We didn't tank. We choked. I would consider this theory remotely possible if we lose our final home game/game of the season against the Hornets.
All I see is speculation on the Realist's part. Look, Morey was in contact with a bunch of teams, but it doesn't mean the Rockets were close to striking a deal. Why would it cost much more for Dwight? For one, Dwight is a much more valuable asset than Gasol both as a player and secondly, from a marketing standpoint Dwight Howard is head and shoulders above Gasol. You forget, the NBA is first and foremost a business first, basketball league second. Dwight Howard will put people in the seats wherever he goes, whereas Gasol probably received little more than a yawn at best.
Yeah to do it properly they still have to end up behind both Utah and Phoenix. Thats the only way it actually makes sense to get the 13th pick.
He's going to boycott trades with a certain organization due to a completely unrelated trade eight years ago before he was even GM?!? That seems a little far-fetched.
Exactly, it's idiotic to think Les and Morey decided to tank at the last minute. If they wanted to tank, Kevin and Luis would have been traded months ago.
I know its hard to accept But dude, it was just a late season meltdown. There are way more easier ways to throw games than choking the way they did down the stretch. The gutless wonders just plain choked.
No, he's going boycott the trade because the Rockets don't have any assets that are appealing to them. That's real talk.
Chris Mannix, Jonathan Feigen, Adrian Wojnarowski... tons of well-connected NBA reporters linked the Rockets to being in serious talks with the Magic up until Dwight waived his option. This isn't Realist speculation - these are basic facts. As far as your marketing stuff, the ONLY successful business model on a long-term basis in the NBA is winning. If a GM thinks a player is going to cost him significant assets and leave after a season, most aren't going to do the deal. Even if he'll put a few more people in seats. To the latter point, I'm not necessarily sure going after Dwight is the best long-term play for the Rockets. If I were Daryl, I'd have to have some credible intel that he's open to the idea of re-signing here, pending other moves, before I'd delay rebuilding for the sake of a Dwight rental/wait and see. But whether it's a good idea or not, the Rockets have a very realistic opportunity to acquire Howard, if they want to. I don't see any reasonable argument to the contrary on that.
If I'm not getting a bonafide superstar or the #1 pick in a subsequent draft in return for Dwight Howard, I have failed my job as a GM. Dalembert, Lowry and 2 middle to late 1st round picks is not going to cut it. If I was the owner of the Magic, I would fire Smith's a** in a second.
Two first round picks, Kyle Lowry, Chandler Parsons, Marcus Morris, Kevin Martin, Motiejunas, Luis Scola, future picks... are you that confident that other teams would blow some combination of those out of the water? I'm asking, honestly. I'd be very surprised if the package Orlando gets ends up significantly better.
This is what I've been saying. It seems obvious that we were tanking after those denver games. Even if there's a conspiracy I would support it, becuase mchale and morey are smart enougn to know that we should tank and get a better pick. Damn les
Who in the world is going to give a bonafide superstar for Dwight Howard without an extension? There are maybe 10 superstars in the league, including Howard, and Howard's both a diva and coming off major surgery. Why would you give up a different superstar for that? Likewise, how do you propose they acquire the #1 pick in a subsequent draft? Any team you deal Howard to is going to see their wins significantly increase, thereby reducing the value of the pick. The circumstances surrounding Dwight make your expectations completely impossible. The one thing we basically KNOW about the Howard negotiations was that if he didn't waive his option, he was going to be dealt to New Jersey or Houston. You know the possibilities here, and it's safe to say NJ wasn't going to offer Deron Williams, since uniting him with Howard is the entire point of their interest. What could NJ have offered that's so much better than Houston?
Not all of it. A combination. Some two to four of those, depending on who the Magic choose, would be involved. Like I said, I'm not necessarily advocating the Rockets go after Dwight. It may not be the wisest long-term play. The only thing I'm disputing is the ridiculous assertion that they can't trade for him, should they choose to. There definitely are enough assets to make a deal work. It's why Smith and Morey were in close dialogue up until the deadline, and it's why they could be again this summer if Howard makes his demand.
First off, you are going to have to get the salaries to match. You can't just say you are going to package all those guys and expect Howard in return. Honestly, there are many more teams out there in better position to deal than the Rockets. For instance, if the Knicks called the Magic and offered Amare, Chandler and combination of picks (or young players i.e Landry Fields, Douglas, etc.) I would take that over whatever the Rockets had to offer. The Pacers could hypothetically unload Granger and/or Hibbert to get Howard, the Hawks can offer Josh Smith, Al Horford, and possibly Jeff Teague. Of course, this all speculation and I believe as Rockets fans sometimes we place an exagerrated value on our own players. Our players pretty much played to the best of their abilities and couldn't even crack the top half of the Western Conference. If I was GM of the Magic, I would be more than a little skeptical. The Rockets have some decent pieces, but honestly none of those pieces would be appealing to me as a GM for the Magic.
