CP3 May not resign [Bill Simmons tweet so grain of salt needed]

Personally, I think Lin is overpaid. He had a very good stretch in a wide open offense with the Knicks, and he got a big contract out of it. $8M a year for a guy with a PER of 15 is pretty bad. To contrast, Bledsoe won't get signed for that much and he has a PER of 17.5 and is a much better defender than Lin. So I expect his contact to be very hard to unload.

Asik is more intriguing because he's a very serviceable big. I think the Varajao comparison is pretty close, although Asik isn't as good an offensive player. There may be interest but, looking at the candidates, I'm having trouble finding a specific case, simply because the teams that could use him and have the cap to sign him are the same teams who would want to go after a bigger free agent like Howard, Bynum, Jefferson, or Milsap.

I do think the Rockets could conceivably trade these guys, but they'd have to bundle their best asset in Parsons.

 

If you are saying that cause I wrote "your" instead of you are ...you're an idiot twice. That's short hand and I am on a iPhone I never use apostrophes on my phone... I am sure their were plenty of typos in my post....doesn't change the fact that you have no clue on what your talking about.

My point isn't that we will ...it's that we can...and if cp3 and Howard want be the best team in the west and play the heat in the finals for foreseeable future they will make it Happen.

Biggest thing is just the fact that you don't realize money isn't even that much

 

OMG you did it again, LOL.

 

I seriously doubt it takes that, but the fact that you acknowledge this should end the discussion. If Paul and Howard indicate they're both willing to sign with Harden in Houston as long as the Rockets clear the necessary room, they're fully capable of doing so. I'm glad you finally see the light.

 

FYI, I live in Dallas (one of the 13 teams with cap space) and they would kill to have a quality pg. it's their position of greatest need now. no doubt they'd take Lin for a 2nd pick.

 

No way it takes parsons. He's the guy you package to dump a toxic contract. That's not Lin (though I agree he's slight overpaid at this point) but certainly no Asik.

I'd think at most you could send Lin + trob for a pick or nothing at all. That'd kill two birds.....

 

Well no ****, anything's possible, but it's so unlikely that these events all come together to work that to me, it's a pipe dream.

For one thing, I would be pretty shocked to see Howard leave the Lakers after one year and all the drama he went through to get there. He has to know that it'll be his team next year (or the following year max) and that the Lakers always get good free agents to sign.

For another, I'd be even more shocked to see CP3 leave the Clippers. Nothing has really changed outside of one first round exit against a good team that was hardly even an upset (it was just extremely bad luck to end up battling another 56 win team in the first round). He has towed the same line all year that he wasn't going to think about free agency until the offseason and he's simply reiterated that, but LA gives him the best financial situation, a solid foundation, and say in the franchise direction / coach, which is a lot.

And then it comes down to actually pulling off the logistics to acquire two huge contracts, which requires finding other teams to help. While possible, this too is not as easy as it sounds.

Every year there are opportunities for stars to team up but it rarely happens for a reason. So to expect it to happen here is premature at best. There's a reason why no more mainstream source has seriously acknowledged this possibility and it is really a product of the fan imagination.

 

Are you serious ? You are that thick?

I was showing I didn't care that's why made it stand out....no wonder you are having issues understanding basic things.

I'm not arguing with this chump over whether or not asik and Lin are tradable.

Here ill ask insiders on twitter just to shut you up.

 

I guess we differ there, because I would consider Lin a toxic contract in today's era of exceptional guards. Guys like Bledsoe and Isiah Thomas aren't going to get this kind of contract when they sign, and there are a bunch of these types in the league. What teams do you see trading for him?

 

No one is expecting it to happen. All anyone ever said was that the Rockets could sell it to Dwight and Chris as a possibility. It is, and they can. Will it work? Probably not, and I don't think anyone has denied that. But it's a legitimate pitch they can make, despite your denial of it.

As for "mainstream media", you're not going to hear much of anything from them until late June, when we're actually close to the negotiating window. It wasn't until draft night 2010 that folks outside of South Florida blogs reported on the LeBron-Wade-Bosh possibility.

 

You don't think a team would sign Bledsoe to a 2 year $16MM contract? I sure think a team would.

 

That's fair, but realize that every offseason one could put together one of these "realistic" crazy situations. The LBJ/Wade/Bosh thing was allegedly somewhat collusive as it had been planned by them many years prior, during the Olympics. I suppose it's possible that the new "big 3" have been in talks to make something happen, but given that Howard & Paul at least looked to be staying with their new teams at the beginning of the year, that seems unlikely too. So basically this would have to be a call they and their agents would be making now.

Honestly, I think fans emphasize winning way more than players do. Players almost invariably follow the money, especially when they are young. You always hear players talking about how much they love their team, but the moment more money is on the table, "basketball is a business". This is one reason why "the Decision" was so shocking, because it did involve paycuts. I just don't see it happening again, and certainly not this soon involving two players who have just moved teams themselves. And heck, if they want to do another "Decision", may as well wait until 2014 and teamup with LeBron somewhere.

 

Yeah I think we differ here. I think there are teams in desperate need for a pg that Lin (while maybe slightly overpaid at 8/yr) would still be valuable.

You never responded to the first point though on the risk assessment for the guaranteed money. How do you assess the risk/reward?

 

I don't think very many teams are that desperate for a PG. You brought up Dallas, but Collison's production is already comparable (actually better by advanced metrics) to Lin. And he's a MUCH better contract. Basically people would have to bank on Lin's potential and I just don't see it.

As far as the guaranteed money, I'm just saying most players go for it. Usually a player will resign with a team simply because they give him the most guaranteed money; players who want out will most often go in a sign and trade, which won't work in this case.

What I suggest you guys do is take this topic to a more general board like RealGM and just pose the question. That way you'll get a more general sampling. IMO, I don't think this is something that is even on the radar and, I guess while theoretically possible, would fall in line with a bunch of other unlikely-but-possible scenarios regarding free agency that we see every year.

 

@JRudolphSports: @megastahr: They can move Asik, yes. He's played well this year.

Here's one response so far completely not a rocket supporter never once gave rockets a shot at Howard... I guarantee not one guy I tweeted goes says: no! those contracts are terrible they will never be able to trade them... Ill post as I get responses ... Just to shut this meat tard up.

Unless I tweeted Barkley that is...

 

Make sure you spell "you're" and "they're" correctly. They'll give you more credit if they can see you're not a kid!

 

If players 100% followed the money, then Orlando, New Orleans and Denver wouldn't have pulled the trigger on deals for Howard, CP3 and Anthony in the first place. A legit NBA star is the most rare and precious commodity in all of sports, and they had an additional $30 million that other teams didn't have. Every one of those guys stays put unless those front offices firmly believed that those players would leave the money behind.

And no, the opportunity isn't there every offseason. When's the last time an NBA team with a top 10 player under 30 years old had max cap room? When's the last time a true top 10 player hit free agency? The answer to both of those is 2010 Miami. This is the first real opportunity since.

The biggest reasons that stars haven't teamed up are as follows:

1.) The old CBA dissuaded players from actually reaching free agency, instead forcing them to make decisions early -- decisions that were influenced by the trade market and outside factors.

2.) No one wants to go to a wasteland, which is what most "team up" scenarios you're describing would fall into. LeBron, Wade and Bosh wouldn't have wanted to go to Charlotte, even if the opportunity were theoretically there. Losing culture, questionable fans, no system in place, small market.

The reason the Miami scenario was different was that one of the three was already there. The team was already a winner (they were in the 2010 playoffs) and had a leadership structure in place. The market, while not NY/LA, was big enough (top 10) to support any outside interests. The star there (Wade) was welcoming and still had at least 5 prime years left.

It probably won't happen here, but the circumstances in place in Houston certainly aren't available every free agency. It's the closest thing to 2010 Miami... since 2010 Miami.

 

Doubtful most people understand shorthand ... I just told you I don't use apostrophes unless iPhone automatically puts it in

I know basic grammar but ill take my ability to process basic logic over your grammar expertise ....

 

Agreed. Before the season started, i stated Houston's biggest issue will be unloading Lin for cap space - and finding a mediocre team with the right fan base demographic. He never had the skill set for playoff basketball but put him on a regular season team that is still young and he will be an expiring after 1 year.

You have to aggressively chase Paul and Dwight/Bynum. Bynum shouldn't be forgotten because he has a legit back to the basket game. Don't care about attitude problems, better your big man have one than be a floosy. Superteams ARE the system, you can't fight it, you join it. Paul could be convinced griffin and deandre will grow offensively, but Houston looks attractive next to harden.

 

Clippy, your team is about to go back into being irrelevant soon.