I believe Stephen A's reasoning was more accurate, but I think Skip's reasoning has some legs as well. If I were Dwight I wouldn't stay in LA, but Dwight doesn't have the mental maturity or the selflessness needed to transcend the game and be one of the greatest at his position. He seems to like attention and he wants to be the king with no rings. I'm happy Houston has Dwight but I have a tiny fear that if Dwight isn't happy he will do whatever it takes to make himself happy, Rockets organization be damned. Let's hope being Howard "grows up" if you will while playing for the Rockets and takes more than just his game to the next level.
Did you not see the part where I made that prediction in early May of 2011? By the way, they just tried to offer Howard a 5 year $110million dollar contract. What about that screams a team trying to cut costs? The only reason they haven't signed anyone else is CBA rules prevent them from extending a contract to anyone except for the mini mid-level exception of $3.2 million or a veteran minimum deal. This isn't a team exercising restraint - this is a team that has backed itself into a corner and can't do anything else. By the way, aging and largely ineffective this year Steve Nash will be on the books in the 2014 season for roughly $10million. Again the prediction was made in May of '11 but I stand by the fact that they haven't been a serious contender since that post. The media likes to think every year they are a contender but the true objective NBA analysts knew it was a long shot. They had opportunity, but between relying on a much older Kobe & Nash, Dwight's back surgery, the messy turn of events that led to D'Antoni's hiring and Phil Jackson being left in the cold, the constant Gasol trade speculation, the Kobe/Gasol fued, the Kobe/Dwight feud, the the fact they haven't had a transaction that netted them a solid role player in years(the Odom acquisition is the last I remember) leaving them a thin bench with their aging core....well these are not things that amount to contenders. Yes, I know but she had a more active role at one point in transaction decisions before and was successful in that role...and that power has been ceded to Jim. Besides Jerry Buss? You got me there - certainly in principal their front office seems to be structured much the same but even Magic said that Jim Buss now holds much of the power that Mitch Kupchak once held. I was sure Kupchak would have gotten tired of that and left, but he has stuck it out to his credit although I don't think the Lakers have made good bets in their acquisitions over the last couple of years. No pun - I think the Lakers are in shambles now. I don't hold this optimism for LA for the 2014 cap room they will have. Kyrie Irving and maybe Paul George are the only guy there I could see building a franchise around who would realistically come there and I'm skeptical they would leave their upcoming franchises who seem to have built solid cores around them. Everyone else who is a game changer I don't see coming to LA - certainly not Lebron/Wade/Bosh ....maybe Melo, but I don't think he makes anyone a legit contender by himself. I see them striking out on the Miami Big 3 and possibly Melo and then start overpaying borderline guys like Chandler Parsons. Is this not a thread about a highly critical media piece on the Lakers? I do think the Lakers are undoubtedly worse off than they were in May of 2011 - a consequence of an "all in", short sighted strategy to shortcut to another banner. I absolutely think the luster is gone in the LA. The savvy front office moves that once defined them, just aren't there anymore. The star power is not there either and short of Lebron coming to LA(highly doubtful), LA will be California's 3rd most entertaining team for the forceable future behind the Warriors & Clippers. I think the thing in the best interest of the Lakers for the future is to tank this year, get a lotto pick AND have cap room going into 2014 and build a solid future with Kobe as a mentor. Will Kobe like it? No, but finishing with a 6-8 seed is probably the worst place for LA given their future prospects.
More importantly, those guys are restricted and there is no way their teams let them get away, they'll simply match the offer and that will be that.
True but Kobe is a killer at heart. You can say what you will about his attitude and single-minded focus on winning championships but there is no question as to his drive and desire t win championships. On the other hand, the same cannot be said about Howard. And, until he demonstrates that he is willing to pay the price and actually get that championship, these questions will continue to dog him. Exactly what JVG said on Mike & Mike two days ago. It's all a function of putting in the work and that's something Howard hasn't shown he's willing to do up to this point. With any luck, this time next year we'll have the answers to any questions about Howard's desire, heart and commitment to winning. I am most anxious to see what McHale can come up with to combat all of those zone defenses teams are certain to throw against the Rockets now.
