Keep in mind they cleared ALOT of money in the Gasol deal. They had enough cap to the point where they could absorb the entire contract of Zach Randolph. Seems like Randolph+Marc has been panning out for them.
Maybe they felt that getting rid of Lowry would show a commitment to Conley (their young franchise PG, 3rd overall pick in a draft) and help him excel (kinda like how getting rid of AB has helped Lowry excel). It was clear they were not going anywhere that year, cash plus a first rounder made sense. Guessing nobody wanted to give up a mid-high 1st rounder for a backup PG.
I just made a thread about this. Most eff guard in the nba over last 10 games. http://www.nba.com/statistics/playe...qualified=N&yearsExp=-1&splitDD=Last 10 Games
The Rockets should have had Lowry from the beginning when they gave away their lottery pick for "no-stats" and "intangibles"
Their experience with Lowry reminds me of the Rockets experience with Brooks -- a talented point guard chaffing about a back-up role becomes such a distraction that he has to be traded for a loss. They got #27, we got something like #23 in a bad draft (both from Orlando!). They got Foyle and we got Dragic. I suppose we got a somewhat better deal for our back-up PG, but the similarities strike me.
I don't get it. Lowry didn't complain about playing backup behind Brooks, did he? Why was he not the same with Memphis behind Conley?
Pretty sure it was exagerated by the media in Memphis. What NBA player doesn't want to be the starter and what coach doesn't want their players to challenge their starting players for their spot? It only makes players play harder and perform better overall. Now, pouting on the bench and tweeting about it is a major issue.(Yes Im looking at you Squid)
I think the often overlooked part of the Battier-Gay trade was getting rid of Stromile Swift, who the Rockets had signed to a huge contract from....the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizz shouldn't beat themselves up over that trade, situationally, they did what they had to do. Morey deserves credit, Memphis doesn't deserve flack.
If anything, they should be upset that they were a coin flip away form Lebron and a stupid trade away from Wad,e Melo, Bosh, or Darko.
Lowry stayed professional about it, but he did make it known he was not content to be a back-up. If he wasn't a restricted FA, he would have left, I'm sure.
