Educate yourself on Dwight's community involvement, and then let me know if a human being 'doesn't deserve respect' because they don't shoot free throws well. Everyone has flaws, therefore you could say no one deserves respect. Seems like a bad alternative to me. Joining the hate train is too easy.
Completely agree with you. Howard has done an amazing job in the community. That said, there is a pattern with the teams that Dwight plays for. I'm certain Harden is no saint but he doesn't have the history of burning things down. A near complete tear down of this team is in order and I'm guessing it'll begin as soon as tomorrow...
MacMahon: It's Parsons' plan A. He has some say but he's not 1/2 on the decision making chart. As much as he wants to make it happen, I highly, highly doubt he ends up in Dallas. 1. Talking to folks, Mavs won't offer the max. They will not sniff his max. If he ends up in Dallas, it would mean the market for him is awfully disappointing. Maybe $20M per year. 2. This should be the lead reason. This is not from the horse's mouth himself but it would be an awfully tough pill to swallow for Dirk to play with Howard. Hate is a strong word but yeah. It would be an awfully tough pill to swallow. A motivated Dwight would be perfect next to Dirk. Decision makers: Cuban is clearly #1, no contest. Donnie is a consultant. He consults with Carlisle. Cuban is the GM of the Mavs. He's the most hands on owner in sports when it comes to personnel decisions. He makes every single one. 2. Dirk. Dirk wanted Rondo; Rondo deal got done. He also wanted Kidd. 3. Donnie/Carlisle 4. Parsons - DeAndre was a Parsons plan. Dirk has veto power. If he tells Cuban no, Cuban is ok. When he speaks, it matters. He spoke on Rondo. I don't know how loudly he'll speak on Dwight. He no commented on Dwight yesterday. That speaks volume. If you think about it, it makes sense. You see the way Dwight's production has plummeted and all the drama with Dwight going back to Orlando. LA, who does Dirk know? Steve Nash. Who's been in Houston? Jason Terry. Two of his favorite teammates ever have told him enough Howard horror stories to fill a few novels. Dwight stands for everything that is the opposite of Dirk. Dirk is the epitome of maximizing all his gifts. He's a professional. Workaholic. He's dragging a leg up and down the court at the age of 37. He's give it all all the time. Dwight is one of the biggest wastes of natural resources in NBA history. Parsons is right, he can still be great. You see flashes. How often do you get it though? That would make it hard for Dirk to say bring him in. Do not assume it's plan A. It may be Parsons plan A but it's not Cuban/Dirk's plan A. If Chandler returns to Dallas(very good chance, not coming at discount, wants max)...as long as Dirk is wearing a uniform, as often as he wants a say, his voice matters more than anyone else's and it's not close. He's earned that right. Parsons will try to sell Cuban: Look how good/motivated he was when I was there. He'll be motivated with me.
Tim MacMahon just went on air and said Dwight Howard will not be joining the Dallas Mavericks because of Dirk Nowitzki's personal issues with Howard; Dirk has veto power within franchise. MacMahon touched on Dirk and Dwight being polar opposites in physical abilities and work ethic. Also Dirk refused to comment on Dwight Howard during his exit interview but has previously commented on Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and LaMarcus Aldridge in previous years. In previous years, those names were mentioned in his exit interview and Dirk openly stated he was open to those guys being added via FA. This year, he refused to comment on Dwight Howard, the opposite of what Chandler Parsons did.
Me neither, but I look at it this way. Hard working professional who takes the game seriously vs someone who's just out to collect a check. I wouldn't want to work with that kind of mentality either. Howards value is probably going to low when he opts out this summer, but a franchise will risk signing him to a big deal.
Me neither...add him to the list though, Lebron, Durant, Aldridge, Kobe, Dirk. Who's next? Spoiler Harden? :grin:
If the Mavs had to pick between and finished Dirk and Howard and Parsons I hope they choose Dirk. It will set the Mavs franchise back another year.
Wow, great find J.R. in fact that article should be it's own thread IMO. Just a microcosm, but you can tell Harden wants Howard to step up and be a scorer, but he just retreats. Then look at how Harden and Beasley work together. You can see that Harden loves playing with Beasley because Beas gives no F's and just scores. And that is why the Ty dymatic didn't work. Ty was just too passive like Dwight. Harden can play with other scorers and ballhandlers. They just need to step up and make an impact. Step up, like Kevin Durant. ;-)
Really really great stuff. Look, clearly Harden is not without fault. Out of shape/injury to start the season. Inexcusable defensive lapses. Too many turnovers. But the facts also show: - James played his best, MVP close basketball, last year, where just due to injury, Dwight didn't play a lot - Dwight is now on his 3rd team where at the end, his personality problems and frailty of ego, combined with his passive aggressiveness, has created major chemistry problems - Meanwhile, most NBA players seem to like Harden - Well respected vets such as Nash, Terry, etc. have told enough "horror" stories about him that Dirk "hates" him - Dwight will want and get too much money. What is too much money? $15 million plus. But, but... that's what other average bigs get, you say? Yeah, well Dwight is basically an average big. He is also now on the wrong side of his career, has injury history, has chemistry history. All of which doesn't really matter anymore now. The real problem is that we've got ABSOLUTELY NO ASSETS for him. Which sucks. yes.. EXACTLY. To be fair to Dwight, James should also respect and play well with players that aren't as gifted offensively but can be defensive anchors. But the problem with Dwight is that he wants to be that offensive force... but, FG% aside (because it is obvious and stats also show that FG% is created off others work), Dwight can't be that. I've long believed harden needs to be paired with an athletic big that has an inside-outside offensive game and ballhandling capabilities. The team excelled when JSmith was on last year. He's a much better option that Beasley because Smith can also defend. This is also probably why Horford should be FA target #1 this offseason. Absent strong indication from Durant saying he'd sign, Horford isn't the overall ballhandler you'd want, but he's a consistent offensive threat with an outside shot, who can defend.