Overview In a stunning turn of events last night, the Houston Rockets sent Glen Rice, next season's first round pick, and one of next season's second round picks to the Utah Jazz in exchange for John Ameachi and cash. The Rockets immediately turned around; using the cash they received from the Jazz, and signed Kings free agent Jim Jackson to a 3 year, $7.3 million contract. Deal broken down in technical terms The Rockets sent Rice, in the final season of a contract that uses $9.6 million of cap space, to the Utah Jazz along with their draft choice next season for Amaechi and a second-round pick. The trade moves them from $59.5 million in guaranteed contracts to $53 million, $2 million less than the figure expected to trigger the luxury tax this season. Having moved from the luxury tax thread, they were free to sign Jackson, who had long been considered the top unrestricted free agent still on the market. The trade with the Jazz also gave the Rockets a $7 million trade exception, which is the difference between Rice's and Amaechi's contracts. This allows the Rockets to trade for a player that makes as much as $7 million more than a player dealt in any trade in the next 12 months. Though such a deal would return the Rockets to a luxury tax hit, the trade exception is considered valuable for future trades and is especially useful when acquired after the summer free-agency period because it could potentially be used in a sign-and-trade free-agent deal next summer. Opinion Overall, I think this is an excellent move for the Houston Rockets. Jim Jackson provides us with a proven veteran who can step it up in the play off time and produce. Last year in the playoffs he averaged 11.3 points while shooting 50% from the field. These are amazing numbers considering this was in the playoffs. Over his career he has averaged 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 43% from the field. John Amaechi is coming off one of his worst seasons. Last year he averaged 2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game for the Utah Jazz. Amaechi will be getting very limited playing time this year as the Rockets have a full front court of Ming, Cato, Taylor, and Griffin. It has been rumored that the Utah Jazz will look to buy out Glen Rice's contract this year however this is not official. Carroll Dawson, the Rockets GM said this move was not to move Rice but to move his contact. Both Jim Jackson and John Amaechi have said publicly that they are happy to be coming to Houston. Glen Rice has only stated that he is still collecting his thoughts on the deal.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting twolvefan11:</div><div class="quote_post">Jim Jackson will produce if given minutes. Good signing.</div> I think he will get some serious minutes this year. He will be used alot come crunch time in games. JVG is bringing in pure shooters that can drain it when Stevie and Yao get double teamed, which is bound to happen. Personally, I would start Jackson over Mobley but that will most likely not happen. Jackson, Mobley, Franchise, Piatkowski give the Rockets 4 guys who can consistantly shoot the ball and score. I really like the moves we have made this offseason. They are bound to only get better.
They might make the playoffs this year. But it's going to be hard, they have about 4 teams fighting for the 8th seed.
This was a good trade for both teams, both teams got what they wanted. Houston got cap room, which immediately reaped rewards in the shape of Jim Jackson. They got rid of Glen Rice who will leave a whole, but Jim Jackson can cover it. So at the end of it they got more cap room which could end up in a good signing in the next offseason. Utah got what they wanted in getting rid of John Ameachi. That's all they wanted but Glen Rice will provide some veteran leadership in a very young team. His shooting could be useful for a team that will struggle with offense.
I have to admit I am a JJ fan...He finished the year well last season with the Kings...He also finished the playoffs well getting I believe 23 points on 10-12 shooting in game 7 v the Mavs...He can go in and give a team points which the Rockets need as a 3rd scorer...They also will have a defensive stopper in Adrian Griffin to help out at the SF spot as well....Amaechi with a new team and a fresh start could be good for him too....He could do a decent job in limited minutes and with a coach like JVG he could bring the best out of him.
