You're right. Thanks for pointing that out. That does make losing Parsons in a trade this year much more painful.
the Cash and the 1st round pick may be able to compensate White. There may still be a slim hope that White can turnaround, if not, then just waive him.
Any NBA player that doesn't want to take plane rides will be out of the league in no time. He's such a headache off the court as well. He contributes nothing on the court and even has the audacity to berate his own team. Would you want that guy on your payroll?
He's a $1.7 million expiring contract. If he's that bad, just cut him. White isn't a perk for anyone, but I think calling it a "major turnoff" is overstating it -- it's just a minor inconvenience.
Remember the thread that asked if we could void any contract without penalty and all the Lin fans were up in arms about how anyone could seriously choose Lin? This was the scenario many people brought up as the main reason to choose Lin. The flexibility gained from that cap space would go a very long way in making Dwight and CP3 happen. Only wish it were actually possible.
The issue about the Rockets wanting to get rid of any contract to open up cap flexibility in an effort of getting one or both of the marquee free agents is leverage. Royce White's $1.7M may not be much, Thomas Robinson may have some actual upside at $3.5M, Lin is actually a solid starter and Omer Asik is more than that at $8.4M each. However, if teams know that their contracts stand between your team and a superstar signing or even a legitimate shot at a superstar, they tend to hold you hostage. Remember when the Knicks wanted to open up cap space for 2 max guys in 2010 so they can sign Lebron (who was widely expected to go to NY at the time) and one other star? Daryl Morey held out for a pretty good haul to take on the salary of Jared Jeffries, who had only 1 year left on his contract at $6M or so-- a 1st round pick, a right to switch picks, plus the rookie 8th overall pick from the 2009 draft. The fact that the right to switch picks never materialized, the 1st rounder turned out to be Royce White and that 8th pick was Jordan Hill may look the haul look light in hindsight, but that's still more than you can expect for $6M of salary relief on a guy who actually got rotation minutes. The fact that there are 30 teams in the league and the Knicks couldn't get anyone to help them out at a lower cost is informative when you look at today's situation. Both then and now we have a team needing to get rid of some salaries to make a run at a superstar (or two). The contracts involved are not really that big or that bad. In both years we have teams with the ability to take on these contracts without giving back future $ in return. The reasons why the Knicks couldn't get anyone to take on Jeffries for less are that 1) several teams with cap space were also going after the same star free agents and 2) many teams, especially those in the East, don't want to help out the Knicks forming a super team to dominate the conference. Now, teams with cap room this summer won't want to ruin their chances at going after a marquee (or even 2nd level like Josh Smith) free agent this summer or next (with Lebron, Melo, etc. becoming free agents). Many teams, particularly those competing with Houston in the West, won't want to see the rise of a rival. So, the market for accepting a salary is rather limited, especially when you want a team to make that decision early in the free agency process-- which is likely what you need to do since the top max free agents tend to make their choices early in the summer judging by past free agencies.
Actually, it doesn't that long. You'd have the ability to sign Dwight, but still very far from being able to sign Paul outright-- in fact, you'd still be short even after getting rid of Asik's cap hit as well. With or without Lin, getting Dwight+Paul is going to require cooperation from another team.
My gut feeling says this will not all end well for us. I was super optimistic but this Paul crap seems like it'll bite us in the rear.
This. Say goodbye to the dream. Dwight is going to the Clippers. You can dream and deny it, but stars get what they want. It seems CP3 and Dwight want to pair up in LA. Another Houston Sports letdown.
Where are our insiders? We need cyberx to clear this up? What's the latest on the inner workings of everything?
I think Bledsoe is terribly over-rated and won't be surprised if he isn't in the league in a few years. He's all athleticism and no bball IQ. I'm also starting to sour on Griffin. He has all world talent, but basketball doesn't seem to be his top priority. It's almost possible to ever be great without dedication to your craft. Say what you will about Lin or Asik, but nobody questions their work ethic and dedication. So while Griffin and Bledsoe are clearly better athletes than Asik and Lin, I'm still not convinced they're much more valuable to their teams than Asik and Lin.
Can't say I disagree. We've lost out on FA's the last several years, so why wouldn't we think like this. This has been bothering me the last couple of days, as well. If Paul and Howard really want to stay in LA, we/Rockets might be in trouble. This is the year it really needs to come together. Personally, glad we missed out on Amare, Melo and Pau etc. etc. Most likely wouldn't have landed Harden if one of those deals had been struck. Everything now is seemingly lined up for the Rockets to land their second big fish and make a serious run at a title. This IMO is the offseason that would hurt the Rockets most if they struck out. July can't get here quick enough.
Not sure why Dwight's interest in Houston before to pair up w/ Harden is not what he 'wants' and now this random report that say they want to be together IS representative. Of course they thought about being together before. Guess what? I also read that Dwight 'wants' to go to BKN, and 'wanted' to go to BKN last yr. How'd that turn out? Or better yet, the other articles in this thread that stated how most of this interest was from Paul's camp, not Howard's, which makes sense since Howard coming to Houston w/ Parsons and Harden and Lin and Asik is comparable to going to LAC w/ CP3 only...but CP3 would be stuck w/ NO good alternative if Howard left him in the dust. Either way, this is the nba. Players and agents and GMs all have varying interests and plans; very fluid and people constantly changes their minds. How this will all end up? I have no idea. I personally don't think we'll get both CP3 and D12, so I WOULD rather the idea of the two of them playing together quickly get quashed. Our chances of landing Dwight alone look really good at the moment...assuming this CP3 thing resolves itself. le sigh.
mind providing the link on that? I'd be interested to read responses to that post and the rest of that thread
