On the surface, this signing has ‘Carrol Dawson’ written all over it. (To the younger fans, that’s not a good thing.) My first reaction was to wonder who let the Rockets’ former general manager in on the negotiations.
With that said, Daryl Morey’s track record has earned him the benefit of the doubt. With no capable replacement, they couldn’t just let Scola walk. While the figure is higher than expected, you can rest assured that the Rockets let the market set the price, probably with intel about a potential offer – this was not borne out of the same gratuitous urge that brought you Kelvin Cato.
So why didn’t Morey simply wait and match an offer sheet as he did with Landry and Lowry? Perhaps there was a higher offer expected to be on the table. Another reason could be that because the annual raises for contracts for players signed by their original team is 10.5% (as opposed to 8% if signed by another team), the lower first year salary could have been desired to offer potential breathing room (around the tax threshold) near the deadline if the team decides to cut losses.
In a now outdated special for SB Nation Houston, I explained where the club stood with regards to the cap. With a starting salary just under $8million, Scola’s new deal pushes the Rockets well into luxury tax territory.
Many may have qualms with the decision. After all, Scola will be 35 when the deal ends and isn’t exactly elite. With that said, his production since the Landry trade has been undeniable.
In March, I wrote that in the ten games to that point following the Landry trade, excluding one night when he only logged 16 minutes due to injury, Luis Scola had averaged 19.4ppg and 12.2rpg. While I don’t yet have the final figures on Scola on the year, that’s All-Star production.