Sources: Houston has started contacting teams about trading Dwight Howard

It was two trades.
a) Mil with Philly talking for weeks.(and noone had any idea, no leaks no reports, nothing). But Philly didn't want Knight.
b) Phoenix offered Dragic for Knight. Mil said no.
C) in the end Phoenix offered The pick for Knight. And that's how the trade was completed.

Maybe you don't understand that Bosh carreer is likely over.

Very high chance he medically retires at this point.

 

wrong. this is all relative to what you believe is best for the foreseeable future. So depending on what is being considered a priority, it could very much be a deadline about saving a season. You can believe big changes are coming but at the same time, the rockets could very much decide to keep Howard and make a minor move or two which would not fall into the saving the future category.

 

All good.

Yeah, I agree. There are definitely some who lack understanding of how these things work behind the scenes.

Btw, I don't post much but always enjoy reading your insightful posts.

 

If I'm Miami, I think I'd pull the plug. Let's assume they got away with highway robbery and pulled Horford and Teague for JUST Whiteside (which was not possible to begin with). Now they have Bosh/Horford/Deng/Wade/Dragic with Winslow, McRoberts, Teague, Haslem, Green, and whichever backup center they're running (Birdman?).

Even if chemistry clicks immediately, they still only have an OUTSIDE chance of making the finals via knocking off Raptors / Cleveland and an almost impossible chance of beating GS. That's ALOT of whatifs for a trade that is extremely unfair to the other guys. Even if Riley is desperate for a chance at contending before he steps down at GM, he's not stupid - the man has championship coaching experience and knows his team isn't there.

If Bosh were truly done, as in career ending, I'd let the older guys go this off-season (Deng, Birdman, McRoberts), throw some loyalty money at Haslem and Wade but not enough to hinder future growth. And then rebuild around Dragic, Winslow, and hope Whiteside can learn to play pnr with Dragic and mature into a team player. Then he's left with a lot of cap room in the off-season to either chase Horford if whoever.

 

Pat Riley in lotto mode? They are currently in the 5th seed. A Dwight trade actually makes alot of sense, but the contracts they'd have to move to get it done & the fact that Dragic has to go makes it hard to accomplish.

I look for them to add veterans like David Lee & Joe Johnson that get bought out after the deadline if they can't find a way to get Dwight, and move Whiteside if they can, but they might just keep him if they think he can help them in a playoff run.

 

They have basically no chance of re-signing Whiteside, so I doubt this impacts their plans regarding him one bit.

 

If Morey keeps Dwight, add minor pieces, we don't make the playoffs and Dwight leaves for nothing. Morey is probably getting fired.

I think blowing half of it up now would give him a pass for at least one more season. I think Morey is in CYA mode.

 

I still don't think any Dwight trade will happen.

 

And that goes back to my comment about what is being perceived as the best decision for the foreseeable future. If that happens then it is what it is.

 

The best possible move?

If you go to check what deadline trades Morey did for past 3 years, perhaps you can understand why I said that.

 

Saw some reports that the Hornets were very interested in Howard. Could a deal of:

Al Jefferson
Batum
Zeller/Lamb
1rd draft pick

For

Howard
Ariza or Brewer if they'll do it but I doubt it.

Al Jefferson is an expiring contract and you get Batum and his bird rights so you can retain him. He's sorta like Parsons but plays better defense. He can create from that 3 spot which would be huge for this team. Zeller is a filler but could work since we would need another center anyway for the time being.

 

Batum has been killing it, why on Earth would they give him up for Dwight who will leave in a few months?

 

Well from the looks of it he wants to get paid the max. So if the Hornets are willing to pay him the max why wouldn't he stay? In the East a combination of Howard, Kemba, Ariza could make the playoffs. Don't think it's that far fetched.

 

Still remember Rockets fans were dreaming an elite PG to be traded to Houston last year, but finally so many elite PGs were traded to other teams, and Morey had to trade for old Prigioni in final seconds of deadline. LOL

I know you only complain some player sucking, you won't get this.

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14783975/the-nba-trade-deadline-full-big-names-cap-questions

 

What is the point of making 50 win seasons?!?!

2014 Heat - 54 wins
2013 Spurs - 58 wins
2011 Mavs- 57 wins
2010 Lakers - 57 wins
2010 Celtics - 50 wins
2007 Cavs - 50 wins
2004 Pistons - 54 wins
2003 Nets - 49 wins
2002 Nets - 52 wins

These are all Finals teams in recent history that got to the finals and sometimes won with 50 to 58 win teams. Yeah getting 60 to 65 pretty much guarantees you a trip to the WCF with top seeding, but plenty of teams have success with 50 win teams. You know the saying you need to play the lotto to actually win.... you need to win 50 games to guarantee your ticket to be a playoff team. James Harden puts you on the guest list, and up to this point gives you a 75% or greater chance of going into the playoffs with a shot.

And I'm getting a little tired of always having to live up to what GSW are doing. You are talking about potentially the greatest regular season of all time... again OF ALL TIME. They should easily beat the Bulls regular season record....again... THE BULLS with the greatest player of all time in his prime. Its like saying your wife isn't beautiful because she's standing next to Heidi Klum.

The Rockets best chance of being a playoff team with the ability to contend over the next 5 years is staring you guys right in the face. Trading Harden all but guarantees you will NOT contend. Its you're choice.... actually its not really its Les & Morey's but you hopefully get the point.

 

you should try and listen to what you actually post because it sounds like a ton of garbage.

btw it's funny how you can sit there and try to criticize when you likely kept your mouth shut when they went on to win 56 games.

 

Why are you so sure that Rockets won't be one of those teams get desperate and start making rash decisions?

 

Zach Lowe posted a few minutes ago on espn.com

Howard is at the epicenter of all these competing trends. Houston has been making calls on him for two weeks, but the Rockets have found little interest so far, per several league sources. Howard is 30, declining and about to enter free agency as the cap spikes to around $92 million -- the new estimate lots of teams are using after the league initially projected an $89 million ceiling for next season.

Howard wants a max deal that would start at $30 million per season. That would officially end the era of every contract looking fantastic amid an indefinitely rising cap. The league and union still project the cap to dip down after rising to a high around $108 million in 2017-18, and if that happens, Howard's theoretical max deal won't be some anomalous bargain like the contracts inked last summer under a $70 million cap. It will be pricey and constraining, and those are scary words attached to an aging center with a history of back, shoulder and knee issues.

It's hard to find a team willing to meet Houston in the middle. No team is a Dwight Howard away from vaulting into Warriors/Spurs/Cavs/Thunder territory; the Rockets contacted Toronto, perhaps the closest thing to a one-player-away team, and found zippo interest, sources say. The Celtics, loaded with ammo, have recoiled at paying a price Houston would find acceptable.

Houston needs to find a front office under pressure, that sees value in nabbing Howard's Bird Rights -- the ability to offer him one more year than any other suitor this summer. No one is quite sure how valuable that fifth year is under a rising cap. On the one hand, good players can sign three- or four-year max deals anywhere, re-enter free agency during their primes and sign another fat deal.

[read the rest his Howard rumor recap here]

Spoiler

On the flip side, some players crave that extra year of security. People close to Al Horford, another sell-off target about to hit free agency, say he will value that fifth year more than almost every other variable in his free-agency calculus. If teams see a crowded free-agent bidding war for a player they like, they might feel an urgency to acquire him now and use that fifth year to get a leg up in that bidding war.

It's also a carrot that might coax a discount on annual salary. A rival team could offer Howard up to about $129 million over four seasons this summer. Howard becomes more appealing to his incumbent team if he's willing to spread that $129 million over five seasons, perhaps even on a flat contract, in exchange for an extra year. That savings could mitigate the obvious winner's curse here: If Howard's next contract is dicey, then what do you really gain with the right to pay him more money over more years?

If Houston anticipates a cool July market for Howard, those Bird Rights might be the reason the Rockets keep him: an edge re-signing him in July might be more valuable than the best offer they get today.

Only a few teams stand as plausible Howard destinations:

Miami Heat: Just last season, the Heat gave up two first-round picks for an impending free agent, Goran Dragic, they were confident they could re-sign on a below-max five-year deal. Houston coveted Dragic before he signed that mega-deal, and he has disappointed so far in Miami. The Heat are also facing a cap crunch in re-signing Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside.

You could build a bunch of deals in which Miami sends out some combination of Dragic, Whiteside and Luol Deng for Howard, but there are factors working against it. Miami is over the tax and more likely to dump money. Houston is hard-capped, and can barely add a dime without violating league rules. Miami has questions about Howard's character and fit, sources say, and the Heat have been sniffing around cheaper 3-and-D wings -- including Randy Foye in Denver.

The Heat might also ask for Trevor Ariza, and that could be a deal-breaker; if Houston plays its cards right, the Rockets can keep Ariza on the books and still open up max cap space this summer for Durant.

By the way: Howard is getting a little creaky, but he's still damn good, and he turns it up in the playoffs.

New Orleans Pelicans: The Pelicans still like the idea of surrounding Anthony Davis with a bruiser; they've gone back and forth with the Bucks about Greg Monroe, sources say. New Orleans' roster is pretty bare going forward, and the team might feel pressure to salvage something from this disastrous, injury-riddled season.

The Pels and Rockets once flirted about a Ryan Anderson-Omer Asik swap, and the Pelicans now have both to send to Houston in exchange for Howard. But the Pelicans are sifting through a pile of potential Anderson offers, and teams have gotten the impression that Dell Demps, the New Orleans general manager, may not have the freedom to toss in a first-rounder after dealing three picks for Jrue Holiday and Asik. Other teams have offered to slap top-of-the-lottery protections onto New Orleans' 2016 pick, but that hasn't swayed the Pelicans, sources say. Teams are also confused about whether Mickey Loomis, a top executive for Tom Benson's New Orleans Saints, has the final say over Demps.

Anderson has drawn a ton of interest, considering his abysmal defense and approaching free agency; dude might earn $20 million per year on his next deal, and some teams would run from that contract. Detroit and Sacramento both hope to sign him in free agency, sources say, but the teams are deciding whether it might be safer to acquire him now and gain that fifth-year edge in the July auction.

Anderson thrived in Orlando under Stan Van Gundy, Detroit's coach, and he grew up around Sacramento. The Pistons badly want to make the playoffs after a seven-year wait, and they've shown some willingness to at least talk about dealing a protected 2016 first-rounder.

Washington Wizards: Failing to make the playoffs in the Year of Durant would be catastrophic, and possibly lead to blood-letting across the organization. The Wizards are getting Alan Anderson back soon as a pseudo-deadline acquisition, but that doesn't feel like enough, and teams that fall short of expectations are prone to bad short-term moves. Washington is already asking around about reserve big men, league sources say.

The Wiz could send Marcin Gortat, salary filler, and either a young player or a protected first-round pick. If Houston demands both, the Wiz probably walk away. The Rockets could absorb Gortat's salary and still wriggle their way to Durant-level cap space this summer -- especially since either Terrence Jones or Donatas Motiejunas is a lock to jet in free agency.

The Wiz are also a natural Anderson trade partner; John Wall would get him all the open 3s he could eat, and Washington has a readymade trade package in the Kris Humphries/Kelly Oubre combo. Oubre's an intriguing young player at a position of need; the Pelicans aren't doing much better than that. Washington is reluctant to trade Oubre, but he's barely playing, and the status quo hasn't worked.

There are rumors that Howard would like to end up in Atlanta, his hometown, and the Hawks stand as the mid-tier seller who could dictate this deadline if they make Horford available. With the cap jumping, any non-contender with a 30-ish player approaching free agency has to at least gauge the trade market. Horford's pectoral issues raise some health concerns, but he has been healthy for two years, and his silky game figures to age well.

To put it politely, the league is skeptical this is anything more than a Hawks fishing expedition designed to gin up one crazy offer for Horford. Wes Wilcox, Atlanta's GM, is asking teams to "wow" him, sources say, and no one is biting.

The Hawks may not be fretting as much as it seems about Horford walking. Horford will look around, and he likes the idea of playing in a bigger media market with a larger Dominican population, per several sources familiar with the matter. But he also cherishes the continuity Atlanta has built, and the Hawks understand he is the keystone to their culture of selflessnes. If the Hawks keep Horford into the summer, they will have that extra fifth year in the quiver.

As for Howard, he doesn't fit Mike Budenholzer's system, he's older than Horford, and he's eligible for an even larger max contract.

A Jeff Teague deal is more likely, with the Bucks, Jazz, Nets, Knicks and perhaps even the Magic kicking the tires. The Bucks chased Teague in free agency three years ago, and they remain unconvinced that Michael Carter-Williams, coming off the bench again, is the long-term answer, league sources say.

The Jazz are sending out the stand-pat vibe, especially since they've been on a hot streak with Derrick Favors healthy, but no one ever really knows what's up in Utah. The Jazz should at least engage Atlanta about swapping Teague for the Trey Burke/Alec Burks Killer Bs package.

The Nets and Knicks don't have many assets; the Nets are testing the market for Thad Young and Brook Lopez -- they'd be irresponsible not to, even without a full-time GM -- and if they snare a first-round pick for one of them, Brooklyn could flip it for Teague.

The Knicks, meanwhile, are trying to get off money. They're dangling Jose Calderon and Kyle O'Quinn in exchange for rotation players on expiring deals, sources say. Good luck!

There has never been more noise about the normally dormant Bulls, the last of the obvious mid-tier sellers. They could re-center their roster around Jimmy Butler by dealing Mike Dunleavy, Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and other vets for younger players and draft picks. Unfortunately, Noah is out for the season, Dunleavy just got back and Gasol's deal will expire after only two seasons -- meaning anyone acquiring Gasol will only get his Early Bird Rights, which limits a team over the cap to an offer starting around $13 million. If Gasol wants more, that team will have to dip into its cap space.

The Bulls may also want quality rotation guys instead of future assets; they've pitched Toronto on a Taj Gibson-Patrick Patterson swap that would give them a stretch power forward with another season left on a tidy contract -- and trim their tax bill.

 

Your reply is filled with nothing on arguments but garbage. Stop quoting my words again, please.