ESPN: Dwight Howard Reportedly Attracted to Omer Asik as a Front Court Partner?

Repped....I think Asik is traded for Howards best friend....after Howard is in Rocket red.

 

Stop right there. So you are saying OMer and Dwight will avg 30 mpg? You're saying, in essence Dwights a 35mpg and Omer's a 25mpg guy? I think those two would combine for closer to 65-70mpg.

Dwight in the 35-38 range and Omer in the ~30 range. D-Mo as a backup is good cause it gives us a unique look and then Parsons play spot minutes at the 4 is fine.

C- Omer 30/Dwight 18
PF- Dwight 18/DMo 20/Parsons 10

Finding a gritty 3-man would be essential so we end games with Dwight/Parsons/Gritty 3 man like Stephen Jackson or Matt Barnes.

 

Our team does it's due diligence. We had a trade for Amare from Phoenix, but backed out when we weren't allowed to do a physical. If Dwight has serious issues during the physical, we won't sign him.

Even if he does have issues later on, he might still have trade value to a desperate team. Doctors flat out told Philadelphia that Bynum's knees wouldn't hold up, but they still went through with the trade and gave up Iggy, Vucevic, and a 1st. But is anyone seriously that worried about injury with Dwight?

 

I can't search posts.

Can someone find the cyberx post where he said (paraphrasing): "we will sign Dwight outright. No plans on trading Asik. His value will keep. Will listen to offers for him"

I'm starting to trust cyberx more. I think we could play the Twin Towers for 15-25min depending on match-ups, with our young PFs playing stretch 4 the rest of the time.

 

Please no... The only reason Nate was decent in the playoffs because Chicago had a banged up roster. He won't get many shots with harden around and I'd rather harden shoot em over Nate any day. Beverley is a really good backup that can probably / hopefully start over lin if Lin doesn't get any better over the offseason.

No way we get Kevin love because he's not a free agent and we would have to give up parsons and Asik probably to get him, which won't happen.

 

Get ready for the worst combined free throw shooting percentage in the history of basketball.

 

I wouldn't worry about Dwight dictating the terms. I'm sure the Rockets work out a compromise with him. And start from that even if it's not optimal. And then Howard will see what works and what doesn't, and then he'd be susceptible to change. Besides, teams live with superstars doing inefficient stuff all the time. Barkley, for example, jacked up 3s all the time even though he sucked at it. But you live with it because he's awesome at everything else(defense excluded)

Personally, I think it's best served for Howard to get 30-35mpg and Asik 25-30mpg. Average that out to 65mpg combined out of 96 minutes. So majority of the time(~30mpg) will involve a PF or a stretch 4. And crunch time lineups can be dictated by matchups.

Howard may say a lot of stuff. But he would still prefer winning over a particular style.

 

First, anyone wanting to trade Asik IF Howard were to sign with the Rockets has amnesia. Remember what it was like when Yao went down with injuries? How seasons were being written off with no "inside" presence? We got bit by the lack of backup at PG in the past, too. If you want to vie for a championship, you have to assume injuries are going to happen and be able to weather them without a lot of L's. Ideally, quality backups at all positions are the best way to build a championship quality roster. A strong bench separates a team from the many who don't have one.

Second, we have a core group of players with what I would call, character stability. Howard showed a lack of that in how he handled the whole issue of "does he want to stay" or "does he want to leave" Orlando. Signing with LA demonstrated a bedazzlement (?) with the bright lights and glitter of LA. Sure, it seemed good on paper, and he probably thought all would magically come together. NOT. Another way to look at character instability is a lack of commitment. There have been issues with that in LA for some time, rotating between Gasol, Bynum and even Kobe. Stars don't like to have the boat rocked and can be willing to jump if they think it is. It creates a bad environment for everyone.

(And for the record, I hope fans caught Dr. J on TNT last night saying that Tim Duncan was his favorite player, ever since he's been in the league. Duncan is anything but the typical superstar personality. Not showy. Not full of himself. Not temperamental. He's sound fundamentally... and BTW, stable.)

On paper, it sounds good to court and get Howard, as long as Asik is still on the team. Like some others here have said, if you trade Asik away, you just spun your wheels from what you worked hard to achieve in getting him. Witness the problems that Hibbert is presenting to the Heat. As is often said, size can't be taught. After Yao left we saw how easy it was to get a good defensive big man. Asik has surpassed most people's expectations on the offense end. Give him some more time. Believe me. A Rockets team that doesn't give up anything to get "a" Howard (and/or benefits from the progression of someone already on the roster) will be a potential nightmare match-up for any team in the league. "On paper" is too often fools gold. Fool me once...

I prefer adding strength to the team, rather than having it drained to support someone who is back a forth. I don't think Howard has added stability in LA. Otherwise, why is his leaving even being discussed?

Speaking of stability, the team has seen way too many years with a constantly changing roster. For crying out loud, we have a good core group of players now. Don't keep chasing rainbows. The pot of gold ain't there.

 

I don't think Howard signed with Lakers. He was traded to them and has not signed an extension with them yet, hence he will be a free agent and why Rockets can simply sign him outright if he agrees.

Dwight Howard >>>>>> Any big we have by far. Only idiots or people too attached to our existing players would argue otherwise. To put it in perspective, Howard's WORST season is still hands down better than Asik's season where he already exceeded expectations. Think about that for a second please without homer glasses.

If we have a chance to get a star player like Dwight who is the best at his position, you do it. No if's, and's, or but's!

 

My largest concern with having the two of them on the court at the same time is guarding the perimeter. Specifically corner 3's. The most natural thing for them would seemingly be a zone to effectively take away the paint, and I can't see either one of them getting to the corner consistently in that case. However, Asik being a back-stop, and Howard shot blocking weak side just looks like a nightmare for any team built around paint penetration.

Offensively, I'm actually less concerned. There aren't many teams with the size to guard both players, while also being able to exploit those open corners on the other end.

I'm still lukewarm on Howard coming here, but willing to take the gamble assuming we don't have to give up Harden, Parsons, or Asik.

 

Why I love this site (every angle is discussed):

Nice research and kind of funny.

Smith is +5.0 when he's on the court. He brings energy, hustle, rebounding and a decent jumper. I have no clue why you are so down on him. I'm sure the rest of the NBA is jealous of what we did with him. We got him for nothing, turned him into an NBA player using the d-league and he's got legit size to play center for a few minutes every game.

Yeah, this Aşik attraction may have a lot to do with Aşik taking some of the physical load off Dwights body. Nothing wrong with staying in peak shape for the playoffs.

Duncan, Hibbert, West, Zbo and Gasol are all better shooters than Aşik/Howard. The example of two large front-court players, I like, but it's not really that good of an offensive example. Each of those pairings contains something very different in offensive skill to our projected pairing.

And more of why I love this site.

Think about the offensive rebounding. You put the ball in the air and two rebounding phenoms go to work, each likely one on one. Easy baskets galore.

One of my favorite front court pairings ever.

Nothing to add, that's just a good post and I hope the front office reads it.

 

It's not that complicated, if you don't need rebounders, you don't put them on the floor. Having Howard and Aşik does not prevent you from going small and if Chris Finch is still an assistant coach after the summer I can guarantee we'll still go small.

 

Then why don't you contribute to the Tip Jar, so you can? Considering the fact that you are now averaging 16 posts per day and rising, it's the least you could do to support ClutchFans.

The other thing you could do is cut down on your posts per day. Thanks in advance.

 

Seems like Dwight Howard likes a lot of Rockets players lol he like the thought of playing with Asik hes doing commercials with Parsons and knows him from Orlando and respects James Hardens game and how he plays ...hmmmm what else is there

 

I would disagree. A zone is used to force teams to shoot from the outside. With two shot blocking bigs, you want to pressure the ball and take away the strong hand and direct them towards the bigs.

Hakeem would have taught Howard and Asik to tell the guards...
"Let them come to me BWAAAAAHAHAHA (evil laugh)"
"Beverley, Don't Foul. Let them come to me BWAAAHAHAHA (evil laugh)"
"That's right Beard, let them blow by you and come to me BWAAAAHAHAHA! (evil laugh)"

If teams go small and have good shooters that are knocking down shots, we'll have to play our young PFs. I hope T-Jones, T-Rob, D-Mo are working on their D, especially how to close out.

 

You get Howard to pair with Harden (and a developing Parsons) and you work out the rest. We would still have young talent to trade and still some left to develop (T Jones, Bev). You ALWAYS get superstar talent when they become available and worry about role players later.

Man I hope he comes here. I could care less about what he did in LA last year. Totally different situation here.

 

I'm of the opinion that a Dwight/Asik combo could work. As multiple posters have said before the overlap might only be 12 mins a game and could be more depending on the matchups.

I really like what GMNot posted. Protecting against injuries by having a deep bench (especially at the most critical position defensively) is important during the regular season. I also think by having 2 players that can start at Center will allow you to keep them both fresh, hopefully leading to less injuries, better performance and readiness for the playoffs.

I recall either Jason Friedman or Morey saying that with Asik on the floor in half court sets, we are a top defensive team, but without him we are one of the worst. Also when Asik's on the floor, the Rockets allow 105 points per 100 possessions. When he's off it? 112.7.

If you could have a dominant defensive big on the floor the whole game, the Rockets defense AND rebounding would be up there with some of the best in the league. Add that to the scoring potency with Lin/Harden/Parsons and you could line up a lot of wins.

C- Asik 30/Dwight 18
PF- Dwight 18/DMo (Or Jones) 20/Parsons 10
SF - Parsons 25/Garcia 23
SG - Harden 35/Beverley 13
PG - Lin 32/Beverley 16

That is some great minutes balanced across worthy players. This is obviously taking into account that Garcia is brought back using the Room provision or signed on the veteran minimum. Also, it puts the Rockets at around $62-$64mil allowing plenty of room to sign Parsons once he expires.

Another point worth noting is how good our offensive rebounding could be with Dwight and Asik. If our spacing is a problem then surely putting the ball into the post with Dwight could help that. Who are you going to help off to doubleteam Dwight? Certainly not Asik, because he can work in the paint and get feeds or O-Rebounds leading to highly efficient offensive possessions. You wouldn't help of Lin/Harden/Parsons on the 3 point line. It's a pretty scary thought.

1 more thing I'd like to add. McHale created our 2012/2013 offense based on who he had in his roster. Why did we not see heaps of posting up? Because we didn't have a great post player. I guarantee you this: If Dwight signs with Houston, a frequent play will be posting him up.

3 of the sets that the Rockets will use (with no preferred play outside of matchups)
1. Post up Dwight
2. Pick and roll with Lin/Harden & Dwight/Asik
3. Fast Break (Dwight & Asik rebounding and outletting the ball)

I have to say, I'm actually liking this lineup/flexibility/core more than if the Rockets could get CP3. Unless you have the best player in the league (Lebron) you have to have a balanced roster to win championships (post player, outside scorer, lockdown defender, rim defender/rebounder, and good shooters, decent bench). The lineup listed above has just about all that, sans a lockdown defender and maybe a good bench scorer. To which Morey can sort out in the 2014 offseason.

 

Really is that all it takes? I dont really know how the system works.

It's weird. I could search and do all that the first month or so but then as my reps started building up the more privileges I got taken away. If I contribute to the tip jar, everything gets restored to the original state?

 

He doesn't like offenses built around the PnR? That's the biggest problem. Lord knows we don't want him posting up. WTF do you think the Spurs offense is built around? Does Duncan have a problem with it? The dumbest thing is that the reason he's come to this conclusion is that Shaq has made fun of him for being a 'pick-n-roll big man'. That's why he has a problem with it. I would rather get Pau Gasol for one year and be just as good than have to deal with this moron and his drama who is probably on the decline.