They thought before all this that there was a 20% chance (same as Dallas). Now, he is loving LA, they think there's a 3% chance he leaves LA.
Do they have budget thresholds for Milsap and Smith? We have heard that Smith wants max and it doesn't seem like he is worth that.
No, I am sure they have something in mind. If I am Houston I go after Cousins. Through working in this business, that would be my move.
Totally agree with you on Cousins. I'm surprised Thunders didn't use most of the assets from the Harden trade to land Cousins before trade dealine. That'd make them instant title favorite IMO. I watched the Miami/Sac game the other night, and Cousins is a matchup nightmare for Miami. I believen Smith/Millsap would make us contender on paper, but DWH/Cousins would make us real contender. Character or not, talent wise there're only a handful of guys can elevate a team into champinship level.
I think being an ex-player, McHale who obviously had a pretty successful career can help take Cousins to the next level.
I'll ask you a couple more questions... 1) Who does Morey covet the most (as far as realistic targets)? 2) What stars did Harden talk to over the All-Star Break, as far as selling them?
Basketball wise, Cousin has been playing at star level for almost a couple years. He just has that weird reputation for nonbasketball stuff.
RD, Don't really know man. I just named those 2 guys I heard for sure, I have no idea about Harden. I have no relationship with him at all. Closest we came to being on a personal level was being backstage at Kendrick Lamars concert a while back. haha
I assume you're joking. Parsons is not subject to rookie scale contract rules. And even if Parsons were a first rounder and subject to such rules (which he is not), the only way to make him restricted would be to keep picking up his team options until after his fourth season, then making him a qualifying offer. Again, none of this applies to Chandler. But I'm sure you already knew this.
I think Blache would be a good player off the bench for Houston as well. A young guy that can come in and really bang with some of the leagues low post guys. He lives in Houston in the off-season and has really made an effort with his off-season workouts. I used to see him train with Lucas every day during the summer out in the Heights.
Cyberx, do you know the main reason Houston offered Lin the big contract? It was a big risk considering Lin's injury and that short run of merely 25 games. Is Les a big part of the reason? Afterall Houston had him on the team and saw him in practice before.
