[CBS Sports] Howard no lock for Lakers; interested in Rockets

Aforementioned Jalen Rose podcast:

~45:23ish

Spoiler

He(Kobe) doesn't know if Dwight Howard is coming back and from what I'm hearing, he is 55% leaning towards going to Houston.

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Let me tell everyone something that has never had to deal with NBA free agency: if somebody wants to offer you 100+ million, you don't have to think twice about wanting it or not.

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This is not his only contract. He can sign a 4 year deal and get it extended. There are ways to make up that money in Dallas or Houston. Texas has no state taxes. There are ways for him to make up the money.

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You keep saying Houston. Why Houston?

Better basketball team. You get to play with James Harden. Asik can be your other big, who will rebound, set picks, play defense, do all the dirty work. We just talked about Houston being in our top five black guy cities for all the reasons we talked about.(Shout out to Treasures) And they have a better basketball team on paper next year than the Los Angeles Lakers. You don't know what you're getting from Kobe. Pau Gasol is going into the last year of his contract and he clearly does not trust Mike D'Antoni's coaching.

Are there there teams where he could go?

No. He'll play for one of those two teams next year.

That's it?

That's it.

And which one will he play for?

I think he's going to Houston.

Do you think the Houston Rockets have a better chance next year to win than the Los Angeles Lakers?

Yes. They have a better team for the reasons I just mentioned. MWP is still your starting SF. Nash is still your starting PG. Here are the Lakers issues - Nash is still signed for 2 more years. Now that Masai Ujiri is signed in Toronto, he won't be the sweetheart package to just take on Nash because he's from Canada. It won't work like that. The Lakers went from being able to dump him on Toronto if they needed to to now I think they're stuck with him for 2 more years. MWP will be in the last year of his contract. You're stuck with him for one more season. Gasol has one more year left on his contract. Either S&T him and/or extend him, or lose him in free agency. I mentioned what's going on with Kobe and you have D'Antoni for a couple 'nother seasons. You basically have the same cast of characters next year in purple and gold.

In this hypothetical world where Dwight Howard is the center for the Houston Rockets, where do you put them? With the Spurs and Thunder?

I put the Thunder as the best team in the West. Depending on what happens in Memphis, Tony Allen is a FA, new coach on the sideline, a lot of questions. All of these Western teams besides OKC have questions. Duncan will be older, Ginobili will be a FA, Pop said he's leaving when Tim retires. What if Tim wins a ring and retires? What about the Clippers? Who will be the coach? What about the development of Blake Griffin. Chris Paul is a free agent. Will he re-sign? Golden State is a young team but they're strapped with Andris Biedrins salary, along with Bogut and they still have David Lee's salary, plus Curry's extension kicks in.

You're Dwight Howard, you hear Kobe says these things, what do you think?

PEEEEAAAACCEEEE! I'll see you when we play y'all 3-4 times this year. It was a good run. It's all love. I'm gonna go get my bread. Say what you say, I'm bouncin'. I think that that's the best place for him because it's not the large market with the hots lights that spit hot fire like LA but it's a top ten market. They've had championship pedigree. You worked with Hakeem. He starred with the Rockets. They have a good young team but more importantly, style of play. You remember when Mike D'Antoni took the job and said this team will average 115 points a game? I said, he must have not watched his roster play. No way they're scoring 115. They might have scored 115 five times all year. Who led the league in scoring? The Rockets did. That's the style of play he had in Orlando, when they went to the Finals and he was their best player.

(Other guy on the podcast) I feel like Howard is a goofball. You know who else I think is a goofball? Chandler Parsons. You know who else I think is a goofball? James Harden? You know who else I think is a goofball? Jeremy Lin. I feel like they have this personality of misfits, sorta extroverted personalities, weirdos and I feel like Dwight Howard would fit in well.

More importantly, he has a roster of players younger than him that he has accomplished more than all of them. Now he still becomes a leader. Something he wanted to be in LA but will never be.

 

And the Dave Hardisty podcast:

Spoiler

Dwight comes here, and you keep all the pieces in place. Are the Rockets in the class of the top 4 left in the playoffs?

I think so. You have a guy like Dwight who is a defensive anchor, along with Harden, Parsons, Lin & Asik, those are enough pieces to be an attractive team to the role players you need around those guys.

Of the guys who are the core, who is in most danger of not being here next year?

I look at 4 players that matter the most(in order) - Harden, Asik, Parsons, Lin. I wouldn't call any in danger but if I would pick one, Asik because the best bet is Dwight. If that's the case, you're looking at a 2 year window tops here in Houston. They could stick with him for awhile but you'd look at that as a luxury they couldn't afford long. They'd fill a different position. Lin maybe next because if they're trying to acquire a 3rd star, Asik and Lin are on the block for that reason.

In your piece, I thought it was interesting you threw in Asik's name out there to maybe upgrade the 4 and put Kevin Garnett's name out there. The stock on Asik is way ahead than when he was signed.

That wasn't an endorsement of that move but an illustration that Asik has a lot value around the league. He would be an attractive trade piece. Boston in general, with McHale & Morey, that's a team that could be in transition. That's a team to watch for in a Thomas Robinson trade. A team you might look at later on down the line in a case with Garnett, again speculation on my part. If the team is going to make the big leap forward, it has to do so defensively. Howard would be a huge step and Garnett might be interesting in that situation.

Odds on Howard?

Hard to do. I will say I'm with you - I have my doubts. We've been through this with him before. Not that he'd shown interest but where we thought we have a chance for him, we have the best trade package for him and still didn't get him. The reason there is more optimism is he has changed his tune about Houston and more importantly, this is such a players league. Players run the show here. They'll do the pie in the sky thing and try for Howard and Paul, and that's slim, but they have Harden and Parsons in his ear. There is some positives that Howard sees in the Rockets that he didn't see in the past.

2 part Robinson question - how critical is it they move him? Two, where is the stock on Robinson?

It's a fascinating case right now with Robinson. They do have to move him and they will move him, from what I understand. Maybe I sold the market a hair short on who could trade for him before July, when the cap resets. My understanding is it's close to half the teams in the league. They do need to trade him. That cap line, roughly estimated at 58.5 million, the Rockets will be in the 18-19 million range and need to be at 20.5. They'll trade Robinson here and probably so by draft night.

They need to get him out, even for a conditional 2nd round pick or something, right?

Yes. That's how I feel as well. They feel the market is a little bigger than I gave it credit for. Because they're saying they're going to trade him, they feel they'll create an auction environment. You won't see it go high. They probably won't trade for a back of the lottery pick, they need cap room. Anything they get beyond that is what they get. A high 2nd round pick or late first round pick in the future, not 2013, is what they're probably looking at. ... Not getting a high draft pick in 2014. A draft pick, once you make the selection is like driving the car off the lot. I do think he has a skill, it's rebounding & energy. Some teams will be interested, a guy they could develop.

Back to Dwight, did you see Kobe's comments? He wants the last word. Do you think Dwight has the stones to tell Kobe I'm leaving? He doesn't like to disappoint people.

If Dwight behaves the same way he did in Orlando and not wanting to disappoint fans, he'll probably end up staying in LA. He has to make a choice for himself, his future. The Lakers, certainly they could turn it around in ways I'm not seeing right now, but Nash looked pretty old and injury prone. What Kobe is trying to come back from is a very serious injury at his age. I don't think this team has any kind of championship aspirations this season. They're selling the cap space they'll have in 2014 to go after LeBron. Can you say that's my best chance of winning a ring? I don't think so.

The whole Laker thing is contingent on getting LeBron in 2014.

You're right. They're losing Gasol at the end of this year. I would not be surprised if he was dealt this offseason or by February. Without Kobe, I don't see that team being a top contender without great help and extremely good role players around those guys, which they have not had.

You threw out an interesting name - Gasol. If they miss on Howard and don't make any big FA moves, thoughts on that?

If they fall short with Dwight and Paul, then the big question is what is plan B? Gasol is someone they could go after. He has a large contract, Rockets will have the cap room to facilitate a deal. He has been used poorly in LA under D'Antoni. I think he would have a bigger impact in Houston. What's nice about Pau is you can use him behind Asik when he goes out. That's been the biggest drop off for the Rockets. The D falls apart. Not that Pau is a defensive anchor but he gives you a guy at center who knows how the defensive game plan goes and is a capable scorer. That falls under your plan B options.