CBS Sports: Rockets the most serious "rental" team pursuing Howard

Nah, entitled brat is sulking that he hasn't been given the keys to the franchise. He wants to stay, have GM powers, and replace the coach with a yes man.

 

This. The guy wants to win, but win on his terms, which means that winning is subordinate to his own self-satisfaction. That does not bode well for Houston retaining him.

 

Woj on Dan Patrick show:

Spoiler

Adrian, how are you man?

Chris, I'm doing great. How you doing?

Did what Dwight Howard said last night, did it change anything with how the situation might unfold in Orlando?

I think that Orlando has now realized, if they hadn't before, everybody in Orlando, SVG, Otis Smith, the basketball people have known they need to move him by the trade deadline, believe that whatever he was telling Alex Martins, the new CEO, who has tried to build a relationship with Dwight, who has built something of a relationship with him, he is the one trying to hold out hope that he can be the hero here and convince Dwight to stay. Those guys, the basketball guys, knew all along what became clear to them yesterday: they have to move him now. The idea though that once ownership killed that NJ deal in December, Dwight, I know I reported it at the time, I think you did too Chris, that there would become a point that Dwight just wanted to stay the rest of the season and did not want to gut the team he was going to go to and just finish the season. As we know, he wants to go play in Brooklyn with the Nets and now he'll finish the year out there, he can sign with them on July 1.

Can NJ, even though they probably prefer Dwight just walks to them in FA, can they afford not to make a significant offer if Orlando says we're going to deal him somewhere?

No. NJ has to go get him now. In a perfect world, where everything stays the same between now and July 1, and you know he wants to come to the Nets, which he does, you would wait. But too many things can happen. Lets face it, if NJ doesnt do a deal with Orlando and say LAL does, and Dwight goes to LA and loves it and they win and says "Hey, this is great being out in Hollywood. I think I want to stay." If you're the Nets, too many variables between now and July 1, too many things that can happen. If Otis Smith calls the Nets today, and if they're going to get a deal done, its gotta get into motion today. The Nets have to do a deal and they know that.

Any other realistic contenders?

I think the Rockets. The Rockets are the team, Daryl Morey and his staff, they have assets. They have young players, they have picks. They're willing to roll the dice, in the words of Dwight, they're willing to roll the dice and take him as a rental and then have the cap space to then try and recruit Deron Williams there which would be interesting. If they have Dwight and they can give Dwight a 5 year, 100 million dollar deal that he wont be able to get in NJ because they have him and they'll have his bird rights, then they can go after D-Will, who obviously is a Texas native and make a run at that. I think Houston will continue to be very aggressive here. They also have to temper how much of their organization they'll give up for what could be a 7, 8 or 9 week rental of Dwight.

...

What is Dwight's problem with Orlando? Why is he so determined to move?

They, Dwight has seen the attention that comes with going to a new place in a big market. The idea that they feel, especially with the problems that the Knicks have with Carmelo, everyone was so confident they would become this dominant team in NY, there is an opporuntity to take NY over from a basketball standpoint. NYK will always be more popular but an opportunity to get so much attention. Dwight loves that attention, he loves the recruitment process here and from endorsements, he's more valuable to Adidas in Brooklyn than he is in Orlando. He'll get that big 200+ million dollar deal. Thats coming for Dwight. And to play with Deron Williams and the fact the Nets could keep Lopez and an owner in Prokorov who will keep spending and will be committed to trying to win, all those things add up but the idea that Orlando, it was the same thing with Cleveland -Orlando got an ownership and Cleveland had ownership, they had the highest payrolls in the league. They spent a lot of money trying to win. They probably didnt spend wisely. You look at OKC and SA, markets who kept their stars, especially the Spurs who kept their guys their whole career, its not just about spending the money but spending wisely on the right players. Orlando hasnt done it and Cleveland didnt do it to keep LeBron.

Will Pau Gasol be a Laker tomorrow night?

I think especially with the emergence of Bynum, they are trying hard to get a package to fill in several holes with a deal for Gasol. Try to get back a PG and athletic SF. If there was ever a time he would go, I think its here in the next 24 hours because especially with the emergence of Bynum and the Lakers knowing they can really play through him solely in the low post now.

Rondo be a Celtic tomorrow night?

Yes. Rondo is not going anywhere unless they bring back a superstar player, franchise type guy and that player isnt available to Boston right now.

Lakers dont want to give up Gasol. Boston doesnt want to give up Rondo. Which side is bluffing in this one?

Well, if you're Boston, if you're gonna rebuild, do you want to bring in Gasol who is 30+ years old, how does that, where are you going with him? At this age, they arent a win now team anymore. To me, if you trade for Pau Gasol, you need to be a win now team. I dont see how thats a direction Boston goes and makes any sense for them.

D'Antoni a dead man walking?

Gone. He was Donnie Walsh's guy. He's gone. There was a window there where we thought if Lin could keep it going and he was Lin's guy, maybe but NY is about selling you another savior. From Marbury to Isaiah to Larry Brown to Carmelo, there's always a new savior they're selling you. The next one is Phil Jackson or John Callipari. They cant sell you results with the Knicks, they're always selling you a new savior, someone who will come in and fix everything. That's what they'll use the coaching search for and its gonna be Phil Jackson or John Callipari.

Thank you Woj.

http://www.danpatrick.com/2012/03/14/wojnarowski-nets-have-to-move-now-on-dwight-howard/

 

I wouldn't be so sure about that Aruba.

If you can "cater" to him and show him that this is his City and He is the heir to Hakeem's throne (I threw up a little) his ego will bite. Tell him that they will give Williams the max and show him that Morey's drafting and signing results make Otis Smith look like a pre schooler and he will listen.


Dream needs to be hired as a coach if need be.

Further more, Dwight has to look at New Jersey. The record they have with a player like Williams and the stupid signings they have made. Dwight has to look at our team and think about how much better the organization is at finding talent.

 

Sweet. Thanks man. The board would explode if we somehow got howard. Let's go Morey.

 

Maybe if the Rockets pull off a Howard rental, they can convince him that it would be smarter for him to try to team up with another star in Houston rather than doing it in the Eastern conference. It will be easier to dominate the West than the East, because of the Heat's trio.

 

Yes, another selling point.

 

Lol...I just think if magic will be reasonable we can give them a great package...but they cant hold on the things that will make us able to survive if he does leave.

Leave us enough cap room to sign him and dwill and or other Free agents...leave us Lowry and enough players to make a run. I think being able to offer Morris, NYK 1, llull, D mo, and then win now players like martin, scola, and dalembert.

I just cant imagine a better package.

 

agreed.

If he comes Here and we get d will here...WC is ours for the next 5 years lol

 

That will undoubtedly be part of the sales pitch.

The Spurs and Lakers, as dynasty/title contenders, are about to fall apart. The Mavs had their moment in the spotlight, but I don't think anybody sees them winning multiple titles with the sun setting fast on Dirk/Kidd. The Clippers and Grizzlies, while fun to watch, lack the true superstars to be anything more than just competitive.

OKC is the top dog in the West and will be for a while, but it's going to be a hell of a lot easier road than trying to plow through Miami, Chicago, and the other teams which are undoubtedly on their way up (Indy, Philly, etc) as opposed to their way down (San Antonio, LA, Dallas).

 

So it's between us and the Nets. Interesting...

 

Give them martin and open up space for lee. Martin doesn't seem to want to play anymore.

 

something else I didnt think about...

If we do it we can flip our assets in 3 team trades such as...beasley and a pick to orlando and martin to timberwolves instead of martin to orlando. (if they prefer)

Doing this can also help us redirect the cap hit of bad contracts.

 

IF it is a rental then go for it. Lee is a good friend of Howard and maybe that convice Howard to stay along with getting another player that will convince him to stay. Also, having Dream talk to Howard can only help the cause.

 

only problem is...jarret Jack was cp3s best friend...they actually went out and traded for him...obviously that doesnt mean too much.

 

Also agree about the WC vs EC. Chicago, Knicks (eventually), 76ers, and Heat aren't going anywhere. Those teams have the necessary parts to be successful long term.

In the West, it's OKC, and that's pretty much it. The Clippers *could* become a power, but they're going to have a tough time building a supporting cast.

 

Wow if we can somehow land DHoward, even if it's just for a few weeks, my head will explode. It's worth the risk.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>RT @<a href="https://twitter.com/E_Money18">E_Money18</a>:do you think that this team and how they are playing, is really making him second guess things? &lt;--- somewhat</p>&mdash; Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevekylerNBA/status/179952888653692928" data-datetime="2012-03-14T15:31:26+00:00">March 14, 2012</a></blockquote>
<script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

Maybe if we get Dwight and he decides to hose us in July, Morey can squeeze NJ's and our own 1st round picks in exchange.

I've heard Morey on 610 before and he's often stated that he doesn't think players would give up that 5th year and beaucoup bucks. That's probably what he's gambling on.

 

Not only that but if he works out the economics of everything. The state and local taxes. The Rocket's Chinese fans. A tradition of great big men and the opportunity to easily access Dream, the greatest big man the game has ever seen. I think Houston's chances of keeping Howard are better than most people think. Well, at least I hope so if there is a deal.