Sources: Dwight isn't "thrilled" with PG situation.

Chandler Parsons is getting paid less than 1 mill right now. Contract is not a good indicator of a players worth.

 

Depends on whose contract you are talking about

There are established players, young players ...

 

i chuckled

 

Wow you don't know NBA contracts at all. 7-9mil/year is the going rate for a young scoring PG with potential. <5 is defensive specialists, old vets, guys who've maxed their potential, and guys on the rookie scale.

He is absolutely in the conversation with Dragic, George Hill, Jameer, Stuckey, & Mo Williams

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-player-salaries/position/2012/
http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-player-salaries/position/2013/

 

He also makes the league more money too. From a marketing standpoint he is worth it. If he keeps up his production for a full season he'll be underpaid.

 

I'm not that happy with Dwight's performance either.

 

Yes, PGs like Lin, Lowry, Dragic, and Teague are only worth 4 million max.

 

Don't be ridiculous. Are you telling me that Rashard Lewis wasn't a better player in his prime than Lebron? I call BS. Rashard Lewis got a 6ry/$118mil deal. He must've been a super-duper star.

 

If LeBron would want to get the most money he could like Kobe, he would probably sign for 30M+ per year, if that's even possible under new CBA. Unfortunately for everybody but Miami, he put championship rings above money.

And that's what irks me the most...superstars are taking paycuts in order to win championships, but the owners are the ones who benefit the most - they have a team of 100M+ playing for 70M.

 

Simply not true. Owners are not the ones benefit the most these days. LeBron himself profits the most by WINNING. IRCC His endorsements jumped by about $15M/year after winning his rings. As a small market owner (Heat), Mickey Arison is expected to lose money by paying luxury tax this year.

Any owner who wants to win rings nowadays will HAVE to cut into his profit by paying luxury tax. There is no other ways around it....OKC is a prime example.

 

Well, the PGs he is mostly on court with are Harden and PB.:grin:

 

LOL at Arison losing money. LOL

The greatest trick team owners ever pulled was getting fans to look at yearly reported profits and believe they were losing money.

 

Long-Term capital gains compound interest return after tax on the Miami franchise is somewhere between 12-15%. Do you understand what that means? Arison has enjoyed a 12-15% compound interest return AFTER TAX on his original investment if he sold the franchise today.

Last year----37% growth in franchise value. Valuations are publicized in January. So that was b4 the last championship. This year.....probably another 30% or so growth in franchise value.

Team owners enjoy all the tax write-offs of owning a franchise and showing a paper "loss" and then they get capital growth that more than offsets any losses and minimizes their taxes when they exit the scene. You gotta understand the game of the wealthy.

 

Nope, I don't understand it. That's why I said

 

In a capalist society people are worth what other people will pay them.

 

Have you ever heard of market failure?

 

Now that Morey has officially stated the window to move Asik is Dec. 15-19, the next major stage in the construction of this team is rapidly approaching.

The potential targets for such a deal seem to have changed drastically in this early season, primarily due to the emergence of Terrance Jones as a legitimate long-term option to start at PF.

Rather than a stretch 4 like Ryan Anderson, the most glaring need on this team has become the lack of a true pass-first floor-general at PG.
Beverly is doing his job as well as he can, providing the energy, shooting and defense that fits well with this starting group.
Lin has already shown to be invaluable as this team's 6th man, becoming the offensive centerpiece of the bench.
Canaan is in place in the NBDL, and there is no reason yet to wonder if he cannot fulfill his expected role as Lin's replacement in 2 years for back-court scoring punch off the bench.

But none of these guys is the type of player whose #1 strength at PG is getting easy shots in the half-court for the stars, Harden and Howard.
Already we have seen how much better this team can play when Harden is freed from his play-making duties, which allows him to focus on scoring offensively, and also leaves him more energy to put forth max effort on defense.
Although it should come as no surprise, we have also seen how much Dwight desperately needs to get the ball in optimum post scoring position to be efficient.
Whether through bad timing or positioning, far too often the entry pass into Dwight in the post puts him in a terrible situation that results in a turnover, bad shot, or pass back out to the perimeter.

As a result, acquiring a player capable of maximizing the efficiency of the Rockets' 2 stars should become Morey's #1 priority as he looks to move Asik.
He has already made it clear he wants to get a deal done before Dec 19, which will allow him to repackage any new assets in another deal before the February trade deadline, so Asik may not directly yield this player, but this should remain the ultimate goal.

With this target in mind, it's time to look at which players make the most realistic sense for the Rockets.


The first name that springs to mind is Rajon Rondo.
It is obvious neither he nor the Celtics are interested in keeping him in Boston through this rebuild.

Most have argued Rondo is a bad fit on this team for basketball reasons, but I disagree.
While his lack of an outside shot is not ideal, the fact he shoots so reluctantly actually makes him more attractive to me.
He is among the very elite defenders in the entire league at PG, and would be a significant upgrade over even Beverly.
He does dominate the ball, but not to shoot ... instead he is always looking to make the pass to a teammate for a good shot.
And as mentioned above, getting the ball out of Harden's hands more leaves him more energy to focus on scoring and defense, which makes the team as a whole much better.
Rondo has proven that he can play with big stars, get the most out of scorers around him, and win at the highest level doing so, so his fit on the court with Harden and Howard does not worry me.

My biggest problem is with Rondo the person, and that's the main reason I don't want him on this team.
He is a known locker room problem, and we have already seen what happens to Dwight the player when he is unhappy.
The Rockets have gone out of their way to prioritize locker room chemistry, which is great right now, and there is no way Rondo's value on the court outweighs the potential damage he could cause in the locker room.

Looking at the other All-Star caliber PGs in the league, several untouchables are obvious:
Paul
Rose
Irving
Curry
Westbrook
Parker
Wall
Rubio
Carter-Williams
Lillard
Bledsoe


The next tier of starters is a bunch of guys that may be available, and are upgrades over Beverly, but don't really excite me as targets because they don't fit what this team needs:
Jennings
Lawson
Holiday
Walker
Nelson


Then there are 3 guys I would love to get as perfect fits, and who might be available, but I would consider long-shots at best for various reasons:

Jeff Teague - The Hawks just locked him up, he's having a career year, and the team is playing well, so I see no reason the Hawks would want to move him now.
Asik would be a fantastic fit for them next to Horford, and there have been rumors for awhile now that Millsap could be a Morey target as a fantastic post scoring option off the bench.
If I had my choice, I would definitely want Teague over Millsap, but I see no reason for Atlanta to move Teague.
However, if a PG deal is not out there to be made, Millsap would be my top choice as a PF option for this team among all the PFs mentioned with the Rockets in rumors (excluding the pipe dreams known as LMA and Love of course).

Kyle Lowry - The Raptors are shopping him, and in deal-maker mode now, so it would seem an ideal match.
Lowry is exactly the type of player I want starting for this team at PG, and his contract is a good fit for Morey's long-term vision.
Unfortunately, there is zero chance Lowry ever plays for Kevin McHale again, and vice versa.
Those bridges are burned, so no need to discuss this deal any further ... what a shame.

Mike Conley - This is the worst fit of the 3 for many off-court reasons, but in my opinion, Conley is the best on-court solution for this Rockets team in the entire NBA (excluding the untouchable stars mentioned above).
He is the definition of a floor leader, he has tons of experience feeding Gasol and Randolph in the post, he is a terrific defender and shooter, and he is locked up with a very reasonable deal (about $9M a year through 2016).
The Grizzlies as unpredictable, and did just trade away Rudy Gay, but Asik has less value to this team than any other in the league.
Although the Rockets could try to acquire assets for Asik that might entice the Grizz (cheap young perimeter scoring), that is quite a gamble in exchange for a valuable trade chip like Asik on a team looking to contend right now.


One enticing, under-the-radar possibility I hope Morey looks into immediately is Kendall Marshall.
Now buried in Phoenix behind Bledsoe and Dragic, he has been tearing up the D-League, averaging 21.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 9.0 APG and 2.0 SPG.
He has even made 11 3's in only 3 games, though shooting is his biggest weakness as a player.
He was a lottery pick (right before Jeremy Lamb) only 2 years ago because he is the closest thing to a pure, pass-first PG to enter the league in awhile (very much like a young, poor man's Jason Kidd).
He has great size, is young and cheap, and would require you to give up nothing in return since any NBDL player can be signed at any time ... exactly the type of low-risk move Morey is famous for making (hello Beverly last year).
ESPN is already reporting that the 76ers, Lakers and Grizzlies might be looking at signing him.
Morey should jump on this NOW before it's too late.


All of this leads me to a very interesting target, and the guy I really want Morey to go after ...
DERON WILLIAMS

We know Morey wanted him badly before he signed with the Nets.
We know he is from Dallas and showed strong interest in the Mavs while on his Free Agency tour a couple of years ago.
We know the Nets are rapidly imploding, with the Kidd coaching mess, and no real roster flexibility to make quick changes due to an excess of old, expensive players.

If this downward spiral of losing and controversy continues, the Nets will hopefully have no choice but to blow it up, look for cheap, young players, and begin the rebuild process now.
They have traded away most of their 1st-rd picks, so rebuilding through the draft is not an option for a long time.
Similar to what Boston did last off-season, the quickest way for them to jump-start that process is to trade away what valuable assets they have now, and clear cap space as soon as possible.

They will never get rid of Joe Johnson's monster deal ($23M though 2016), and they would be foolish to move the one young star they have in Brook Lopez ($16M through 2016).

However, Pierce ($15.3M) expires after this year, and then after next year (2015) they can also clear from the books:
KG ($12M)
Terry ($5.9M)
Teletovic ($3.4M)
Kirilenko ($3.3M)
Evans, Blatche, Plumlee, Anderson, Taylor, Shengelia (about $7.6M total)

That is about $48M in salary they can dump after the 2015 season.
Coincidentally, that is also the same time Asik and Lin's contracts expire, at about $16M total.

Williams' contract is the biggest and longest, averaging roughly $21M through 2017.
Other than Lopez, he is their most valuable trade asset, and the only other big money player on the team not past his prime.
If they refuse to move him, just the combined salaries of Johnson, Lopez and Williams ($60M) guarantees that the Nets cannot begin any type of rebuild until 2016 at the earliest.
If the owner is willing to wait 3 more years with a disappointing, expensive team going nowhere before even beginning the rebuilding process, then this is a moot point.

However, if he was willing to make a move to bring in Lin+Asik for Deron Williams, the Nets could be more than $20M under the cap as soon as 2015, with only Johnson and Lopez ($39M) still on the books beyond that.
This would allow them to begin reconstructing the team now, a full 3 years earlier than standing pat, and they could go find another max-level star to pair with Lopez as soon as 2015.
Since the draft is not an option for them, moving Williams or Lopez is the only way they can even start turning around this team before 2016.

I would trade the Nets:
Asik
Lin
Donatus

I would want back from the Nets:
Deron Williams
Andray Blatche

The Nets get 2 large contracts expiring 2 years sooner than Williams', they get a replacement starting PG with some NY marketing appeal in Lin, and they get a young piece to begin rebuilding around Lopez in DMo.
The only piece that doesn't fit there is Asik, but if the deal is made before 12/19, they should have no problem moving him at the deadline for another piece that can further accelerate the rebuild, or wait until the offseason to move him when his then-expiring contract makes him even more appealing to contenders with big holes in the middle.

Another aspect to this deal which may move the Nets to consider trading Williams is his play so far in 2013.
After missing almost a month with an injury, he just returned on Tuesday to score 25 points in a win against Boston.
Even with that effort, he is still averaging only 11 PPG & 6.1 APG this season!

To put that in context, that is nearly identical to the same production the Lakers have received from Steve Blake this season.
This is a guy being paid almost $20M annually over the next 4 years, and guy who has averaged nearly 18 PPG & 9 APG over his career.
At one point 3-4 years ago, the discussion for best PG in the NBA began and ended with Chris Paul and Deron Williams.
Clearly something is very wrong with Williams.
If he is hurt, that's one thing, but I can't help thinking the overall mess surrounding that team is making him unhappy and unproductive in Brooklyn.
If they are as unhappy with his production, considering what he gets paid, there could be a deal here.

If he wants out, the Rockets have become infinitely more appealing since his last visit, when he showed no interest in coming to Houston.
As a player, Williams brings everything this team needs in a starting PG in spades.
He is a great and willing passer, a very capable shooter and scorer, and he should do for Dwight's efficiency in the post what he has done for Lopez in Brooklyn, and before that Boozer in Utah.
He has never shown the knack or willingness to be a top-notch defender, but he is not a liability either.
He has great size for the position, and is not so old or slow that he will escort opposing PGs right to the rim.

Getting Blatche as Asik's replacement is just a bonus, but Andray should be a great fit as Dwight's backup.
With this deal, here is your new Rockets lineup:
C - Howard / Blatche / Smith
PF - Jones / Casspi
SF - Parsons / Brewer
SG - Harden / Garcia
PG - Williams / Beverly / Brooks
Obviously weakens the bench considerably to replace Asik & Lin with Blatche & Beverly, but the upgrade of Williams into the starting lineup is a clear overall net positive to me.

On the court, he is a no-brainer fit for the Rockets.
Off the court, I'm not so sure Morey is as crazy about adding Deron's contract as I am.
Adding his massive deal effectively eliminates all of the roster flexibility Morey has worked for years to create.
This means the Rockets will no longer be involved in any free agent bidding for a max-level player after 2015.
It also probably means they will not be able to keep Parsons when his deal expires at the same time.
If Williams is hurt, or he is just a declining player, locking in on him as your 3rd core player for the next 4 years could cripple this team's chances at a ring.

Assuming that his injury problems are not long-term, and that Williams can return to his previous form of play in a new environment, I think the risk here is clearly worth the possible reward.
After all, this is a guy Morey was completely comfortable building the entire team around only 2 years ago.
While losing Parsons would surely hurt, there is no chance Chandler ever develops into the type of dynamic, star-level player Williams has already been for almost a decade.
Things have changed now, and adding a player of Deron's caliber as the team's 3rd option seems almost unfair to the rest of the league.

There are a lot of unknowns involved in the scenario I have laid out.
The Nets may very well still consider Deron untouchable and decide to continue building the team around him and Lopez (good luck).
Morey may prize his 2015 cap space more than adding a player like Williams, and not want to risk losing the chance to add a true superstar like Kevin Love down the road.
Deron may not want to be the 3rd option on any team, or he may love Brooklyn, or he may just hate Houston.

All I know is this ... the big 3 of Harden, Howard and Williams together for the next 4 years would firmly entrench the Rockets among the very elite teams in the league, and give them as good a chance as anyone to win a championship in any of those years.
We know big moves are coming anyway, and that's enough of a reward for me to take the risk and make this move.
I don't see a bigger hole on this roster than a true floor leader at PG, and I don't see a better (potentially available) option to fill that hole than Deron Williams.

 

It depends on what 'value' means to the person or team. If a player does not match the right skillset that another team wants, then that person may not have any value of that team. To another team, that same player might have more value because that skillset is needed or somehow it fits with their team-building.

 

MF =

1. Monopoly
2. Inefficient supply to meet demand/DWL

How does Lin's factor come in to that?

 

Interesting, every person that seems to disagree with the fact that Lin is overpaid is a 12er or 13er. I'm not even going to waste my time.