Woj: Rockets "frontrunners" for Dwight Howard, Lakers "desperate" to keep him

This means absolutely nothing. TJ Maxx is an independent store trying to make sure they are left with unsellable product if Howard leaves. They don't know anything about the future. You think Howard's agent called them and said "hey just you know, he leaving. Sell his jerseys now before they become trash."

 

The Rox Pack

 

but are they offering free fingers for life?!! lol

 

Yeah, but why will he wait until Dirk retires? When Dirk retires, Dwight Howard will be out of his prime. The Mavs don't have the appeal that Dwight can compete for a championship. And they have to move Shawn Marion some where else. Why in the f***ing hell will Dwight go to a team where they will end up out of the playoffs or be an 8th seed team? They HAVE NOBODY but Dirk Nowitzki to play with. He should rather stay in L.A, at least he will get PAID and BE a Hollywood star. Golden State and Houston are the only attractive places he can WIN. Forget the Hawks, Chris Paul already announced he will stay with the Clippers.

 

Considering this is the new "main Dwight thread", I thought I'd ask this. What do you guys think of the idea of trading Lin and Asik for cap space after signing Dwight. Portland would offer for Omer. Detroit, Philly, and Toronto might offer for Lin. This way we'd have money to spend on a PF plus we'd be able to sign some vets. Perhaps we could get Delfino and Garcia back. Maybe pick up a solid backup center such as Dalembert. Maybe we'd even have a little left over to go toward a Parsons contract extension! I know the LOF's won't like this but it is just a suggestion. In no way am I trying to start a war between LOF's and LOH's.

 

For those of you who think the Clippers are a viable option: Do you really think that Dwight, sensitive and image-conscious as he is, is going to want to play in a city where more than half the local population will despise him for abandoning the Lakers for the rival Clippers? He and his family would be harassed and heckled for years. Furthermore, from a business perspective, jumping from the Lakers to the Clippers will render him toxic for virtually any local endorsement deals.

And on top of that, don't forget about the historically horrible Clippers organization, the awful cheapskate owner, the tricky logistics of consummating a trade with the Lakers, and the fact that Dwight would make less money with the Clips.

I just don't see it. The Mavs have a better shot at Dwight than the Clips, IMO.

 

if dwight is "focused" on basketball reasons for where he decides to go, then shouldn't we sell him on why we're at such an advantage to prosper with the talent we have in place?

if the mavs are selling their pitch to him based on championship pedigree, then we should emphasize how much we could get there with him.

all this state tax/ far east market stuff should be secondary

 

Realistically i can see this happening. I can see either lin or asik, or likely both getting traded to free cap space. There's no way we can keep Lin Asik and have howard and still have a bench thats worth playing.

 

Trade Lin to TOR for '14 1st round pick. Oops, they changed GMs.

 

of course you want that to happen but wanting and getting are two different things. you really think portland would want to have a point guard that's more expensive than both, when they have 2 on rookie contracts? use your own logic Isn't beverley the one with superstar potential. They'd want something like that to go long with asik, cheap and full of potential plus future offerings.

If I'm portland I would not trade LA, as he is an allstar. It would take asik, parsons, demo, t jones and a future lottery guaranteed pick in 3019 A.D. And I only make that trade if I don't have batum. Chill out on the crack pipe,. you can get a better high from peyote .

 

Just going over all this new information, I think back to about a month ago someone on here named Rob said that if Howard came to Houston Lin's days are numbered. Claimed to have inside info.

I now completely agree with this. If Howard comes, I think Lin is gone. So if you are a Lin fan, you should probably start to prepare for that.

There is a way Lin could still be in Houston if Howard comes, but I doubt it will happen.

 

Just a reminder. If and when we get Dwight, we'll have to get rid of ALL of our non-guaranteed contracts, correct? So we'll have

Asik
Dwight, Trob, Dmo
Parsons
Harden
Lin, Canaan

Who else?

 

Who would want his contract?

 

How so? Lin is a cash cow and he's part of the pitch to Dwight. Plus, he's a more serviceable PG that anything we can realistically get (no, we're not getting CP3).

Don't jump to conclusions based on something an "insider" on here said. Lin is staying.

 

TJones?

 

Sorry, I meant TJones.

 

I'm not worried. Word is, when we tried picking up Chris Bosh, they gave him a presentation showing how well he'd fit in with the team we had at that point. They'd compiled statistics on Bosh's play -- where he got his shots, where he was the best at -- and showed how he'd fit in alongside a returning Yao Ming and our shooters. I'm certain they'll have a similar presentation planned for Dwight. Except, this time, they have a player who is seriously considering coming here, and they've learned their lessons from previous courtships.

 

And Anderson, no?

 

It really depends. Cutting Smith saves about 400K. Cutting Beverly saves about 300K. Anderson gets an extra 500K, so he might be the most likely to go given how replaceable he is.

I find it highly unlikely for the Rockets to cut those guys to save those amounts.

 

I'm not basing it on just the supposed insider info. I never took that seriously by itself.

But, if the Dallas reporter for ESPN is saying Houston can't offer a max to Howard even if Houston cleans out its non-guaranteed contracts, that's an issue. Sure, Dwight can sign for a non-max but not sure that will happen, if only for appearance's sake. Maybe it happens. That would be step 1.

Step 2 is does Dwight want to play with another guy like Iggy or Smith? If so, and one guy has to go, my guess is it's Lin because Howard has said through his camp he values Asik. But maybe both Lin and Asik have to go in order to try to bring in someone like Iggy or Smith.

So, if Howard will apparently (according to Dallas reporter from ESPN) be willing to sign to a non-max (but close) and if Howard doesn't think he can bring someone else to Houston like Iggy or Smith, then Lin probably stays. Or if you can't move Lin's contract.

I'm not sure all of this will happen. Is Dwight really going to sign for a non-max? Is there no chance Houston could land a "Howard guy" in Iggy or Smith?

I'm just starting to get the feeling there is a very good chance if Howard is here, Lin will not be. I hope I'm wrong.