The OP has the main components down but may be speculating on some of the details. Like many have mentioned, the 4th team involved may be Gasol's destination while giving up more young talent for Orlando.
KLOVE from Minny? I don't know why they would do that, but I don't know why Minny would want Pau who is a forward to play with Love who is also a forward. Pau doesn't do well playing center.
Could be a good sign. Usually the trades that actually go through come out of nowhere and are completely unexpected.
I still say Philadelphia is the 4th team in a deal. They want Gasol. This involves trading Iggy. When they amnesty Brand, they'll have the cap space to absorb the difference in salaries.
He threw away half the roster for Gasol and helped the Lakers get CP3. He'll run the risk, knowing Kobe has about two years left on those knees...and that, with lots of spit, smoke, mirrors, and surgery.
I really don't think Morey is concerned with just being better than LA. Morey must start adding players that are a part of the the Rockets future success. So far it has only been "assets" being added. Yes there are some players that would be great compliments to a winning team, but that's it. Eventually something has to give, you can't just keep shuffling players and expect the team to win. The team is not playing young guys enough to see if they can develop and they aren't landing star level talent. Bynum is star level talent, so you may have to overpay a bit to finally start getting this thing on track and that wouldn't bother me a bit seeing as Morey is great at finding said complimentary pieces. If this deal IS in the works and Bynum is the prize, I'm in.
I'll bet the Rockets are going after Bynum hard while everyone's talking about Howard and Gasol. He fits what Morey seems to want perfectly. He's young. He's a center. He's a special talent, a game-changer. Even if he he's reportedly immature and difficult, you think the Rockets wouldn't take that risk?
Hell yes they would, and he has been one of my primary targets for the last 3 years. If the Rox can get him, we can build around him.... DD
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=72eqosp ? Houston Gets: Andrew Bynum JJ Redick Why: It's pretty obvious why we would get Bynum since Howard wants no part of Houston. Redick is an ideal filler if we cannot retain Courtney Lee (good spot up shooter albeit a defensive sieve) to maintain some depth at SG. Redick's contract also expires after 12-13 season. Orlando Gets: Paul Gasol Joakim Noah Marcus Morris Why: Getting an All-Star power forward and a very good center for Howard isn't bad considering they should be able to retain Ryan Anderson to form pretty good frontcourt with Noah/Gasol/Anderson. Morris is a throw-in. LA Gets: Dwight Howard Luis Scola Kyle Lowry Why: Why not? They end up the winners in the OP's speculated trade. This gives them more of a balanced team and Lowry is a huge upgrade over the past point guards Kobe has played with. Chicago Gets: Kevin Martin Quentin Richardson They shed Deng's contract for the next 2 years to upgrade a position they've been sorely needing. Sure, Martin is heading for FA after 12-13 but he is an ideal guard for Derrick Rose (e.g. gets to the free throw line, can shoot from outside). Picking up Q-Rich is just to bolster their 3 spot with Deng's departure. I tried to see how Minny or Milwaukee could be included in this deal as the OP had alluded to but I don't see what pieces could be offer by either team that could make Orlando bite. Derrick Williams? Sure but Minny probably wouldn't want to trade Williams without getting Gasol in return. Milwaukee? They have Monta Ellis so there's nothing they would need from Houston. They don't have anything Orlando would want. I picked Chicago simply because the Bulls have been needing a SG for the longest time. It makes so much sense to ship Martin out to Chicago (even with Rip Hamilton still on the roster) and for Chicago to move Noah and his long-term deal with Omer Asik and Taj Gibson due for new contracts. The Lakers would get the center they've been hard for and get complementary players in Scola and Lowry. I think if this deal goes down, having Scola and Lowry on the team will prolong Kobe's career moreso than having Howard. Will this team be championship contenders againg? Absolutely because the Lakers are doing everything they can to try to win while Kobe can still walk. Houston looks like the loser in this trade because the Lakers get the best player, Orlando retooled to get back two very good players, and Chicago gets a piece they sorely needed the past two or three years. But I think this sets up nicely for Morey to rebuild the team for the nth time. Even if Bynum signs an extension, his cap number is offset by the contracts that are moved out in this deal (Scola and Lowry). Just looking at the salaries for the 13-14 season: http://hoopshype.com/salaries/houston.htm Suggests that (apologize to Bimathug and all of the other capologists here for my crude estimations): Andrew Bynum: ~$16 million Patrick Patterson: ~$3 million team option Chandler Parsons: ~$1 million team option (and based on the rookie scale for 12-13: http://www.hoopsworld.com/2012-13-rookie-salary-scale) Jeremy Lamb: ~$2 million Royce White: ~$1.4 million Terrence Jones: ~$1.3 million Courtney Lee: ~$6 million (assumed contract) That is a total of about $31 million for what is to be considered the "core" of the team after this upcoming season. $31 million for 7 of your core players is not bad at all. If the Rockets manage to re-sign Dragic to, say, $8 million per year (again PURE SPECULATION on my part), that is $39 million for half of the roster. Since I'm not well versed in cap information like Bimathug, I'm going to use the assumption that the salary cap for 13-14 is the same as the rumored 12-13 season of $61 million. That leaves roughly $22 million to fill out the rest of a roster that looks like this: Center: Andrew Bynum Power Forward: Royce White/Patrick Patterson Small Forward: Chandler Parsons/Terrence Jones Shooting Guard: Jeremy Lamb/Courtney Lee Point Guard: Goran Dragic What does this roster need? -Back-up Center -Back-up Point guard What would we all want? -Elite Small Forward -Elite Power Forward (if White does not pan out *knocks on wood*) -Elite Shooting Guard (if Lamb does not pan out *knocks on wood*) The FA Class of 2013 will be loaded to the brim, barring any signed extensions before the summer of 2013 of course. Josh Smith Ty Lawson (R) Stephen Curry (R) Chris Paul Monta Ellis (ETO) James Harden (R) Serge Ibaka (R) Tyreke Evans (R) Manu Ginobili Al Jefferson Paul Millsap The Rest: Jose Calderon Devin Harris Beno Udrih Will Bynum CJ Watson The Rockets could, conceivably, make a run at Serge Ibaka despite his restricted status. I could easily see the Thunder not matching since they would probably want to keep Harden over Ibaka if they had to pick. Maybe a contract around $11 million a year? That leaves about $11 million left to fill out the roster. Starting lineup: Andrew Bynum Serge Ibaka Chandler Parsons Jeremy Lamb Goran Dragic Bench: Royce White Patrick Patterson Terrence Jones Courtney Lee The Rockets would still need a back up point guard. Maybe bring in Udrih or Calderon or Watson for a reasonable contract (e.g. $3-$4 million a year). That leaves $7 million for 5 more players to fill out the 15 man roster Andrew Bynum/Serge Ibaka Serge Ibaka/Royce White/Patrick Patterson Chandler Parsons/Terrence Jones Jeremy Lamb/Courtney Lee Goran Dragic/Jose Calderon (??) Based on hopeful talent progression, that's not a bad team. If Lamb turns out to be a decent scorer (16-18 ppg), the only weak link I see in this team would be at the 3 spot. When healthy and motivated, you have a 20/10 threat every night with Bynum, you have a rim protector with Ibaka, you have a utility guy in Parsons, a scoring SG in Lamb, and a point guard that can score/shoot/defend (well enough haha) in Dragic.
Wow, I would HATE that trade. Not only because Andouche Crynum is a little prick who I don't want in Houston, but also because it works out WAY too well for LA.
That's why most of the posters on here have pointed out that the fourth team mentioned by the OP would likely be Minnesota, and that the Twolves would be sending young players like D Williams and Pekovic to ORL, along with young players and cap relief from Houston.
If we can clear Scola and Martin out of here today for a couple future first rounders, that's a lot of capspace, young talent, and draft picks to offer Orlando straight up for Dwight, JRich, and Duhon.
If this is true, I'm going to guess that Minnesota is the mystery fourth team. Their name has been linked to Pau, so maybe there is some truth to that. Rockets Give: Lowry, Scola, Morris Get: Bynum, Webster Magic Give: Howard, Redick Get: Lowry, Morris, Williams, Pekovic, picks? T'Wolves Give: Williams, Pekovic Get: Gasol, picks? Lakers Give: Bynum, Gasol Get: Howard, Scola, Redick
Do you know if trades would be announced today? Or would trades made over the weekend be announced on Monday?
