<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Warrior&src=hash">#Warrior</a> plan, tying expiring deals to No 1s doable but NOT done. Source:'Like 15 teams have room and would like to stick it up Lakers ass'</p>— Mark Heisler (@MarkHeisler) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkHeisler/statuses/353187420688228353">July 5, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Well, it's very possible that GS will not be able to unload these contracts before the off season is over in which case they literally cannot get Dwight had he'd look like an idiot. It's possible Dwight waits a little longer to see if they can do it, then go with Houston when it's obvious they can't.
LOL yes! But I did state specifically that that was just because it was late and that people's reactions to the tweet were definitely over the top and unnecessary. I didn't really think a tweet from some barber was the end-all-be-all confirmation we needed. Just one of those things where I couldn't sleep so went along with the flow of what people were feeling. Twas a fun night overall.
Probably because if He says he wants to go to GS. Other teams know GS cap situation and will be like vultures trying to pry away Klay and Barnes. They lose all leverage because they have no flexibility
ok he's staying in LA bc he's scared of what people say. who cares. pansy. get this F ou of here. hou should sign smith outright and whoever and be like F you d12
Espn on insider ranked teams most likely to win in the next 5 years with Dwight on their team The rankings are 1. Houston 111.9 2. Atlanta 107.0 3. Golden State 82.8 4. Dallas 73.5 5. L.A. Lakers 63.9 http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/PerDiem-130705/ranking-dwight-howard-contenders
I was going to post this entire article, but there are tons of tables/graphs that wouldn't copy and paste right. Ranking Dwight Howard's suitors I can't tell you where Dwight Howard should sign if he picks a team today, as ESPN reported he hopes to do. The right choice depends on too many personal factors for Howard that none of us can weigh. However, I can shed some light on Howard's chances of winning with each of his five suitors, if competing for a championship is one of his primary considerations. Let's take a look at how the five teams project for the next three years. 1. Houston Rockets Let's start by quickly explaining the method. For veteran players, 2013-14 projected WARP is based on their projected per-minute win percentage, last season's minutes per game, and projected games played (based on games missed due to injury the past two seasons). Projections for future seasons go up or down depending on the development of similar players at the same age. Rookie projections are based on the WARP projections posted before the draft, except year by year instead of averaged. Cap space -- which also includes exceptions available to the team -- is valued at 1 WARP for every $2 million available, the average rate from last summer. And picks are estimated based on the team's projected record and the average historical value of the pick year by year. I used the same method for 2013 draft picks without projections. The Rockets are on the rise with or without Howard. Add in 10 wins for replacement level and I estimate 47 wins for Houston before putting max-level cap space to use. In James Harden, the Rockets already have a star who is a bargain at the max. And there are plenty of useful role players in place. SCHOENE is surprisingly optimistic that Jeremy Lin could improve after posting just 3.4 WARP in his first season in Houston. (Consider that a tradeoff for Omer Asik being underrated by his individual statistics.) If Lin falters, Patrick Beverley demonstrated starter ability in both the regular season and his expanded role in the playoffs. Note that these projections do not include Royce White or several players the Rockets likely would have to waive (James Anderson, Tim Ohlbrecht) or trade (Terrence Jones) to clear enough room for a max offer to Howard. Player 13-14 14-15 15-16 Total James Harden 14.7 12.9 8.9 36.4 Jeremy Lin 6.3 7.9 5.5 19.6 Chandler Parsons 4.9 5.1 5.1 15.1 Patrick Beverley 4.3 4.1 3.5 12.0 Omer Asik 2.1 2.5 2.1 6.7 Greg Smith 1.3 0.7 0.7 2.7 Isaiah Canaan 0.4 0.8 1.2 2.4 Donatas Motiejunas 0.4 0.2 0.5 1.1 Cap Space 2.4 5.0 6.5 13.9 Draft Picks - 0.2 0.8 1.0 Total 37.0 40.0 34.9 111.9 2. Hawks 3. Golden State Warriors 4. Dallas Mavericks 5. Los Angeles Lakers
I know there were reports that Dwight would make his decision today. But we were just hoping on that. It might not be, today. BUT, with this new GS development, you can't help but wonder if the decision isn't today, and takes over the weekend and into next week that it is just "buying GS time" to move their expirings. That is frustrating. It is a bit distressing to me that Dwight would give GS the "ok" to explore this, as it feels like if he had his druthers, GS is the place he would like to be. Versus Houston. That said, I would take Dwight in a heartbeat even if the Rockets came up 2nd in his mind. This is the better place for him anyway.
I can't tell you where Dwight Howard should sign if he picks a team today, as ESPN reported he hopes to do. The right choice depends on too many personal factors for Howard that none of us can weigh. However, I can shed some light on Howard's chances of winning with each of his five suitors, if competing for a championship is one of his primary considerations. Let's take a look at how the five teams project for the next three years. 1. Houston Rockets Let's start by quickly explaining the method. For veteran players, 2013-14 projected WARP is based on their projected per-minute win percentage, last season's minutes per game, and projected games played (based on games missed due to injury the past two seasons). Projections for future seasons go up or down depending on the development of similar players at the same age. Rookie projections are based on the WARP projections posted before the draft, except year by year instead of averaged. Cap space -- which also includes exceptions available to the team -- is valued at 1 WARP for every $2 million available, the average rate from last summer. And picks are estimated based on the team's projected record and the average historical value of the pick year by year. I used the same method for 2013 draft picks without projections. The Rockets are on the rise with or without Howard. Add in 10 wins for replacement level and I estimate 47 wins for Houston before putting max-level cap space to use. In James Harden, the Rockets already have a star who is a bargain at the max. And there are plenty of useful role players in place. SCHOENE is surprisingly optimistic that Jeremy Lin could improve after posting just 3.4 WARP in his first season in Houston. (Consider that a tradeoff for Omer Asik being underrated by his individual statistics.) If Lin falters, Patrick Beverley demonstrated starter ability in both the regular season and his expanded role in the playoffs. Note that these projections do not include Royce White or several players the Rockets likely would have to waive (James Anderson, Tim Ohlbrecht) or trade (Terrence Jones) to clear enough room for a max offer to Howard. Player 13-14 14-15 15-16 Total James Harden 14.7 12.9 8.9 36.4 Jeremy Lin 6.3 7.9 5.5 19.6 Chandler Parsons 4.9 5.1 5.1 15.1 Patrick Beverley 4.3 4.1 3.5 12.0 Omer Asik 2.1 2.5 2.1 6.7 Greg Smith 1.3 0.7 0.7 2.7 Isaiah Canaan 0.4 0.8 1.2 2.4 Donatas Motiejunas 0.4 0.2 0.5 1.1 Cap Space 2.4 5.0 6.5 13.9 Draft Picks - 0.2 0.8 1.0 Total 37.0 40.0 34.9 111.9 2. Atlanta Hawks This analysis is unexpectedly favorable to the Hawks. Their projection suggests somewhere around a .500 record merely by re-signing Jeff Teague. The Hawks have a solid core of veteran contributors and some promising young players, including this year's first-round pick, Lucas Nogueira. Howard would fit neatly into the lineup, leaving Atlanta only to add a defensive-minded wing and backup help in the frontcourt. Alas, it doesn't look like Howard has seriously considered a return to his hometown. Player 13-14 14-15 15-16 Total Al Horford 7.0 7.3 5.3 19.6 Jeff Teague 6.5 6.1 4.6 17.2 Lou Williams 5.2 5.5 4.6 15.4 Kyle Korver 4.1 3.8 2.6 10.5 Lucas Nogueira 1.7 2.6 3.3 7.6 John Jenkins 1.2 2.4 3.0 6.7 Mike Muscala 1.1 1.6 2.2 4.8 Dennis Schroeder 0.6 1.3 2.0 3.9 Shelvin Mack 0.7 1.4 1.7 3.8 Mike Scott 0.2 0.6 0.5 1.3 Cap Space 2.3 5.0 6.5 13.8 Draft Picks - 0.2 0.9 1.1 Total 30.9 38.5 37.5 107.0 3. Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry rates as the most valuable player on any of these teams during the next three seasons, just ahead of James Harden. Yet Golden State's projection is surprisingly pessimistic, pegging the Warriors in the neighborhood of 33 or 34 wins next season before adding Howard. Why so glum? Losing key reserves Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry -- Golden State would have difficulty re-signing either and still staying under the luxury-tax apron with a Howard sign-and-trade -- is one factor. The Warriors also may have played above their true ability during the playoffs; in the regular season, they had the point differential of a 44-win team. Lastly, David Lee may be headed in the wrong direction at age 30. Similar players slipped badly the following season. With all of that noted, Golden State has several young players capable of beating their projections -- including Curry, who rated as worth 15.9 WARP last season, good for fourth in the NBA. The bigger issue for the Warriors is the value they'd have to surrender in a sign-and-trade, or to clear enough space to sign Howard outright. Player 13-14 14-15 15-16 Total Stephen Curry 13.9 11.8 11.2 37.0 David Lee 4.6 4.2 3.7 12.5 Klay Thompson 2.9 3.4 3.4 9.6 Andrew Bogut 2.3 2.1 1.7 6.1 Brandon Rush 2.3 1.9 1.4 5.5 Harrison Barnes 0.0 0.7 1.6 2.3 Festus Ezeli -0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4 Kent Bazemore 0.0 - - 0.0 Richard Jefferson -0.3 - - -0.3 Andris Biedrins -0.5 - - -0.5 Draymond Green -0.9 - - -0.9 Nemanja Nedovic -0.7 -0.4 -0.2 -1.3 Cap Space 0.0 3.8 5.3 9.1 Draft Picks - 0.4 1.3 1.7 Total 23.5 29.2 30.0 82.8 4. Dallas Mavericks The cupboard is relatively bare in Dallas, with eight players hitting free agency and two more (Vince Carter and Shawn Marion) unlikely to return next summer. After Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks' next most valuable player the next three seasons is first-round pick Shane Larkin. The Dallas pitch is all about the cap space the team can clear in 2014. Even with the exceedingly optimistic projection that Nowitzki's promised pay cut would leave him making the veteran's minimum, the Mavericks still rate poorly because they would have so little depth around Howard, the aging Nowitzki and next year's big addition. Player 13-14 14-15 15-16 Total Dirk Nowitzki 6.5 4.4 2.7 13.6 Shane Larkin 0.9 1.7 2.3 4.9 Jae Crowder 1.1 1.6 1.5 4.3 Shawn Marion 3.4 - - 3.4 Vince Carter 3.2 - - 3.2 Bernard James 1.3 0.9 0.4 2.6 Ricky Ledo -0.1 0.1 0.3 0.2 Cap Space 2.4 16.0 19.8 38.2 Draft Picks - 0.5 1.1 1.6 Total 19.1 25.8 28.6 73.5 5. Los Angeles Lakers Lastly, we come to the Lakers. Without Howard, this method projects them winning about 35 games next season, which makes sense given this past season's 45-37 finish and the likely continued decline of several veterans. The Lakers will clean house next summer, and I've projected they use the stretch provision on Steve Nash, which potentially would give them $30 million in cap space to lure free agents to join Howard. Player 13-14 14-15 15-16 Total Kobe Bryant 8.9 - - 8.9 Pau Gasol 5.6 - - 5.6 Ryan Kelly 0.7 1.2 1.6 3.5 Steve Nash 2.5 - - 2.5 Jodie Meeks 1.9 - - 1.9 Jordan Hill 1.8 - - 1.8 Metta World Peace 1.5 - - 1.5 Steve Blake -0.7 - - -0.7 Cap Space 2.6 15.0 18.8 36.4 Draft Picks - 0.4 0.9 1.3 Total 25.1 17.1 21.7 63.9 Comparison Learn About Tableau Adding up the projections shows the Rockets as the best landing spot for Howard in terms of competing for the next three seasons. Houston's advantage in having talent already on the roster overwhelms the potential of the Mavericks and Lakers adding other stars in free agency next summer. Surprisingly, Atlanta comes out as the No. 2 option, far ahead of the three other contenders. Looking at the combined projections year by year (below) helps explain why the Rockets and Hawks look so good by contrast to Dallas and Los Angeles. Houston, in particular, starts with a big edge, which only increases when the Mavericks and Lakers clear their rosters to head into free agency. Team 13-14 14-15 15-16 Total Houston 37.0 40.0 34.9 111.9 Atlanta 30.9 38.5 37.5 107.0 Golden State 23.5 29.2 30.0 82.8 Dallas 19.1 25.8 28.6 73.5 L.A. Lakers 25.1 17.1 21.7 63.9 Fans of Dallas and L.A. can point out that their teams might be able to do better than average in free agency, especially with Howard in place. However, even if they use their cap space in the most effective way possible -- signing LeBron James -- their projections would only improve by about 19 wins combined over the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, leaving them behind the Rockets. The Lakers and Mavericks would have to rely on players chasing rings to fill out their paper-thin rosters, while Houston would have had two summers to build around Howard and Harden using this year's room exception and next year's mid-level. We don't really know what will drive Howard's ultimate decision in free agency. But if he's most concerned with winning big now, the Rockets are his best choice.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>The most important question to be answered at the Orlando Summer League: Is <a href="https://twitter.com/patbev21">@patbev21</a> still wearing #12?</p>— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) <a href="https://twitter.com/clutchfans/statuses/353185234797342720">July 5, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> I forgot that was Beverly's number.
a part of me thinks that dwight is just seeing what gsw is offering on the table.. i don't know what makes him so sold on playing there...i think he just wants to keep his options open, but that dude needs to figure this ish out quickly...
Are the Lakers doing this decision or is it Dwight? Why is everyone so sympathetic to keep L.A relevant at the expensive of every other team. The way the media is spinning it is Dwight will pick the team that has the best players to be traded to help the Lakers. I understand 30 mil but this infatuation with the Lakers has to end. Let espn tell it no matter where he goes the team will be gutted so their basically forcing his hand to go back to the Lakers. I really hate espn, Houston is not a small market arse holes
I believe that GSW should had done what the Rockets did with Thomas Robinson, Garcia, Delfino and Brooks awhile back... GSW should have thought ahead of possibly acquiring Dwight. Now that ESPN is reporting that GSW is trying to shed bad salary on BAD players, I'm sure the other teams are onto this and will NOT help GSW... Sure, LAL is willing but you'd have to give up your young, future pieces... I see this falling apart due to not planning ahead of time.
Makes sense why this "decision" has been taking so long. Howard must view Golden State as a better situation IF they were to keep their core pieces in tack... Most likely Barnes and Thompson included in that core. Fegan probably gave them the challenge of keeping that core intact and freeing up cap space to sign Dwight in free agency. That's why Golden State wont offer Barnes/Thompson in a S&T offer to the Lakers. Howard and his camp obviously think they will be a big part of getting Dwight a title. Houston right now, seems to be the backup plan if Golden State cannot perform an NBA trade machine miracle.
Wouldn't he want to wait to make sure they CAN get rid of all those bad contracts and still have a decent roster left?
