Never liked Howard, he is a drama queen, lacking in basketball fundamentals for a super star that he is supposed to be too IMHO.
Maybe...but you never know. It was said over and over again that the Thunder would not let Harden go and they did. I don't think the Pistons have made the franchise commitment to Monroe yet and their fans are starting to put more hope into Drummond being a superstar than Monroe. I think there is a fair deal to be had between these two teams...but i'm just hoping any ways because he'd fit so well here.
I like bargains too as most people do but sometimes it's worth it to spend more. With Howard you're getting: 3× NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2009–2011) 7× NBA All-Star (2007–2013) 4× NBA rebounding champion (2008–2010, 2012) 2× NBA blocks leader (2009–2010) 5× All-NBA First Team (2008–2012) Plus he has shown he can lead a decent team to the finals.
Really? Over and over again? What I heard ver and over again was that it would be hard for them to keep Harden with all of the other stars they had. And Harden was a 6th man who wanted near Max money. What they did was very logical and saved them money down the road. Unfortunately for them Harden turned out to better that they thought. Even better than Morey thought. That's not the case with Monroe. He is their future big. Of course everyone is tradeable. Put Harden on the table and I am sure they will listen. But they will not trade him for old vets and draft choices. Situations make some star players tradeable. TMac was available because his contract was expiring and they wanted something for him. The same with Howard to LA and chris Paul to the Clippers. If you think you will lose someone for nothing than you are willing to negotiate. Kevin Love might be accessible because he has been injured and he has been critical of management which hasn't been very appreciated. So perhaps they might consider trading love for the right players. Still it is more likely they keep him ten trade him. Especially they believe he is a superstar. Opportunities do present themselves but they are few in number and are motivated by some obvious reason for the other team and thus can be forecast.
The old preinjury Dwight? This team needs a lot more to be a contender. A backup SF, starting pf, backup center all need major upgrading before that crybaby is paid 20 mill per year. His salary alone prohibits another good player from joining. Smith and Howard aren't for this team
I wonder if Morey has someone else on his advanced statistics like Asik for PF? Another $8M/yr contract for some young bench PF that no one is thinking about who turns out to be as good as or better than Asik when given the starting role. That leaves us plenty of money to build some proper depth on the bench. Superstars make you a contender but you also need a strong and deep bench for playoffs.
Morey didn't seem to have a problem putting good players on a team paying Yao and T-Mac a decent chunk more than Harden and Dwight will be making.
Howard isn't going to be injured forever and Morey is good at finding bargains. With Howard and Harden the team will be a lot closer to a championship then the current squad.
I hate to say it, because I don't like his ego attitude. But if you can have a dominant center , get it now~
It was never about cap room, we never had much until Yao came off the books. His ability to finagle the roster once the cap room gets tight is where he really shines.
Yeah past #1 player, Atlanta has a similar roster talent give or take to the Rockets. Devin Harris is good depth, Lou Williams was solid til he got injured. The big difference is Harden >> Josh Smth as franchise player. The only reason would be cuz he relies so much on athleticism. And more mileage on his body coming in the league as a teen. (Though it hasnt stopped Kobe or Lebron. ) But I can see some Andrei Kirilenko type downside to giving Josh Smith big money. Heck of a player when he's on but not franchise enough for top dollars.
Neither is worth the money they would command, I'd rather wait to see if one of our current young PFs develop.
Smith is coming here, and I dont think we will be offering the Max to him, he'll get payed but it wont be the max he will see what we got here. IMO he will fit this team the best. All he has to do is not shoot outside shots more than like 4 times a game at max. If we get him the Rockets could be a Denver 2.0 since Morey can find great bench players.
To be fair, he was the reason why Orlando's shooters were open, but its not like he lead the way by dominating the other bigs on that run..at least not in the later rounds and against the Lakers he really choked imo
