Even Laker Fans Now Think Howard Might Eventually Go to Houston

We don't have enough cap room to offer Dwight the max.

 

That would be a mistake. He has a childs mind and frankly is not as good as people think. He's motumbo but not as good in defense in my opinion. Then u have the problem of asik, what would u do with him, he's to good to come off the bench and u can't play both at the same time. Also, the power forward would still be unresolved.

 

Someone should post on Lakersground that Stern gave Les Alexander the All-Star Game as compensation for veto-ing the Gasol trade. And as a result, we might get Howard.

How ironic.

 

We have enough room for max, but if we signed him out right he wouldnt get his bird rights. The lakers need to sign him first, so he can collect the extra year and 20 or so million....

 

Should be easy enough to clear some cap room by trading a contract or two to any other team in the league.

Anyhow, the major hurdle, with any free agent, is for the player to choose Houston. The rest can be worked out since the team has no real bad contracts.

 

This is false.

 

A lot can change over the course of a year.

Houston has transformed from an afterthought to one of the most attractive destinations for a superstar.

- Young talented roster full of upside.

- Easy-going atmosphere

- 4th Largest city in the U.S (has been for a while but this is now a relevant point with the other factors)

- Superstar in James Harden to tandem with

- Harden also happens to be young and enjoys partying and hanging out in strip clubs. Part of the disconnect between Howard and the Lakers is that he wants to have fun while everyone is interested in winning first, he could probably easily relate to a lot of the younger players on this roster and Harden's more easy-going personality.

- Jeremy Lin is an international media darling and has also helped make the Rockets relevant

- Chandler Parsons, one of the locker-room leaders is a lovable guy.

- Everyone seems to be friendly on our roster and shares the ball. We even draw up post-ups for Asik every game even though we know he's awful with the ball in his hands. We're competitive, but no one is sociopathic competitive like Kobe.

The Lakers meanwhile have gone Chernobyl. What they do offer though is historical precedence for being a successful franchise, a large market and an extra $20M.

 

you may be a youngling but did you know that dwight game into the league as a PF?

 

Howard as he is... not that desirable. I'd rather stick with Asik and maybe draft a young C if Motiejunas or Smith doesn't work out playing the back up 5.

 

Because there's no future.

At the end of the day, the single biggest long-term key to an athlete's marketability is winning. Put him in New York, LA, Chicago, it doesn't matter... the endorsements will dry up and attention will fade if they're not winning games. See the Knicks and Bulls for much of the 2000s. And the athlete's not having much fun in that scenario, either (how often has Dwight uttered that word?).

If the Lakers somehow miss the playoffs this season, how exactly are things going to get much better? Kobe, Nash and Gasol are already fairly old and will only get older. There's zero cap flexibility this year and zero marketable assets by trade. The only thing they can offer is the vague, uncertain promise of salary cap room in summer 2014. That's it.

If the Lakers can sneak into the playoffs and win at least a couple games, I agree that I can't see him leaving. They'll probably be able to sell Dwight on one last run once his back presumably has time to fully heal. But if they miss out entirely... there's a compelling case, even from a business side, for him to get the hell out. It wouldn't be a slam dunk, but it's a very real possibility, I think.

 

The only thing I like about Kobe is that he wants to win more than anyone else in the NBA. I don't like how self absorbed he seems to be but he is the most competitive guy in the NBA hands down and I can respect that.

Your exactly right about the crazy change in a year. I really hope Kobe scares off Dwight and he comes to town.

 

Yeah this. Although I like the idea of signing him to a contract, watching him perform well on the team for a year, and then trading him for Kevin Love or LMA.

 

Dwight was just throwing up the H.......sign?? Hahaha

 

Howard throwin the H up.

 

Dwight is obviously a locker room cancer. I am not sure why anyone would want to pay a guy like him max money. Assuming he is healthy, and that is a huge assumption, what happens when he starts his whining and pouting when he is not being fed the ball down low like he thinks he should. All the drama and all the guy can do is dunk. He is a "me first" guy not a "team first" guy and is very immature to boot. His bad attitude and questionable health are not worth max money Just say no to the Dwightmare!!!

 

Was it the H? Wasn't sure what symbol it was. Anyone get a snap shot?

 

Man, he came off as such a douche in that brief interview. Then Reggie busts out and says Laker fans deserve better. I gotta be honest, this guy is starting to scare me. He just doesn't seem like he cares. He's not making it any easier on himself by being an ass.

 

If the Lakers sign him then we would have to give up assets for Howard. Would that be wise? He might want to get out of LA bad enough just to walk. He is after all making $10+ million a year after taxes. Plus endorsements. Does he really need more money? Minus Parsons, D-mo, Delfino and ? would we be as set in the future?

 

Have no fear, there won't be a S&T, it just wouldn't make any sense for the team. The Rockets might offer him a max deal in FA, but Morey isn't stupid enough to waste players to trade for someone he can outright sign.

 

When Kobe retires, Dwight will still be in his prime, if he is healthy. (If he's not healthy, why would we want him?) If I were him, I'd sign the big contract with the Lakers and wait out Kobe's tenure. I'd then be Da Man. And I'd know the Lakers would be going to get another young star player soon, and that kid wouldn't be pushing me around like Kobe does.