[ClutchFans] Notebook Dump: Reflections on Dwight Howard, Morey, Asik and Lin

This was my favorite part:

hehehe, good read!

 

Great article Clutch!

 

Great article. Thanks, Clutch.

 

Parsons is number three, correct? But is he the third because of his contract or because the org is in love with his potential or both?

 

Thanks, Clutch. However, I must take issue with your suggestion that Cubes...has a heart!

I particularly liked and appreciated your insights on Lin and Smith. (The very fact that Dwight is here and Smith is not suggests to me that it was not nearly so important to Howard as some suspected it might be.)

Clutch, you are the true DH1!

 

BTW - - T-Will is again (again?!!) available and still just might make LeBron 2nd tier. Maybe.

 

Good article. The market analysis about Lin is spot on. He is in an awkward situation. Poor kid... well, at least he's got money to show for it.

He can still be a very useful piece if he can improve his catch-and-shoot for 3's. I believe people can make drastic improvement in this department if you put in lots of repetitions. However, I expect Lin to improve on defense only marginally. It's a mentality/personality thing.

 

New sig!

Clutch, it sounds like you're implying Lin may have heard directly from the team about a possible trade.

IMO, if Lin just had a feeling of uncertainty, he would have still reached out to Dwight and just said he hoped to play with him this year or something similar. It really is suprising not to hear from him, even now, after it seems all the trade talk has died down. He's been nearly absent from Twitter this month, other than one tweet on the 1st. He must have received word, early on, that he may be traded.

 

Yes like that quote too...will add to my sig

 

well, we don't know if he hasn't talked to him in private. my guess is he probably did 'cause like you said, he's like that.

why make it public when you know you're gonna get bombarded with tweets like "see ya lin!" or "why you welcome dwight when you aint gone be here" (and yes twitter people talk like that). he laying low and letting this play out.

 

You think Lin really cares that much about those comments? He would have never left NY, if comments from strangers had that much influence on him.

 

"Notebook Dump" indeed! Coming on the heels of NIKEstrad's outstanding breakdown of Morey's incredible array of machinations, which must have GM's around the league open mouthed in wonder, you provide the perfect bookend. Like CH, I'm was also struck by your comments about Jeremy, and the lack of comments from him about the trade, which I had not noticed at all (yeah, crazy week, isn't it!). You said that he needed another year. I'm wondering what you meant by that. Another year to develop? I would agree if that's the case, as I think he still has room to improve, and I suspect that in Les Alexander's wealthy brain, there's open war going on. Keep Jeremy to help maintain that connection to China that Yao cemented with his too short tenure here? Move him for a piece of the puzzle that might make the difference between a very good season, and a trip to the Finals? I think we're all wondering what to do with Mr. Lin and the position he plays, with no one agonizing over what Morey will do more than Jeremy.

Wow! Great job, Clutch. -

Oh, and this should be stickied, Clutch, in my most humble opinion.

 

Fantastic stuff, Clutch.

 

fantastic article clutch

 

great write-up!

regarding smith - I totally agree with this point.

"Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t think Houston’s power forward has to have three-point range, but a mid-range game is just about essential, and Smith’s is weak." now... can we... um... get ppat back? i mean, he's like.. a perfect fit. could rebound a little harder but that's effort; talent is there. or am i completely off base?

regarding asik... yeah he won't be here for long. but i know we'll get something very valuable in return.

about lin... yeah that list of WC PG's is pretty formidable. he may not have the physical make-up of a top defensive player (can scratch his knees without bending over) but he can still improve on his defensive smarts. he's a pretty smart team defender (see utah blowout game) but he can still learn little tricks and nuances of playing man-to-man D. so yeah, he needs another year or even two of experience playing against these guys. does houston have a year? i'd say yeah. they are contenders this year. i really believe that. and i don't think lin is THAT far off that we can't contend with him playing starting PG. he's not at the level of those guys now but as a TEAM, we can contend with anyone.

 

anyone kind enough with ESPN Insider access please post this full article?

thanks in advance!

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9465925/nba-houston-trade-jeremy-lin-omer-asik

 

A great article. if we are lucky again, LaMarcus Aldridge's team may become bad quickly this year, and he is going to be frustrated enough to ask to be traded, then Houston is clearly the team he wants to join. We can make a trade with Portland again within a year.

 

My guess about Lin's future:

Unless a deal is made very soon (like within the next week), the Rockets will probably keep him around (or, in a more negative spin, they'd be stuck with him) until at least the trade deadline and go from there depending on how everything works out.

Given the abundance of B Level point guards in today's NBA(something which Zach Lowe pointed out in a recent article), there probably isn't a whole lot of asset to be gained for trading Lin, who looks like a B- level guy right now with some upside. Heck, we have several B to B+ level guys in Jennings, Ellis (who may be A-, at least on offense), and Teague still stuck in free agency.

So the reason for trading Lin right away is likely cap-related: either you are trying to get rid of his $8.37M cap hit to create cap space (possibly to chase a free agent like Kirilenko, but those guys are coming off the board one by one) or to use his salary as the necessary balance, combined with other assets, to bring in a higher $ player via trade (maybe someone in the Danny Granger salary range). The utility of getting rid of Lin's cap hit will diminish as the free agent pool dwindles and as the Rockets sign players to amounts above the rookie minimum. As for the bigger $ player trade goes, chances are that if these don't happen soon, teams probably just want to keep their guys and wait until games are played to see what exactly they have and need.

Wouldn't be surprised if Morey just couldn't get an offer that benefits the Rockets more than just keeping the roster as it and figuring things out later in the season.

 

I hate AK, but he would be much better money spent.

We need a PF or SF hybrid, and a lock down defender.