Centers are always at a premium and their are very, very few true centers in the league today. We are in the golden era of PGs. Its as simple as that.
And Dragic has a lot more potential than Asik. It is a PG driven league, not a center driven one, someone needs to wake McHale up and explain that to him. The rules changed the way the game is played.... Dragic is a lot more crucial than Asik.... And players are ALWAYS paid on their potential. DD
The thing about Dragic is, the Rockets already have a better PG (IMO) with a much better contract on the roster. They don't need to pay Dragic $10 million. This team doesn't have a Center at all, and Asik is one of the best all-around defensive Centers in the league. His offense sucks, but that's a risk I'm definitely willing to take.
overpaying someone is still overpaying… it's all clumped into one sum. there aren't special categories of the cap.. you don't pay a guy 7-8 mill a year for 2ppg and 5rpg.. Dragic when played STARTER minutes in the month of april was averaging 36 min a game and put up 18.9ppg and 7.7ast… he's 6'4 and has shown when he gets starter minute can produce at a extremely HIGH rate… Asik hasn't proven anything except assumptions that he will double his production IF he plays 30 min a game..
Its hard to claim its PG driven when Mario Chalmers was the 2012 NBA Championship PG, preceeded by none other than 63 year old Jason Kidd.
haha LBJ plays the point for Miami.. chalmers runs off screens.. don't be dumb.. hey who was the awesome center for Miami when they won? It is a GUARD driven league.. that includes Shhoting guards and Point guards..
If the issue between McHale and Lowry was primarily playing time...welcome back Kyle! No way Dragic is worth near that much. $5 or $6 or see ya. It probably would not take much to persuade AB to come back.
Centers will always be paid more than what they are worth. You cant compare the two situations. PGs on the other hand can be found cheaper. Every once in a while you will find one way overpaid like Calderon $10.5 mil. I wouldnt be surprised if a team threw 10+ mil at him. If that is the case than Rockets have to let him walk. They cant sign him for that much when they already have another PG is who being paid a lot less. It doesnt matter if you think Dragic is better than Lowry, you dont pay $4 mil more for Dragic.
I hope they trade Lowry soon - so that a lot of this can go away. Lowry is so overated on here it is staggering. Slow laterally, inconsistent shooter, not an elite passer, more of a backup push the ball in transition guy. He had 3/4ths of one good year - he is just not that good. DD
Honestly, neither Lowry or Dragic will be the determining factor in whether the Rockets reach the promised land, and there are much bigger issues to address before PG play needs further investment.
I rather pay now than wait to get quality pg which are not easy to get. Look at the rocket's history in pg's.
Dragic has not even had 3/4ths of a good year. He's just not that good. Lowry was never outplayed by Zabian Dowdell in Phoenix and Lowry has never had a team give up on him to the point of trading him for a scrap pg in Aaron brooks.
Every PG comparison contract that has been thrown out here was signed under the previous CBA. Contracts are going to begin coming down unless you are a max money player. Dragic played great for less than half of a shortened season. Inconsistency was the primary reason the Suns were willing to trade him. I love what he brings to the table and ideally would like to keep him and Lowry. (read recently that Lowry has backed off from his tantrum about being traded) As good as Goran was once he was a starter, I question whether you can sustain his style of play for an 82 game season. Lowry had comparable numbers for more games, and who knows exactly when the infection began affecting his play? Did he hit a bit of wall because of the infection? It's not like Kyle is only under contract for 1 more year either. We have 2 years of one of the best value contracts in the league. I can appreciate the sentiment that Kyle is our best trade chip and we can't afford to lose both of them. (With Nelson opting out does Kyle have more value to ORL now?) But who are we really competing with? Portland just drafted a PG and is looking for a veteran mentor to back him up. (welcome back Andre Miller) The Suns also drafted a PG, and while you want them to season a bit before throwing them to the fire, you're not going to sign a 4 year starter. If Dwill stays with the Nets, do you see Cuban blowing that cash on Goran or making a push for CP3 next offseason? The Nets might get desperate and Toronto could as well, but if they are willing to overpay so be it. I just can't see where the big offer is going to come from. Our offer should be slightly above mid-level, but not much more. I think somewhere around 5y/30m is going to be the new market for slightly above average talent. Asik is restricted, so you are going to have to overpay to get him. Same with McGee or Hibbert, but those two are going to get substantially more than Asik. Is McGee's offensive game really any better than Asik's? We have an above average point guard on a reasonable contract currently, but have no one to protect the rim. If I'm going to overpay, I'd rather fill the glaring weakness in the middle.
So after reading this thread I've ascertained that a marjority of people on here don't understand how contracts and negotiations work.
