[CBS Sports] Howard no lock for Lakers; interested in Rockets

the china market angle is so over blown. the NBA is now a global entertainment entity. every nba fan in china i'm sure knows who dwight howard is. he doesn't need houston in order for him to be exposed to china. kobe is the most popular player in china and he plays for the lakers - you don't think his fans know who dwight howard is? in fact i'd argue that he'd be a bigger global icon as the man in LA than in houston. Lakers is more of a global brand than the rockets. the china market angle can help someone like parson, or harden, or asik. but for someone who's already as well known as howard, it won't have any effect.

 

A team can only sign one player to a 5 yr deal, and yes, a player can not get the extra yr + bird rights via a SnT anymore. But, technically, Team A could sign a player to a 5 yr "franchise player" deal, then Team B do the same...Team A can then trade for Team B's 5 yr franchise player and have two 5 yr deal players on the team.

 

I think both are overblown. Winning is what builds your global brand. Dwight actually has made less money on endorsements this yr moving to LAL I believe.

I honestly believe that winning does the most for a bball player building his global-status icon/brand/endorsement earnings, whether that be in LA or Houston.

I am, however, excluding random cities like Milwaukee or whatever. I think that might hurt one's brand haha.

 

the 1 x 5 year player per team only applies to players coming off the rookie scale. E.g. the Clippers can sign Paul for 5 years even though Griffin has the 5yr 30%

 

Yes, sorry, I was totally unclear in my earlier response about this. ^this is right.

 

That rule is so ridiculous. Its basically a penalty for consistently drafting well. The players bent over and took it in this last round of the CBA negotiations. smh...

ScumbagDerekFisher strikes again

 

All this attention is making me nervous....

 

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I believe with Akeems help D12 can /could play pf along asik . Will it happen maybe not but no doubt in my mind if they could make it work it would be scary :grin:

 

We have been down this road twice before and got Howard neither time. We were not even that close either time if you believe what was reported. We have no solid reports that Howard does or does not want to sign with the Rockets. All we really have is the logical presumption that playing with James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik is appealing to Dwight (quite frankly I doubt he gives a **** about anyone else).

Lets see what happens, and if he signs, we can get excited.

 

These Howard threads are growing really long and there is a lot of breaking news and moving parts. I've been trying to track the discussion as much as possible. I'll try to summarize the latest news and issues interlaced with my own thoughts in one spot... HERE.

Howard and the Lakers Organization / Players

Mike D'Antoni

- Latest rumours were that players were on the verge of revolt during the season.
- Howard had an extended exit interview. A private meeting with Mike Kupchak after D'Antoni left the room, and expressed his frustration with D'Antoni (reported on ESPNLA)
- Laker's FO has said they are 100% behind D'Antoni coming back next season.
- Laker's FO has recently allowed D'Antoni to "let go" two assistant coaches (both of whom were close to Dwight, one that was with him in Orlando) and hire his own coaching staff
- D'Antoni has recently put $7 million on a new house in LA.
- Phil Jackson (a rumoured replacement for MDA that Howard apparently favors) has just recently said in an interview he will not be coaching again and has had no talks with the Clippers (who just fired Del Negro).

The whole idea that Howard wants Jim Buss (owner) to fire himself and replace himself and Mitch Kupchak (GM) with his sister Jeanie and Phil Jackson seems utterly ridiculous to me. Unlikely to happen.

Kobe Bryant

- Reports Howard was unhappy with Kobe towards the end of the season. Is this why Kobe stopped watching the game from the locker room and came out after Dwight got ejected in the last game?
- Kobe said he will talk to Lakers FO, D12 and Gasol to try to bring them back

Opinions from NBA media and commentators

- generally more media sources and more credible sources have joined the chorus saying that Howard's chances of staying in LA are growing less likely.
- The mouthpiece of Howard, Rudolf tweeted "He is not speaking for Howard"
- Rudolf continues his push for Houston as the best place for Howard, praising McHale and the system.
- Clippers are out of the running for Howard, according to league sources.
- Houston is the best option if considering basketball reasons only
- Only thing keeping Howard in LA is the Laker legacy and $30m in an extra year.
- Howard is in a cabin in Lake Tahoe and tweeted he has been on holiday for two weeks and is absolutely clueless as to what's being said and reported.
- Howard reportedly does not care about Laker legacy and would rather start his own legacy on a new team.

Contract and Cap Space

- Clutch Fans insider cyberx says the Howard will be signed straight up (no sign and trade). No plans on moving Asik yet.
- Howard likely to sign for 4 years with a player option after 3. One route would be for Howard to opt out after 3 and sign a 5 year max contract at the age of 30.
- (possibly originating from the Howard circle) A new slogan has surfaced regarding Howard:
TWO MAX, NO TAX

Overall, the Howard to Houston narrative has exploded on all levels of the basketball media now with increasing opinions that Houston stands a real chance of acquiring Howard this off-season.

There still remains no arguments that Howard should stay in LA apart from the extra $30 million dollars guaranteed is important because Howard is injury prone.

In my opinion, at the moment Houston is favourite to acquire Howard with the Laker's a close second and other teams far behind.

 

Sam Amick, the guy who reported at the end of the year that Howard was expected to return, is now backtracking:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...lakers-dwight-howard-houston-rockets/2349105/

 

Thanks for sharing Cat.

This maybe the most reputable media report yet to claim to have spoken to sources on the inside.

USA Today is a national newspaper, right? I remember reading it on planes.

 

Yup. And excluding small-time "reporters" like Rudolph and Kennedy, Amick is the preferred national reporter of Dwight's group. He's extremely well connected. Take a look at the exclusive interview Dwight gave Amick two months ago. It's deep:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ard-los-angeles-lakers-orlando-magic/1976943/

 

Sorry, but I can't agree. Ask some former players of the Rockets that were teammates of Yao whether it was beneficial or not. Heck, if memory serves, even the Chuckwagon got a shoe deal, didn't he? Jeremy Lin doesn't hurt in that area at all!


Reporter Wang Meng reports from Houston

Chuck Hayes returned to court, with his new pair of Li Ning.

In (one of ) the team practices after his injury, he already wore a pair of Li Ning. Prior to Li Ning, he never had any kind of commercial endorsements, and scattered in his closet, there were all kinds of shoes. But now his new pair of shoes, primarily white in color with a red Li Ning logo looked conspicuously beautiful.

Chuck Hayes said: "I finally signed a contract with Li Ning approximately 3 weeks ago. It is a 1-year contract, the concrete details of which I cannot disclose to you. I will visit China next summer, and we have yet to agree on what I am going to do then. I will probably stay for a week in China, and I hope the Chinese fans will like me."

The (Chinese) fans will definitely like him, as he was the one that sent Shaquille O'Neil onto the surgery table. His Rockets team mates were all making fun of him; David Macha, who had trained him the whole summer, likes to ridicule him most; Macha yelled: "Look at him.....it is he who "finished" Shaq; it was his knee that took down Shaq that he had to go under the knife, but it only took Chuck 2 weeks to rehabilitate and return to court. Come, everybody. Let's take a look." Chuck Hayes stared and yelled back: "You ! Shut up !"

In the morning shoot-out practice, Chuck Hayes already knew he would be starting for the night's game. "I'm doing fine with my rehabilitation." he said. "I played hard during the team practice so as to get adapted to the kneepad as soon as possible. Now everything looks fine, and the coach and doctors thought that I can play again."

Chuck Hayes could not evade from talking about Shaquille O'neil; he recollected: "When I returned home that evening, I looked at the video; it's really painful. I did not realize that he is more serious than me. My feeling was like I hit myself against a wall. It is really very painful, and I would never recommend anyone else to try. "

In this game (with the Wizards) Chuck Hayes played 17 minutes; his performance should be considered okay, as he scored 6 points and grabbed 3 rebounds. Facing speedy transition plays (of the Wizards), Chuck Hayes seemed still struggling strenuously, but his instinct for looking out those space under the low post was still there, as he kept scoring in the space created by Yao Ming under the low post.

Yao Ming said: " Chuck brought power (and energy) to this team; he was like a newborn calf not too afraid of the tigers. When he is on court, he knows his roles and responsibilties well, and that is to fight for rebounds and to prevent me from commiting fouls. He is not tall, but he is great in grabbing those rebounds."


http://sports.tom.com/2006-11-24/0424/01027898.html

 

If Howard chooses LA for money and lifestyle over Houston, he will regret it.

This is a great opportunity. For Dwight and for us. Howard+Asik might not work offensively, but it will force the league to shoot outside of the paint and rarely get offensive rebounds.

Even if we just signed D12 and then didn't do much else we would still be a threat to everyone in the league next year. Add one elite shooter to that mix and you are good. If it doesn't work, trade Asik next year and slide in your pick of Motiejunas or Jones.

 

Every time I refresh Twitter in recent days, I'm expecting to find a heavy hitter on this from Woj. You know it's coming...

 

Howard's coming to Houston iv been thinking this since around The Allstar game. Not only is Houston still a very big and hip city it's still relax when it comes to the pressure that comes with being the franchise big man. On top of that the system and personnel is in place. Mchale is prob the best coach he could have.

A big guy who played in the post, hof guy, who has taught some great players in Kevin Garnett and al Jefferson. He's also a favorite around the league from his peers and players frankly they love him he's just a cool guy but a straight shooter. But most importantly he would get to play with james harden easily the best player he's ever played with. Kobe's a goat but he's old and is coming off a major injury. Not to mention chandler parson who is a perfect compliment to Howard.

Honestly the situation dwight has tried to create with other players just didnt work out yet the one that fell in his lap and can control is the team that wanted him the most and is the best situation all around from a basketball and peace of mind standpoint. The rockets need what Howard does best and Howard can go back to doing what he does best. Both parties will be happy because the rockets will be a legit contender out west.

This really doesn't have much to do with what Im saying but Chris Broussard on espn said the rockets would be not good but great and contenders out west if he came to Houston and that he wouldn't be mad at him because him like me knows it's just a great situation for Howard's and the rockets.