Bob Finnan's NBA notes: Don't expect Cavs to go after Luis Scola

In this March 17, 2012, photo, Houston Rockets' Luis Scola, of Argentina, runs up the court during an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers in Los Angeles. The Rockets waived Scola on Friday, July 13, 2012, clearing more salary space with a major move in mind. A fan favorite in Houston, the 6-foot-9 Scola averaged 14.5 points and 7.7 rebounds in five seasons with the Rockets. Scola grabbed 2,984 rebounds with the Rockets to rank ninth on the team's career list. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The Houston Rockets are chasing a dream.

They are franticly trying to get their hands on Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. How desperate are they? On Friday they used their amnesty provision on forward/center Luis Scola, generally considered their best player.

This isn't a player like Baron Davis, who was on his last leg when the Cavaliers used their amnesty provision on him in December.

The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Scola averaged 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds and shot 49.1 percent from the field in all 66 games for the Rockets last season.

The Cavs have been hoarding salary-cap space, which is a great asset in the NBA. These are the kinds of players for which a team hoards space.

If the Cavs submit a claim on Scola, a 32-year-old big man from Argentina, it would go against the grain of their rebuilding plan. That's why they probably won't go after Scola.

It would curtail Tristan Thompson's and Tyler Zeller's development, because Scola is a far better player. One could make a case he'd be their best big, which is saying something with a healthy Anderson Varejao on the roster.

Adding a player of his caliber would speed up their rebuilding process. The Cavs want to acquire one more high draft pick in 2013. This upcoming season is all about developing the youngsters -- Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller and Thompson.

They might want to add a player like Scola this time next year. Signing him now would take valuable minutes away from Thompson and Zeller. And what would be the incentive? The Cavs are still probably not a playoff team.

On the other hand, they've been a fan of Scola's for years, ever since former Cavs general manager Danny Ferry tried to acquire his rights from the San Antonio Spurs.

Scola is a relentless offensive machine, and he attacks the basket with a vengeance.

He could be had for a bargain price, reportedly $3.4 million a year for three seasons -- a little more than $10 million total. The Rockets must still pay him the $21 million left on the three years left on his contract. The advantage they've gained is that his deal comes off their salary cap. Teams have until Sunday to make a claim.

For the Cavs, Scola is very tempting. He'd clearly make them a better team. Players like him don't become available every day. For now, though, I'd have to guess they'll pass on the opportunity.

Fool's gold

A week ago today, the Cavaliers were on the "verge" of landing Brooklyn Nets power forward Kris Humphries.

They were supposedly smack dab in the middle of a four-team, 10-player trade that dominated websites, the Internet, Twitter and airways everywhere.

Generally, when there's that much chatter about a possible trade, it never happens. The Cavs pulled out of the deal altogether on Tuesday.

It turns out the Cavs' inclusion in the proposed deal was reportedly largely overblown.

"They were probably not as serious as everyone thought," one source said.

Yes, they were clearly contacted by the Nets, as were the Charlotte Bobcats and the Los Angeles Clippers. It never got to the point of: "We'll give you this guy and we'll take this one."

Some generalities were probably discussed. Much of it was a smokescreen. The Cavs never confirmed it or denied it. They just sat back and let it mushroom almost out of control.

As of Saturday, center Dwight Howard was a member of the Orlando Magic. The Magic have been recruiting other possible suitors after the trade to Brooklyn broke down. The Rockets are the new hot team in pursuit of Howard.

The Nets pulled out of the Howard deal, too, and instead agreed to sign center Brook Lopez to a four-year, $60.8 million deal.

The four-team, 10-player deal was one of the most complicated, convoluted deals ever proposed. Six sign-and-trade deals would have had to been consummated. That's way too many moving parts.

Just about all of Howard's leverage has vanished, especially if the Rockets' pursuit fails. Many wonder if the Rockets will still go through with the trade if Howard refuses to sign an extension. They would be renting him for one year, and then he'd walk. They would have major cap space next summer if that happened, but is that worth clearing the deck for a one-year rental of the disgruntled superstar? Not in my book.

Dollars and sense

The NBA's salary cap and luxury tax level for the 2012-13 season remained the same. The cap is set at $58.044 million. The number that really makes a difference is the tax level of $70.307 million. Any team whose team salary exceeds that figure will pay a $1 tax for each $1 by which it exceeds that threshold.

Even though they don't want to admit it, the NBA is now operating with a hard cap. The tax figure is the total they don't want to exceed.

One agent said this week that before any GM signs a player now, he has one eye on their team's salary cap for 2012-13 and the other eye on the future. No one wants to be stuck with bad contracts. They are getting harder and harder to unload.

The luxury tax becomes more imposing in 2013-14 when teams start paying on an escalating scale $1.50 to $3.50 for every $1 over the threshold. Repeaters will pay the higher figure.

Deep-pocketed owners like Brooklyn's Mikhail Prokhorov, Dallas' Mark Cuban or even Cleveland's Dan Gilbert might be willing to pay a tax if their team is in championship contention. Once the punitive tax kicks in, they won't be as willing. Almost no one will want to pay $30 million in tax for being $10 million over the threshold.

The collective bargaining agreement provides for three mid-level exceptions: the non-taxpayer mid-level for this season is $5 million, the taxpayer mid-level is $3.09 million and the mid-level for a team with room under the salary cap is $2.575 million.

Rumor mill

-- The year was 1996. The Cavs needed "bigs" in the worst way and had two first-round picks -- Nos. 12 and 20. They had settled on Wright State's Vitaly Potapenko at 12 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas at 20. In hindsight, Z was a much better player, but that's an argument for another day. Before the draft, the Los Angeles Lakers were calling teams in the lottery and inquiring about moving up. They found a taker in the then-Charlotte Hornets, who had the 13th overall pick, who agreed to deal their pick for Lakers center Vlade Divac. The Lakers offered the same deal to the Cavs, sources say, but were turned down. The Hornets drafted Lower Merion (Pa.) High School star Kobe Bryant and dealt him to the Lakers.

-- The Cavs looked into Bryant before the draft, but were rebuffed by Arn Tellem, his agent at the time. He informed them that Bryant had no interest in playing in Cleveland.

-- Bryant went on to become a five-time NBA champion with the Lakers. Because he was 17 years old at the time of the draft, his parents had to co-sign his original contract with the Lakers.

-- Lakers center Andrew Bynum mentioned the Cavaliers as one of the teams he'd be interested in joining when he becomes a free agent in 2013-14. The comment got a rise out of Cavs fans everywhere. Is he clamoring to play in Cleveland? Probably not. His agent likely looked at the Cavs' ledger and noticed they could have major salary-cap space next summer. Free agents of that stature haven't come to Cleveland in the past unless the Cavs overpaid for their services.

-- The Cavs reportedly have some interest in forward Anthony Tolliver. They are one of five teams supposedly chasing the former Creighton product in free agency.

Information for the NBA notebook was gathered by personal interviews and from other beat writers around the league. Finnan can be reached by email at:

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