I am listening to 610 right now. One of them said "DH is like a 27 years old man with a 9 years old brain, the problem is Rockets don't have an amusement park for him." Man, it is just cold. I think we should call in to let them know our feelings. I don't think DH can handle that very well when he does decide to come to Houston.
You're right. I was looking at the RealGM message that said 150%. I strongly dislike their trade machine compared to ESPN's.
Eh, I stick with shamsports for the salary information and my knowledge of the CBA(with a HUGE help from Coon's CBA FAQ and other cap guys here) when deciphering cap issues.
Ian Thomsen(SI): Dwight asked if they can get a third piece. Can they do it? I don't think they can do it this summer but can eventually. It won't be easy. That's a smart thing for him to want. ... On the other hand, you have to ask, can you win a championship with Dwight anyways as your 2nd or 3rd player? Right now, he's not trending the right way. Warriors and Hawks? Not part of the race? They're just interesting meetings. I can't see him going to either. Golden State will have to do a sign and trade. The Lakers don't want to do that. They'd rather have the cap space. Only player under contract in 2014 is Steve Nash. What went wrong with Dwight and the Lakers? I don't think it's done. I read all these reports. They are accurate but the Lakers will have the last word with Dwight. They will offer him a TV show and things apart from basketball. I will be surprised if he walks away from them. They have been the dominant franchise for championships. I don't see how he can walk away. I really think all this talk about wanting to play for Houston or Dallas more with a huge grain of salt and it's coming out of Dwight's shaker. It doesn't make sense to walk away from the Lakers, given the history and assets they have.
And you're underestimating the problems starting player turnover brings the following season. On top of that, they will be playing differently. They may start rolling some later in the season, but the beginning is going to keep them from being a really high seed, IMO. If you're calling them a dark horse, isn't that a team that isn't likely to wni it, but could win it, under favorable circumstances? That's basically what i'm saying. They can be like the Grizz of this past season.
No matter what happens, the Rockets have the Lakers on their knees begging. That is already a win in my book.
Basically, tired old sportswriter is tired old sportswriter. Newsflash: just because something happened before doesn't mean it automatically happens again for the remainder of time.
It's funny that the desire to have 3 stars would be some sort of pre-condition for Dwight to come to Houston, when none of the other teams he is considering could offer him 2 other stars to play with outside of potentially Golden State, if you consider Curry, David Lee and Dwight to be 3 stars that could realisitically contend. Going there requires taking a much less financially appealing deal since he would not get the extra year he gets with the Lakers AND he would still be dealing with California state income tax and higher cost of living. The Lakers would also have to want what the Warriors are offering over just leaving the cap space to tank for a year and going after Lebron or who ever in 2014-15, along with a potentially high lottery pick in what is projected to be a strong draft. Atlanta has no other stars at the moment, though maybe they could resign Smith, but I wouldn't consider that team a contender or close to it. They would have to find a way to get Rondo or some other star first I think. Dallas has an aging Dirk and no one else, nor any real assets to get some one else until 2014-15 at the soonest in free agency. The Mavs may want Rondo, but who would Boston want from Dallas? Dirk will be turning 37 in two years when they have the cap space to add another star on top of Dwight in free agency, and it's questionable if Dirk will still be a star by then. The Rockets have as good a chance as anyone of adding a 3rd star now or in the future to team with Dwight. If Dwight wanted to wait for cap space to free up in a year or so to have a chance at contending by recruiting other stars, he might as well stay with the Lakers and do that there.
I don't think it was a condition. It was more on how feasible is it b/c I would be interested. I bet he asks every team the same question.
Seriously? He's a dominant defensive player, and he took a team with Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis as their 2nd and 3rd best players to an NBA Finals. The question is, can you get the roster right, and have the dice land right. Winning a championship is hard.
Lakers sneak in two early meetings with Dwight Howard Steve Nash, Magic Johnson help Lakers court Dwight Howard on Twitter <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>If Time Warner Cable had a side pot of $ for Dwight Howard - the league would block it as circumvention of the cap</p>— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricPincus/statuses/351789484523794432">July 1, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Latest on Lakers meeting with Dwight Howard on Tuesday: "Lakers will match the Rockets Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon by having Laker legends Wilt Chamberlain and George Mikan make appearances at the meeting."
Lakersground has some insider saying it looks like he already is set on Houston. Hmmm...This offseason has been pretty fun. Either way, we do not have to use our capspace for this offseason.
