I like the idea of getting Rondo because it would get the ball out of Harden's hands a little bit. He seems more efficient when he doesn't feel pressured to create so much of the offense by himself. However I would love to see if Bass could be included somehow to play PF, although with Bass having a 6+ mill salary it would almost certainly mean Lin would have to be included instead of Beverly. How's this? Lin, Asik, D-Mo, 2014 #1 (epic draft) For Rondo, Bass
I remember the lakers traded nve,campbell,and jones to get back basically glen rice. All three of those guys were still very good players but the fit with shaq and to give kobe the minutes didn't fit. So I'm thinking fit and talent when I'm thinking of trades. I have frye,dragic,patterson,thompson in line of sorts. The traded guys can be lin,asik,d-mo,jones. Channing Frye+Dragic for asik+lin+ either d-mo or jones. That's the core for me. if mchale still wants to play 2 bigs,but wants a guy with range,that's frye. Top that off,we know he trusts dragic and would probably put beverly back on the bench. I'm sure the moneyis close enough only picks and tinkering needs to be addressed. Asik for Jason Thompson makes sense from a rockets pov. Thompson has range to 15ft. He's almost 7ft, good quickness,and just a solid guy. He would allow mchale to stay big,but get more agile and better spacing. He can also backup at the 5 when howard is out the game. Thompson only makes 3m so they might have to involve a 3rd team to benefit everyone. Final option is the return of patrick "biggie smalls" patterson. The more I look at this team,the better is see him fitting. Patterson next to howard is as close to horace grant type as I see. Now,I am going on the PPat that played here. The guy who could pick and pop to about 18ft. The guy who showed good quickness in pnr defense. Actually the guy who is bigger and more natural at the 4 more than casspi who is a sf pretending to play pf. I think with patterson and his range,he's more of the stretch player they would be looking for. His salary is isn't that much so you don't have to give asik or lin up,probably one of the younger guys like d-mo or jones to make it work.
Again we should do this: Trade Lin and Asik to Miami for Bosh and chalmers. This way we get a perfect 4 who can shoot and rebound and a functional PG who has experience playing with ball dominant stars. Heat gets a legit center who can protect the paint zone and be the focal defensive presence and a really decent PG who could play as either as a facilitator or a slash shooter. Both team will get upgraded after the trade!
Harden and Howard for Anthony Davis of the Pelicans+fillers. Why would Rox do it: 1. Huge improvement on the front court, Asik is not a big dropoff from Howard, Davis is a huge upgrade on the PF position. The front court will be championship quality one day. 2. Both Harden and Howard are flawed players, difficult to manage in game-end situation with Howard's FT trouble, Harden does not play much defense, there has never ever been a Super star who does not play defense. Howard is as it is, he is not going to improve much anyway. 3. Salary dump, you pay Max for 2 flawed star players, not going to win a championship for you. With the salary saving, Rox can replace Harden with a lesser but more defensive-minded player. With some luck and young Davis on board, Rox might even get a star SG. 4. Davis plays both end of the floor, he is young, he has already developed a mid-range jumper. His post play won't be worse than Howard's. So offensively, defensively, he is at least as good as Howard, and he is still young, can learn. Sure, he does not play the center position, thus not as valuable as Howard position wise, but Asik, defensively, is not a big dropoff. Why would Pelicans do it? 1. Instant playoff 2. On paper, 2 established stars in exchange for a 2nd year player who is dominating, but still young, not enough to get into the playoff. So certainty in exchange of greatness. Why would Rox not do it? 1. 2 stars for 1 potential super-star, maybe risky, but with the way Anthony is playing, the risk is very low. 2. Might miss playoff this year, however, Rox's front court will dominate, backcourt is worse off, but the trade will certainly bring in other players for salary match. Rox is a young team, can wait. Second half will be very interesting. The team will be championship quality after 3, 4 years. Why would Pelicans not do it? 1. Salary commitment to 2 max players
Miami won't do it. Bosh can play the center position, it is not a clear upgrade for Miami. Rox might not do it, it just costs too much money with Bosh. Now you have to pay 3 max for 3 flawed stars, does not make sense.
LOL, no way that trade is happening. They're rebuilding their franchise, they have their own superstar in the making, who's now a part of their identity. They're in no rush to win now. That being said you don't give up Harden & Howard for a second year star. Howard is still relatively young, theoretically he has just entered his prime as a big man, and you should still be able to squeeze 4-5 good years out of him. Harden just turned 24 for crying out loud. His defense will definitely improve over time, and he still has a tremendous potential offensively. However, if you absolutely want to butcher this core, why not do it by not selling low? Something like: 1) Firstly, Howard for Brook Lopez + Kirilenko + Teletovic 2) Then, Harden + T-Jones for DeRozan + Valanciunas + Johnson 3) And Asik + Lin + D-Mo for LMA (not sure if Portland does that) 4) Fire McHale, hire George Karl Then you have a line up of: Wall / Beverley / Canaan DeRozan / Garcia Parsons / Kirilenko / Casspi LMA / Amir Johnson / Teletovic Valanciunas / Smith I would much rather a really good complete core in return for two superstars, instead of one young superstar in the making.
LOL, now when I look at it, I hate my proposal. We lose two superstars and getting a perennial all-stars in LMA/Lopez and a few mediocre pieces. Not sure if worth it.
I guess the only way to move Howard/Harden and get an equal value in return would have to be done through 3way or 4way trades.
We wait this whole time for star players, then finally get a couple, and people wanna trade them after 1 loss...
What is laughable is your inability to read the whole thread. I don't want to move Harden/Howard at all. That was just my reply to another fella, who want to trade them both for Davis.
These people are simply incredulous to the fact of what we got now and it's extremely annoying seeing these posts after a loss.
Well be prepared... Every loss will equate to the sky falling. It's blatantly obvious and it's going to be highly annoying.
