The Writing is On the Wall - Dwight Howard will leave Orlando for the "Big City"
In an interview with Esquire magazine, Howard said:
""There's more you can do in a bigger place. I'm stuck in a tough position because I feel like right now, where I'm at, I've done so much. And I just don't know what else I can do. I can't live for everybody else," Howard told the magazine.
"I don't know what decision I'm gonna make as of right now. ... Everybody wants me to come here, come play here, come to our team, do this. It's a great feeling, though, to be wanted, " Howard told Esquire. "
This sounds like he is good as gone. No doubt about it, Howard will not consider coming to Portland or 90% of the other NBA cities. He will want to join up with a collection of superstars to make another mega-star team. Most likely destinations are NY or LA.
This is the EXACT reason this CBA must do something to discourage this kind of thing from happening. How many times can the Lakers get a superstar big man from another team, before we all just throw our hands up quit watching. Off the top of my head the superstar big men, in their prime, the Lakers have poached from other teams are Kareem, Shaq, and Gasol. 2 of those 3 were arguable the best big men of their generation and the Lakers took them from other teams. This type of stuff has to stop.
7 months ago
JasonT
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"This is the EXACT reason this CBA must do something to discourage this kind of thing from happening. "
Why? If Dwight Howard wants to go to a big market and play for a team like the Los Angeles Lakers or the soon to be Brooklyn Nets, then so be it. At first, I assumed that the Lakers would be a shoo-in for Howard. Yet, due to Jim Buss’ purported love of Andrew Bynum and the Lakers bloated cap situation, I think it’s more likely Howard lands in Brooklyn via a lopsided trade whereby Brook Lopez, some smaller assets, and a few future first-round draft picks head off to Orlando.
"I Am Mine"
I have no problem if the Lakers clear cap room and sign him out right
I have a problem whereby DH tells Orlando to trade him, and oh by the way he will only accept a trade to the Lakers. Orlando is boxed into a corner and cannot get market value on the trade.
This is why I strongly support the elimination of both sign and trade deals, and the transfer-ability of Bird rights. Dwight can then choose to get a max deal with a team that has cap space, or take the MLE if he desperately wants to play for team X. Having your cake and eating it too is the problem.
"Well, you can always sell your team."
by douglast on Oct 18, 2011 12:02 PM PDT up reply actions 4 recs
Absolutely
You make really good points. The hostage holding that Melo, LeBron, Bosh, and DWill did recently with their former teams has got to stop.
and this has the added bonus
of encouraging teams to manage their caps MUCH more smartly and strategically. As it is now, the Knicks and Lakers of the world can load up on bad contracts, knowing full well they can be the ballast in acquiring the next superstar who demands a trade to their team.
Eliminating those two provisions forces ALL teams, including the Knicks and Lakers, etc, to actually clear real space, meaning they have to make a real set of choices in the years leading up to a superstar’s availability. They can’t just load up with super-luxury tax contracts in perpetuity in hopes of making a lopsided deal when player A demands to go to their team only.
"Well, you can always sell your team."
It sure would make some of these owners pause before putting out huge offers for mid-level talent league-wide. A bad contract would then become something that nobody could really take on at any time, right?
I am not giving up on Greg or Brandon.
#52
#7
by musicdaniel on Oct 19, 2011 11:24 AM PDT up reply actions
I disagree
I think we everyone should just choose to either be lakers fans or knicks fans. Then we can eliminate the other 28 teams and just watch the knicks and lakers play eachother 82 times a season.
go Knicks?
"If I had a dime for every basket I made today, you'd still suck!" - from the book 'John Dies @ the End'
by sammymohawk on Oct 19, 2011 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I'm fine with the elimination of sign-and-trade deals, but I believe you're taking a regressive stance ...
on Bird rights. What’ll happen if someone is traded just one season in of a multi-year contract like Hedo Turkoglu was recently? Would Turkoglu’s pending full Bird rights have been abolished?
What about Early Bird rights? Would Raymond Felton have lost his pending Early Bird rights due to him being dealt from Denver to Portland just months ago?
By doing this, the league may consequently have to put no-trade clauses into tons of contracts and, as a result, there could be numerous Devean George type situations arise in certain circumstances.
"I Am Mine"
transferability of bird rights is the much bigger problem in general
I agree with some of the concerns you point out. I think if a contract has more than 2 full seasons remaining, then I’m fine with full Bird rights transferring. Less than that though, and I say no.
as for early bird, those are a bit different. I’d probably be fine with the status quo on their transferability.
"Well, you can always sell your team."
regarding no-trade clauses
I think that’s a fair pro-player tradeoff, but they wouldn’t need a blanket no-trade in the contract. Just handle it like they do now – if a player is going to lose their Bird rights as part of a trade, they can veto it.
"Well, you can always sell your team."
My fear with that, though, is there'll be a lot more Devean George type situations where ...
a lesser player throws a monkey wrench in a potential blockbuster. Even worse, smaller, yet still significant trades — such as Raymond Felton to Portland — may become compromised.
Not that Felton would’ve automatically rejected the trade knowing his Early Bird rights were at risk, but it’s possible.
"I Am Mine"
i hear ya
but I want trades to go back to being primarily about talent, not money. trades should be even exchanges, not one team getting robbed because the player is saying “I will only extend for team X”, thus robbing the current team of any ability to get value back.
if that means a minor role player can sometimes blow up a deal – im ok with that.
"Well, you can always sell your team."
Since the New Jersey Nets ought to be under the cap, Orlando should be able to do a blockbuster ...
without having to absorb that albatross, Travis Outlaw, who should thank his lucky stars that he received his bloated contract when he did. But yeah, my expectation is Howard will ultimately join Deron Williams in Brooklyn. With an ownership group consisting of men like Mikhail Prokhorov, Bruce Ratner, and Jay-Z, it’s a hot spot nowadays.
"I Am Mine"
I think you're right
And it scares me. A team built around those two guys could probably make the finals with a garbage man PF and floor-spreader/defenders on the wings. They need a better coach, and a better FO to go after the right FA’s, but they’d be a threat to go all the way every year for the next decade (big men and big PG’s age really well).
Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit!
They'd not even need a better coach. Avery got a team to the finals, had an amazing winning percentage in Dallas, and is a perfectly capable coach.
Players just tune him out after a few years. Which is surprising considering his grating voice.
Well, I guess that's what I meant
Not necessarily better, but someone who D-Will won’t end up fighting with (sure they got along for, what, 15 games? But, given Avery’s record with point guards, how long will that last?) and won’t remind Howard of a squeaky SVG.
Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit!
man, Avery Johnson has coached
Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and now Deron WIlliams.
He’s like the Phil Jackson of Point Gaurds, except for the winning part.
I JUST WANT MY BASKETBALL BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by Sean in Vancouver on Oct 19, 2011 10:11 PM PDT up reply actions
That's cool.
Hopefully, Chris Paul and Howard will join Melo and Amare in NY. Or better yet, Miami needs a center. Howard could go there. That would be cool.
Thankfully, Miami is cap-strapped and doesn't possess any real valuable trade pieces. For the Heat, ...
it’s best bet is snagging Samuel Dalembert for whatever the new mid-level exception is worth post-lockout.
With regards to the New York Knicks, the time to have pushed for Chris Paul would’ve been this off-season using Chauncey Billups’ expiring contract to match salaries. However, if a full entire season is missed, the valuable asset that is Billups’ expiring contract will probably go to waste. If the Knicks get stuck with Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony as its two big catches, then it’ll have come up short.
"I Am Mine"
Howard could very easily say...
Trade me to Miami, NY, LA, or Chicago. Otherwise, I will walk when my contract is up. The player almost always wins in that situation.
which is why I favor the new CBA...
…eliminating the tradeability of Bird Rights. the owners have reportedly had this in most of their proposals (along with elimination of sign and trade deals). I hope both make the final cut.
"Well, you can always sell your team."
"… eliminating the tradeability of Bird Rights."
I’d bet my bottom dollar that doesn’t occur, because there’d be some unforeseen consequences with lesser deals that you don’t appear to be taking into account.
"I Am Mine"
I'd be happy to discuss those and am confident they can be addressed
I can think of no other effective way to put a damper on the “trade me please. and oh by the way, I will only resign with team X” scenarios. To me, those are a big black eye to the league and a huge distraction for the team being held hostage, which is almost always severely handicapped by other factors as is.
"Well, you can always sell your team."
NO!
The stars should be well distributed among the teams. This star clusters stuff have got to stop.
pretty sure I saw something on the Science channel
about star clusters creating black holes………. or something like that
I JUST WANT MY BASKETBALL BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by Sean in Vancouver on Oct 19, 2011 10:14 PM PDT up reply actions
I just may stop watching Basketball if he goes to the Lakers.
My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.
i stopped watching during the Kobe/Shaq setup run.
Both those guys gamed their way to the Lakers, just because they are the Lakers. That is a huge competitive advantage on top of the other advantages the Lakers already have. I would like to see these advantages evened out when possible.
"Well, you can always sell your team."
Until recently, I put the chance that he would re-sign in Orlando at 50/50
Guess that might have been too optimistic
hrm..last i checked, portland is a larger city than orlando...
of course we’ll welcome chris paul and dwight howard.
Jeff Pendergraph:
FGM - 3
FGA - 111
Min - 30
Reb - 10
by Tofu Anonymous on Oct 18, 2011 1:18 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
ironically, the best way to limit clustering of talent
is a hard cap. If Lebron, Wade and Bosh eat up 90% of the cap good luck finding other players who will play for the scraps that remain.
So what if stars want to go to a team? They can still be traded unless they're one of just a few with a "no trade" clause even if it would be just a rental,
My dream trade for Howard and CP3 that would actually be an alright payout before they leave for their teams.
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=3wtp3zy
Orlando
Trade: Howard, Bass
Recieve: Oden, Camby, Batum, PTB 2012 1st
Why: Get a big man that IF finally healthy can keep a dominant presence in the post on both sides, an expiring contract veteran, a coveted SF that could blossom offensively in a faster tempo and as a 1st or 2nd option, and a first round pick. Beats letting him walk and might be the most you can get for a rental.
New Orleans
Trade: Paul
Recieve: Felton, Matthews, Bass
Why: Get a PG that was almost an all-star and can lead a team rebuilding, a SG finally that plays hard on both ends of the court, and a PF that will replace West and Landry when they leave. Possibly still a playoff team if they want to with Felton/Wes/Ariza/Bass/Okafor on board. Another rental that under a new CBA could be the most they could get.
Portland
Trade: Felton, Matthews, Camby, Batum, Oden, 2012 1st
Recieve: Howard, Paul
Why: Although it could be a rental for just part of a season, they could be title favorites and between a new CBA and maybe a ring they might just stick around. It would be a huge gamble, but to win you have to take chances. If we can’t renegotiate Roy’s contract then maybe we’ll just keep him for a star studded but expensive lineup. Starters would be CP3/Roy/Wallace/LMA/Howard…Would like to see Miami and Oklahoma City give that a shot in a playoff series.
by philthebballplayer on Oct 18, 2011 10:23 PM PDT reply actions
Well correction
He’ll get traded at the trade deadline to the Lakers.
by Oden_Favre_28 on Oct 18, 2011 11:58 PM PDT up reply actions
I think Howard is a new breed of superstar, they don't actually win,
to be honest I don’t see him winning anybody a championship. Like LeBron James, there is just some sort of quit in him or something. I don’t know what it is, but I am strangely not concerned. Anybody else see this?
I think the opposite
He made it to Finals with Skip to my Lou and Hedon’t sharing the point-man duties. The second best player on that team was…whom? Lewis? Hedo? An injured Nelson? Rookie Courtney Lee? Gortat, who played scrap minutes next to and behind Howard and Battie?
The next year, his team swept the first two rounds, before nearly being the first team to come back from being down 3-0 in a playoff series, against a stacked (Nate and Big Baby played out of their minds) and healthy Celtics team.
Give him a true point guard, and he’ll be unstoppable, especially if he ends up with Williams or CP3.
Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit!
Dwight Howard's career trajectory reminds me somewhat of Moses Malone, who won a title in 1983.
Like Malone, Howard made a NBA Finals appearance at a young age for an under the radar team — with that being Houston in 1981 for Malone and Orlando in 2009 for Howard — but couldn’t get over the hump due to having poor second and third options as teammates. So, once Howard is teamed up with another superstar, he’ll be in a strong position to win himself that elusive ring.
"I Am Mine"
What is the process for changing a name from Portland, Oregon to Big City, Oregon?
i like it here, there, everywhere.
by Name's Ash on Oct 19, 2011 9:14 AM PDT reply actions 3 recs
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