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

lol..

 

bing, bang, boom.

We are NOT moving Lin unless it is for Paul or DWill or DRose, etc. We're not simply moving Lin out for space and to give Beverley the starting nod. Totally stupid waste of an asset.

Do you guys realize what Lin is going to be next season? Lin shot 44/34/78 percentages this season, a crappy one, one where he was learning a new role playing off Harden and not playing at the top on the pick and roll and he was dinged most of the season and coming off surgery. Get real guys. What do you think Lin is doing right now and going to do the rest of this off season? He's a worker. I'll guarantee you he comes back next season as a 38-42% 3-point shooter. I guarantee you he's working on the spot-up 3 ball all stinking summer. That's just the kind of player the kid is.

We're sitting here watching Tony Parker in the Finals, arguably the most underrated point guard in the league. Guess what his percentages were his 3rd season...playing alongside Duncan and Manu. 45/31/70

Lin only really has 2 weaknesses:
1. 3-pt shooting
2. turnover ratio

That's it. Lin is a plus defender and everything else about his game is a plus. And he's gonna get better at all those things as well. He hasn't maxed out his ceiling...yet. But he's just the kind of player that will max out his ceiling. Because...he's a hard worker and he's highly intelligent.

Both of these things are improvable for a player that is a worker and is highly intelligent. Lin meets that criteria. We simply aren't going to give him away for cap space. We may trade him for a superstar but we aren't giving him away. He's way too valuable on the court.

 

Dwight won't limit Asiks mins at all, even if we got dwight and smith, asiks mins won't be limited.

 

He's not worth that 8 mil cap hit bro bro...rather spend that on a pf or and let bev
Start

 

I agree with your assessment of Lin, but just for context, this part of the convo was actually started by the fact that an insider, Ron G, claimed that Howard wants Asik to stick around, and for whatever reason (plenty are speculating, such as to then SnT for Josh Smith), the signing of Howard w/ Asik means Lin's days as a Rocket are numbered (according to the inside talk).

Many of the following comments were based on this presumption or premise. I mean, we can argue that Ron G is incorrect, which is possible, but there seems to be a lot of indication that he is legit. People were then wondering how/why we'd move Lin in said scenario.

 

Bro bro, which PF are we spending that $8M on?

 

Karl malone

 

I'm completely with you until the bolded part. I agree that Morey likes Lin, and it's because he's a highly effective and still improving player. And he is an asset around the league because contrary to perception, he's not particularly overpaid. All things equal, I think the Rockets would love to keep him.

That said, Daryl Morey doesn't care about positions. The name of the game for him is All-Star talent, wherever it comes, and worry about the fit later. As it should be. If Morey can deal Lin for a major upgrade at the PF spot, and he thinks Beverley + new PF is better than Lin + alternative PF, that's a deal he will likely do.

The Rockets won't move Lin just to clear cap space, but if Dwight signs and asks for Asik to stay, Lin suddenly becomes the most attractive asset to dangle for a potential PF upgrade. It's not a no brainer, but it'll be considered.

 

Its all good dw. Morey runs this shiet. Not bbs members. Thank god.

 

If Lin gets dealt, I hope it is indeed for an upgrade at PF (maybe Josh Smith S&T?) rather than as a salary dump because Morey couldn't find a palatable trade to dump Robinson+White's salaries. We'll see.

Lin is not a bad player and has potential to improve, but given Beverley's performance, Lin is expendable to fill a greater need.

 

I understand that. I think it's what I suggested earlier. Dwight may be a package deal or him and Paul or Deron may still be colluding to get on the same team. I'm still not ruling out the possibility of Deron asking to escape the Nets. Deron is not stupid. He knows that squad has NO CHANCE to get past Miami, Chicago, and Indiana. He' stuck there for another couple years of first and second round exits. No, I don't know anything. And I haven't heard any rumors. I'm just remembering last off season when Howard and Deron and Howard and Paul were talking so much.

Frankly, I'm really thinking Chris Paul is going to try to escape the Clippers to the team of his choosing. I simply can't see Paul being willing to get locked in there for 5 YEARS!! with goofy Sterling making coaching decisions, yada, yada, yada. Sterling is a goofus. Everybody knows it. The players all know it. They know he's a total doofus goofus. Paul instinctively knows that he doesn't have a front office that he can trust out there to build around him. Most all reports for the last 6 months is that he is a lock to sign the 5-yr deal with them. I just don't see it. I didn't see it 6 months ago and I definitely don't see it now.

Winning is of PRIMARY IMPORTANCE to Chris Paul. That dude wants to win at all costs. He knows that if he locks in there that he really doesn't have any other top 10 guys around him. Griffin, I'm sorry to say, until he can do more than catch lobs and throw down he's not a top 10 guy. He's too limited offensively and he's simply not a factor defensively. Griffin is simply an awful jump shooter from everywhere on the court outside of 5 feet. If you don't believe me, just look at his shot chart. Griffin is an undersized Dwight Howard without any defense or rebound prowess. He has to improve drastically on his floor game or else he is going to continue to fade from the NBA landscape. I don't care how many highlight dunks he makes. At this point in their respective careers, JOSH SMITH is a superior player to Griffin. That should tell you how bad a shooter Griffin is.

So, in my opinion Paul does not have the pieces around him to really contend for a ring. I knew they would fade. I knew they would not make the WC Finals. They did as good as they did simply because of Chris Paul's brilliance.

Now I can see Morey trading Lin for Paul. Morey believes Paul is the greatest point guard of all time. That's what I'm talking about when I say we aren't trading Lin unless it's for a significant upgrade. And the only significant upgrade to Lin out there is a guy like Paul, DWill, Rose, etc. Lin, White, DMo, and TJones is enough salary to sign and trade for Paul. Something like that could conceivably take place but it would almost have to be in conjunction with a sign and trade of Dwight as well.

The more likely scenario in my mind is Lin being moved after next season. He's got one year left. Asik would have one year left. If we leave DMo and TJones in place, their trade values will have mushroomed after next season playing alongside Dwight/Asik. I could see Lin being moved out then a lot more realistically than I can see Lin being moved out today. Perhaps Paul signs a 1-yr contract with the Clippers and forces a trade at the deadline?? I don't know. I am very confident that we ain't dumping Lin for cap space.

And no, I ain't no LOF.

 

Agreed that Clipps won't win WC or Finals.

Agreed that Lin won't be moved just for cap space.

Doubt we'll see Paul on our team though just because Morey will go after Dwight first, and once we have Dwight, realistically speaking, it is near impossible to get Paul (even through a SnT) as we lose all leverage. Paul also won't really consider Houston unless Dwight will be here, but again, once Dwight is here, no real shot at Paul. Catch 22.

 

If the Rockets deal Jeremy Lin for nothing but capspace, they would be able to retain Robinson, Brooks, James Anderson, and re-sign Garcia at a discount. Beverley/Brooks becomes our PG combo, Garcia and Anderson remains as our backup wings, while Robinson gets another year here to show he's worth his draft status.

If the Rockets retain Jeremy Lin, all of the above players would be definitively gone.

 

He said PF, POWER FORWARD. Not p***y Fart. :grin:

 

I've been thinking about Ron at the G's insider info. and something just doesn't seem right with what his insider is saying...

'Ron at the G' was dead wrong on his insider info. last year and I suspect he is dead wrong on the insider info. this year too. That's nothing against Ron at the G's character, another poster has said he is a really nice guy and there's nothing for me to disbelieve that. I'm only going from his track record of insider info. which was terrible as demonstrated in the post above. The fact is, there is a good chance his insider info. may just be wrong.

OK. Aside from a poor track record. Let's dissect the insider info and see if it passes the logic test.

Points from the insider info are in bold.

1) the consensus amongst some very in the know individuals in the organization is that Dwight will be a Rocket.

OK. I have no problem with this. It could very well be the case from the feedback they've been getting from Harden and Parsons. I believe its the general consensus from around the league, and on the Vegas Sportsbook betting line too.

2) He doesn't want to have to play a lot of minutes through out the season and thus the reason he wants to play with another good big man (Asik).

Not sure if saying Dwight wants to play with another big man and putting Asik in brackets means that's 'Ron at the G's' opinion or his interpretation of what the insider was implying.

First of all, saying he doesn't want to play a lot of minutes through the season just doesn't pass the logic test for me. Is Dwight actually communicating this to the Rocket's organization? C'mon, really? You communicate this to an organization that is thinking about giving you a super max deal in the prime of your career. Either Dwight and his agent are sooooo dumb or this is bulls***.

He wants to play with a good big man. Yeah OK, I can understand this. It doesn't have to be Asik, could be his mate Josh Smith. After all, he played with Gasol last season, there's Dirk in Dallas, and Horford in Atlanta. Even if he meant Asik, questions have to be asked about whether you let a free agent dictate roster moves before you have a chance to meet face to face.

3) Also it's high probably that if Dwight is a Rocket that Lin's future here will be in jeopardy.

As many of you know, I went through the numbers and it is highly unlikely Lin needs to be moved to create cap room to sign Dwight outright. It will be T-Rob in combination with White, T-Jones or D-Mo. We could sweeten the deal by adding cash or picks but there is no way a team will not take that trade for at least a future second rounder, so lets get that out of the way.

That leaves us with Lin being traded for other pieces. The two most prominent players that have been mentioned are Chris Paul and Josh Smith.

The only way to get CP3 is in a S&T which must involve both Lin and Asik to make it work. This scenario is extremely unlikely because it is hard to FORCE the Clippers to do something they don't want or need (they have Bledsoe and DJordan). And its Donald Sterling we are dealing with!

Similarly with Josh Smith, after Dwight comes we are limited to the S&T. However, Atlanta has shown interest in Asik at the past trade deadline. They are unlikely to want Lin because they have Teague. J.Smith's less than max salary would only require Asik + PF to make the trade work, NOT Asik and Lin like in Paul's case.

Again, the Asik staying and Lin going scenario in the case of Dwight coming is very unlikely and doesn't pass the logic test.

4) One last piece. Francisco Garcia is willing to take less money in order to stay here.

Yeah. I guess this is believable, he seemed happy here. Cisco's team option of $6.5m is likely to be declined by the Rockets. If we sign Dwight outright, we will be at cap limit leaving us with only the Room Exception (2.6m - max 2 years) or Vet Min. around 1 million. It could be possible Cisco is willing to play for the $2.6 million Room Exception if he does not get higher offers from other teams.

Conclusion

Ron at the G's insider info has not had the best track record. The FO being confident that Howard will be a Rocket is a good sign. The Howard wanting to play less minutes is a bit of a concern. Trading Lin to create cap room is not necessary. Lin (not including Asik) being traded for either CP3 or J.Smith is extremely unlikely. Cisco wanting willing to play for less is plausible if he is willing to play for $2.6m Room Exception.

 

When you say something has a "50 50 chance" of happening and it does not happen, you are not really "dead wrong."

 

I should just say wrong. Was there any after the fact dissemination of anything his insider said was true last year?

I think there is a 50 50 chance my opinion could be correct. See how that works. I hate that expression, especially every time SAS uses it.

 

He wouldn't be "wrong," either. If I say Dwight Howard has a "50 50 chance" of making a free throw, I wouldn't be "wrong" whether it happens or not.

As for Ron's info. The fact is that none of us have precise info as to what the Rockets discussed at that time-- we know that they did talk some kind of Dwight Howard trade, but whether they talked about acquiring Bynum and how far it progressed (whether it got to the "50 50" stage) are not known. So, we don't know whether Ron was correct or "wrong," judging by publicly available info.

Ron may or may not be correct about Jeremy Lin being traded after a Dwight Howard acquisition. I do think that he probably has some inside info since several long-time fans have vouched for him, but even inside info doesn't always turn out to be right-- sometimes they came from sources with their own agenda and sometimes things just change. For now, it's just something to discuss. It's not like there are a lot of other Rockets "game action and roster moves" to talk about in early June and this is taking up precious space on the forum. Not sure why we need to attack Ron for sharing.