averaging 7.9 points (67.7% shooting) and 9.6 rebounds in 20.9 minutes per game this season.
Only four NBA teams are projected to spend into the luxury tax this season, and only two of those teams (Miami, Oklahoma City) are on pace to make the 2020 playoffs. So the Rockets certainly aren’t alone, as it pertains to perceived title contenders who narrowly avoided the tax
There could be a potential advantage in the weeks ahead to being below the tax line by a sizable amount. After the deadline deals, Houston now has two open roster spots to potentially sign veterans who are bought out of their contracts. Unlike most teams, they also have a pro-rated portion of their 2019-20 Mid-Level Exception (MLE) available for use.
Being nearly $6 million clear of the tax could make it easier for Morey to sign multiple buyout players and/or to use the leftover MLE money to give the Rockets a leg up in the bidding process, if need be.
The buyout market will likely take a few more days to fully take shape around the league, with teams, players, and agents negotiating over exact financial terms. The deadline for a player to be bought out and still be eligible for the playoffs with a new team is March 1.
The NBA’s All-Star break begins next week, which could be the sweet spot in the schedule for negotiations to take place and to more easily integrate any new player(s) in practice — since there won’t be any games.
If there are truly no financial constraints, as Morey and Fertitta have said, there would seem to be very good odds of the Rockets adding at least one more capable player in the near future.
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