Considerate|3 years 130 million signed Van Jordan Rockets have a lot of money but are not stupid

VanVleet and Irving were both NBA Class of 2016, when Irving was the top pick and VanVleet was the undrafted. But now, when the two sign new contracts at the same time, you will find that VanVleet's new contract is even bigger than Irving's. This result instantly aroused the curiosity of fans: Is VanVleet worth such a big contract? Is the rocket that threw money at him like this wrong?

Written by Yu Ruiyin

Editor丨 Feng Xiao

Not all Jordans can be as uncontroversial as Jordan.

For example, Fred VanVleet, known to fans as "Van Jordan". On the first day of the NBA free agent signing, the Rockets offered him a three-year $130 million maximum salary contract.

$130 million, what concept?

At the same time, Irving, who is more popular in China and has achieved more in the NBA, only gave him a 3-year $126 million to renew his contract.

Interestingly, Irving and Van Jordan are also players in the same NBA. In 2016, Irving became the top draft pick, and Van Jordan was the undrafted that year.

So, here comes the controversy. From Van Jordan's standpoint, he won numbly. He became the ceiling of all the draft losses in NBA history overnight, as well as another name with "banknote ability" under Fupaul. But people's interest in congratulating this low-key life winner may not be as good as the impulse to spit on the owner of this contract - 60 million yuan of salary space can indeed make people stupid, have a lot of money, and swing rockets for many years to "build", but Van Jordan poured 40 million of strong love. The remaining 20 million, really to sign Dillon Brooks?

So, the familiar hat was buttoned on the rocket head again - the operation of the confusion, the disorder of thinking, the unjust head!

Is that really the case?

First of all, this contract must have a premium component, but it is indeed the best signing the Rockets can complete after testing and moving in the free agent market this summer. To put it bluntly, without a sufficiently attractive premium, the Rockets' current and actual situation in the past few years (years of rottenness, consecutive years of NBA record at the bottom), will not attract All-Star level instant combat power.

Some people may ask, since no one wants to come, wouldn't it be good for the Rockets to slowly become bigger and stronger by cultivating rookies? Why do you know the premium and sign players?

Here's a background on NBA team financial skills — the poor ghost line — to know. The so-called poor ghost line is the lower limit of the salary limit of each team signed by the league. It requires teams to spend a certain amount of money each year on player salaries. If this amount is not spent, the team cannot participate in the luxury tax dividend for that season after the end of the season. Collective agreement expert Bobby Marks revealed that starting in the 2024-25 season, penalties will be triggered if teams do not fill the poor line (90% salary cap) on the first day of the regular season.

That's why the Rockets are spending a lot of money this summer anyway, and rookie and role player salaries alone can't meet the need to fill the poor ghost line. So they have to offer a maximum salary contract.

Against this background, going back a month, it is not difficult to understand the series of actions of the rocket. They first flirted with Harden, and it seemed that a heartwarming story of "wandering home" was about to be played out in Houston; Then he quickly started Plan B after Irving jumped out of his contract, but the Immortals didn't seem to have plans to act in soap operas this summer, and reached a verbal agreement with the Lone Ranger early on (of course, maybe the signing with Van Jordan was cause and effect).

Next, let's talk about Van Jordan's field value to the Rockets. He is probably the star who fits the team's rebuilding process at the moment.

What level is Team Rockets at now? Jaylen Green, Kevin Porter Jr. are playing the core of everything. But if either of Harden and Irving joins, when they step into preseason training camp, they will probably inevitably say: "Don't have the ability to know about it?" "To put it bluntly, counting Shenjing, Smith, Martin Jr., Eason and many other lottery tickets, plus Amen Thompson and Whitmore picked out in this year's draft, let the two big brothers who have never been known for their patience bring it. Haoudu has applied for a total of 7 transactions in the past 2 and a half years, and has long been famous.

The Rockets' gang of youngsters are overflowing with talent, but it's still some time before they scratch out the lottery.

Although Van Jordan is premium, he is not a cornerstone player. At least in the 7 years of the Raptors, I have never lived up to such expectations, or been so self-styled. The humble starting point of losing the draft makes him seem to earn every step forward in the NBA compared to those proud people who are famous in high school and college, and his self-positioning is very clear. He is also not as full of negative public opinion as Harden and Irving, anxious to use a championship (won by his own team) to save the wind. It's not that he no longer has a desire for a championship, it's just that based on the Rockets' current roster configuration and the holes they have carved out over the past few years, a quasi-All-Star who is willing to try and wait, Van Jordan counts as one.

Besides, they did give too much...

Jumping out of the "human" factor, at the "ball" level, Van Jordan and the current rocket are not a perfect fit, but at least it can meet the basic requirements for immediate combat power. Based on basic data, criticism of his tactical role focuses on these points - short height (1.85 meters) and defensive holes, low shooting percentage (39.3% overall last season, 34.2% three-point range), whether he can play well without the ball in the new environment of Rockets' young "eating the ball"... There is also the age of 29, which is basically set.

Brilliant high-level stats that show off a Van Jordan you didn't know how good it was.

This is another high-level data that can easily cause drooling. From this "impact per 100 possessions on the team" player impact assessment, it can be seen that Van Jordan's three high-level statistics (true plus-minus, performance against James, and increased wins for the Raptors) all outperform at least 95% of players in the league and are rated A+. In terms of organizing passing, efficiency and diversity are also rated as A+, and the passing efficiency even exceeds 100% of players, to put it bluntly, it is the top in the league.

If you think the above assessment is too mysterious, let's put it simply: Van Jordan averaged 7.2 assists per game last season, ranking 12th in the league, with an assist/turnover ratio of 3.54. Of the 11 players ahead of him in assists per game, only Paul has a higher assist/turnover ratio (4.60). In addition, among all players in the league who averaged at least 10 breakout points per game, Van Jordan also ranked first with a burst score ratio of 57.7%, surpassing McConnell and Haliburton, two purer burst point guards. Halliburton's latest signing with the Pacers has reached a five-year high of $260 million. That's far more exaggerated than Van Jordan's.

As for the defense, which has been criticized for its disadvantage, the defensive advanced data of a number of A or even A+ in the figure above also gives the answer. 1.8 steals per 75 rounds exceeded 96% of players in the league, and team tactical statistics such as outside ball possession defense and off-ball cover guidance did not hold back. You can say that he does not have the defensive system that comes with or affects the whole team like top defenders such as Green and Leonard, and his height has indeed become a big disadvantage in some positions, but the basic defensive literacy and attitude are enough for this rocket that is in urgent need of discipline.

What's more, Van Jordan came to Houston and may be able to get a wave of Drake traffic from Toronto. Do you still think it's not worth it?

Drake: Where is the person who is most like me?