I'm hearing rumors that Cleveland is not an active trade partner, but just happens to be a team with cap space that the Nets are trying to get involved so the trade can happen. With another rumor claiming that Bynum sees Cleveland as a possible destination for his free agency, Cleveland will guard its cap space viciously. But, with another incentives, the Cavs could be a partner.
This is true, I do dislike both immensely, just Boston always seems to be a bit more drama-prone and vitriolicOriginally Posted by corsair
I don't understand why Bynum has Cleveland on his rumored short list.
Me either. No one ever wants to come to Cleveland, unfortunately. Maybe he sees potential with all the high picks we've got recently and wants to come in as the veteran who's been there but is still close enough in age that he can lead?
So the TWolves signed a (supposedly) good Russian combo guard - Shved. We now have a realistic shot at a starting NBA whitewash - Rubio, Shved, Budinger, Love and Pekovic!
And they might be quite good if they manage to grab Batum and Roy's knees actually work.
When was the last time a pro team started all white guys? That would be exciting.
Neither does Cleveland. The most likely explanation is his agent is leaking the team name when he and Bynum really has their eyes set elsewhere to help insure a max contract, but I think he is guaranteed one anyways from somebody.
On the other hand, Kyrie Irving appears to be the real deal, a top 5 if not top 3 point guard. If Thristan Thompson and Dion Waiters work out, the Cavaliers are a playoff bound for certain. Bynum has the potential to put them over the top and compete out right for the best team in the East. Plus, the Cavaliers have a lot of cap space right now, with the only caveat being they wouldn't have his Larry Bird rights. Throw in the top notch facilities, an owner committed to winning, a Front Office that appears to be making the right moves, and a well respected head coach and there are things to like about Cleveland. Plus, low cost of living. A million dollars buys you a Victorian mansion in Northern Ohio. In California, I think that gets you a two bedroom condo.
And Howard apparently isn't going to the Nets.
--- Alan
The Indecision goes on! George R R Martin takes inspiration from Howard on dragging out the story interminably! Ray Milland plucks out his own eyes rather than continue to watch! Titannic hits iceberg after iceberg and just won't go down! Gomez Addams delights in continuous trainwreck!
And you know it won't end there. Somehow, someway, the Nets will be quoting Michael Corleone soon enough about being dragged back in against their will. I mean, leaving the way clear for the Lakers would just piss off way too many people in the NBA - even more so than if Brooklyn pulled off their own Big Three.
The question now is what Howard does. He screwed this up to begin with and now it looks like he isn't going to get his way. So will he now be willing to join the Lakers or some other team?
Does he have a no-trade clause? If not, send him to Charlotte, Sacramento, or any other "choice" location.
The nets never had a good deal. Trading away a superstar, you either want good picks, young talent, and cap space(for a full rebuild); or another superstar. The nets offer was: marshon brooks, bad draft picks, and Brook Lopez at the max. Marshon is a good young player, but the picks werent going to be any good, and Lopez (at the max) is a negative for a rebuilding team.
The Lakers can give them the closest thing to a superstar, and the Rockets can offer them decent draft picks and cap space. Neither option is all that attractive, but that proposed Nets deal was brutal.
I'm sure Orlando would take Bynum, but its been reported that Bynum is unwilling to sign a long deal with Orlando. So that puts a major crimp into things. Throw in the whole first round draft thing I noted above and it makes me think the Lakers are a bit of a long shot right now.
I heard that, but I also heard that that was speculation, and Bynum hadnt been approached with the question. Assuming it's true though, where does dwight end up? With the rockets? Does he play all season and move next year in FA to dallas? He doesnt have many options left.
Honestly, if I was OKC, I'd offer Harden and Ibaka. Ha, isnt harden getting the max anyway?
Last edited by rattledrush; 07-11-2012 at 03:50 PM.
They simply aren't going to give anything Orlando particularly wants or needs just so they could at best rent Howard for a season, when he would immediately bolt. The only way they get anything significant is by trading him to a team that Howard is willing to sign a new contract with, and Howard simply is not going to sign with a Charlotte or Sacramento backwater that isn't going anywhere anyway. He could stay in Orlando if he was willing to put up with that.
So, Brooklyn/NJ plots a new strategy eventually, or Howard just decisively puts off the Indecision indecisiveness until next season, or maybe just until the trade deadline.
Lakers are probably the favorite at this point, though I firmly believe that The Indecision will remain true to form. Bynum doesn't need to sign with Orlando - he'd need to sign with the Rockets (the team that tried to get Gasol last year as the enabler on the three way Paul trade). Bynum to the Rockets, and the rebuild package of draft choices from Houston to the Magic. But honestly, the Lakers probably view Howard as a something desirable, but not inherently necessary, unlike Nash - they desperately needed a real point guard post-triangle era.
Anyway, the saga may well have lots of twists and turns in it yet, but at some point the Magic will have to say that they need to take something or risk getting nothing, and having it extend past the start of the season and lingering for yet another year is something they should have learned they don't want to go through again.
After spending some time trying to find a list of who has the most cap space, I think this site does the best job.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-team-salary-totals
Just order the 2012-13 column from least to most, and realize the cap is about $58 million. So, subtract their current salary obligations from that and you have how much cap space each team has to sign free agents. Its worth pointing out that these numbers are far from settled, with qualifying offers and free agents of note still kicking around.
So, this gives some idea, though still quite confusing, about who could go after a player like Howard or Bynum in free agency, or be willing to take on "bad contracts" in addition to a superstar, since the now really, really punitive luxury tax won't hurt them as much.
Dwight should've persevered a bit more. If he hadn't exercised his one year option he would've officially become a Net on Wednesday free & clear.
Persevered? He only signed the deal because he wanted a S&T deal that would allow him a 5th year/another 20 million on his max contract. He had no intention of ever playing for the Magic again. Dwight gave up complete freedom in favor of his dream of strong-arming the Magic into trading him wherever he wanted and getting his extra 20 million anyway. Seriously, the guy's a douche. Fuck him.
Carmelo did the same thing, actually, which is why the Knicks are now stuck in treadmill mediocrity.
Has Dwight Howard ever put together a coherent statement about why he didn't sign with the Nets last year if he wanted to play for the Nets so bad?
He hasnt come out and said it, but the NBA has rules to punish players for leaving the team they were drafted by. It's the difference between leaving as a free agent and signing a 4 year, $70 million deal, and signing a 5 year $90 million deal. I probably have the numbers wrong, but it's close. It's one of the ways they came up with to discourage superstar movement: if you want to leave for a bigger market, you have to leave that extra year and millions on the table.
The way around this is with a sign and trade, where your current team trades you and your current contract to another team, who can now give you the 5 year max deal.
Carmelo had a similar situation, where the Knicks were in position to possibly trade for Chris Paul and pick up Melo in FA, but melo wanted that 5th year, so he played up his willingness to sign with NJ if need be, and forced the Knicks to trade their best pieces for him at the deadline. The basketball cost of that 5th contract year was a knicks team that wouldve had Chris Paul.
Dwight saw the same issue, "how am I gonna get that 5th year?" and signed the extension, knowing all along he was going to force the Magic's hand. Now of course, he's upset, because who wouldve thought he cant get everything he wanted?
I want Howard on the lakers, but man, I don't want to root for him.
edit: I just read that Houston amnestied Scola, freeing up cap space to create Orlando Magic West... Morey must really be banking that Dwight wants that 5th year.
Last edited by rattledrush; 07-12-2012 at 03:46 PM.
Wouldn't he have had way more leverage if he didn't sign the extension, though? Then it's "Give me a sign-and-trade or I walk to New Jersey and you get nothing." Now it's "Give me a sign-and-trade or I'm gonna sulk for a year."
Dwight would still have gotten the 5th year in a sign and trade last year before signing the extension. All he did was put off the whole mess for half to a full season.
http://articles.businessinsider.com/...-orlando-magic
The story is, he signed the extension to avoid being traded to the lakers. I guess the Magic wanted more time to get the best deal? I guess Howard felt that extending the mess gave Brooklyn a better window to allocate resources?
If im the lakers, I still think that, with Nash running things, once he gets a taste of the spotlight he'd stay in LA. For that extra cash, too.
But I think the best explanation for the opt-in, is that the Magic felt the full year gave them more leverage in a trade; and Dwight, knowing the Lakers wouldnt send him where he wanted, opted in, and hoped the Magic and Brooklyn would figure something out.
Last edited by rattledrush; 07-12-2012 at 04:18 PM.
Howard's gotta be one of the only players in the league who wouldn't put the Lakers on a short list of teams he'd like to play for. Actually, I'm pretty sure they were on his short list for a while. I wonder why he's so adamant on NJ now.
That story doesn't make an ounce of sense to me. One, Howard had the Lakers on his short list at the time, and two, trading him to the Lakers regardless is about the dumbest threat there is since the Lakers weren't gonna give them diddly-squat without Howard being willing to sign long term. He's leery of coming to the Lakers because he is just plain afraid of having to measure up to Shaq, Kareem, Wilt, George, and maybe leery of Kobe (Howard wants to be the big fish, regardless of the pond size), but that mostly means they are further down the list rather than clean off it.
Though of course, he changes his mind daily, so who's to say where The Indecision stands at any point?
I don't know how true it is but some reports have said that Howard and Kobe don't get along very well anymore and thats why he doesn't want to go there.
What a pass!
So the Knicks are probably going to let Lin walk, and pray for CP3 after next season. Dwight is gonna feel left out if he's the only guy not playing in New York eventually.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote