I seriously don't understand the infatuation with Dwight Howard

I really don't understand people who keep using this as an argument. It makes me assume, maybe incorrectly, that they have not watched the Rockets all season long, or the media's coverage of the Rockets' newfound fame. Getting Harden changed everything. A LOT of players now want to come play w/ us. We're a hot team now. A yr ago we were crap w/ no direction. I wouldn't want to join the Rockets then either. Today? Different story. Why that escapes some people boggles my mind...

 

T-Rob? Is that you?

Stop trolling Clutchfans.

 

Because he is a greater Terrence Jones

 

Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, James Harden....all players Morey tried to get (and one eventually got) are/were All-Stars when he made his initial push to get them. Coincidence? Of course not. Morey's base philosophy should be known by everyone on here by now: get the stars and fill out the details. You can't build a championship contender without an All-Star player. Granted Morey is probably glad he dodged the bullet on Stoudemire and Bosh but his objective is sound and reasonable and that is why Howard is Plan A. I am not a big Howard fan myself but, at the end of the day, having Dwight Howard on your team brings you a step or two closer to championship contention versus not having Dwight Howard on your team.

 

You don't sound abrasive and you're right - it is 4 years. However - LA had the same record as us last year with all that talent. Yea I know - he was hurt. Matt Bullard doesn't want him and I'm pretty sure he knows at least as much as anyone on this forum. Elvin Hayes, while not an analyst he does have an opinion I respect, is very lukewarm on Dwight. So again, to say that if you're opposed then you are 'less informed' is just wrong and arrogant. It is possible that I may be wrong but - gasp - you may be the one who's wrong. Who says we have to use all the cap space this year anyway? I'd rather wait a year than handcuff us for -uh- 4 years. Sorry but I just can't stand it when someone says in effect 'if you don't agree with me then you just don't know what you're talking about'. Howard is far from a sure thing.

 

I don't think Bullard or Hayes are looking at it from the Rockets' perspective. They're looking at it as, is Dwight worth the $20.5M? I Don't think he is. But is he worth our $20.5M? Yes. Not only because of the need we have on our team, but because ALL we have to give up is TRob + cap space. TRob no one is crying over, and the cap space is really only here this offseason or next offseason.

Who else this offseason would you rather spend the $20.5M on? That we could realistically get? That would improve us as much?

You mentioned next offseason. I've seen FA and RFA class for next summer. Who are we realistically going to be able to get? We're not going to get LBJ. Everyone else is either not going to leave their team (ex: Pacers are going to match ANY salary for Paul George; Dirk and Kobe are NOT leaving Mavs/LAL), are too old for us to want to spend that much money on, or a combination of both. Bosh is the only somewhat reasonable possibility, and that is assuming he isn't traded before he exercises his ETO, should he choose to do so...and even then, I'd rather pay Dwight $20.5M than BOSH, on the wrong side of 30, the same amount.

So without trying to sound glib, I am still waiting for this alternative that the anti-DH posters have for us to use this cap space on.

 

Was Harden happy that OKC didn't resign him and he had to end up in Houston? Was Houston Harden's first choice? Would Harden not have liked it better if OKC had bargained a bit more instead of rushing to make the trade?

How about Lin? Did Lin prefer Houston to NY? No, he went on record to say that he was sad that he had to play in Houston instead of NY.

How about Kevin Martin? Wanted out of Houston big time, right?

The only players in fact that ever want to stay in Houston are the guys that are drafted and come up through the system.

Players come to Houston for the money, not the team; and the same will be true with Dwight.

 

And just to add on, those against it are in the minority for a reason, esp. on CF where there are a lot of VERY knowledgeable posters. But I don't generally believe a person disagreeing w/ me = wrong. The thing is, most of the anti-DH people are just not offering up any real arguments. It is much more akin to the "Anybody but Lin" crowd who claim all these things but can't back it up w/ stats. Is it their opinion to believe Lin is one of the worst PGs in the league? Sure, but I would say they're wrong and uninformed, because if they were, they'd have more respectable points, or better yet, counter-points.

Dwight is flawed; everyone knows this. He is of course far from a sure thing. No one is really arguing otherwise. The issue is, w/ "expiring" cap space, he is by far the best option on the table that we have a reasonable shot at, and to not use our cap space on him and instead allow it to essentially disappear (wasting an asset) simply because he isn't perfect? That just does not make sense to me.

 

What? None of this makes any sense. All of this was pre-Harden. This would be like saying, if the Big 3 weren't in Miami...that no one would go to Miami. But guess what -- the Big 3 are there now. People go there now for the team. The same is true for us (to a lesser extent of course).

NO ONE wanted to come to Houston before Harden, so I am very unsure what your examples are supposed to prove at all. They are ALL PRE-HARDEN. Are you just trolling me now?

 

LMFAO!

 

What? That's not the slogan of the Dwight2Houston campaign. That's the slogan of the LastFantasyGetRidofLinScenario.

 

Howard was considering Houston (i.e. last summer) even before the Harden trade. Harden or no Harden Houston is not LA, nor Miami, nor New York. Remember a few years back when Chris Webber wanted out of Sacramento even though Sac was a championship contender? Why? Because Sacramento is no Philly.

Or, for a more recent example...take the Pacers. The Pacers may well be a top 5 team in the NBA, but will free agents be flocking there anytime soon? No, because Indianapolis is not Miami Beach.

The point is...even if the Rox do sign Dwight (and I'm not saying they shouldn't) Dwight has proven himself to be extremely fussy and hard to please, he doesn't like to stay in one place for long--and particularly in small markets like Houston when NY and NJ and other places beckon.

Did Dwight leave Orlando because he was on a poor team? No, he was just bored, basically, and decided to be a big baby and demand a trade. And he'll do that with us too, wait and see.

Dwight has ZERO loyalty to the Houston Rockets. And, so as soon as a better opportunity arises, he will start to fuss and the whole "Dwightmare" mess will begin anew. I just don't think we need that. And it's bound to happen.

 

Glad to see you're a future teller AND able to read minds. I bet it makes life pretty easy for you. The rest of us have got to hustle though.

If you're saying Houston is not as attractive of a destination as LA or NYC, no crap. But that doesn't mean every player that goes to a small market team will try to force their way out later. Like the Webber scenario (and this is assuming Sac is somehow OBVIOUSLY worse than Philly lol), and even Dwight w/ ORL, it is because the team they are in sucks. Either the coach or system or players or winning chances, etc. A city is just a city after all. You only play half your games there -- spend other half of the season all over. If you love a city so much, go live there in the summer, dang.

The notion that Howard will want out in a few yrs is just way too presumptive. It is so speculative that I hardly care. The fact of the matter is, Howard wants to come here NOW because of the team we have NOW. Not a year ago, but today. Plenty of teams that aren't glamour and lights like LA and NYC keep great players. Chicago? Miami? Boston? OKC? San Antonio? The list goes on and on. I just don't really see what your point is. If we're losing and sucking, will Howard want out from our team a few yrs from now? Probably -- but are you saying he wouldn't if this city were LA and he was losing and sucking? Because I think this offseason is showing that is not the case. And if we're losing and sucking w/ him on our team in a few yrs, I am not against trading him at all.

If NYC were an available market for him to get into this offseason, I wouldn't like our chances. Good thing it isn't. If there were a star on the market and the only team w/ cap space was the Pacers, as-is, I guarantee that star will run to them.

 

I think you miss my point.

It's not like we don't have a center. Omer Asik is a pretty darn good one and he keeps getting better. Asik has a year under his belt in the Rockets organization, gets along with everyone, likes it here, doesn't complain, and has potential in the long run (and especially if he can hit that mid-range shot!) to put up similar numbers to Dwight. Asik also is younger than Dwight, and he doesn't have a back issue which might put him out for half a season.

I think the odds that D12 will make us a championship contender are no greater nor less than the odds that Asik will one day be as good as D12.

Also I think in this day in age it would be refreshing to see an organization actually be loyal to its people, and believe in them, and extend efforts to help them be better, than simply sell them off (in Darth Vader-like fashion) the moment some slightly-better guy hits the free agent market. Guys play better when they don't have to be always looking over their backs, thinking they are going to get traded or released. Just ask Kevin Martin.

 

Fixed for my 2 cents

 

My worries about Dwight are:

1) If we don't compete for a championship next year then we will see the "Dwightmare" wanting out of Houston with constant whining and pouting to the media becoming a locker room cancer.

2) His back starts giving him problems and we are tied up with a max contract center who can't play due to injury. Sound familiar? I have had the same surgery as Dwight on two different disc in the last decade. I can say from personal experience, I am not the man I used to be and I don't run and jump for a living.

3) He becomes unhappy if we don't force feed him the ball in the paint like he is the second coming of Hakeem. I do not think Dwight is good enough offensively to be an offensive focal point. I do not think an inside / out game will work with his limited offensive ability. This could be another cause of a "Dwightmare" scenario. Now if he accepts the same role as Asik, and takes what is given to him in the flow of the game he will be a major improvement over Asik given his ability to catch the ball and dunk it and could easily average 20+ in that role. I am just not convinced he will be happy unless we play an inside / out game.

 

Some incredibly inaccurate things here. First, as much as anyone on CF loves Asik, it is a bit ludicrous to say that he will one day be as good as Dwight Howard. They are nearly the same age, and come on! That is like me saying Parsons will one day be as good as Lebron James. I mean, I guess ANYTHING is possible, but you'll be hard pressed to find many that agree. This past season was one of Dwight's WORST seasons due to injury/chemistry/etc., yet his AVERAGE game was Asik's BEST games. Think about that.

Second, signing Dwight does not somehow mean we're getting rid of Asik. That isn't necessarily true at all, even if you want to assume it. Dwight would play the 4 and Asik would play the 5. Will that work on offense? Not sure -- but I think the Rockets will give it a try at least to the trade deadline, then we'll see. Or if another very good option is available this offseason (LMA?!), then Asik might be moved after Dwight. But it is not a foregone conclusion.

Third, I am with you on the loyalty thing. We're almost there. But that again is a separate issue on whether we want or should sign Dwight. He does not require us to give up ANY PLAYERS besides TRob. Other options all require MORE roster volatility. So how does that make sense?

And finally, I am a bit shocked that you just said "I think you miss my point" when you keep apparently changing it. Your last post's point was: "The point is...even if the Rox do sign Dwight (and I'm not saying they shouldn't) Dwight has proven himself to be extremely fussy and hard to please, he doesn't like to stay in one place for long--and particularly in small markets like Houston when NY and NJ and other places beckon." ...and your first post's point: "Howard has made it clear previously that the longest he would remain in a Rockets uniform is one year. Furthermore the only reason he would ever sign with the Rockets in the first place is if his other options didn't pan out. You can tell by the things he say that D12 really doesn't want to come to Houston--he'll only come to Houston if he has to. Houston is a small-ish market team with lots of empty seats in the stands and is a loooooong shot to win the championship. It's not New York. Its not LA. It's not Miami."

My posts have all been in response w/ the inaccurate information in the above (in particular the first post). Now you say your point is we already have Asik, who will be as good as Howard, and should show loyalty to players? Huh???

 

Nicely organized, cogent concerns.

1) This is possible and a legitimate concern, but I don't think we need to necessarily get to the Finals next yr. Just be a legitimate contender. WCF. If we miss that mark, yeah, I think he might become disgruntled. But guess what, if we are losing w/ Dwight on our current roster, then I have more things to worry about besides Dwightmare -- more like, why did our team implode?!

2) Back injuries are notoriously bad, but all indications have shown that he's only getting better. Look at his stats from a month-to-month basis, and also the interviews where he and various other LAL FO/sports analysts have said his back has finally healed up to 90%+, etc. (end of regular season). Could it get re-injured? I guess, but every player has a risk of injury, and besides this past yr, he's actually had an amazing history when it comes to health. THIS back issue seems 90% 'fixed' as he improved a LOT toward the end of last season, and himself said he felt a lot better. Like Lin, he said he came back too early and should have sat out the first few months.

3) Legitimate concern, but you know, we sort of DO run an in/out system. We just don't feed it in the paint as often now because no one in the paint is competent enough. But we have the roster to create a team very similar to what Dwight had in ORL during that Finals run...except we also have Harden. That's pretty deadly. We also need a better halfcourt game for the playoffs, and Dwight gives us flexibility there. Will Dwight get as much touches as in his prime? Probably not -- but we would have an in/out system in place for him, or rather, we'll continue developing in that direction I believe. But even near the end of his time in LAL, he stopped complaining about the lower # of touches. I hope that trend continues in Houston.

Another concern w/ our system though is, even though we do some in/out and have the roster for it (and the need to develop it), we also run a LOT of PnRs. Dwight is one of the best PnR finishers in the game. 2 yrs ago, he was THE best finisher in a PnR (even last yr, still up there). But I've heard rumors that he greatly detests running PnRs, so that'll be awkward. Hopefully running low PnRs w/ Asik running a high screen will help ease his distaste for this highly effective strategy.

So I've helped qualify some of the above concerns, and what remains are valid negatives. But the risk of the above just don't outweigh the possibility of how good he'd make our team, imo. And at a very low cost (pretty much just cap space we will only have this yr or next), our "opportunity cost" in getting him over another option is not too severe.

 

You're still missing my point, and which in all three posts is the same point, only stated differently.

My bottom-line point is...that signing Dwight Howard is not a guaranteed win, like so many people just automatically think it is. Why? Because it's possible that Asik might have to go (and we have a pretty good think going with Asik); it's possible that Howard might wine and want out if we are not a championship contender right away; it's possible that he might think--like he did in Orlando--that he is TOO BIG A STAR for the city of Houston, or, for the Houston Rockets organization (which isn't yet on par exactly to the Spurs, or OKC, or Miami) and so will find himself attracted to those other organizations, and demand a trade.

Think of it: it's the second year of Howard's contract, the Rox are good, but not quite yet a championship contender, and then all of a sudden word comes out that OKC needs a center and wants D12. And so what do you think will happen if Howard's bottom line is a championship? So long Houston, right?

I think Asik has the potential to get much better and maybe one day be an all star. Think of all the chippy shots he missed--he starts making those and he'll have an additional 5 or 6 points a game! He's already on a level with D12 in rebounding, and is a top notch defender.

Anyway if Asik stays than I am all for getting Dwight. What I would rather see though is Asik at the 5 and Josh Smith at the 4, but, whatever.

 

your concerns are valid. Dwight could very much be a big bust, but its a calculated risk.

I love Asik too. Even though I've been campaigning for a run at Dwight, I dont want it to be at the expense of any of our core, including Asik. I really would like to give the twin towers a try and move Dwight back to his natural 4 position. Can't you support that?