my thoughts exactly. it's time to be bold. Assets we should be aggressively looking to trade: Lowry, Llull (assuming we resign Dragic), Bud, Morris, Kev Martin, Dalembert, and the Dallas top-20 protected 1st rounder. Scola isn't exactly an asset with his contract, but he should be on the move too. I don't think Lee can be traded prior to picking up his option, but i don't see him on the team past next season, so he should be moved as well. Those are a lot of assets. Get going Morey!
these sports-writers are morons. Both Hibbert and Asik are restricted free agents. Obtaining them is not in the rockets' control. And last time i looked, it's very rare for teams to trade good nba centers. It happens very rarely and we missed out on Bogut. So the draft really is the opportunity for Houston in their long-time center search.
Looks like one of the mods took my post from another thread and started a new one. I'm gonna get more than a few "no s*** Sherlock"s and "duh!"s with this thread. But, since it's here: Yes, there are options at the 5 out there. Hibbert ain't coming here, Chad Ford. Asik? If we had an unexciting draft pick, fine, the guy D's up. How badly do the Bulls want to keep him? Don't they also have a drafted center coming over from Europe? Wish we could just go after a Joakim Noah, but I don't think the Bulls are looking to cut costs THAT badly.
It'll be a blessing in disguise if the Rockets are able to somehow get both Austin Rivers and Perry Jones as the first round picks. That could be Houston's own Westbrook/Durant.
Morey said yesterday that, in their view there is a top 3-5 guys and then dozen or so similarly valued guys after that. So, presumably what he's saying is that if they try to move up, they'll try to move up A LOT, and not just several spots up. If true, then they are unlikely to pay a lot to move from 14th to, say, 9th or 10th. Now, this might be posturing in light of what Chad Ford reports-- trying to get the trade counterparty mentioned by Ford to lower their demand. You never want to sound like you absolutely need to make a deal.
The top 5 will be very hard. The Warriors are a team that might bite though. Here's a scenario We trade- Lowry Get- #7 pick Warrior trade- #7, Curry Get- Lowry, Portland's 11 and 40 picks Portland trades- #11 and 40 Get- Curry
So basically #7 for Lowry. Those are 2 separate trades, and I'm not sure GS would want to part with Curry so easily, especially since they just shipped Monta.
Can the Bulls afford to retain Asik when he's a backup on that team and Gibson plays minutes at C too. Gibson is off-contract next free agency.
Typical Morey. He's afraid to go all in because he might not have enough assets to trade for LeBron is Miami calls. And this is a perfect example of why chasing stars keeps the org moving in circles. If all it takes to move within striking distance of Meyers is giving up both picks and Lowry, you make that trade every day of the week and twice on Sunday. But Morey wants every trade to be lopsided. Well, brother, it don't always work that way. Sometimes you have to give more than you get if what you get is something you really need. Les, are you watching? Are you listening? You need to step in and order boy wonder to make the deal, because a guy like Meyers or Drummond will sell tickets, and you already know that "NBA Ready" is not enough to get customers to show up on a week night in the middle of Jan!
Roy Hibbert is a long shot. I think Indy matches even a max offer from an outside team ($55 million in 4 years). However, you may be able to pry away Asik from the Bulls. Specifically, the Bulls have luxury tax concerns even if they let all of their non-guaranteed guys (Brewer, Korver and Watson) go. Their guaranteed salary for next season is already roughly $64 million-- and that's with only 7 guys under contract. If they match an MLE or more outside offer for Asik, that's $69 million, $1 million or so below the luxury tax level and with multiple roster spots to be filled. Basically, if they are matching Asik, they have to pay the luxury tax. Of course, they can burn the amnesty on somebody (Boozer, Hamilton?) but they still have to pay the guy and find his replacement. They are also already paying big $ to Noah and Boozer and has Taj Gibson due to become a FA in 2013. In any case, this means a big enough outside offer will force the Bulls into making a tough decision. This also means that the Bulls may be amenable to a S&T involving Asik under which the Bulls receive a draft pick or a cheaper young player so that they can add some talent without getting killed cap-wise. .
