The point is that Miami knew what they had to do in order to get the extra years for those guys, and Lebron and Bosh KNEW that Miami was going to get the extra year for them. You think Miami gave up all those picks just to be nice? This was what they sold to them, come to Miami, we'll get you that extra year, even if it means losing a 5th pick in the lottery!
Lin's popularity in China is being severely overrated here. Lin is most popular with Asian Americans and in Taiwan. In China, sure he was pretty popular during the Linsanity days as a feel good story, but nowadays he's only a moderately popular sports figure, eg home grown Chinese atheletes like Yi Jianlian is still more popular than Lin.
I hope you live in China or you don't know what you're talking about. Yi Jianlian more popular than Lin?
How, exactly? The only way you can force a trade is if you have the leverage of an expiring contract. Otherwise, legit NBA superstars are the most rare commodity in all of sports, and they don't get traded. This is both Dwight and CP3's one chance for the foreseeable future. Want glamour? The most visible NBA star plays in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It comes from playing meaningful games in May and June.
How do we trade all those players for no salary in return? Trade it to the teams with enough cap space to absorb the contract?
It's a simple decision do they want to increase their chances of winning at a cost of 30 million bucks. Or do they want to play in the lights of L.A. with Less liklihood of winning but still a pretty good career and in Howards case a franchise with a history of doing whatever it takes to win. I think they both say no. It's matter of character and neither one has shown at type of character. Both are egomaniacs. I believe CP3 has no desire to play for Houston under almost any circumstance. Howard probably has some desire but LA is hard selling him on the ides that in one more year KOBE will be gone and they will have the money to build a team around him and they have the history to back that up. Plus LA is a desired destination for many NBA players. So in spite of the fact that he may have discussed playing with Harden in Houston I doubt he does.
Kevin Love has an opt out clause in his contract in 2015! If he doesn't like the way things are working in Minn he can leave! Although now that Kahn isn't there GM anymore I doubt that happens! I don't think Chris Paul is coming here at all! It's either LAC or the Knicks for him! He's said he wanted to play with Melo and Amare! Go get Dwight, keep Asik and get your own twin towers!
Playing Asik as a 8 mil per year bench? These two obviously can't play together, neither Dwight nor Asik have any kind of range to their game. Having both of them in the paint would be a complete nightmare.
CP3 is more like Kobe than Howard. He's a competitive monster that wants to win every single time. Losing in the first round does not sit will with him and that's the reason people are questioning if he's going to resign because this thing has been building up. That Chris may not respect the coach...he may not even respect the other star player on the team in Blake Griffin. If that is true then why would he resign under any circumstances? I'd see him going to Dallas first to play with another guy whose all about winning and less about highlights in Dirk than to resign with the Clippers. If Morey can get the cap space to sign both Howard AND Paul it's a done deal. They would be absolutely stupid to turn that opportunity down even if we were the Anchorage Ice Breakers.
How is that extra $30millions? To get the extra $30mil...he had to play 1 more year and in Houston, he doesn't have to do that. Plus the extra $30 minus taxes. Not much of a difference if you think about it.
I agree he is most like Kobe, a talented jerk that wants to win every game on the biggest stage possible. I would also say he is like Kobe in that he thinks that can only happen his way and he wants to win on his terms. I do not like Paul very much but that is not why I think he is not coming here. I do not believe his ego will allow it. He desperatley wanted out of a young up and coming team. And coming to Houston is not an upgrade to him. You can keep fooling yourself and believe he is coming here if you want but I will bet you ten to 1 he is not coming here. Make that a 100 to 1.
Honestly I don't see CP3 leaving the Clippers. If anything, I see them dumping Vinny and getting a better coach before CP3 walks. He's got Griffin and a strong roster already. Houston at best is a lateral move. And he's already a well like Superstar in LA. I can't say the same for Dwight. While the money does favor Dwight, he's not exactly a well liked player right now. I'd probably consider Lakers fans to be at best lukewarm towards him. Kupchak will still push to sign Dwight, but I don't think many would be shocked if Dwight walked to sign with Houston or Dallas. As much as Dwight says he likes the big city, the glare of NY and LA is pretty blinding. The media is relentless. And if you're not producing (which Dwight and the team hasn't), then they come down pretty hard on players. In terms of pure basketball, the Lakers aren't going to be a contender next year, and virtually no chance the year after. Kobe will be coming back from injury. Nash will be a year older. The Lakers are light years beyond the cap with no draft picks coming, and have little chance of improving given they're already at $100M/year in terms of salary. Kobe ($30M), Dwight ($19M) and Nash ($9M) alone put the Lakers at $58M... above the salary cap. That's before they look at Gasol ($19M) and 11 other players. The year after the salary clears down to Nash and Kobe, but Nash will be 42 at that point and nobody knows what Kobe will be like in 2 years. He could easily choose to stick around. He could retire as well. Neither situation is great for Dwight. Kobe will still be the face and primary offensive option on the team, and he's not well known for sharing the ball. And if Kobe decides to NOT return, then Dwight is waiting 2 years for a possible rebuild. 2 more years of his prime gone, waiting for a rebuild that may or may not be able to get up to speed in the 2 years after that. At that point he'll be in his late prime (assuming health doesn't catch up), and only guessing at what the Lakers will be. D'Antoni is locked in for 2 more years. While I don't think he's a terrible coach, the roster is a terrible fit for his preferred style of coaching. Sure, if they clear out the Roster they could get younger and faster with better perimeter shooting, but I'm not sure that's enough given you still have Kobe and Pau on the roster. The Lakers could let go of D'Antoni in theory, but I doubt that happens this year. The Lakers would be paying at least 2 coaches full salary on top of the new coach, and I don't see the Lakers willing to do that unless there's a clear cut upgrade available. They did still get to the play offs, and given the massive numbers of injuries this season I'm not sure they're ready to toss him to the curb and pay him for being on the couch for the next 2 years. Phil Jackson isn't coming. I just don't see the Zen Master coming to LA with Jim Buss in charge after the way he was snubbed. It's more likely that the Raptors sign him as an executive than he comes back to LA. Morey can make the cap work. That's the least of his problems. And if Dwight is determined to leave we have enough assets to make a trade possible for Dwight. That said, Dwight is still a big question mark for me. Aside from his questionable attitude issues, his back could hamper him from ever regaining his dominant Orlando form. He'll still be very good, but the question in my mind is for How long? And do you take Dwight vs a potentially much cheaper flyer at a player like Bynum? Zbo/Gasol? Jsmoove? Or just wait for LMA or Love? Lots of possibilities in play.
A strong roster that with Paul was eliminated from the first round in six games... the same as the Rockets without Paul. That's an interesting definition of "lateral at best". Harden is a legit star -- top 10 in the league already. Griffin is not. Asik is better than Jordan. Parsons is far better than Butler, and much younger. CP3's hypothetical supporting cast in Houston is clearly superior to his supporting cast in LA. That's why the Rockets ended up with the same result this year, even without Paul.
The difference is that the Clippers have a superior bench and the "same" result was with Russell Westbrook out (#2 player). This is aside from Griffin having an ankle sprain and missing the end of one game and not starting game 6 (#2 player) against a full strength Memphis (legitimate contender). Harden is better than Griffin, but the rest of their team is superior to the Rockets for the most part. It's not an accident they were the #4 seed and we were the #8. I'm not saying that can't change going into next year, but like anything that's the hope rather than a fact. Right now, minus Paul the Clippers are still about as good as the Rockets are today. And even if you give the edge to the Rockets, it's not a huge edge, not one I believe that would offset the other benefits that being on the Clippers and playing in LA brings to the table. It's not impossible, but Chris Paul is a long shot at best. I think Dwight is actually a possibility.
And plus a few more games since we play Dallas and San Antonio multiple times a season (division game) if that's an added incentive.
Yes, they were the #4 seed and we were the #8 seed. Because they had Chris Paul. The idea that the Clippers without Paul are as good as the Rockets today, or even close, is laughable. Do you really think a team with Blake Griffin as its best player wins 45 games and makes the Western Conference playoffs? By the way, the bench argument? You're better than that. For starters, two of their most regular reserves are about 60 years old in Grant Hill and Lamar Odom. And Bledsoe is good as gone. More importantly, having a "good bench" in place is the most overrated asset in basketball, when it comes to building a contender. If you have the pieces up top, crafting a bench is easy. See Mike Miller, Ray Allen and Udonis Haslem in Miami. There are always veteran ring chasers or undervalued guys, especially under the new CBA, that slip through the cracks and will jump at the chance to play for a contender on the cheap and the exposure that comes with it. The challenge to winning a title is building your team up top, because even if you have a great bench, teams generally don't want to trade you a dollar for four quarters. However, you can find a quarter or two in the couch cushions. If Chris Paul's top priority is winning a title, it is a clear upgrade to go from the current LAC situation to Houston, where he has at least one other proven star player. In LA, he has zero.
