No. That doesn't really address my point. Lin was pushed into a different role as a spot up shooter to allow Harden to dominate the ball. That's why their usage rates were reversed from the traditional PG / SG roles. I don't expect Paul to be pushed into a spot up shooting role. I expect Paul to dominate the ball and have the highest usage on the team. Harden will have to play off the ball more, taking away his on ball strengths. Not saying it can't work, just like I never said Dwight / Asik can't work. Just saying they will have to learn how to share the ball to maximize each other's strengths.
Man, CP3 would be amazing. If we get him, Dwight would have to be here already cause I don't think CP3 would want to come play here with a PF/Asik frontline. CP3 loves feeding his big men.
Getting cp3 would mean Harden's roll will change because cp3 is better at running an offense. I imagine Harden would score more in transition and beating his man 1 on 1 when the ball swings. Paul can also set him up with 3's thus Harden can exert energy improving on the defensive end. He has been elite in every roll assigned to him for his whole career, why would it be any different this time? Lin was the one who couldn't adjust himself so I'm not sure why people put Lin's failures on James. However, I don't see Paul signing here if Howard doesn't. Cp3 wants to win, and honestly this situation minus Howard isn't necessarily better than the Clippers. I could see him taking a paycut to form a big 3, but I'm not sure Howard would.
My point is that there is no point comparing a fringe starter like Lin to a superstar player like Chris Paul. Also, we saw when Beverley was on the court that Harden doesn't mind sharing the ball when the player has confidence and doesn't look completely lost like Lin did for a large portion of the year. Harden spend almost his entire career playing behind a superstar in Durant and a ball hog in Westbrick.......playing with CP3 shouldn't be a problem.
It would be nice to be the team going over the cap to keep their championship contending young core together for a change.
All Paul has done is consistently been the best point guard in the league the past several seasons. 18m a year would be a bargain.
How do we force a Lin/Asik for Paul S&T with the Clippers? How is the leverage of the player's desire to join the Rockets used in negotiations?
To those denying the "AND", even though it's specifically in the Chronicle headline, I have one question: If Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin were free agents, and told the league they'd sign with ANY team for $8.3 million/year for two seasons... do you think a team would take them up on that? If the answer is yes, and I think it clearly is, then it's very reasonable for the Rockets to have the room to sign both Howard and Paul. Asik's deal is a flat-out steal for a young big man that's a defensive machine. It's so good you could probably toss in Royce White's expiring $1.7 million deal without the other team even blinking an eye. I'd put it at 100% that Asik is movable for cap space. In Lin's case, it's a two-year contract for a young starting PG that improved throughout the season and ended up with a respectable 14/6 line. He also puts butts in seats and draws corporate interest, potentially a huge deal for downtrodden franchises. If the corpse of Steve Nash can draw $9 million/year for three years, all guaranteed, Jeremy Lin at $8.3 million/year for two years is not an unreasonable deal at all. I'd put it at 90%. I highly doubt the Rockets end up with both Howard and Paul, but that's because Paul appears to want to stay in LA. If he's interested in teaming up with Dwight, however, and wants the best basketball situation, it very well CAN happen and the Rockets will undoubtedly shoot for it. It's feasible from a cap standpoint. The stumbling block is whether Chris will buy in.
In theory how it would happen would be that the player would inform the team that they're leaving no matter what. They'd then inform the team that they want to go to the Rockets so either they can do a sign and trade, or they'll walk for nothing. The way it would work best is if both Howard and CP3 wanted to come to the Rockets. Morey goes to both teams with the idea of a S&T telling them the first to accept gets the deal and the other has their player walk and they get nothing. It would require both players wanting to play together in Houston though, so it would be a longshot.
That's the same thing Cleveland said too but they eventually did it anyway. http://blogs.suntimes.com/bulls/2010/06/report_cavaliers_wont_offer_si.html
The key difference there was that the Heat already had the cap space to sign Lebron (and Bosh) outright. The sign-and-trade was merely an accommodation to get Lebron and Bosh a sixth year on their deals and higher annual raises. If Cleveland (and Toronto) had not cooperated, Lebron (and Bosh) would have simply gone ahead and signed with Miami anyway. In the Rockets' case, they just flat out don't have the cap space to add both. Barring a LOT of trades to open cap space, coupled with Dwight/Paul's willingness to wait an extra few weeks longer than most superstars normally take to reach agreements on new contracts in free agency, the Rockets NEED the Lakers/Clippers to cooperate on at least one sign-and-trade in order to add both Dwight and Paul. Hence, I am extraordinarily pessimistic on the Rockets' chances to add BOTH. However, the article seems accurate in that Rockets will--and surely should--pursue both stars simultaneously.
I love how I got flamed by a LOF, a month ago for saying that going after Howard and Paul is our plan and now there's an article saying the exact same things I was saying. Revenge is sweet.
Don't forget about Smith. They're still putting as much effort into pursuing that guy as they are Paul. Just not sure who in the organization really covets him. Is it Morey? Is it Howard? Is it Les scared of coming up empty handed? Or is Smith simply cheaper and more realistic? Either way, he's one of the targets.
