The players traded from the Kings could not be involved until the Sac trade had completed which was unlikely due to time. So if the Rockets were indeed in serious ("high level" talks per Berger) discussion for Josh Smith and Asik was off the table ("Asik & Parsons is a non-starter" per Woj). That leaves Lin as the only viable contract to make a Smith trade. Even with the $5M of cap room no other combination of the trade eligible contracts were enough for the salaries to work. http://data.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/rockets.jsp http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine/ A quick look at the Hawks PG situation Jeff Teague (starter) will be a RFA, Devin Harris has an expiring contract, and Lou Williams is locked up for several years. If the Hawks were to receive Lin who's locked into a contract that would've left Teague redundant and off contract. Teague does appear to be one of those "under the radar" DM players. He's the same age as Lin with similiar numbers/better production and he's proven in the playoffs. http://data.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/hawks.jsp Teague's expiring rookie deal is 2.43M this year. He will be a restricted free agent with a cap hold of 6.08M. That's immediately 2.3M more cap room than Lin's contract allows and likely even less of a cap hit simply becase he's a restricted free agent. The Rockets value cap room with Dwight as the big picture. It's evident when they gave away Morris for a second round pick. The kind of move that made the Knicks a league-wide joke a few years ago. So it begs the question did Morey try to trade for Teague in the discussed Smith deal? <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Houston is still lingering in Josh Smith talks, but Atlanta's desire for Asik and Parsons is a non-starter for Rockets, sources tell Y!</p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/304587050286448640">February 21, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>The Rockets, flush with assets, are involved at "high level" in Josh Smith talks, league source says.</p>— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/KBergCBS/status/304593656944410624">February 21, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Just to clarify again: HOU is free to re-route Robinson, provided they finish the trade (physicals, reporting, etc) in time. That's unlikely</p>— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/304619850804908032">February 21, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4624 NSFW music <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1h7Z68JXOtY?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Why are you obsessed with trading Lin ? Don't conjure up garbage theories to fulfill your masturbation fantasies.
Doesn't seem likely to me. Teague will likely command a more expensive contract than Lin after this summer so it doesn't make sense for the Rockets unless they're getting something else in addition, and then it makes no sense for the Hawks.
It's possible. I can see DM and Les Alexander giving Lin up to get an equal or slightly better player as well as Josh Smith. However, in the offseason, if they're looking to pick up Dwight Howard, they won't be able to match any offers to Teague, if I'm not mistaken. Therefore they would lose their PG and have no one at the PG position even if they get DH.
Didn't we already put an end to this Teague vs. Lin thing in the last Hawks game? LOL Leastern Conference.
the way i read the Woj tweet, Asik AND Parsons combination was a non-starter, that doesn't mean Asik for instance was unavailable if combined with Delfino. Asik as the centerpiece makes far more sense to me, he's a need for Atlanta. And they are targeting free agency themselves, they will notice the difference between Teague's 6 mil cap hold and Lin's 8 mil cap hit. Either way, i doubt they'd treat Teague as just a throw-in. Teague's level restricted free agents generally yield a 1st round pick back, at the very least.
The actual cap room available isn't clear cut until the tax level is announced. Then there other factors, ie players to be moved, contract discussions, etc... It could mean that too but as Rockets fans we know how difficult it is to replace a starting C than it is to replace than a starting PG (Brooks, Lowry, Dragic, and Lin). Morey knows how to find them and every draft there seems to be another star PG or two these days. The Rockets were out of the trade talks early. I think that suggests the two teams wanted very different things. As you pointed out it made no sense for the Hawks to swap PGs but giving up Asik made no sense for the Rockets.
Certainly PLAUSIBLE, can't rule it out. Until more reports come in on it, its guessing. It'd be hard to see why ATL would do it actually. Teague is the only one on ATL's roster with upside potential (if Josh Smith goes, and you consideredHorford at his "peak") How did Jeff Teague come about from that? If the Rockets leftover assets couldnt even get Josh Smith himself, how was it gonna get Josh Smith AND Jeff Teague?
