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

Because in 2 years the Rockets cannot afford to pay an above average PG and an above average C 15mil. They can only keep one and D12 wants Asik.

 

I'm a little confused about the wanting to play fewer minutes / play with another good big man. Isn't gasol a good big man who can play center when Dwight goes down? Couldn't Gasol play as many minutes as Asik can and replace Dwight at center too? Gasol assuming health is better than Asik right now.

I understand why Lin is at risk. If Asik stays the they will try to move Lin to upgrade the four or go after Smith. However, I'm not as sure Atlanta goes for that since they have Teague. It's a shame I don't think either Beverly or Brooks are as good at pick and roll as Lin. Of course, I would be ok sending him out for Someone who could help the team.

 

Not trying to open a can of worms here, but the Lin being expendable thing makes sense to me in this scenario...

Howard comes here, bringing a bit of media. Together, he and Harden (and to an extent Parsons) bring in some good media, exposure, and profits.

Now, you have Lin, who in my opinion (and I'm positive I'm not the only one) was outplayed by Beverley down the stretch last year. Lin just signed a big bucks contract. He struggled here, but he showed potential. He's a great character guy with a ton of marketability. Would it not make sense to ship his contract to a smaller market team that wants the press/potential profits (and also the player's potential) in order to relieve a little cap, and possibly get better and/or set up the future?

Also, I will go on record as saying that Francisco Garcia is the perfect James Harden backup. Would absolutely love to have him back on this team.

 

Because priority 1, above all else, is the chance to win a title, and the Lakers can't offer him that. Once that is met, he'd like to play with another good big man... but the Lakers don't make the initial cut.

By all accounts, Dwight loved playing with Gasol. But the Lakers can't offer him the chance to win, at least in the foreseeable future. That's a prerequisite, from what Ron said and every other Dwight insider this year.

 

It depends on who the heavy hitter are. If it's Mayweather, pffff. He is just a rich gambler who knows just as much as anyone. A single wage of $6.8M on anything will sway the odds.

With all the reports coming out in favorite of Dwight joining Houston, gamblers just wanna better odds. They are ultra sensitive to any news. A few reports in favorite of Lakers, odds will swing the other way.

 

Love how people have short term memory loss. Prior to his injury in the playoffs, in the last month Lin was averaging 17 and 6 a game. Yeah Beverly was totally outplaying him.

Also there is a reason Lin is the starting point guard. First of all Lin is a better passer, also Lin isn't a total foul machine like Beverly. Beverly consistently pick up multiple bad fouls throughout the regular season and the playoffs.

 

Lin in April (9 games): 17 PPG, 7 APG
Beverley in April (9 games) 6 PPG, 3 APG

 

Oh I just realized Toney Douglas is a free agent this year. He would be an option to get as a backup too if Lin is indeed traded.

 

Using their per 36 or 48 numbers would probably be more fair, but I agree with your overall point -- Lin was playing pretty dang well post all star break, and in April. Oh the short term or selective memories of everyone.

 

Come on, I felt i was objective with all our players last season but beverly outplaying lin wasn't so cut and dry as you perceive it. As i recall lin had a mixed bag of games in the stretch run and believe it or not without jeremy we don't make the playoffs. Even daryl has stated this notion several times.

Now about moving Jeremy, contrary to popular belief his contract is pretty manageable. It isn't a detriment to our cap room due to the simple fact that Lin is still improving and has good upside. So moving his contract "just to relive a little cap" is not a good basketball or business move.

Now if Chris Paul came out and said "Hey i want to be a rocket, get it done" Then that's a different story. But all signs point to Chris staying in LA. The only contracts i see getting moved/removed this offseason are Brooks, Garcia, and possibly a combination of two or three of our Power-forwards.

And regarding Asik, I only think he gets dealt if Daryl believes that he is getting Omer's full value out of a trade. 26 year old centers that average Double Doubles don't grow on trees you know.

 

Thank you for the insider info.

Nice to know consensus of people on the inside think Dwight will be a rocket. It's a surprise the reason he wants to play with Asik is because he doesn't want to play a lot of minutes. I don't like that mentality and is he worth the super max $20.5m if he's only going to play 25-30min. per game?

Not sure how Dwight being a Rocket would jeopardize Lin's future unless there is a sign and trade with the Lakers. But why would there be a sign and trade with the Lakers when Woj says we're trying to free cap room to sign Dwight outright. Furthermore, a sign and trade with the Lakers wouldn't work unless there is sufficient matching salaries, which we can't do without Asik and Garcia with Lin. Maybe Lin in a trade for Josh Smith?

It all sounds not quite right to me. How confident are you in the validity of your inside info.?

This doesn't seem balanced...

Beverley
Harden
Parsons / Garcia
J.Smith
Howard / Asik

Anyways, glad to read this insider info. and also the Vegas betting odds. I'm not as confident as Vegas. I'll still stick with my probabilities...

Houston 60/40

 

I meant to but had no idea how to get the data using the monthly splits.

But glad my point was fairly obvious.

Everyone I know rags on Lin (speaking in real-life), always bringing up how he played in the beginning of the season and in the playoffs, yet always seemingly forgetting how well he played post-allstar break.

Its incredibly frustrating.

 

Apples to oranges much?

While Lin's stats are better in the per 48 post all-star break, I think it's fair to say that given Beverley's limited experience and playing time (yeah, I know it's a per 48 stat), his stats are pretty impressive...

Lin: 22.9 points, 9.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 4.3 turnovers, 1.7 steals, .3 blocks

Beverley: 14.8 points, 7.1 assists, 7.1 rebounds, 2.7 turnovers, 2.1 steals, 1.5 blocks


Again, I'm not saying that Lin sucks. I'm not saying that Beverley outplayed him by miles. In fact, maybe outplayed was even a bad choice of words. My point is, when you have to cut costs to keep a superstar team together, and you look at the ratio of production to contract, Beverley is the clear value.

I don't dislike Lin, either. In fact, I love what he did for this team in a year. He's just too expensive a contract if you want a team with a couple stars.

 

Using per 48 min can be applied to any backup in the league to prop them up...

 

Completely agree.

Haha. I've been re-watching every game since the all-star break for the last 2 weeks! Yes, Lin played pretty damn well, so did D-Mo when he first started, and Parsons couldn't miss for about 4 straight games. It's funny how people only remember how the season ended.

 

my concern is that Beverley also average 5.2 foul per 48 post all-star break, but i think he can improve year

 

Lin is not going anywhere this offseason, unless CP3 is coming or Dwight demands Lin to Lakers in a S&T.

Morey will not trade Lin without knowing his potential as a second-year starter.

GARM is really spoiled by Parsons and Bev. Some think players who play way above their cheap contracts grow on trees.

 

This is going to turn into a full-scale Lin thread soon.

 

Say bro, you got a number I can talk to you when I'm drunk?

 

I have full faith in Morey finding the right players to surround Dwight/Harden/Parsons if that is what happens.

I would personally prefer to keep Lin unless Morey can pull a rabbit out of his hat and end up with Paul as well but no matter what happens you know the front office will be doing everything it can to turn this team into a championship contender.

Dwight is the most important bit this off-season, fingers crossed they can get a deal done.