[Sean Deveney] Will Dwight Howard force a Lakers sign-and-trade?

Really? Troll, idiot or both? I think your both.

Do you have a clue how to read and comprehend? That article was written prior to Harden being traded to Houston, where coincidentally he has signed an extension that will keep him here for the next 5 years.

If Fegan really is attending the dinner meeting between Harden and D12, then that's really bad news for the Lakers.

 

They told Courtney Lee the same thing, doesn't mean he became any good at it.

His offense is so vastly more efficient playing off the ball, as either a cutter or spot up shooter, it's not funny (we're talking 50% more efficient, with 20% of the turnovers here...). I get it, you hate Lin, but christ, Parsons as a playmaker? that was called "no other choice" going on.

He's good at attacking defenses caught in rotation, he's not good at attacking set defenses (which is what you need from a playmaker), I just can't imagine any scenario where you'd set up an offense and actively choose Parsons penetrating, with the option to kick to Beverley as a staple above and beyond Lin penetrating with the option to kick to Parsons, it's just so stupid.

 

You are saying you'd rather we use the capspace to sign Smith instead of Howard? I'd take Howard because:

he is a center, that's precious nowadays.
he is a better shot blocker, rebounder, post-scorer, PnR big man than Smith.
He has carried his team to the finals whereas Smith has never been a winner.
He has more power, Smith relying on athleticism will decline pretty soon.
Smith is very bad with decision making.

I don't really buy Smith being the best perimeter defender. He might be pretty good, maybe top 10 but not quite the best. No way he's better than Bradley, George, Leonard, LeBron, Allen etc. D.West and George both played pretty well against them.

 

EDIT:
Against him I meant.

 

That's your perception and you may be right. I don't necessarily disagree with your OPINION on Parsons. I don't debate it.

But I didn't give my opinion on Parsons... The fact of the matter is he does handle the ball and he does attempt to make plays. You should be taking that debate up with the coaching staff.

I don't hate Lin. I've just come to the conclusion that this offense isn't geared for him to be successful. I think Lin needs to be in a offense where he can dominate the ball like CP3, Rondo, Nash (pre Lakers) etc and that's not happening with Harden on this team. That's my opinion and that you can debate. But I am not saying he can't learn and make his game fit. He's a smart kid and he should be able to if he puts in the work. But Beverly will be putting in the work as well and he doesn't have a gang of promotional tours, autograph signings, ribbon cuttings, etc so more than likely he will be putting in the extra work (and more than likely on the things you say he needs to be better at). We'll see how it plays out.

 

While I agree it makes little sense to trade away assets for the hell of it, you have to take 2 things into account with this possibility:

1) Contenders make the most of their big salaries. Lin would be playing like 25 mpg maybe, with Beverley's emergence, and Asik would only get 15-20 mpg with Dwight if we signed him outright. That's $17 mil to two guys playing complementary roles at best.

2) Parsons is one of the best bargains in the NBA, but we can't take that for granted. We have to re-sign him, and realistically look at how much it'll take to do so in 2014.

 

Like I said, I would rather have Smith at "$15 MILLION" a year over Howard at "$22 MILLION" a year. I don't think Howard is worth that much money and when you have to defend a player who is commanding "$22 MILLION" a year (like you are doing now and many on this board do) he's probably not worth it. Now if Howard would take a pay cut like LeBron did and would come here for $15-$16 million a year I would be all for it.

And dude I didn't proclaim Smith as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, those NBA experts did...

 

BDK, after some thoughts I think I'll cut you some slack since you are very old; I am normally a fan of respect for the elderly. I could imagine you being raised in a racist environment when schools didn't teach racial tolerance and equality, when genocides, progroms, slaveries and segregations were commonplace. It was still cool to be racist and Nazi, one could be proud of it. Well, you are on the internet now and we are in the internet age. Racial profiling, prejudice, hate, oppression, linching, that stuff isn't done anymore. People feel guilty and shameful about past racist crimes nowadays. Germans apologized to the Jews, Indians are called Native Americans and South Africa isn't segregated anymore. I hope you won't be negatively, irrationally and conspicuously racistic again in this forum. Even though maybe your brain is senile and has gone bad, I really do hope that you do get it this time.

Just because I wrote:

which is pretty mild IMO, doesn't mean it is OK to write racistic response; it just doesn't warrant that. If I killed your son or castrated you, I could certainly understand you using racial slurs against me, but that post is by any standard quite civil. You also have to understand that it isn't just me seeing this, many people will find it offensive also. This is a civilized premier basketball forum, it has no place for something like that.

 

I wouldn't say I was defending him, that's moot, I was reasoning. I do think Howard is worth the 7 mil because he is the best player in the league at his position. Smith is not close.

Well, you certainly didn't quote them when you wrote it.

 

Howard is the best of a lackluster position and that's like being the best looking girl in a group of ugly girls.

And Google it dude. Put that expensive phone or iPad to work... And as basketball knowledgeable as you are, you should already know that. Smith has been known as one of the better perimeter defenders for a while, it's no secret... But apparently it is to you

 

TJ VS TR, lighten up. You're militant but I've got nothing but love for you

 

Dafaq did I read??

 

Twisting facts to make Lin seem like he's in the best light? When did I do that? You're either really sensitive to any comments about Lin that don't completely bash him, or you're pretty bad at reading comp (or both). This is what my first post said about Lin:

"Where are you getting that AB is a better scorer or 3 pt shooter? This 12-13' season, his FG% is pretty close to Lin's, and while his 3 pt % is a bit better, it is comparable to the 3 pt % Lin had post all star break. Lin played much better post all star break than the beginning of the season, which was atrocious. That was probably due to a combination of factors: injury, new team, chemistry, pressure, whatever, but it was so bad, it was like, why are you in nba? bad. I don't expect that to be the norm or happen again next season, again, because he got much better (shooting %-wise) post all star break."

I only said AB's 12-13 season %'s were similar to Lin's season averages, and that Lin's post all star break numbers are probably more indicative of what we can expect of Lin from here on out, for obvious reasons. I even said Lin's start to the season was HORRIBLE. I mean, do you honestly expect Lin to play like he did in Dec. 2012? Putting up 37% FG% and 26% from 3pt range for just 10 pts a game? LOL, you're a closet LOH if you think that is an accurate reflection of what we can expect from Lin in 2013-14. That month does weigh down his avg. considerably though.

And if you don't see the obvious problem of comparing a player 4 yrs ago under a different system then as well to a younger player today, then I don't know what to tell you. How do you know AB is still the same player? What do you have to back that up besides your gut? You clearly do not acknowledge stats of any kind. Sure you can come up with excuses about why x part of AB's career was worse than y part, but why can't someone else say the exact same for Lin? It is hypocrisy at its best. And yes, 5% in 3 pt shooting is a lot, but if you're comparing AB's PEAK 3 pt % EVER to Lin's post all star break 3 pt %, it is like a 2% difference. Whaaaat? I know, crazy. Arbitrary comparison? Somewhat, but so is pretty much every comparison you're choosing to make.

We're not even talking about AB's actual production but his efficiency in getting it. Sure different systems and coming off the bench affect that, but it shouldn't KILL it for multiple years. And even if you wanted to use that as an excuse, then why can't that be the excuse to rule out the first half of Lin's first full season as a Rocket? Cuts both ways.

Finally, are you kidding me about the comment toward Lin's playoff games? He played like a game and a half. Granted, that 1 game (not the half) was horrible, that was ONE game. Lin was injured and out for the rest. If I find one playoff game in AB's magical season where he did badly, would that somehow disprove your whole point?

Like I said, I am not a fan or hater of Lin. I think he's aight for $8M. He had a decent season. Not great, but not terrible either. I just have a thing against stupid people or stupid arguments. Which category you fall under really isn't for me to say.

 

Dude, we can sit here and debate Lin vs Brooks all day long by picking and pulling whatever information or statistics helps to prove our respective arguments. But the fact is that Jeremy Lin has not proven that he can perform at an above average level for an entire season and/or postseason. Yeah, he did perform well for a short period of time in NY. Yes, he played better after the break last season. And yes he was hurt in the playoffs, and a little intimidated from what I could see, but was awful even before he got hurt and he did play 84 minutes, the equivalent of almost 3 games, and was 6 of 24 (25%) from field, 2 of 12 (16.7%) from 3, and averaged 2 reb, 2 asst, and 2 to and was absolutely torched defensively. If he was hurt and couldn't perform, he shouldn't have been out there. Did his team a real disservice. So until Lin proves that he can perform over the full course of a season and in the playoffs when it matters, you really have no logical argument.

Aaron Brooks has proven that he can perform at an above average level over the course of an entire season. And if I had time, I'm sure I could pick streaks that he went on during that season where his numbers looked especially good. He also has proven to be a clutch performer in the playoffs. Period, it's in the books. He's the same player now as he was then and given the right opportunity, he would perform at a similar level. If you want to compare spot minute situations between Brooks and Lin, compare the numbers of Brooks in Phoenix/Sacramento with Lin in Golden State. Lin played about 10 minutes a game and shot 38% from the field and 20% from 3. Dear lord, talk about awful. The difference is not that he's gotten that much better, it's that he was given a legit opportunity in NY and Houston. And he's performed like an average PG, which is really what he is right now, especially in a situation like NY with Carmelo and now in Houston with Harden.

So bottom line is that until Jeremy Lin proves he can perform at an above average level over the course of an entire season and in the playoffs, you cannot say he's better than Aaron Brooks. And when considering the hypothetical situation of the Rockets having Harden, Smith, and Howard on the roster, you cannot justify Lin's $8M salary when you can get maybe a better fit and similar production from Brooks, Beverly, Jarrett Jack, Nate Robinson, or a number of other veteran PG's for less money to allow the cap flexibility to get solid bench players and to resign Parsons next year.

Look, I've said numerous times that I like Jeremy Lin and I'm sincere about that. I just don't think he is the best fit with Harden, especially for how much he is paid, and especially if the Rockets cap space is restricted. A payroll with Harden, Smith, and Howard plus Lin's $8M would severely restrict the Rockets ability to form a complete roster for a championship run, and what do you do with Parsons next year? How can you argue this point? The only ones that have tried, are the LOF's. Honestly, if I was an LOF, I would want Lin to be traded to the Lakers are somewhere where he could truly realize his potential. Imagine how good he could be in LA, under D'Antoni, with maybe Gasol and Asik. It would be Linsanity Part 2, at least until Kobe came back. I'd really like to see Lin playing with a true scoring guard like a Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, Kevin Martin rather than a playmaking guard. That's the situation he'll be best in.

 

The "emergence" of Beverley doesn't mean we don't need Lin. It means we have a backup. Likely, he will give Lin around 10 minutes of rest and Harden 10 minutes of rest. So unless we get Chris Paul, which as stated wont likely happen, we still need Lin.

However, getting Howard directly affects Asik so unless one of them shifts to the 4, which isn't likely either, Asik will be best used as trade bait. But if we can't trade him, having him as a backup wouldn't be bad. We could use him when teams resort to hack a Howard.

 

Wtf is going on in this thread?

 

Some people expected Lin to be an All-Star in his first season with the Rockets. If you expected that, then sure, he failed to live up to expectations. I guess that I had realistic expectations of him being a guy who could dish out a number assists and give us scoring and he lived up to those just fine. In fact, post All-Star break, he exceeded expectations. Just look at his stats- the proof is in the numbers. Did he suck in the playoffs? Definitely in Game 1, but so did everyone on the Rockets. And yes, he was hurt the rest of the series, not an excuse, just a fact. He had to play because Beverley was picking up fouls like they were going out of style.

I'm a HUGE Aaron Brooks fan. He was my favorite player for years. But just because it's "in the books" doesn't mean that he is still the player he once was. If anything, he showed so little this season, the Kings let him go... The Kings!

Based on your logic, T-Mac has proven he is one of the best over many seasons. So should we sign him and have him instead of Lin too?

 

You could certainly call Mandela a militant but I wouldn't. I definitely wouldn't call Gandi and MLK militants.

I don't need no frigging love from you. I just need you to quit your racist ways while you are on this forum, alright?

 

Lol, I had the same reaction when I saw this bumped. A moronic article somehow turned into a hate-ground.

 

That's somewhat true but center is also the most dominant position on a team. Since the competition is weak, a good center would face lesser opponents.

I did.

Na, I only have a basic desktop and a basic phone.

You got me there dude. It's not possible to follow everything. For a short while I used to know almost everything that's going on but it's not possible now; too busy, can only spend time on fav teams/players. I just knew that he's not worth near max as an offensive/team player.

I knew that he is a good versatile defender just didn't know that he is now considered one of the best perimeter defender in the L. He only spends 1/3 of his pt out defending in the perimeter anyways.