Sam Smith: Rockets "quietly sending out signals they’d trade Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin"

What's wrong with getting Howard (cap room) + Smith (Asik and Lin's cap hits) if Howard wants to pair up with Smith? Our cap situation doesn't get worse in the short term. In the long term, re-signing of both Asik and Lin will cost more than Smith. If Howard and Smith decide to sign with the Rockets, it doesn't mean that Morey will simply give away Asik and Lin for nothing. In the worst case, we can get our pick back from Hawks. Based on their performances this season as well as their potential, teams that are under the cap (Cavaliers, Hawks, Bobcats, Pistons, Mavericks, 76ers, Bucks) would be interested in them, so Morey may be able to get back some mid 1st round picks.

This is still a very young team:
Howard/Smith/Parsons/Harden/Brook
G. Smith/Dmo/Robinson/Jones/White/Anderson/Beverley/future picks

To me, the two most important questions are:
1) Is Howard the franchise player to build around?
2) What's the chance of getting another franchise player if we fail to sign Howard this summer?

 

This... He has in the past admitted he makes stuff up. Further I think it is well known that everyone not named Harden can be had in the right deal.

 

Wait, are you saying that they would not trade Harden if it can improve the team? Even someone like LeBron James?

 

The Clips are getting bounced in the second round again.

 

O, Mighty Warrior of Great Hunting Stock.

Spoiler

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how do you quietly sending out signals like this...

 

Clips could get upset in the first round. Their bigs are terrible, terrible FT shooters. Deandre shooting 41% and Blake is like 65%. The only big they got that can shoot freebies is Ryan Hollins. And they don't want him out there for major minutes or their whole interior collapses. Turiaf is a terrible FT shooter as well.

If I were the opposing coach, I'd gameplan around getting those bigs on the FT line and destroying the rhythm of that offense. I'd alter my starting lineup and put in my 10th to 12th man, send him out there with the mission to get Jordan and Blake on the FT line when they catch the ball. Then I'd play small and scramble all over the floor and try to force Paul to give up the ball to those bigs.

Clippers are very susceptible to being upset because their bigs cannot shoot freebies worth a crap.

 

I've been saying for months now that Morey will sign one star to a near-max deal and sign & trade for another star - that's the Miami Heat model. You think Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, and/or Josh Smith have no interest in playing for Miami Heat West?

 

Utah's resigning Al Jefferson anyways. They've been a Top 8 team for the past 2 seasons (better than the Rockets), with Jefferson as their best player, and not 1 All-star caliber scorer on the perimeter.

The Jazz wouldn't really need the picks, they've got a lot of young assets.

Unless it was a S&T with Milsap for Lin somehow, so Lin could get free reign of the perimeter with guys like Jefferson/Favours pick & rolling, I don't see how the deal gets done.

Especially since Lin is the golden goose that keeps on giving. Morey mentioned in an interview that last year The Rockets became irrelevant. As in, they did not matter, people forgot they even existed. When Lin signed, all that changed and suddenly people were paying attention to the Rockets (Morey's words), then Harden signed and it looked like the team was going somewhere when it liked like Morey was about to have his last season as a Rocket.

All these "talk" is nonsense anyways. Morey tried trading for Gasol, it didn't work. Then he swung and missed on Dwight Howard. If Harden hadn't come, and Lin/Asik didn't pan out, he'd be fired already. Morey could just as easily swing & miss in free agency like he was doing a year ago, with everyone questioning him. He could miss the playoffs again this year.

When the Lakers were dominating, and they had a line of Kobe/Karl Malone/Shaq/Payton, and got to the Finals, they seemed like a sure thing. They were picked to win the Championship from the start of the season, rolled everyone in the regular season and seemed like they weren't even trying. In the playoffs, they crushed a few teams, in a way that made the current Heat team look like puppies (we're talking perennial playoff teams with Hall of Famers on them).

But, the team that beat the Lakers 4-1 in the Finals, a team everyone slotted to lose except for that team itself wasn't a team with 4 mega superstars. It wasn't a team with 3 major superstars, or even a team with 2 superstars.

It wasn't a team that had just spent 4 years missing the playoffs, built for the sole purpose of beating the Lakers. It wasn't a team whose GM kept on swapping players in hopes of getting enough superstars to outsuperstarcollect Buss and the Lakers. It definitely did not have a GM who built that team to collect assets to go after Tim Duncan, because he believed that Tim Duncan would be the only player that could outsuperstar Shaq/Kobe/Malone/The Glove.

No, it was a team. A team of 4 players that had made the East finals prior, that were always a threat in the playoffs despite their lack of "superstar power." It was a team that had a lot of experience together, that was playoff battle tested.

It was a team that won that NBA Championship. That went back to the Finals the next year.

And there GM wasn't missing the playoffs 4 years in a row, "hoping" to sign a superstar, and "collecting assets" like he was collecting rookie cards for a TOPPS and Upper Deck convention. It's a GM that has an NBA Championship.

Stop the excuses. Stop moving players around under the facade that we're building a contender. You only have to be a Top 16 team in a league with only 30 teams to make the playoffs. Plenty of teams reload correctly or go through injuries, but still compete in the playoffs.

If a GM misses the playoffs for half a decade with the Lakers, the Celtics, or the Spurs he's gone. If he uses the "we're building to beat the blahblah team" excuse with Habs or Yankees fan, he's asked to get on the first flight out of the city. Those are proud winning franchises. They're the team to beat, and even when they're not, they compete like they are, and those teams have that mentality from Ownership down to the 15th man.

Start winning now, we see some success or GTFO.

 

I could see Boston trading Rondo for Lin + Asik.

 

Why? after an injury RONDO? we dont need a point guard, we need a 4....ig strong aggressive 4....

 

Lin+Harden+Asik+Parsons

for

Rondo, Bynum+Amare

LOL

 

Morey will make Lin and Asik available for Howard & CP3 and not much else.


Option 1:
S&T CP3 for Lin & future 1st/fillers
S&T Howard for Asik & Future 1st/fillers

Option 1a:
Sign Howard outright.
Fill team needs around with minimum deals or trading Asik for a decent stretch 4 (e.g. Ryan Anderson)

Option 2 (lucked out on the Dwight Sweepstakes):
Trade D-Mo and fillers/picks for Kevin Love (with pieces going to LA, Pau Gasol going to Minnesota, Love coming to Houston)

Option 3:
Pickup Bynum on an injury prone big man contract - 14mil per year with team options the whole way.

Option 4: Sign Josh Smith for near max and see if he works with the team and if our coaching staff can get him to change some of his bone head ways. If not, ship him out for Lamacus Aldridge or Kevin Love when they come onto the market.

Option 5: Sign players to 1 year contracts and try for the 2014 offseason (boring!)

 

Here's my 2 cents. When Howard got the skinny that the Magic were considering sending him to Houston he immediately had a change of heart and signed an extension. Howard could have just played out the year and resigned with whoever he wanted but instead resigned with the Magic.

Two things that tells you... First he was not excited about playing in Houston. Second he understands he gets more money staying with the tteam he is signed with. So if that is Houston he would have to throw a lot of money away to leave Houston. I bet his agent made that clear to him.

So now he is in L.A. and we think somehow he has had a change of heart in two areas. 1 he now loves Houston. 2. He doesn't care about the money.

I think neither are true. He is in the spotlights in LA and gets the most money there plus more endorsements there. Yes Harden makes us more attractive. But Howard hasn't shown an interest in just winning. He wants the limelight too and the money.

We cannot offer him what LA can but he also knows he needs some leverage to get everything he wants from LA. ANd what he wants is assurances he is the man. Just ike Kobe wanted assurances he would be the man meaning dump Shaq and he will resign.

I don't think Howard will expect to dump Kobe before he resigns. But he will want some kind of convincing he will be the man going forward. If not he will look at other teams with Houston being on the top of that list. Houston is just a pawn in his masterplan. In the end LA will give him everything he wants just like they did with Kobe. So no Howard.

And while it's a different situation the same goes with CP# and any other Max player who ould be throwing dollars away to coe to houston. There are only a handful of players inthis league that would leave money on the table to come to a better environment. So most of this trade tal is just delusional as someone said earlier.

 

First of all the Rockets need to upgrade at coach. Doesn't matter who they get if they keep McHale.

2nd of all if they don't hire another coach Lin & probably Asik would be better off getting away from McHell

3rd of all the Rockets are sunk with McHell ball and ISO Harden

 

I think your assessments are spot on, sir! Personally, I'd just assume go with option 2 (with or without the Pau 3 way).

 

Yes please trade Lin. His career is going down the tubes with McHale and Harden. Try to find another PG who will put up with standing in the corner. LOL.

Better yet - get a competent coach.

All we need is a PF and a coach - let's not get crazy here.

 

I like that trade but it doesn't work in the ESPN trade machine

 

Good point. When 4 super stars can not work out, what makes people thik 3 will do?

 

lol what? No comment on Lin's potential, but Asian/feminist community? Are you joking or just a bigot? (Seriously, what does Lin even have to do with feminists?)

Anyway, it would be fine if either of them was traded but for all the talk among the haters, it's not like Lin or Asik's contracts are massive shackles on the team. If you're going to trade Lin, it would have to be for a superstar like Chris Paul (unlikely), since any other decent point guard would make just as much or more money anyway.