Would love to have Lowry back. Better two-way PG than anyone we have, would bring a steadiness we're lacking at the position, tough gritty player that wouldn't be afraid to hold guys accountable on the court. Too bad it's not even in the realm of possibility because of McFail.
We trade for Lowry McHale turns him into 4th string pg gets discruntled, we trade him for another Harden Profit
Lowry would be great with this team, but there is almost zero chance, unless: A.) We make a big trade which removes our need for our 2015 cap space. B.) A coaching change is made in the offseason. C.) He is willing to take MLE. Can't see a trade happening at all.
These are some numbers for Lowry: (numbers from nba.com) Averages for the 19 games before Dec. 9 and 12 games after Dec. 9 REB: 3.6 / 4.8 (+1.2) AST: 6.7 / 8.9 (+2.2) PTS: 14.8 / 17.0 (+2.2) +/-: 0.9 / 5.8 (+4.9) Guess what happened on Dec. 9, 2013
It's interesting, but I just don't see them paying that price unless they thought it was a long-term marriage, and that's doubtful. Now the NBA shocks me all the time and I don't think it's impossible, but I think it's extremely unlikely -- I just think the way he acted as the team was in a playoff run and the comments he made would make it unlikely that the Rockets would be going after him as a piece for this team. Given the way the Rockets operate.... to pay real assets for him as you outlined, I think the worst-case scenario (that he walked at the end of the year) would have to be acceptable to them, so they would have to be moving out salary (probably Jeremy Lin), in my opinion. Of course, we're just spitballing, but I'd only see the Rockets viewing it (if they did at all) as an expiring that could give you a contribution this year.
Also Lowry's gonna want 10 mil a year considering how he plays recently. Are we really wanting to fork out this much on an above average PG who isn't a star?
In the stats thread Lin leads in a lot of categories. There's an article on Lin at dreamshake and the conclusion is he is near the top in some categories and bottom in some and he's elite in some areas both offensively and defensively. Also, Lin outplayed Lowry in the head to heads. Lowry 27, Lin 25. Lin 6 foot 3, Lowry around 6 foot and strong. As far as trading Lin, Morey may be looking at Lin thinking we released him, he went ape you know what in NY, we get him back, and sometimes he gives us that player and we got him as an improving player. Maybe he doesn't want to let him go as eagerly as CF thinks. Because how dumb is it to have someone, release him, get him back, trade him, and then see him soar again somewhere else.
When the Rockets traded Aaron Brooks away, at that time if you would have told me that Brooks would have been more than happy to come back to Houston AS A THIRD STRING GUARD two years later, I would have laughed out loud, and fell out of my chair. Situations change the attitudes of players in relation to their team, and I do think that Lowry would probably welcome a return to Houston and would probably think to himself that burying the hatchet with McHale might be in his best interest to secure himself a nice new contract with a contending team next to a couple of superstars in a city that he likes playing in. Of course that is what a rational person would think, but that is not knowing EXACTLY what happened between Lowry and McHale. If it was just some disagreement about playing style and the demotion that Lowry took personally because of injury (bruised ego looked like the situation from my vantage point), you'd have to think that Lowry could bury the hatchet, and McHale would welcome a significant upgrade at the PG position. What would it take to get Lowry is the other major question. -Asik for Lowry straight up???… doubtful because the Raptors commitment to Jonas V., and not sure Morey would view this deal as a huge improvement unless they could turn Lin into a backup center in a separate deal. -Lin for Lowry straight up…. not sure if Ujiri really would love Lin's contract moving into next year as much as he might like Lin as a player (assuming he does). However its a possibility, and the deal makes sense for Houston. The main wrinkle in a Lowry to Houston deal is that the deal would almost certainly HAVE TO involve either one of Lin or Asik to make salaries match. You can argue either one of them, but there is no guarantees that its even an option until you put yourself in Ujiri's shoes and say "is this a win-win trade for Ujiri"… if you can't guarantee me that he would love the deal than I'd say its probably very likely to happen in the first place.
