This thread is not intended to bash Howard or call him out as a player. I understand he has been bogged by injuries all year long and is still recovering. However, since Moreyball is the face and identity of the Rockets now i.e. "players are assets" -- are the Rockets getting a good return on investment on a $21.5 Million per season asset? Considering right now Harden -- a $14.6 Million asset is outperforming his contract by carrying the team on his shoulders with an inspired MVP-caliber season, and has shown the absence of Howard hardly affects him and the Rockets both statistically and in terms of on-court play, I would venture to say Howard is now a negatively performing asset. Therefore, if Moreyball were to hold true to it's underlying philosophy, it would seek correction on this negatively performing asset. However, this is where I believe the "superstar bias" comes into play. No matter how much Moreyball claims to be purely based on statistical value both financially and empirically, it fails to evaluate superstars with the same ruthless methodology as applied to non-superstars. This shortcoming in Moreyball may perhaps become what keeps the Rockets from truly contending for a title given the superb job it has done in rebuilding and reloading quickly and efficiently. This last step is very important and again I'm not advocating that the Rockets simply trade Howard, but that the system and philosophy of Moreyball entails such a correction rather sooner than later otherwise it's a broken system -- good enough to rebuild fast and efficiently, but not much better than that.
Morey doesn't agree with trading anyone while low in value. That's the first rule. The only time he's done it is to clear cap space.
Well he's playing basically without cartilage in his knee, so he's coasting through the regular season. The post moves are lazy, his game is becoming an ugly form of finnesse BUT many of us think that Dwight can and will turn it on in the playoffs. And there's not a scarier duo in the NBA than Harden/Howard when they're playing at an elite level.
At the moment, Howard isn't much bang for the buck. However, that could change radically at any time. I am sure the "braintrust" is on it.
My understanding of Morey's priorities is: 1. Superstars trump everything and anything 2. Build a contending core of 2, maybe 3 stars/superstars 3. Surround them with manageable assets that fit (Moreyball) 4. Trade said assets at high value and replace them with new assets of similar performance and cheaper contracts
When Dwight is healthy, he is a top 10 player in the league and the best C in the league. So, yes, good return on the investment.
Little blurb on Howard in Zach Lowe's All star article: I still say his positives far outweigh his negatives. Nothing frustrates me more than when we gets it in the post, but what he brings elsewhere doesn't come cheap. Worth the money in my book.
Morey doesn't care about $$$ as long as that player is considered a superstar in his eyes and his metrics. That is why he has always been about that big 3 and then paying any amount to go over the top. But the clear answer to your question is NO. But then again a lot of max guys are being paid disproportionatley to their production while you can argue that the 3 main MVP candidates are making peanuts in Harden, Curry and Davis (although Rookie contract).
Dwight is a big question mark right now. If his knee is really bad I would trade him now before it gets worse. If the Rockets truly believe that he is going to get better I would say rest him and stop playing him when he clearly is not ok.
Another thing is monetarily the Rockets are getting their ROI. But if we are talking trade you never get equal value for a superstar unless its for another superstar. The best is solid players, picks and future superstars.
Harden will be the highest paid player in 2 years along with Anthony Davis. The new CBA and cap will allow Harden to make yo to $30 mil a season
Parsons is getting $15 mil You can't just compare him to Harden. He would have gotten more but 14.6 was his max
Not sure I agree. I feel like what he wrote is pretty much the general consensus on Dwight around here, but he added actual statistics to back it up. His post ups are dreadful. He's a pick and roll master, but doesn't want that to be his exclusive thing. His defense/rim protection and rebounding are still elite. These are the three bullet points that just about every Dwight discussion consists of from what I read.
You don't have to agree I have seen it. Just saying his post ups are dreadful gets you labeled a hater lately. You cannot be objective on this board sometimes. Some people dont want to here. They just want to hear Dwight was a beast in the playoffs and he's the greatest. Meanwhile he hasnt been playing great lately. And has looked injured.
So, if we didn't have Howard and had $21.5M more in cap space to spend this past offseason, who could we have invested in that's better than Howard? Would we have succeeded in getting some combination of Melo, Bosh, Lowry, etc. if only we didn't have Howard on the payroll? I find that kind of dubious.
