I totally understand where you're coming from. I like our team and I like Asik. I've been promoting the Twin Towers for over two months now (check my sig). I'm just saying Portland will ship LMA (if at all) to the team that offers the best assets for rebuilding. Portland will not settle for Asik + T-Jones/D-Mo. They will definitely ask for Parsons. Batum can play SG or be moved. You can try and do a three team deal by moving Lin to another team for an asset Portland wants. All I can say is good luck with that and come back to me when you have some specifics and not just throwing it out there as "it's possible". TBO, I don't think Rockets will trade Parsons. But I think with Dwight coming in, Parsons could very well be reduced to 10 points a game and see his value decline by the deadline (freak Morey in the meantime). I still maintain Asik, Parsons, Smith for LMA is a viable trade at the dealine.
LMA was an 18-8 player when Oden actually played. Very similar numbers and style to what Chris Bosh brings to the table as a third option. Two championships later, I'd say Miami is doing something right. Also, I disagree wholeheartedly with your concerns about fit. LMA is the total package offensively with range out to 23 feet, a master of the high post and able to run the PnR. His addition would also give us a ton of flexibility in the event of a Dwight injury or if we decided to stagger their minutes. Lord knows, it's been proven that a spread PnR attack without a legitimate inside threat is easily exploited by simply slowing down the game. Bottom line: if a deal for Aldridge is on the table you have to take it.
Parsons is going no where in my opinion. He was the main recruiter for Dwight it would be unjust for him to be shipped. I really would like LMA but my fear is that with him on the team there may not be enough points to go around to keep all the guys happy. Parsons is a legit third option and he would be kicked back to 4th. I guess if this trade goes down we will truly know if Les is going to put his money where is mouth is and pay Parsons his 8-10 million as well as paying everyone else.
I also get what you are saying, but I think any player in Parsons position value would drop, but that' also a good thing for us. We will have a very good player, but it won't cost us as much to keep him when it's time for him to get paid. I doubt it will be possible to replace what he gives at a value less than what we will give him eventually. And while I see what you are saying, I'm not convinced that Portland wouldn't take DMo or Jones over Parson, especially if one of them steps up between the start of the season and the trade deadline. They will be giving up a PF, so getting another good replacement for cheap that fits the age and direction of their team may fit better than filling a position that they already have what they consider a star in Batum. I really don't see Batum or Parsons moving to the SG position, maybe...maybe PF.
I disagree about Chandler being a "good third option". He lacks the ability to playmake off the dribble, and if there is a chance to get Lamarcus Aldridge, you take that all day.
Ok, you are making good arguments about Parsons and I'm thinking there is little chance Houston would trade him mainly because they feel indebted to him for playing for so cheap and the work he did in getting Dwight. He is team captain after all. Having said that, I'm still convinced Asik + T-Jones is not enough. Portland want a value for money contract of a young rising star to seal the deal. Maybe if we throw in Beverley as well, Portland might just bite.
also understand that...Portland is not going to get full value for him. Because he is asking for a trade. He wanted to go to a contender. So the team he is going to would have to be one he would resign with...otherwise why trade for a one year rental if that is the reason he is leaving portland...who prob has a better chance of winning then most (non playoff teams with trade assets) you gotta keep all things in consideration. Of all the play off teams that Aldridge would resign with I doubt one can offer more then we can. (without parsons)
yah Id say that means we have to trade him this deadline or start of next year to get full value. Everyone will know he wont resign as a backup. It will be gortat 2.0
To me, the key to trading for LMA is the Rocket's having and mataining max cap room in 2015. With Asik and Lin expiring in 2015 and team options on DMo and TJones, they DO have this threat. Every month that Portland holds onto LMA decreases the amount the Rockets have to offer for him. Right now, I would guess that the hangup is Parsons. Morey won't trade him, and Portland won't do the deal without him. At the 2014 trade deadline Parsons won't be up for discussion, and the conversation will shift to Beverley. At the 2015 trade deadline, the Rockets will only offer Asik, one of TJones/DMo, and a couple of picks.
Wow. Thanks for summing up the discussion here in one coherent post. You pinpoint the dynamics perfectly. Great post.
This is my position on this as well which I initially indicated here. And I think the Rockets can get it done without including Beverley or Parsons. As long as LMA keeps the pressure on the Blazers.
This is the key. If LA keeps some pressure and shows interest in Houston, which he probably will, it's just a matter of time.
Wouldn't hurt to look at switching agents to Dan Fegan as well to help broker a deal. Whoever is representing him now didn't do a great job of negotiating his last contract. Its wierd to say that 14 million a year is "underpaid", but this guy could have done a better job of negotiating player options for the last two years of his deal. I get that at the time, he probably took less so Portland could build around himself, Roy, and Oden, but he should have given himself better leverage at the end of his contract to get out if things somehow didn't work out.
Rockets are perfectly positioned right now. What they lack to close the deal RIGHT NOW is something similar to the Toronto 1st or the willingness to include Parsons in any discussions. As time goes on, Portland will realize it's state of affairs. Unless they jump to the top of the conference or pull off an amazing trade that brings in Noah WITHOUT giving up LMA or Lillard, LMA will not stay past the 2014-2015 season. They can try to trade LMA to another team, but unless that team is competing, he's still coming to the Rockets, and every team will know that. It's just a matter of time at this point. Morey is too good, and Portland is in too vunerable a position. Robin Lopez was a last ditch effort to salvage their current dynamic. One other thing that I LOVE about trading for LMA is that it gives us so much more flexibility over the next couple of years with our roster, versus having to wait on several things until he is signed in 2015 free agency. It allows us to: a) Make Parsons a RFA next year and sign him to a long term deal b) Use our MLE in 2014-2015 to sign Papanikolaou, Llull, and extend Garcia. Lin / Canaan / Llull Harden / Llull Parsons / Garcia / Papanikolaou Aldridge / TJones / Smith Howard / Aldridge / Smith Then use vet min and other exceptions to sign another post player and a guard.
Well I have a lot of disagreements with the stuff you said as well: 1) 18-8 is not enough to justify a max contract, aka 33% of your entire cap. I mean, if 18 pts and 8 rebs is good enough for 20M why did we bother amnestying Scola, who averaged 16 and 8? We had our max player all along, and he was only making 9M a year! As I keep saying, pointing to the Miami Heat as examples for the "Big 3" model doesn't work because LBJ had to average 25 pts, 8 rebs and 6 assists to win a ring. How can you even look at that and think Miami had a legit big 3 going on? If that 3rd big hadn't been Lebron they wouldn't have won anything these last two years, and LMA certainly isn't LBJ. 2) As far as fit goes, I don't really have an issue with LMA for fit as much as he'd be under utilized, which is why I'm not a fan of the big 3 model. LMA and Bosh are considered max players because they are versatile (mid-range, post, pass, rebound etc.), but having Howard nullifies that versatility. LMA is an amazing PNR big, but with Howard also a PNR target/taking up a spot in the post how much PNRs will he get? More likely he'd be reduced to taking mid-range Js to provide spacing, and as I said before if all we want is a stretch 4, then guys like Morris or our own DMo is already good enough. 3) Having a 3rd max guy doesn't make life easier for Howard, it actually puts more of a burden on him, because instead of having multiple threats on the squad you're basically putting all your eggs in 3 baskets and announcing to the world "here's my team, stop any of them and you win". In terms of salary, getting LMA costs as much as Lin+Asik, and guarantees Bev, Parsons, DMo would be gone once their rookie contracts expire. Like Miami, you would be 100% on your 3 stars and they have to be on the floor all the time, because well, who else will score and win the game? People like to fantasize about Dhoward sitting down and Harden/LMA carrying the load, but honestly 2 guys+3 dleaguers won't get you anywhere, so the reality is all 3 guys will have to play 35-40 mins a game to win, similar to how Miami played the season they all got together. If you need like 80 pts to win a game, then all 3 guys have to score 20 each and the rest of the team needs to score 20, if say DHoward goes down you're gonna rely on Cassipi, Smith and Canaan to score the missing 40 pts? OTH, if we didn't have LMA then Asik/Lin/Parsons/DMo are all pretty capable of scoring 40 pts by themselves.
If we can get a third team involved so by someway they take lin and whatever we get in return we could packiage it with asik and a 1st pick to Portland we would be unstoppable. Bev Harden Parsons LMA Howard Game over west
