[ClutchFans] Rockets will seek Dwight Howard trade... again

DH will never be the same after his back problems. I speak from experience. I was all for "renting" him before he herniated his disc, now I do not want him. Also, the more I think about it, even if he were to be 100% healthy, I doubt he would resign with us anyway. Les needs to realize we need to get better by getting worse and getting higher draft picks. We are "stuck" in no mans land right now 14,14,14,14,14,14,14,14, ............................................................................................................................................

 

Very appropriate comparison.

 

Interesting. Do you have a source? Not taking sides here, just wondering if this is a report that directly contradicts Clutch's, or simply based on the not unreasonable belief that the Rockets just don't have enough to get it done?

I personally think that a Griffin/Howard deal probably gets turned down by the Clippers, mainly because superstars don't get traded very often, even if it's a clear win-win. It's abundantly clear that the Lakers refused to offer Bynum without a Dwight extension; Blake definitely has more trade value (if not on-court value at this time). With respect to the Nets, if Orlando is understandably worried about Brook Lopez's foot, I don't think they could have topped a Rockets offer without including unprotected picks, and if they include those picks, they aren't able to get Pierce/Wallace to add to the nucleus.

Dallas probably has less to trade than any team in the league right now.

Outside of these four, is there another team who is willing to gamble on a rental? Maybe Golden State, but without adding in Steph Curry, that seems unlikely, since they couldn't even offer up picks in a deal.

Pau Gasol, an all-world player at 27, locked into a contract for 4 years, still only got 2 first rounders, the previous years' #19 overall pick, and an expiring contract. Certainly Dwight is a much better player, but he's also a free agent; it might not be unreasonable that his value kept dropping the more he seemed to be determined to play in Brooklyn.

I don't think it's unreasonable that the Rockets had the very last standing offer, and they broke talks with the understanding that the Magic would have to accept their offer or nothing. And Dwight...chose a third option.

 

If he comes here for a season and then leaves .... where does that leave the franchise the following year?

They will have lost not only Howard but whatever "assets" they used to land him ..... the tank crowd should be happy as the team is lilely deep lottery bound .... the anti-tankers likely got at the very least a playoff appearance and possibly a deep run.

If he stays after that year .... they have a cornerstone to build around.

Sounds to me like everyone wins .....

 

Since we are all about hypotheticals here, why don't we attempt to analyze what EACH team in the league could offer for Dwight Howard:


Atlanta Hawks: Josh Smith, Jeff Teague, Fillers (i.e Pachulia, Ivan Johnson, etc.), #23 Pick, #43 Pick

Likelihood: Possible. Hawks would have to listen as it could get them out of their undesirable position. Howard is from the area.

Boston Celtics: Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Brandon Bass #21 Pick, #22 Pick
-Could Send Pierce, but would have to eat Hedo's contract

Likelihood: Not Likely

Charlotte Bobcats: High Lottery Pick, Biyombo, Magette, Walker

Likelihood: Not Gonna Happen

Bulls: Scenario 1:Noah, Taj Gibson and or Omer Asik, Richard Hamilton, #29 Pick

Scenario 2: Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, #29 Pick

Likelihood: Possible. Both teams would have to listen as could it could potentially benefit both teams.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, High Lottery Pick


Likelihood: Not Very Likely

Dallas Mavericks: Shawn Marion, Brendan Haywood, Rodrique Beaubois, #17 Pick

Likelihood: Mavs pieces are old. Not Very Likely

Denver Nuggets: Danilo Gallinari, Ty Lawson, Jevale McGee, Arron Afflalo, #20 pick, #38 pick. #50 pick

Likelihood: Possible. Denver wouldn't have to part with all of those pieces (though equivalent to Howard's salary), but both teams should talk. Both teams could benefit

Detroit Pistons: Charlie Villanueva or Rodney Stuckey, Greg Monroe, Brandon Knight, Austin Daye, Lottery Pick (#9), #39 Pick, #44 Pick

Likelihood: Howard wouldn’t want to come to Detroit, but they do have the pieces. Not Likely

Golden State: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and pick of Bogut/Lee, High Lottery pick (currently #7), #30 Pick, #35 Pick, #52 Pick

Likelihood: Possible. Both teams could benefit.

Indiana Pacers: Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, Paul George or Darren Collison, #26 Pick

Likelihood: Magic would be interested, but Pacers unlikely to break up young nucleus, but it’s Dwight Howard we are talking about. Not Likely

Los Angeles Clippers: DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, Eric Bledsoe, #53 pick

Likelihood: Possible(more likely than the Lakers). Both teams could end up winners. Paul is teamed up with Howard making them possible contenders and Howard gets the “bright lights” and big city. Magic get young, marketable star talent.

Los Angeles Lakers: Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum, Jordan Hill or Josh McRoberts, #60 pick

Likelihood: Not Likely, but a deal could benefit both teams. Clippers can offer a better package but both teams will surely talk.

Memphis Grizzlies: Scenario #1: Marc Gasol, Mike Conley or OJ Mayo, #25 pick
Scenario#2: Rudy Gay, Mike Conley or OJ Mayo, #25 Pick
Scenario #3: Marc Gasol, Tony Allen, Mike Conley, Darrel Arthur, #25 Pick

Likelihood: Possible. Memphis definitely has the pieces that could entice the Magic to do a deal. Matter of fact they could offer both Gasol and Gay plus fillers if they eat Hedo’s contract. If you are the Magic, you almost have to listen, because there aren’t many teams that could offer as much.

Miami Heat: Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, #27 Pick

Likelihood: Not very likely, but both teams could benefit. Doubt Howard would want to be 3rd banana.

Milwaukee Bucks: Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings, Ekpe Udoh or Ersan Ilyasova, #12 Pick, #42 Pick

Likelihood: Not Very Likely. The Bucks could create a comparable talent pool of players to ship for Howard like the Rockets, but I doubt the Magic would bite. Not the most attractive pieces, but you could do worse than Jennings/Ellis.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Anthony Randolph, #18 Pick, #58 Pick

Likelihood: Not Likely. Minnesota has some young talent that could entice the Magic, but I doubt they are ready to part with Love or Rubio.

New Jersey Nets: Brook Lopez, Gerald Wallace, Marshon Brooks, #57 Pick

Likelihood: Not Likely. They had a better shot before they traded their Top 3 protected pick to Portland. However, if that pick turns out to be a Top 3 pick, then a lot of things could possibly open up for the Nets.

New Orleans Hornets: Emeka Okafor, Eric Gordon, Greivis Vasquez, Al Farouq Aminu or Xavier Henry or Gustavo Ayon. #4 Pick, #10 Pick

Likelihood: Not Likely. The Hornets could offer young talent and a collection of picks more attractive then the Rockets own picks. However, I doubt Howard would want to play in New Orleans and to be apart of their rebuilding process.

New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony or Amare Stoudamire, JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, pick of re-signed (Landry Fields or Jeremy Lin).

-Could Offer Carmelo/Stoudamire and Chandler as well if they wanted to eat Hedo’s contract

Likelihood: Don’t see it happening now. However, there were definitely talks between both teams earlier in the season that could have potentially landed Howard in NY. Both teams could potentially benefit from a trade, but not likely at this point.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Scenario #1: Westbrook, Ibaka, Eric Maynor or Thabo Sefolosha, #28 pick
Scenario #2 Harden, Ibaka, Sefolosha, Maynor, #28 pick

Likelihood: Possible. Both teams would be stupid if they didn’t field offers from each other. Not only do they not play in the same conference, they both could end up with talent to build upon. If the Thunder don’t make it out of the WCF, either Westbrook or Harden has to go. If you are the Thunder and you can team Durant and Howard together, you do it. You would have a trio that could potentially outdo the Heat. No if, ands or buts. If you are Orlando, you would have a pretty solid core to build around for years to come.

Philadelphia 76ers: Andre Igoudala, Evan Turner or Louis Williams, #15 pick, #45 pick, #54 pick[/B
-If they want to eat Hedo’s contract, they could offer: Andre Igoudala, Evan Turner, Louis Williams, Jrue Holiday, #15,pick, #45 pick, #54 pick

Likelihood: Not likely. Solid Pieces (better deal then the Rockets per se), but there are other teams that could offer more bang for the buck.

Phoenix Suns: Marcin Gortat, Josh Childress, Markieff Morris, Robin Lopez

Likelihood: Hell No. This is about as attractive as some of those deals that people have proposed the Rockets part with, except the Rockets actually have picks to hand the Magic.

Portland Trailblazers: LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Jamal Crawford, #6 pick. # 11 pick. #40 pick, #41 pick

Likelihood: Possible. The Magic would be crazy not to field and offer from the Blazers as they actually have young bonafide talent to give up along with a great assortment of picks. The Blazers can offer a package that only a few could match talent-wise.

Sacramento: Scenario #1: Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousin, Jason Thompson, Marcus Thorton , #5 Pick, # 36 Pick

Likelihood: Possible. The Kings have the young talent and the picks that could interest the Magic. However, I’m not sure if Howard would want to be King in Sacramento.

San Antonio Spurs: Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter, Kawhi Leonard, DeJuan Blair, Cory Joseph, #59 pick

Likelihood: Not Likely. Aside from Tony Parker, you would be looking at a group of solid, yet unspectacular young players. If Tony were younger, the Magic might consider, but there are better deals out there. If the Spurs threw in Gregg Popovich, the Magic might bite (har har).

Toronto Raptors: Andrea Bargnani, Demar Derozan, Amir Johnson, #56 pick

Likelihood: Not likely at all. If I was Otis Smith, I would just delete the Raptors from my phonebook.

Utah Jazz: Scenario #1: Al Jefferson, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, #47 pick

Scenario #2: Paul Milsap, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Gordon Hayward, #47 pick

Likelihood: Possible. The Jazz definitely have young talent to offer and it would offset their lack of picks. They could offer a combination of their young talent and future 1st rounders in hopes of luring the Magic. The Magic would certainly have to listen.

Washington Wizards: Nene, John Wall, Potential Top 3 Pick, #32 Pick, #46 Pick

Likelihood: Not Very Likely. While the Wizards could offer the Magic some enticing pieces, they probably aren’t ready to part ways with John Wall and also have a shot at obtaining the #1 Pick. Doubt Howard would want to play in DC.


Again, not saying any of these trades are going down, but these are potential deals that could happen if the Magic were to field offers from each and every team. It's not hard to see that there are MORE than just a few teams that could offer more attractive packages than the Rockets. After the playoffs are through, teams will re-evaluate and circumstances may change. If the Magic are serious about dealing Howard, there are more than a couple few teams that could and should be willing to make an offer for Howard.

 

The Blazers would get robbed in that trade

 

Hahaha. Didn't say they had to part with all those pieces, but it just shows you how much they do have to offer. Without including the picks, all those deals could be done for a direct Howard swap, unless noted with a + Hedo.

 

OMG!!!!! Go to bed!

 

I haven't been in favor of going after him for awhile now.

But at this, I say screw it! Make the freakin trade. If he decides to stay, learn from Orlando and get him some freaking help. If he doesn't want to stay in Houston then trade him for young potential star(s) and an unprotected pick.

We'll suck for a year and get a young star to build around.

 

All it takes is 1 team to beat our offer.

For example with New Jersey, having their pick in hand changes the value of their offer to a degree. For one, adding Howard at the trade deadline probably improves their team and weakens their pick (going to Orlando). Maybe Howard gets hurt, maybe he doesn't. Secondly, at the deadline, there's a risk the lotto balls don't go their way. There is still that risk today, but come draft day, there will be full knowledge for all sides.

I don't think particularly highly of Dallas' young players, but I'm not sure I see a particularly high upside youngster on our side still on a rookie contract that really makes this deal happen for us. Look at the Paul and Deron Williams trades -- both netted a young, high upside player as the deal starter (Gordon and Favors...Favors came with even more picks).

 

None of those scenarios means squat unless the team Dwight is traded to:


1. Has enough cap space left over after the trade to add DWll as a free agent. (Rox, Celtics)

or

2. The team has Chris Paul or DWill on it already (Clippers & Nets)

or

3. The team is good enough after the trade to contend for a championship and is willing to take the risk on renting Dwight for one season to win a C and get him to stay even though they do not have any conceivable way to add DWill or some other max player until other contracts expire in a couple years. (Lakers)

or

4. The team is a playoff competitive team with Dwight and can show a plan they have ready to unfold to sign or trade for another superstar either during the season or right after the season


At this point, no team is going to trade for Dwight without one of the above because Dwight will more than likely walk away from them after one season.

The reason teams were interested in renting Dwight before was because there was the possibility of teaming him up with DWill. Once DWill is a free agent, that opportunity goes away unless you are the team DWill signs with.

Chicago, they're out. Rose is down for the next year, probably closer to two years. It would be an extreme gamble for them to throw away half their team for Dwight, then watch Dwight walk away after one season and Rose is still recovering and they don't know what he's going to be post-injury. They're simply not going to take that risk without Dwight agreeing up front to extend.


So, all those trade combos you put up there, most of them mean nothing. There has to be a bigger plan at this point with DWill's impending free agency. The only way anything changes is if DWill reverses course and decides to opt-in for one more season in NJ. But if that happens, the Houston Rockets are still one of the few teams willing and capable of trading for Dwight if he doesn't sign an extension with Orlando.

 

Play with his hometown team who were the defending champs and Dirk for 3-4 years or play with a team he despises who's won 1 playoff series in 15 years and Howard for 1 year. Tough choice.

Sick of this crap. We won't get either one. We won't do anything and will be a mediocre 14th pick team next year.

 

He has carried this injury for years, performing at a very high level. This isn't a new thing.

 

Deron does not despise Houston.

 

Props for taking the time to go put all of this together, but you added in several UFAs and RFAs which are unlikely to go, especially in a package.

Also:
Clippers are strongly against moving Blake - that was a non-starter all year.

Chicago has been strongly against breaking up their core, though the prospect of losing Rose for an entire year could change their thoughts on that.

It's not likely that teams with a young promising center (IND, DET) are in a hurry to trade for Howard on a one year deal coming off back surgery.

In general, playoff teams are going to hesitate to break up their nucleus for a FA to be. And the basement teams know that Howard will balk and being sent their, dampening their interest.

LAL have been against trading Bynum, though he's not endearing himself to Mike Brown (who'll probably be fired first)

I think a factor you've over looked is cap relief. The chances Orlando can field a competitive team on the heels of a Howard trade are remote. As it stands, their roster is bloated and overpaid. They're going to be interested in TEs ($11M TE for Turk) which could come either from a team under the cap or one holding that large of an exception, or players that could be waived for salary relief (Dalembert, Odom).

 

Not to butt in on this debate here, but just wanted to point out that it was well reported even by the folks at BSPN that Chicago was in heavy talks with Orlando well before the trade deadline(Deal revolved around Noah, Deng, Watson, & draft picks), but the deal got nixed because Howards camp went out of their way to say that he was not interested in signing there long term.

It was reported that the deal was nixed really because Dwight didnt want to play under the shadow of Rose or mess with Jordan's legacy there in Chicago.

This is very interesting because Howards camp made no effort.... ZERO... as far as we know to let Rockets reps know that he had no interest in signing in Houston long term.

Now, maybe they did and the Rockets just made sure nobody found that out, but you saw it with Melo trade and now with the Dwight trade, if a team is in talks about trading for a superstar, and that player does not want to sign long term with that team, their agent/reps go out of their way to make sure that the interested team knows they have no intention of signing long term.

There are alot of maybes here, but if Dwight had no intention on seriously considering Houston long term, I think its a no-brainer that He would make sure the Rockets front office knows he's not going to sign there long term so he doesn't have to move teams twice in one year, and so the team he really is eyeing going to has better leverage in negotiations so that team doesn't have to give up as much to Orlando in the trade.

I find this fact highly interesting.

 

only does the addition of dwight howard make this rockets team contenders in the next 3-5 years. he is one of the few rare talents in the league and he is a center. mchale would get along great with dwight.

i say go for it. and get him a free throw coach. and sign hakeem to a roger clemens style personal services contract.

 

Bingo!! I am with you on this. They will be stuck in that position as long as they continue chasing players who do not want to be here. Repped

 

Don't get caught up in it, because this has been become this organization's M.O. During a lukewarm regular season, float rumors that your aggressively pursuing (fill in the blank) disgruntled superstar player, who BTW doesn't want to play here. This is the designated trade deadline chatter. After just barely missing the playoffs and securing that coveted 14th pick, float rumors that you were 2nd in the race for "X" superstar and have the pieces
this non playoff team to secure thenext superstar thats available.

 

Posting with a mobile device, fixed.