Yup, remember being at work and being told by a co-worker. I was driving to work when it went down. Pissed that my co-worker found out before I did since I'm always on Clutchfans at work
It was announced on Wednesday but IIRC there was an article about the inside's of the trade and it was supposedly done deal on Saturday around 4 AM when Morey texted Harden.
This was the article http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/st...e-story-how-houston-rockets-landed-chris-paul
Typically Damon Jones follows Lebron, so the Cavs promoting him is interesting. https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/report-cavaliers-make-changes-to-coaching-staff/
Is basketballholic a reliable inside source? I know cp3 trade didnt happen on a Saturday, I was at work that day checking clutchfans
I guess it references the 25th.. which would have been a Sunday. I don't know... i was just responding to bball's post timeline, which couldn't possibly be correct.
Neither reliable, nor inside source. Not even a source. But he might have stayed at a Holiday Inn at some point.
Marc Stein: The Paul George stuff, it gets louder every day that the Thunder's chances of keeping him are far better than we thought when they lost in the first round. No one knows LeBron's intentions & no one has said the Lakers are a lock. If the Spurs are not ready to trade Kawhi in the near future, that's not a pretty picture for Lakers fans or Magic Johnson. The Lakers are in a great position because it's a market LeBron loves & can create space for LeBron & another player. Lakers are at the forefront but is there a scenario they get none? I think yes. Percentage the Lakers get all three? 10% or less. Two as in LeBron/Paul George? I'll unconvincingly say 50%. I don't know that I even believe myself. One? If they don't get two, I don't think they're getting one. LeBron isn't going there alone. Biggest threat to LA for LeBron? As we've gotten away from the Finals, I've heard some suggest maybe Cleveland has more life in this than we assume. Game 4, that felt like goodbye, the last night, no way the Cavs could even think about keeping him. I don't know. None of these situations are so slam dunk appealing. I wonder if the Cavs are still in the game. We're trying to step into LeBron's head & that's hard to do. Finals ended June 8. He has 3 weeks to dig into this. He's talking to other star players & there are options on the board we don't even know about yet. ________________________________
Given the news about PG13 warming back up to OKC because of the money, I guess thats one benefit of the new CBA. Most players not named LeBron or KD aren't planning to do 1+1 deals but max deals. I think PG13 really wanted to force a trade to LA so he can go to LA AND get a 5 year max. If he opts out only OKC can give him that max and not the Lakers. He would be leaving a lot of money on the table. He has some endorsement deals already, he would get more in LA of course but enough to offset the amount he would be losing in his contract and then some? I do not know. Same situation with Kawhi - if Nike (as its rumored) wants to back up the Brinks truck for him if he goes to LA - is that significantly more than his current deal with them plus the amount of money he would lose signing with LA as a free agent? I don't think it would be considering Kawhi may be eligible for a super max it seems like as its always been players will always want to go where the most money is for them. Now though that consider this may bode well for Houston since LeBron opting in would give him more money next season than opting out and re-signing (according to Bimathug) as a free agent. LeBron opting in would mean almost any team is in play in a trade scenario if the Cavs are willing to play ball. LeBron being the unique case of being a guy who would do 1+1 type deals may also force Cleveland to get back a package they may like (though of course there is no real "fair value" for LeBron) instead of losing him for nothing.
Even if the Rockets renounce all their free agents, they would have roughly 18 million in cap space according to Bima. They also have no significant salary coming off the books after this season, and no great draft picks either. To create max cap space, they would have to dump Gordon or Tucker for expiring contracts, or do the same with Anderson by attaching multiple future first round picks to him. In that case, you might as well trade Harden, too. Bottom line, they would not be better off blowing it up if LeBron balks at coming, unless you want to join the Phoenix’s of the world by trading Harden. The better play is to frontload CP3’s max deal, and/or make the last year or two team options. You don’t blow up a 65 win team that took the Warriors to 7 games in the playoffs because LeBron James doesn’t come. You find other avenues to make small upgrades to that group, and run it back.
It's not really a good situation one way or the other. I'm not sure which would be worse, but when neither is good, it's not a conversation you want to have.
Simple: you don't blow up the goods (unless you're handed the greats). I have never suspected that DM the GM is throwing all his chips into the middle of the table. If LBJ then ok, let's get'r done. Otherwise, let's roll out the old Spaulding for Game V!! redux.
I know his contract is awful, but an example of a small upgrade that would make the Rockets better is swapping Anderson for Nicolas Batum in Charlotte. Batum makes more, and has an extra year on his deal, which means draft picks wouldn’t be likely required to eat Anderson’s deal. Plus, Batum is a 3 & D guy with playmaking ability that would be useful vs Golden State.
