You're correct, at least in terms of cap hit. However, while the cap hit of any team that acquires Lin or Asik will be $8.3m, they'll still have to actually pay them $15m.
Am pretty sure he knows people talking about him being immature and not a winner, so i think he is aware it's his last chance to prove them wrong and do whatever it takes to win a championship.
I think the cap hit is all that matters though. Every writer makes it seem like the extra 7 mil might make trades deal breakers... It won't. Teams know these guys are a steal at those prices, especially Asik.
For all the criticism, Stern deserves his own appreciation thread when he retires. Without him our team wouldn't be possible
And to think that "basketball reasons" became a huge anti-Stern thing on this very same board for so long... Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but the trade for Gasol never made any sense to me.
After this season, teams receiving them in a trade only take an 8.3m cap hit but will have to pay 15m into their bank accounts. Asik is still very valuable as 7 foot skilled centers are hard to find. The market for Lin will be restricted to big city profitable teams like Lakers, New York, Brooklyn, Chicago, Clippers... Essentially keeping Lin this year means we will be committing to him for the next two years. I think Morey knows the value and potential of Lin through his advanced stats and will keep him for the remainder of his contract. He is also an insurance policy incase Harden goes down, just as Asik is an insurance policy if Dwight go down.
I know with certainty (ties to the family) that NeNe was going to sign with us when he was a free agent. The intention was for him to be paired up with Pau, and he liked the idea. Plus, he and Pau have a friendship. The Rockets offered him the same contract (with incentives) that the Nuggets eventually gave him. I've even seen pictures of the infamous the Ipad lol. He eventually chose to re-up with Denver for a few reasons which include Pau, coaching experience, but most of all, being close to his wife, family and sister-in-law, who I have known since my undergrad days. He is happy in Washington now, but he regrets his Denver signing because of their disloyalty. I mean, he signed his contract and was shipped out just like that. In hindsight, he knows that Houston should have been the place, despite the deficits he saw. It's crazy how all of this ended up happening, from Dictator Stern and all of our player turnover, but at least we're finally in the discussion of championships again. I wish Morey would have kept a few more of our pieces from past years, but I see that he had a bigger plan. However, Kyle Lowry as our starting PG right now would make us that much better. Do you remember how he was playing before the slight injury? He was on his way to becoming an all-star player in a few years. And then, poof, Toronto ruins him. That's the player I still wish we had, along with PatPat. But, I'm sure Morey will surprise again.
Everything happened exactly the way we wanted it to for the first time in a very long time. We choked to get Lamb for example. It all just worked out. I'm getting greedy now, but not at the sake of comprimising cap flexibility. That's why DM passed on Josh Smith.
