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

Dallas fans already think Howard chose them lol

 

and he credited our own Bimathug

 

Another thing I am going to be watching for diligently is the status of Brooks, Delfino, and Garcia. If any of those guys are still on the roster July 1, it means that Morey has a trade already agreed to involving them to clear their salaries to sign Dwight. There's no way Morey is going to carry their salaries over without having a convenient place to drop them for nothing.

 

I swear, I didn't write this one, but maybe Dan Fegan paid this guy to do it:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1654785-who-needs-who-more-lakers-or-dwight-howard

 

That author deserves to have the taste slapped out of his mouth. How is someone who claims to be a professional writer allowed to be so ignorant?

 

You know part of me think before July 1st the Lakers will fire MDA to make him stay in LA with the Lakers but who knows

 

Asik is a freaking double-double machine. Morey will find other ways to make cap room. He will not trade a hot commodity like Asik unless it brings us something greater in value.

The above opinion stands even if D12 chooses to sign with us.

 

Trash. Laker fans are blind to the realities of the new CBA. Teams that invest in player evaluations and development are going to be rewarded over those that just throw money at problems.

 

I think the agreement is already there between Dwight, his agent, and the Lakers that if he chooses to re-sign, they will discuss a coaching change. However, Dwight has to put pen to paper first before they breach that topic.

 

Unlike the Clippers who are allowing CP3 to make all their front office decisions, the Lakers probably won't do the same. If Howard is going to walk, who's to say he doesn't even if the Lakers let D'Antoni go? They will fire D'Antoni if the Lakers play poorly next year and do it solely based on his performance as a coach and not because one of their players doesn't like him.

But as I've said before, I have a feeling that Howard and D'Antoni are going to come together this summer and dig themselves out of their respective reputation holes together. Laker fans see D'Antoni as no Phil Jackson and Dwight Howard as no Shaq. They actually have a common interest to prove everyone wrong and, with Kobe likely out until after all star break, they will have to figure out together.

 

LOL @ Bleacher Report

 

Nope. Here's the problem. The Lakers didn't do that already. They already had the chance to dump D'Antoni and they came out in support of him. By "they" I'm specifically referring to Jim Buss. He's had plenty of opportunity to grease the skids with Dwight on the coaching issue. He's had plenty of opportunity to simply remain silent on D'Antoni. But he didn't. He came out strong in support of him. That should tell you something.

Now while Buss may pause and rethink when/if Dwight tells him he's leaving without a coaching change, it hasn't happened and there is no way that if Dwight's decision comes down to who the coach is that Dwight agrees to talk about it after he signs his 5-yr contract.

At this point, Lakers really need to line up a trade for Pau bringing in some sort of talent that causes Dwight to consider that they may be primed to compete next season as well as the following seasons. And that is in addition to any intolerance of the coach that Dwight has and any whims on who he wants coaching him.

 

While all that may be true, a lot can change between now and July 1. Until Dwight actually says he's coming back, the Lakers HAVE to be in full support of MDA. They would never tip their hand before Dwight signs because they have to show the incumbent coaching staff support in case Dwight decides to walk. There really is nothing stopping the Lakers from firing MDA AFTER Dwight signs, however. They could already have their next coach lined up (Brian Shaw) if they wanted to. To me though, it would again come down to what kind of persona Dwight wants to have. His reputation as a coach killer would all be certified at that point in the public's eye.

 

No, they don't (and shouldn't have) come out in full support of their coach. They didn't have to say anything. Just silence. He's under contract. He hasn't been fired. That's good enough. But Buss had Kupchak throw out the gravy ladle to him. That tells you that things are a changing in LA. Jim Buss is not Jerry Buss. He's not. He came out in support of MDA not because he was supporting MDA but because he was making it clear that PJax and his sister ain't gonna be running the show out there. PJax has went around promoting himself ever since the season ended, trying to wedge his way into the Laker organization front office, trying to gain control out there, sending Dwight smoke signals, etc. PJax has been like a politician on the campaign trail. And Jim Buss is having none of it. That's why he came out in support of MDA.

 

I think Draft night is going to be the most telling night as to Morey's plans as it relates to Brooks & Delfino.

-Notes- Garcia has a true team option and cannot be traded(hence why its already been reported the Rockets will not pick up the team option).

As far as Brooks and Delfino are concerned, I would assume (like the Dalember & Miller contacts before) Morey will try to use those two contracts to make moves on draft night to put himself in a better situation to acquire Dwight & potentially give the team better assets/flexibility in the process.

We've seen before that a veteran player with a non-guaranteed contract for the next season is a very tradeable contract because it gives the other team the ability to do something very strategic-

I personally believe its a great insurance plan for a team in a smaller market that has alot of uncertainty in free agency. If X (small market) team, is targeting say... a backup guard in free agency, they can pick up Brooks on draft night for pretty much next to nothing(maybe 2 spots in the draft order to take a player they were already going to take anyways) as insurance if they dont get say... a player like JJ Reddick(hypothetical example) in free agency. If they DO get the player they are wanting in free agency, they still have the ability to waive Aaron Brooks or whomever.

If Morey does NOT move those two players on draft night, I think it might signal that there is some uncertainty as to whether Dwight will be a Houston Rocket or not, and they might look to bring back a large majority of the team from last season, and target a small free agent/one year trade/future deal.

-I also will be interested to see whether or not Thomas Robinson gets dealt on draft night since this is the second busiest trade day of the year. If T-Rob gets dealt, you can rest assured, Morey is almost certainly banking on signing a super max free agent.... ALA Dwight.

Or perhaps draft night tells us nothing at all.... But still, draft night might be the best chance we have(other than an insider leak) to get an inside view as to what Morey's plans are based on the deals they are setting up for July free agency.

 

I definitely agree with your take on Jackson. He's a manipulator and a politician to the fullest. It's why he's the Zen Master. He's been planting the seeds of dissension in LA for quite a while, and his latest nugget about how he would feature Dwight as the anchor of his system is just another shot fired at Jim Buss. Phil wants to influence the public to the point where Jim Buss has no choice but to cave under the pressure and step aside. Dwight is merely a pawn in his game.

I hope you're right about MDA. For some reason though, I just can't shake the feeling that he will do whatever it takes to keep Dwight in LA. If that means firing MDA, then that's what it means.

 

Translation:

Los Angeles is so awesome, that no one would ever want to leave. Never, ever!

Yeah, Dwight is miserable playing with Kobe and hates his boss (coach) and feels over looked..... but he will stay in Los Angeles because it is awesome!

Well we know where the Laker fans get their arrogance from.

 

I'm probably with Bima on this one. I think there is a better possibility that trades are agreed to on draft night but not executed until later involving guys like Brooks/Delfino, and some of our youngsters. That would be the Morey way of combining transactions and pulling more out of the deals net by waiting until after the moratorium.

 

I think there is still the possibility that MDA gets fired. I just think it's a much smaller possibility. And it will signify a seismic shift in Jim Buss' character. Jim Buss is playing hardball. Personally, just from observing him and his personality, I can't see him budging an inch on coaching and front office decisions. I think it's going to cost him Dwight. I personally believe the Lakers are in severe long-term decline with the passing of Jerry Buss. I don't think Jim Buss has the makeup to be flexible enough to keep that franchise running at the high level of his father. He just doesn't have the personality nor the people skills to get it done.