I don't think the focus of this discussion should be on Lin. It's Lin and Asik both you have to give up if you want to acquire both Howard and CP3. Duh, CP3 is better than Lin. But is it such a huge upgrade that it's worth tossing away Asik? Are you really willing to gamble that one of our crappy rookie PFs will become start-able? That we will be able to fill out our bench entirely with exceptions and minimums? When Morey says he is pursuing exactly who you think he's pursuing both, and would love to have the problem where both of them want to come, that doesn't necessarily mean he actually wants to build a roster of CP3 + Harden + Howard + peanuts. Take it with a grain of salt, he can't say anything else because he doesn't want to discourage either of their interest.
Very few people here actually EXPECT Paul to be a Rocket. The argument here is over why the Rockets should pursue him. And if you're seriously putting faith in the Clippers organization to keep it all together then I can only assume you just started following the NBA within the last two years. It isn't IF the Clippers screw everything up but WHEN. They are the worst franchise in the history of the NBA with the worst owner in the history of professional sports. I'd also add that I'm not sure that Lin's spot is assured even if we do not acquire Paul. Beverley played well enough at the season's end and during the playoffs that if the Rockets get the right offer for Lin they will definitely listen.
Oh, don't worry, I'm well aware of the Clippers failures (I'm looking at you Candyman). However, the product they have managed to put out on the court the past couple of years has been solid, and I wonder if CP3 can not just leave LA, but leave a good situation. It's not like Dwight. He's in LA, but the situation is bad, an old team, no upside at the moment. But, CP3 has a legit team with him. If I were CP3, I would bolt to Houston with Dwight, assuming the Rockets can pull off that sign and trade. But, I don't see that happening. Too many things have to go just right. I just can't see CP3 leaving the Clippers. If he does, and comes to Houston, awesome. But sometimes even the most logical situations don't play out in sports.
Can't keep both and add a quality PF (assuming we have Dwight). You can move Dwight to 4 and Asik plays the 5. Lin/Harden/Parsons/Dwight/Asik With CP3, it's basically a choice of Lin to CP3 or Asik to TJone/DMo. CP3/Harden/Parsons/Jones/Dwight
Chris Paul is a pest, lil b****, flop expert and other things, but he's the best defensive guard, best passing guard, and 2nd best shooting guard %wise. Lin/harden do not mesh because they are ball dominant and Lin couldn't hit a 3 not in rhythm until the end of season. CP on the other hand is 90/50/40, and 40 would go significantly up if he is wide open instead of contested. Saying they couldn't mesh is r****ded, but we would play slower with Paul for sure, still, you don't say 'no' to adding a top 2 PG in the league, or a hall of famer in his prime.... He's still a lil b**** though....
For starters, Drew Bledsoe is a retired NFL quarterback. I assume you mean Eric Bledsoe. There is so much wrong with your post that it makes my head spin. Degrees of "great" are sort of pointless here - we aren't choosing between pursuing Chris Paul and pursuing Tony Parker. We are choosing between pursuing Chris Paul and keeping Lin or pursuing some other lesser PG. It's cute to jump on the recent JalenRose/Grantland/media talking point of Tony Parker being the best PG in the league but it has little to do with our summer and our goals. Paul is second in PER among active players and has been in the top-3 of assists and top-1 of assist % for the bulk of his career. He's an All-NBA defender and MUCH better on that end of the floor than Parker. Parker is a great fit for the Spurs because they need an outside slasher/scorer to run their offense through. Paul would be a better fit for the Rockets because he is a better defender and distributor, which is sorely needed. A lot of good players have never made it out of the second round. Hell, a lot of good players took a long time to even make it out of the first round (Garnett, McGrady, etc.) Finally, the notion that Blake Griffin's lack of improvement has anything to do with Paul is ridiculous. LOTS of players improved with Chris Paul on board. The 2011 Clippers were 18 games under .500. The 2012 team - which was largely the same except for the addition of Paul - finished 40-26. The long and short of it is that picking nits to justify NOT acquiring a player that is easily Top-10 in the league is foolish. FOOLISH. Teams that win in the playoffs consistently have more talent than the other teams. Period. The end. Nothing else to it. Acquiring more talent than everyone else is the goal.
CP is a good shooter but definitely not the second best in the league and never accomplished 90/50/40. Last year his 3-point % was 32.8%, actually below Lin's 3-point %, and CP has never made it to 90% FT (though last year he came close).
Lol...because chris paul is light years ahead of jlin...I mean. Who says no to arguably the best pg in the league.. who says no to the best anything in the league?
I think SA is showing us that player you definitely need those superstar players but it is just as important that your 3-8 players be skilled contributors. Getting Chris Paul (which is a pipe dream to begin with) really hampers our ability to get those type of guys. We'll be top heavy like Miami, which is great when you're hitting on all cylinders but ultimately spreads the rest of your bench too thin.
I think Miami and Spurs show us both ways can work. There's no one magic way to a ring. Two star system + good supporting cast can win rings for sure, but so can Three star system + meh supporting cast. I tend to think One star system is just not good enough. Need that second all star-type player at least.
If anything, a thread of this nature should be directed at Dwight since CP3 is a much more significant upgrade to Lin than Dwight is to Asik.
Dont add either of them to the team!!! This is my opinion and this how I view this situation and basketball overall. Omer Asik was a good addition to this team. The reason why he is so important to the team is because he does NOT need the ball to be effective and doesnt ask for touches he cleans up the glass, rebounds, and defends very well. The EXACT reason why should not go after Dwight Howard. This guy wants the ball in his hands when is not a great back to the basket post player at all. Dwight does not need to be double teamed. I give it to him that he is a great defender and a great rebounder. If Dwight comes he will demand the ball and that will be less touches to go around for our primary and secondary scorers Harden and Parsons. The reason why we should not have Chris Paul come in is because we as an organization have made it clear that this is Hardens team and he is our leader and we put the ball in his hands to create for us. Although CP3 is one of if not the best point guard in the league he will dominate the ball and have less touches for Harden. If you look at the past elite teams it shows that you cannot have two players that dominate the ball in the same backcourt. Kobe played with a spot up shooter Fisher. Wade played with Chalmers/JWilliams who are good ball handlers but accept the role of being a spot up shooter. Hell even the present day Spurs have Tony Parker and Danny Green catching and shooting. So having the CP3 and Harden will NOT work. Not saying Lin is the answer either but we need to find someone who can hit the open three off of penetration and defend to play point guard for us. And to make this team an elite contender I think we have to stop the run and gun and actually have some type of half court play. With that said the addition of a skilled post player like Al Jefferson at the 4 would be excellent or even trying to develop Terrence Jones who seems to be a more athletic and physical Lamar Odom at the 4 would be awesome.
Good reasoning. You don't have to go thermonuclear to win. We have a core with good chemistry add Howard and we have the whole apple.
Let's say Houston gets Dwight and Paul, then it didn't work out well next season, what next? Maybe trade Harden away for a good PF? I hope JLin stay in Houston and folks give him the next season for him to prove himself, it's only fair. But if he gets traded, might be better for his career anyway.
