SI: Report: Dwight Howard Would Have Interest In Clippers and Heat

Buck Fill Ingram

 

Wasn't there a report saying that Howard wanted to be the first option wherever he went?

He wouldn't be the first option on either the Clips nor Heat.

 

What a stupid assessment. Maybe the reason the Rockets aren't right there with OKC is that they've never been bad enough to draft a Durant or a Westbrook.

 

Yes, and that is a bad thing, not a good thing. The Rockets need to rebuild through the draft, and the type of player they need rarely falls out of the top three, but Les-More refuse to tank, so we're stuck in mediocrity.

 

^^^^somebody who gets it.

 

Dwight and a lot of superstars these days are simply p*****s.

 

You would get it. You're a Grizzlies fan. LOL. How many years did you have to tank to win a playoff game?

 

If you're going to point to factual evidence, you're likely to lose this argument. Excluding the recent Pistons championship, nearly every championship team for the past 3 decades has won with meaningful if not top contributions from a superstar player (or two) they drafted.

 

He's not talking about acquiring players through the draft. He's talking about keeping players and/or signing key free agents. He's suggesting Morey's approach alienates players and agents; that they prefer not to play in Houston because they don't appreciate playing for or working with Morey.

I don't know if he's right or not...but I do know that Morey hasn't created anything that the ticket-buying or TV-watching public finds compelling. I would argue that is at least influenced by the feeling (whether fair or unfair) that there's not a TEAM being built here, but rather just a collection of parts. Seems every time we make a move at all we spend a great deal of time talking about how the player we just acquired can ultimately be moved easily down the line. That's not exactly warm and fuzzy to players/agents or fans....you don't show that strategy in montages highlighted by Aerosmith songs before games.

 

There is almost no way he can factually back up that statement. Morey hasn't been our GM very long. During the time he has, the number of free agents he's even pursued has been slim. Nevermind the fact that he landed some because, you know free agents (and their agents, especially) really care about right? Money.

The number of players he's lost to free agency has been even slimmer.

Can you think of any tangible player scenario that backs up his comments?

This is not to say he might not be hearing this through the grapevine... AND it could be true.... but then, Kobe demanded a trade at one point, too... who cares??

 

As I said...I don't know if it's true or not. But it's not the first time I've read/heard these sorts of thoughts about Morey. Agents do talk to reporters...as do players. Honestly, would you find it surprising that players and agents are a bit turned off by Morey's approach?

 

Surprising? I guess not. I don't recall seeing it mentioned that frequently, and not by anybody credible. Maybe I missed those links. It's certainly been hinted at, but more often than not it's something like KMart not playing well post trade-nix and then a 65 page thread dominated by DD where there isn't actually any real evidence that Morey's style contributed to it.

Specifically, the way it is presented - that said style is the cause for free agents not signing with or leaving the Rockets - can't possibly be true, as I noted.

 

You forgot to count the Mavs, Lakers and Celtics (Pierce being the only one) as teams who traded for and signed their stars.

 

Mavs got Dirk on draft day. He was basically their pick. Lakers did sign Shaq but drafted Kobe. Celtics did trade for KG/Allen, but they were able to use high picks and top prospects that they drafted to get a deal done.

There are exceptions but the easiest way to acquire a star player is via the draft.

 

Could Dwight take a minimum salary if he wanted to? Or is there some sort of rule about a max player taking X amount less?

 

? Wut??

 

He could take a min contract for his draft year but not sure why he'd do that unless he wants to pull a Barkley and we all know how that turned out.

 

Clippers should seriously consider this, CP3+Dwight? Deadly combo, makes them instant contender and solves the paint scoring/protection problems. Blake is a walking highlight and a marketing monster, but CP3 and D12 paired up make them a better team. Don't know if you can win a ring with Blake+DeAndre as the starting PF and C.

 

Mavs = Dirk
Lakers = Kobe
Celtics = Pierce

???

If DM can find a way to trade for a Dirk/Kobe type draft prospect, that's great!

 

i hope he goes to miami and they never win a championship.