I seriously don't understand the infatuation with Dwight Howard

Comparing Howard to Deke? C'mon man. Don't do that.

Check and see how many games all those lakers actually played TOGETHER last year? Injuries killed them. Not to mention, Howard coming back from back surgery. It took him a couple months to get his feel back. Also, he was unhappy playing under Kobe and for a coach that ran a system that he didn't like. ALL of that matters.

So please don't use that as a basis as to why he would not be good on our team next year and beyond.

 

You're killing it dude, keep up the good work.

 

I'm glad we have another thread about it. I was starting to forget about the other 50.

 

We don't need LeBron cause we have Parsons

 

Sometimes I wonder if some people that post on here actually watch the NBA.

 

The only young piece they are moving is Thomas Robinson. That should not make you nervous.

 

I am with OP, Dwight is a cancer. Let team develop and get someone else.

 

I will try to answer this thoroughly. Dwight has a lot of problems. He whined a lot while on LAL; did not have his head in the game at crucial times (ejection in last game of playoffs?!); pointed fingers at a lot of other people; had a bad back/health issues; cannot make FTs; and, as I believe Simmons' article on Dwight is pretty accurate, will never be as good as he was in 2010 because he's already peaked and moved past it.

In spite of the above, I would still go for him this summer. Why? Because even w/ the above, he is still a top 3 center in the current league. Part of that attests to how weak the center position is in the nba right now, but hey, I'm not comparing Dwight to Hakeem because he won't be playing against Hakeem. This was one of his worst seasons since his rookie yr and Dwight was still #1 in the league at rebounding, top 5 in blocks, and #2 in field goal percentage. Wow. So that is taking him at his worst, and the 2012-13 "nightmare" season as a whole.

Now look at his trend throughout 2012-2013 and you'll see he did MUCH better after the all star break...MUCH better. In April? About 21 PPG, 10.5 Rebounds, 2.5 blocks. March? Roughly 18-15-3! March was 15-12-2. Not surprisingly, it was around post-March that he said he was feeling about 90% or so again on his back. Like Lin's injury and new role on a new team and chemistry issues, Dwight played much better in the second half of the season as his injury healed up. Dwight himself said he came back too early from the injury -- others around him said the same, that he wasn't 100%. So I don't expect 2010 Dwight, but I expect at least "second half of 2013" Dwight, and that is pretty dominant. After another offseason to heal some more?

But even so, his injuries showed one thing about Dwight -- his complete lack of skill in the post. No footwork. It was atrocious. He depends entirely on athleticism. Lucky for us, he should be fine for another 3 yrs or so And the biggest thing is, our cap space is really only good for THIS summer and NEXT. Can you tell me of another PLAUSIBLE option that could improve our team so quickly as the addition of Dwight?

Adding Dwight would not require us to give up young assets. All we would lose is TRob. We'd then play Dwight at the 4, which btw, he came into the league PLAYING. Him and Asik will be beast on defense; questionable on offense, but even if it doesn't work out, having Dwight means we can now move Asik for value (and his value is high). It gives us options that we could not otherwise afford. We could sign Dwight then SnT Asik (maybe w/ a young PF) for Josh Smith. Or straight up for Millsap. Or more likely, try out Dwight/Asik and see how it is doing and make a call at the trade deadline. Dwight helps us maximize our value by allowing us to either upgrade the 4 directly or through the realization of Asik's high value on the trade market right now.

Finally, like I said, our cap room is good for this summer and then next. Then it effectively goes away. No idea what our cap or finances will be in 2015. Lin and Asik's contracts are up. Parsons and Bev are due for huge pay raises, etc. $20.5M is too much for Dwight's talent, but it isn't for us because of our cap situation and the alternatives on the market. Feel free to tell me of a viable, better alternative to Dwight on the FA market and you'll have me interested.

 

Bookmark this thread.

If Howard signs with the Rockets, use post #19.

If Howard signs with any other team, use post #1.

 

1. Well medical science has really improved over the years and he is in great physical condition so I would not be worried about him being injury prone. When was another time he was unhealthy prior to 2012?

2. A for his "head" well like I said in 2012 he didnt want to be in Orlando anymore. Did he handle that well? No he did not. Once he got to LA I don't thik he realized what it would be like playing under Kobe and having to play under D'Antonis system. That would make any C unhappy....

I get your point about not gutting the team to sign him, good thing is one or two minor moves and we have enough cap space to sign him outright. So we would still have Harden, Parsons, Beverly, and Asik on the team to play with him. (and I think T Jones will be a contributor next season for us).

So if you can get a 20+ 10+ 2+ guy, you get him!

 

Getting Howard in no way would require us to move Asik. Absolutely not. After moving TRob for free, we could waive and stretch White and offer Dwight a contract about $700k short of his max. That is w/ us keeping Parsons, Bev and GSmith. If we don't pick up GSmith, we can offer Dwight ~$20.3M out of his max $20.5M, which I think he would be more than okay with.

If Morey chooses to move Asik for someone else AFTER getting Howard, well, In Morey We Trust. I am sure he is doing it in the best interests of the team, and he tends to be money. But I expect Dwight to play the 4 and Asik to play the 5 at least for a while, to see how that combo works out. I like Asik a lot too -- I'm sure everyone on CF does -- but selling high is sort of a Morey bread and butter move, and if he gets a lot in return...I hear LMA is on the trade block! All I'm saying

And don't forget, Miami just won 2 rings in a row lol.

 

There are no real super star PF's that the Rockets can get.

 

Spurs are the exception to the rule. They were a VERY VERY lucky franchise. First of all jumping up in the lottery to get Duncan and then finding Parker and Ginobili late in the draft. They have not done that and will not ever do all of those things at the same time again. So, please dont use them as a model example.

We were fun to watch last year, but we are in this to win titles not just to be a good story or be entertaining. If you have to give up some young talent to get a proven player that fits a need, you do it. In our case, we dont have to give up our young talent we plan to use going forward.

 

If you seriously don't understand the infatuation with Dwight, then you also seriously don't understand basketball.

Figure out the latter then revist the former. Good Luck.

 

Not understanding why everyone wants Dwight is like not understanding why women pay for liposuction & breast implants. They might have to pay a lot of money, but the benefits are priceless.

Houston will be sexier. The players will be more confident. The organization will gain more attention & the fans will be happier.

The perception of it all is the only reason you need to support the idea of Dwight (possibly) coming to Houston.

 

Best 5 in the league at a time when 5's suck. It's basically Dwight, then Bynum, then a bunch of roleplayer 5's. And Dwight is so good, he's better than Bynum despite having pretty horrible fundamentals.

Everybody was talking about Hibbert's stats during the playoffs. Dwight had better stats during the regular season and the playoffs and was playing with a bad back and was playing for coaches that hated inside out game.

And us Lakers fans want him to stay but the general feeling is he's not staying as long as D'Antoni is here

 

I actually agree and have been saying this a long time I really hope the rockets don't land Howard.... He is a baby and runs when things get tough...if we get him I hope he proves me wrong but I've talked to a lot of people and its almost unanimous that Howard = cancer on the team....