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

why not?

because this is real life. 12:30 is 2.5 hours earlier than he has to do it by.

 

http://gifgarage.blogspot.com/

 

Trust me, you don't want to play these kinds of games with me. I'll win.

 

wow. our actual NBA team is hovering on the 8th/9th spot once again....Orlando's "less than actual NBA team" is 12 games over .500 and owns the 5th best record in the league and 3rd best in their conference. I think I'd prefer not having an actual NBA team.

 

Take Lowry, Martin, Scola, and Parsons away in a deal for Dwight, and the remaining team + Howard would still run rings around the current Magic.

Howard
Patterson/Hill
Morris/Budinger
Lee
Dragic

And that's if you strip our 4 best starters. Odds are at least one would be held back.

 

Haha that story by Adande is epic. So much for the conscience issue and feeling committed to the Magic, huh?

 

+Howard tips the scales a good bit.

Look at Cleveland +/- Lebron.

Switch Howard with Dalembert....you think that team is 0.500? Even in the East?

 

He's gonna walk just as sure as the world as soon as his contract is up.

I guess they'd rather keep him one more season and try to win a ring than get what they can for him now. Because if they trade him next season, they're going to lose all their salt with the fans....unless they get a good haul and can stay competitive, which is not very likely, since he's going to be free to move wherever he wants.

 

Here's the thing about this. I think that Dan Fagan is a smart enough agent to where he would talked to a source at ESPN by now to let the world know that Dwight would not sign a longerterm extension with Houston. Its amazing that Dwight has not gone out and said that.

Almost every other high caliber free agent did this in order to narrow their competition in trades to the team they want to go to, and only that one.

It makes sense because it gives New Jersey more leverage in the trade, and it allows them to give up much, much less in a deal for Dwight then if they get in a bidding war with Houston.

If Dwight doesn't want to come to Houston and sign long term, him and his agent are incredibly dumb for not going out and saying that "I have no intensions of signing longterm with Houston." You are intentionally making your new team give up more assets than they need to, and making your new team that much worse when you get there.

 

Thanks, I found the podcast.

http://c.espnradio.com/audio/897589/thunderingherd_2012-03-14-141429.48.mp3

 

Come on Max, this is silly. You know what one superstar is worth. Look at Lebron and the Cavs. They were the best record in the NBA one year with him and then became the worst once he left. Was that collection of players better than the Rockets that year or did one player make that big of a difference?

Outside of Howard, the Rockets have significantly more players that you would want on your team than the Magic. But, Howard is leaps and bounds better than anything on the Rockets.

 

he's going to make money wherever he goes...he's going to be on a playoff team ultimately wherever he goes. his shoe deal long term is better in a bigger market.

it's not as if he just figured out that his shoe deal is better if he makes the playoffs...he's known that all along. he has agents/advisors who i'm sure tell him those things.

 

Your opinion that Houston would have a better supporting cast for Dwight has literally NO bearing on the decision Orlando has to make about keeping him whatsoever. They're not going to say, "You know what, I think Dwight might have a slightly better team around him in Houston. Let's make the move!"

I know you really, really want Dwight (who doesn't), but your homerism is clouding your judgement.

 

We're 24-20 without Dwight Howard. Orlando is 28-16 with Dwight Howard. Considering Howard is a legitimate franchise superstar, top 3 player in the entire league, who could probably carry a team of D-league all-stars to the playoffs--yeah. I feel justified in saying that we have an actual NBA team whereas Orlando has scrubs + Howard.

 

You've already lost...b/c your playing by yourself.

 

What the hell are you talking about? My point was that we can give up a LOT of assets for Howard and still be a better overall team with him than Orlando is now.

 

come on what? i don't disagree with anything you said.

having said that...given what we'd have to give up to get howard here, i'm not sure our remaining bunch would be better or as good as what he's playing with there right now. i just don't know what it would take to get him.


also....howard is absolutely walking away from money on this deal. he gets more money if he opts out...he gets potential of a 5 year deal at big money when he opts out....if he stays, the most he gets is a 2 year extension.

 

The point was he didn't want to be traded this year. He wants to make the playoffs this year and then go to the Nets. What Adande is reporting is that the Magic got him to opt in and basically reverse course on a year long stance that he would leave by threatening to trade him to a team that would miss the playoffs this year, thus costing him a lot of money THIS year.

You don't find it weird that after being dead set that he would leave Orlando he is all of a sudden willing to stay?

 

If he opts out and signs with another team out right he starts his contract over. If he opts in and ends up signing an extension the annual average value will be significantly higher.

If the shoe deal pays him more for making the playoffs this year he also gets that money. The next year he's making 20 million for one season, and then he gets to go sign with the Nets for that new max deal AND get his shoe kicker.

 

No, I don't find it weird. I find it weird that you guys don't understand it. He's a kid. He's been pampered his whole life. His change came after the Heat game. He saw potential in that game. He realized at the thought of leaving that he had a deeper emotional commitment than he realized he had...happens all the time.

I spent 3 months negotiating a guy out of a non-compete with Company A to come work for my client at Company B. Hours and hours of work. The guy was going to be getting a top kick ass job at much higher pay along with an equity interest. Huge offer. Lifechanging. We negotiated everything out....and at literally the last minute he calls my client's president and says, "I can't do it. These guys have been super loyal to me. Sorry for putting you through this, but I just can't do it. They're going to bump my pay a little here...still not as much as I'd make with you guys....and I just don't feel right about it now."

These things happen. These are human beings ultimately. We lose sight of that in the nuances of the legalities and the stats they put up...but at the end of the day, these are human beings who have all the messy factors of life come into play while making these decisions.


And again....I'm seeing multiple reports on ESPN regarding his contract saying that he's absolutely giving up long-term money for this. I doubt seriously the one-year playoff shoe deal is a big enough factor to overcome that.