This isn't 2K. Seriously. You don't trade for a borderline franchise player in Rondo ( which he supposedly is, though I disagree) and dump him him a week later. Not to mention the idea that the Clippers would give US picks in a sign and trade is utterly hilarious.
I imagine Morey has SEVERAL plans for this summer, and he is not overly relient on any one. My guesses are..... 1) CP3 + Howard 2) Howard + Smith 3) Smith ($12 million or less) 4) Trade some of our assets for picks (Beverly, Delfino, Greg Smith), then package the picks, Suns 2013 2nd rounder, TRob or DMo, TJones for Kevin Love or Lamarcus Aldridge. 5) Do nothing. Continue to develop our young core.
Didn't say anything about dumping Rondo a week later. The Clips giving us picks is hilarious in a sign and trade. Until you consider the position they would be in if they lost Paul altogether. If they lost him outright would they give up a couple future picks to get Rondo? Sure they would.
A healthy Rondo isn't equal CP3 valuewise. Rondo coming off an ACL injury isn't even worth half CP3 valuewise. People have started to realize how overrated he is when the Celtics played significantly better without him. The Clippers have no need for a gimpy offensive liability that loves to pad assists.
Exactly how much cap space do you think that the Rockets have? We have just enough space to sign Howard to a max deal which would mean that he's willing to leave an additional $30M on the table to sign here. Where would you get the money to also outright sign CP3? Unless you are trying to suggest that both Howard and Paul would be willing to sign here for around $10M each then there's no way that we could sign both outright.
If Dwight HoHoHoward and JSmooth want to team up then why not do it in Atlanta? There they could fashion the team exactly as they choose. I am less optimistic about the two of them hooking up here then hooking up in Hawksville.
Harden, Howard, and Smith. Whose team would it be? Dwight would be on max contract, but Smith considers himself a max player. Someone's gotta take the passenger seat, and someone's gotta take the back.
Everything that has been written has pointed to Dwight specifically not wanting to play in his hometown. Anyway, the comparison is dumb simply because Houston has Harden and Atlanta doesn't.
Dumb? When they could be to Atlanta what LBJ stopped being to Clevesburg? And they could hand pick how the roster fills out?
If you read the post you would see how we could convert Asik and Lin to future draft picks through trade. When you remove those two and one of the guys on rookie contacts you have enough cap space to sign both guys outright.
If Paul and Dwight want to team with Harden here in Houston, Morey can get it done in a myriad of ways. I'm simply saying and illustrating that it can get done with DMo, Beverley, Parsons, and others still on the roster alongside Harden. We would have a bench and we would have veteran free agents wanting to play here for our Room Mid Level Exception and for the vet minimum.
xiki, I really don't think Dwight wants to go home to Atlanta. Also, no one in the City of Atlanta gives a crap about the Hawks. They're much worse than Houston is when it comes to fan support (attendance) of their NBA franchise. Also, I think the entire point of Dwight being willing to leave $30 million extra from the Lakers on the table--something I am still NOT convinced he will do--is to go somewhere with the core to win multiple championships. The Rockets quite clearly offer a better chance to do that than the Hawks do. But again, I still say Dwight stays with the Lakers. If you're convinced he'd rather go to Atlanta than Houston, feel free to your opinion. Assuming that both Howard and Paul would demand the (super)max, by my estimates, in order to sign both guys outright, the Rockets would have to clear EVERYONE (other than Harden, Parsons and maybe a rookie contract, but not even TRob) off the roster to make room for them. Is it hypothetically possible? Yes. (Somewhat moreso if the cap comes in much higher than expected this July.) Is it realistically feasible? Not really. The reality is that trades are VERY difficult to make, even trades that seemingly make perfect sense for both teams. They often take weeks (if not months or years) to accomplish, and there are always multiple personalities and egos at play that may complicate an otherwise rational decision-making process. So, to throw out all of these moves (trading half the starting lineup for Rondo, then trading Rondo for picks, etc.) as if there's even a REMOTE chance that they would happen both is overly simplistic and assumes that all NBA decision makers act instantaneously and logically. Once again, you are TECHNICALLY correct (most likely) about the cap math. But your assumptions are quite a stretch, to put it mildly.
