David Aldridge: Source says not a chance Dwight stays in Houston

There was no voluntary player movement, generally speaking. There was no free agency and not as much money at stake.

 

If Morey trades for Dwight, calls his bluff and forces him to re-sign, what's to keep Dwight from pouting his way off the team?

I think Morey would still trade for Dwight even if he started tweeting insults about Houston.

Crazy.

 

set back what? we can't trade for a top quality draft pick, and we can't lose enough for one, we can't lure a star, so...

We really have nothing to set back, we need to either get real good or real bad.

 

coming from back surgery and contract year. situation requires him to prove his health and attitude for another long term max contract.

 

^ this.

He would be on his best behavior. Besides, all these guys want to win, and Dwight isn't dumb enough to think a Houston team built around him has no chance.

 

Why would he need to prove himself? Do you guys seriously think no one will offer him a max contract after having one bad year? With all the teams handing out big contracts for scrub centers these days?

 

that's just crazy talk. If these biotches like Howard are superstasr like they think they are, then they would realize they can win anywhere, given that they have a competent F.O.

Our front office has shown they can build a team. We don't have the knicks front office nor the Orlando front office.

 

Stay on the case!

You can

1. Stop pursuing and take Dwight at 'his' word(more like his adviser's word) that he won't re-sign.

or

2. Keep pursuing and as pointed out by aelliott, as Jerry West said, trade for him and call his bluff.

I say keep pursuing a potential deal but also no guarantees they move him on draft night or before FA.

 

Then why didn't he go there? All he had to do was to let his contract expire and he could be there next season. He hasn't shown that he is willinv to walk away from $30m. If your desire was and still is to go to NJ then wby opt in for another year?

 

I'm with J.R., above. If it's correct that leaving would cost him $30 million, there's no way he's leaving. I just can't see a guy doing that unless he ends up hating McHale or something.

 

I'm on board with trading for him. However it's pretty clear Howard is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He wants (1) Brooklyn and (2) max money. He opted in last year because he could not get both since Orlando was about to send him to a non-Brooklyn location songs delayed to get more time to pull of his ideal trade. The problem is Brooklyn became an even worse trade partner since they made the stupid Wallace trade and lost their sixth round pick. Assuming he cant get Orlando to trade with the Nets, now Howard's only chance to do both 1 and 2 is to get traded somewhere where he can bluff the front office into thinking he would walk away from the extra $25m salary. Houston clearly may call that bluff. I would too - I think he's not walking from the money. Keep in mind that although LBJ and Bosh left money on the table to go to Miami it was maybe a $1-2m a year compared to $25m.

This sets up a big game of chicken. I think Orlando is deliberately setting up the deal to force Howard to decide between get max money in Orlando where he's lived all these years or getting max money in a city OTHER than Brooklyn. So assuming Houston has the best offer (if they get the two picks), Orlando will be telling Howard - sign a full extension with us for max money, or we're trading you to Houston where you will either sign in Houston for full or walk away for less than full. I could see Howard staying in Orlando possibly. If he is traded, he will spend the next year trying to convince Houston he will walk away for less than full money, but I don't believe. If I'm Houston and I've traded for him, I look to (1) convince him that he can win in Houston and that plus max money will be enough, (2) failing that, look to see what offers I can get at the deadline if he and has agent have found a more acceptable team that has good assets where he is willing to extend or (3) call his bluff.

 

So the plan would be to pout for 6 years? I think that bluff gets called too.

 

He won't have to walk away. He can re-sign with us and then pout his way off the team to his preferred destination. Even worse, his passive aggressive antics might put the Rockets back in mediocrity until they finally give up and trade him. How many wasted years? Two? Three?

Let's rebuild the traditional way, with Drummond or Meyers and Barnes or Perry.

 

I don't see him wasting the prime of his career pouting. I think he wants to win. When he wakes up to the reality that he'd have to walk away from $30 million, I think he'll want to win whereever he is.

 

Questions?

If we make the Howard deal..

1. I assume we have the leg up in offering him the most money next year over the free market, what is that figure? (is it 25 or 30)

2. Assuming that that number is significant wouldn't we hold some cards to get a Sign And Trade deal that might include something like 2 #1's?

3. What position would The Nets be in next year to make that deal a. with Deron b, without Deron?

4. How much salary would we have to take back in a Howard Sign And Trade?
Would we have huge money available to others someone in 2013?

4. If Howard walks for a free agent deal (for less money) how much cap money would we have to play in next year's impressive free agency?

(things you'd have to know to consider this)

 

I love taking risks, but what I don't understand is how are we going to get him to stay if he doesn't want to be here?

We would need to make it to the Western Finals for him to even consider staying IMO.

Then we'd have to put some other solid pieces around him, aka another star like Deron or a Gasol.

Dragic
Martin
Parsons
Scola
Howard

is not enough IMO to make him consider staying. Outside of Lee and Camby our bench is ****.

 

You are wrong there - The trade hangs on the Rockets aquiring Two Top Ten Picks.

The assets it takes to aquire those picks is the set back.

You also have to factor in that a Rockets team with Howard likely makes the playoffs - That sends their following first round draft selection to the Nets to satisfy the Twill trade.

Sure , the next year they suck for an early lotto pick but then thats two years away .... Not to mention the two top ten picks sent to Orlando who is likely well on their way to relevance two years hence while the Rockets are .... Just getting started with the rebuild.


Remember that Kobe was picked 13th in 1996. Dirk #9 and Paul Pierce #10 in 1998.

Na , those top ten picks are worthless ....

 

Great...getting a player that doesn't want to be here even for trade bait next year will do wonders for the team chemistry which is already fragile.

Well maybe he and Martin can sit on the bench cracking jokes to each other during blowouts.

 

Valanciunas, I say

 

This. Call his bluff. He's gonna cave.