Whats funny is how Del Negro thought he was so good that Chris Paul would go to bat for him in the offseason. The guy is completely clueless
Have you heard of the slogan: Once a Clipper, always a loser. Anything touched by Sterling is contaminated. I actually liked the Clippers team a few years back with Cassell, Mobley, Brand, and Livingston.
Paul and Dwight do not seem like the kind of guys that would take slight paycuts to team up and come to the Rockets (more-so Dwight than Paul). But who knows. If I'm Morey I put a max offer in front of their face with a note that you better make a decision before the other guy does. Then if they decide they both want to be here you make the necessary moves to get it done. But we are not like the Heat who had a bare roster and nothing to lose by waiting it out.
I don't know DieHard but Paul is extremely competitive and wants to win. I wouldn't be surprised if he did.
Hawks also have a 14 ppg scorer in Lou Williams, last year's first round pick John Jenkins, could resign Kyle Korver who wants to return, 17th pick, 18th pick and can also S & T both Josh Smith and Jeff Teague and land solid pieces for that. Not to mention they should now have a solid coach in Mike Budenhozer. That team would be loaded.
Smith and Teague would need to be renounced in order to sign Howard and Paul. Moreover, even if you want to hypothetically stagger the order of things, there is no longer any incentive for a player to S&T his way to a team with cap room. They can't get the extra year. If they want to go there, they'll just sign. The only reason Smith/Teague would play ball on a S&T is for a destination they couldn't get on their own (i.e. a capped out team), and if that's the case, it defeats the entire purpose for Atlanta because they'd be taking back salary and negating their cap room. So outside of Horford, what you have is two rookies in the second half of a garbage draft, a middling undersized veteran guard coming off major knee surgery, and a second-year player who averaged 6 points/game as a rookie. That's a steaming pile of hot garbage.
Its all up to Chris Paul. IF he wants to join Howard, they can do it in Houston. And if that is the case, then Morey will find a way to move contracts to make it work. But it all comes down to the PLAYERS making the commitment like Bosh/Wade/James did with Miami.
You could easily land a solid player at 17 if someone like KCP drops or you could package both and trade up for a higher pick. Korver is arguably the best 3 point shooter in the NBA and Shumpert looked pretty good coming off a torn acl....Lou Williams is expected to be back at the beginning of the season and will easily be back into his groove by the start of the playoffs. LOL if you think that along with CP3-Horford-Howard is garbage.
Since Paul was on the outs in NO, I've had this odd little vibe in the back of my head that wants me to believe he'll end up with the Rockets. There. Insider info straight from the inside of my head.
It's garbage compared to Parsons, Lin, Asik, Beverley, etc. That's the point. Shumpert averaged 6 points a game with a PER of 11. Interesting definition of "pretty good". Williams is a middling, extremely undersized veteran who does little besides score. Korver is a spot-up shooter. Dime a dozen. Go look up the history of average picks at 17 and 18 and what they do in their rookie years. Hint: it's almost nonexistent. Then, factor in that this draft is much weaker than most. Compare that supporting cast to one on a typical contender (outside of the "Big 3"). Allen, Haslem and Battier on Miami. Leonard, Green, Splitter, Diaw and Neal on the Spurs. Yes, that group you listed from ATL sucks on a relative basis.
Shumpert was good in the playoffs and looked close to 100%...he averaged around 10ppg in the Pacers series with Carmelo and JR taking most of the shots so you that is pretty solid. Lou is 26 and can play either PG or SG. He can score and is actually a solid passer and would be perfect next to Paul...they would work well like Jack and Curry in GS except the Hawks would have best frontcourt in the NBA with Horford and Howard along with two great shooters in Korver and Jenkins. No one is expecting the 17th and 18th pick to come in a dominate but it is definitely possible for them to contribute depending who you get. How are you going to have both Asik and Howard if he came? That would be awful neither could play PF. Hawks would contend immediately and you might be the only one that doesn't think so.
Fine, then you trade Asik for value elsewhere. In case you aren't aware, young centers on reasonable contracts that are double-double machines are generally in high demand. There's no question that Atlanta team would be a fringe contender, simply based on a healthy Paul, Howard and Horford. But it won't beat Miami and it wouldn't be as good as their possible situation in Houston, and it's because of the supporting cast. It's not as good as contending teams this year, and it's not as good as what will be offered in Houston.
Sigh...man don't believe that media stuff. Might have said he would like a coaching change but I doubt he said it HAD to be a black coach.
Yeah. It was really stupid. He might as well have said "Chris Paul made me fire the coach". If I were Paul I'd be pissed too. The owner three him under the bus.
