People don't think he sucks. We just always have to highlight his negatives in response to people who act like he is an all-star being held back by managment and vindictive teammates.
tis true. If we had no Harden and Lin saw maybe 5 more shots a game. His 14.5 points might be 18 to 20 ppg with 6 to 8 apg. That would at least look better.
there's a fan that is saying lin told him he is getting traded to the warriors or raptors. my response is: was that fan sure that guy was lin? or some random other tall asian guy.
The Toronto rumor actually makes some sense. It appears Lowry will likely bolt, and I can see Lin putting a lot of butts in seats in Canada. Toronto seems like a really good fit for Linsanity. Maybe I was wrong about him having negative trade value. His market alone would offset the bad salary, and he can definitely develop into a good role player. Very excited to see how this turns out. There might actually be some advantages to pulling the trigger on this deal now as opposed to waiting. Teams aren't gonna wait to address their needs and we don't want to reduce the universe of options out there. If Houston has a standing offer of a 2nd rounder in hand for Lin I say you pull the trigger. If we strike out in free agency so what? Morey can find another role player that does what he does, on the cheap.
There is a difference between possible and probable. In Lin's case, that difference is a mile wide chasm.
His stats looks pretty good for the minutes he played as a back up pg. There is a possibility you are being reasonable here -
What do you consider a line to be improbable? Off the top of my head I put the odds of us getting rid of Lin without having to give up a 1st round pick at about 1/3. The odds that we don't give up anything at about 10%. So for example, if Vegas offered better than 10:1 odds on a Lin trade not requiring further assets to move, I would take it.
Raptors I can see since Lowry is going somewhere else. The Raptors will need a PG IF that happens. All will be decided next week.
I consider a 10% really bad odds, but I was never a ballsy gambler. Personally, I view the chances of getting rid of Lin without coughing up any concessions at around 1% honestly and the odds of it costing us a 1st round pick somewhere around 75% depending on which team we trade him to. The kid is not a scrub, but he is far too inconsistent, especially in the decision making department.
The problem is not his performance as a backup (heck, he is a legit starter for some teams), but rather the balloon payment he commands for his mediocre skills. The smaller cap hit helps, especially for teams on the LT bubble, but ~7 mil more in payments will make any team wince. That said, it all depends on which team he is traded to, what sort of offense they run, and ultimately, how much they will benefit from the marketing and sponsorship that comes with Lin the cultural icon. Here is what it really boils down to IMO, with his contract Lin the player is all but useless so it will be how much value Lin the expiring contract or marketing asset will provide for his next team.
It is amazing how people here cite Lin for his contract, yet treat Daryl Morey as if he were blameless in this ordeal..... I won't argue Lin's worth relative to the balloon payment.... The problem is the blame isn't being directed at the one truly responsible for this. And it ain't Lin. The core problem is we have a general manager imposing a rule for how this team is to play offensively. The "Moreyball" layup and 3-pt shot offense. Yet doesn't realize that because of this rule, a lot of players, especially point guards, have underperformed on this Rockets team.
How about a tip-jar wager then. 10:1 odds that the Rockets don't cough up any picks in a Lin trade for capspace. This should a no-brainer deal for you. For me, if the Rockets are trading Lin for capspace, it would most likely mean that they're signing someone significant, and I'll be donating to the tip jar anyway on a successful Rockets offseason. So I'll be happy regardless.
Why would I take a bet with so many variables when I just said I am not a ballsy gambler? A trade with Lin will result in some type of concession. If done alone, I am pretty sure it will involve a first round pick. If it involves some assets, like Capela (our first round pick) or T-Jones/D-Mo/J-Ham, it might drop to a 2nd round pick or less. It could also be us trading him plus a huge chunk of cash for a protected pick that we will never see. Then there is the possibility of a SnT with NYK for Melo to give them Lin+stuff.
After doing a little more digging into roster composition post-draft and after the Dallas-Knicks trade, I think that there may be a decent market for Lin. It may be possible to execute a neutral trade or even get back a 2nd round pick as is rumored. The number of potential landing spots for Lin is actually larger than people realize, especially given how thin the FA market for PG's is this year. Take a look at this list of available PG's and ask yourself how many you'd rather have as a starter over Lin? It's really not a very long list... http://hoopshype.com/free_agency/point_guards_2014.htm As for teams that need/may need a legit PG or would be willing to take on Lin in a cap management/depth move, here's a quick list of ones that seem the most likely to accept such a move. -Raptors (if Lowry leaves) -Detroit (no PG) -Philadelphia (Hinkie!) -Lakers (no PG, and is a long shot for a big FA) -Celtics (if they strike out in FA and decide to move Rondo) -Mavericks (they just traded Calderon and will need a PG -- even Cuban isn't crazy enough to start Felton) And then there's the default position, which is Morey isn't going to dump Lin unless he needs the cap room to immediately sign someone. Expiring contracts that can actually be productive for a team isn't a zero sum commodity when you have such a thin pool of options to pick up in FA, especially when that other team doesn't want to take any players off your roster. While you could trade for a better PG than Lin, it would cost that significant team assets (players and picks) to do so as well as hinder next year's cap space (big issue if you're thinking of making a play in FA next year or retaining an expiring rookie deal). Giving up a 2nd rounder for a decent PG is actually cheap in terms of getting a productive player on a roster in trade asset terms, and it's a safe bet that if they sign and trade Lin after it expires they would get at Least that 2nd round pick back and potentially even another productive rotation player in a salary match. So, the question as always will be the $7M cash premium. For some teams they won't care (deep pockets or desperately just need to fill a need), for others tossing in some cash will be sufficient to pry a pick. At this point, I suspect Lin's mobility is going to hinge more on the lack of decent PG's available in the current FA market than a subjective comparison of Lin against the PG's that are currently locked into contracts on other teams. Just some stuff to think about...
I seemingly did not phrase my proposal clearly. Yes, players or picks, whatever. If the Rockets include Jones or DMo or any player/pick of value, then I lose the bet. Cash the Rockets clearly will include. $1.5mil, the most they can give. Heck, they did it with Asik, a clearly more valuable player. So if you feel that has to be included among things that can't happen, then I agree. Any Lin trade that doesn't involve the Rockets giving away $1.5mil in cash is impossible. But them getting back a 2nd rounder in that same deal would be possible(IMHO).
Brandon Jennings isn't a PG. He's a shooting guard that pretends to play PG. Rodney Stuckey is expiring ($8.5M). And right now they're sitting at $39M. They still need to hit the salary floor of approximately $53M. http://hoopshype.com/salaries/detroit.htm So, they need to add $14M in salaries to what they have on the books with their entire roster returning minus Villanueva (expired). Even if they re-sign Villanueva ($8.5M), that still leaves them close to $6M short. Hitting the salary floor isn't a small thing, and there's NO way they pay Stuckey $7M (as he'll want a long term contract).
