We all enjoyed Linsanity, but we have to face the fact that even Jeremy playing at Linsanity levels won't win championships. However Jeremy has the potential of winning a championship with this Rockets team. Could anybody have dreamed of this situation at the beginning of last season? It would be so sweet if Jeremy ends up with a championship ring before Melo and the rest of the Knicks.
Seems like nobody will be happy unless Jeremy wins a championship AND is the main star. The Rockets will not win a championship with Jeremy on the bench. Jeremy had his chances last year and he proved he was the best passer on the team. However, he also proved he wasn't the best shooter at home or finisher on the team. He has worked on his outside shooting this summer and I believe adding DH will open up the lanes for Jeremy because the opposing center will have to stay more. Jeremy will not win a championship on the bench, he will win it with the ball in his hands! It's a perfect setup for the next chapter in his career.
hey man, i'm all for that scenario. and lin winning championship and one of the lead actors, that just sweet end to a chapter of the Cinderella story, right?
Like any good story, the main character needs to overcome multiple obstacles to reach the top. Last year at this time, everyone in NY was turning their back on Jeremy and calling him a one hit wonder that could never lead a team to a championship. A year later, Jeremy is playing on a young exciting team with better talent than the one he left in NY. Can Jeremy have scripted a better situation for himself?
Thank via. Hmm... that was back in January, I wonder if plans have changed like, "sorry I have to show Dwight around town, had to cancel my trip to Taiwan." I hope not... we shall see!
Jeremy is good at the pick and roll, but he can also beat his man dribbling and toss up the ally-oop pass. Do you guys forget how good Jeremy is at the ally oop pass? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwu8vIMQIi0 Houston is the new lob city!
but it sounds like DH wants to be an iso post player? dunno if that's true, that's the impression i get. not that its a bad thing, if he can be develope into a skilled post player.
at the same time, i do agree it can be a good thing for jlin's assists and involvement. dh has good hands and good hops after the dish off from Jlin penetration.
Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen Lin, and probably. RT @Fxxxx_Mxxxxxxxx: @Jonathan_Feigen At the start of the season who is the starting pg and will Asik be on the team?
Off bench. W/ Dwight only in rare late-gm situations. RT @axxxxxxxxx: @Jonathan_Feigen if we keep asik will he start at the 4 or be benched?
"Chandler, Patrick and I..." Is Jeremy no longer on the team or something? There has been a lot of mention of Howard talking to Harden, Chandler and patrick beverly but no mention at all about him talking to Jeremy. I wonder what's going on.
Has Howard mentioned Lin even once when talking about his new team? Is he pissed because Jeremy probably never called him (knowing his situation sucks).
Even though Howard said he talked to "some" Rocket players, I doubt he talked to Lin. Lin's silence tells me that he is not sure he will be on the team when the season starts. That's my interpretation.
I completely agree with this article. Lin is not a one-on-one flashy scorer. He needs weapons around him. Last year the Rockets lacked an inside scorer. Dwight Howard fills that hole. The worst thing would be for Lin to be traded to a weaker team without the weapons he has on the Rockets. This is a pro-Lin site. Why aren't people more excited to see the Lin-Howard combination? I can't think of a better complement to Lin's game. The Lin Nation should be stoked!
Interesting point, that Tyson's D energy went up with offensive involvement. NBA.com stats show D12 defensive rebounds down to worse in past 6 years at LAL. Blocks not so stark a difference, just slightly under his 6 yr avg. I threw out his first 3 yrs as those looked like just getting used to NBA.
JLin may not be flashy, but he can be a pretty good one on one player. but unfortunately, not much evidence from last year, since circumstances did not allow JLin to demonstrate his one-on-one game in most games.
JLin, like any other pretty good one on one player, will of course benefit from having talent around him. even the beastly LBJ complained about talent.
JLin on a team which is not supposed to have weapons will suddenly shine light where no light has shone before. guys become weapons because JLin is around (and allowed to run offense).
For me, both excited about the possibility and cautious about whether that possibility will pan out. if Lin-Howard combo allowed to happen, great. if mostly Harden-Howard pnr, then it may be worse than last year. so not quite stoked yet.
sorry for being kinda a killjoy for you, but just can't be so optimistic for things to pan out in a good way after last season.
"Why aren't people more excited to see the Lin-Howard combination? I can't think of a better complement to Lin's game. The Lin Nation should be stoked!"
That's why I think Lin should stay in Houston this year and see what happens instead of jumping to yet another team.
It could go either way. Best case is that Dwight loves Lin feeding him the ball off his penetration, getting him lots of touches, easy dunks, alley oops.
Worst case, McHale makes Harden the distributor to get Dwight the ball, and Lin gets marginalized again. Nash said that Dwight didn't seem to want to play PNR, so that's a red flag.
But I think it's worth seeing how this season plays out, at least the first few months. If Lin's getting benched regularly again, then yeah, trade him before the trade deadline.
@Smoovies, McHale and Morey won't allow Lin to outshine Harden or create with the ball. Notice last season when McHale pulled Lin out of the game when he was hot and putting up numbers. 4th quarter, Lin sits until Douglas or Beverley blow the lead.
The fact is Lin struggled early last season (due to injured knee or whatever) but slowly improved as the season wore on. If Jeremy hits the game winning 3 pointer against the Miami Heat in November people would be screaming Linsanity all over. Instead he airballs the wide open shot by a couple feet and that is what people and coaches remember. If Lin gets off to a hot start this year, he will see minutes and he will run the offense. However if he struggles again early he will get benched, quickly. Jeremy hasn't earned the respect of the coaches to shoot through slumps. Jeremy just can't let that happen and I don't think he will let it happen. He just needs to produce on the court and not make many mistakes. Jeremy has a lot more control of his destiny than people want to believe.
yeah, unfortunately this world runs on first-impression; those first-impression is what many remembers and talks about.
Although did indeed improve as the season went, and especially after the all-star break, many was still harping on the airball and selected few (very few) bad games. And those stuck with him.
He has to come in strong for at least the first 5 games or so....
I'm not sure how the trade stuff works, but if Lin doesn't get traded today, is there a pretty decent chance that he'll be around on the Rockets for awhile? I'd heard that today was significant for some reason.
I'm also aware that Harden wasn't traded till way late, and there's a February trade deadline (or something?), so I guess there's no insurance. Part of this is that I want my LeaguePass to have Lin's team on it too.
As for trade, it will be around FA, there are not many decent FA available now. And with the one availbale, they probably will willing ro take min or room exception. So trade is very unlikely. Ellis/Jennings/ Tegue still available though.
Next one is for player extension, some team may do trade when player demand out, but it has not get reported any decent player wants out.
Very likely the team is set with few FA here or there then some cut or d-league bring up to complete the training camp. You will not see big transaction until trade deadline (which will be Feb/March time)
You probably can wait till the training camp starts to renew your pass
Today is the first day free agents can sign their contracts. Everything before today have been verbal agreements/commitments. But there can still be trades all throughout the summmer. Look at how James Harden was traded just two days before the start of the regular schedule. There are still free agents floating around though and there will still be new deals coming out too.
Today, July 10, is the start of NBA free agency where teams can officially sign free agents. But Lin can be traded up to the trade deadline (sometime around February). I don't see why Lin would be more or less likely to be traded after today.
Rick: Harden was a big fish who didn't sign and couldn't come to terms with OKC, so that's why so late. We just have to see which big PG is out there unsigned. I wouldn't think Ellis is interested to HOU because he needs a lot of shots to get his output.
I think teams would be interested if it wasn't for that $15 mil in the third year. Yes only $8 mil counts towards the salary cap but still $15 mil gives you pause. It is more characteristic of Morey to try to feed the ball and pad his stats to boost a prospect (Kevin Martin) than to sell low. So I think/hope they will actually give him a chance this year. I don't think just boosting him in the pre-season would be enough after all the damage they did to him last year though. But maybe that was their plan, feed Harden the ball to create a superstar to get Howard to come. Hopefully now is Jeremy's turn.
So if we take Harden as an example from last year, are there any big name players with 1 year left on their contract who might be unwilling to sign an extension for whatever reason?
I'm just so sick of the negativity toward and undervaluing of Jeremy Lin. Just now I was watching a few minutes of ESPN's tv show "Numbers Never Lie" and they started talking about what weapons Howard has with him on the Rockets, and obviously they mention James Harden as some sort of god to play with for Dwight. Then another guy on the panel named "Hugh" said Jeremy Lin, and he was pounced on by some fat black sow who said "don't got there" (as if Lin was garbage, and Chris Broussard immediately yelling out "Jeremy Lin is a backup point guard." So this is how Lin's been further denigrated by the press after a season of McHale devaluingLin and jerking him around in games. The Rockets have really destroyed the perception of Lin as a greta player by his total misuse and abuse last year. I hope he either fucks everyone and comes out like a Tiger and demands the ball and says fuck you to his coach or that he gets traded as soon as possible and fourishes and scores 50 on Harden in his first game against the Rockets!!
Lin has faced this type of negativity his entire career. He's had to prove himself over and over. It's just part of the territory when you're a trailblazer. People weren't comfortable with black players playing quarterback and people aren't comfortable with an asian kid excelling at basketball. It would be kind of like a hispanic player coming out of nowhere and dominating in an asian sport like table tennis. What is most impressive about Jeremy is his character. He will prove his critics wrong on the court. Watch out for a break out year from Jeremy. The stage is perfectly set for it to happen.
Please do not complain about anti-Asian discrimination if you continue to use language like this. You frequently use this type of language against other races, especially blacks, whether they are NBA athletes, coaches or media members, as if you would be happier if they are all janitors or something. Hey, if you want to dislike and trash blacks and other races that is your prerogative, but don't you dare whine and complain about anti-Asian discrimination at the same time, because when you do it reveals you to be a bigot or hypocrite or possibly both and it doesn't help Lin's case. Look, the people on Clutchfans and other sites do read this forum. They may not comment much but they definitely read it, and garbage like what you frequently spew justifies their own garbage in their minds.
I have a feeling that some people are posting racist comments here on purpose for various reasons. Pretty disgusting, and I agree with Unknown on this issue.
I agree with the Unknown guy. Some fat sow is adequate. No need to over specify.
As for CF, why go there? It's seething with dark hatred and negativity. Your clicks to the site provide 'C' with money, so avoid I say...avoid at all costs!
Unknown is a clown. I've noticed this troll's writings ever since Linsanity last February, and he is definitely a hater. Most likely black, not asian. No Asian person would write things like he has written before, like that Jeremy Lin is a marketing gimmick because he's Asian. He occasionally will write something neutral to throw some of you off, but make no mistake, he is JUST LIKE other ridiculous haters like Floyd Mayweather, Screaming A Smith, Jason Whitlock, and Chris Broussard. Think of movies like "42" or "The Express", when it comes to basketball these days the tables have turned and Jeremy Lin is the one fighting through hurdles and discrimination, and it's the majority race in the NBA media and "decision makers" putting him down. It isn't just those guys, people like Matt Steinmetz and Ken Berger have said ridiculous things too. These haters from multiple groups will say various things like: - Lin is only a marketing ploy. This is extremely ignorant and offensive, because it deliberately ignores or gives zero credit to Jeremy Lin's legit NBA game. People like this have to rationalize that this person only made it because of some perceived loophole. Think of analogies like whiners of affirmative action toward blacks for college or job positions, or people hating on Eminem or Justin Timberlake that they are only famous because they're white doing "black" music or moves. - Lin is a marginal player or a career backup at best. Again, these morons WISH their prejudice and confirmation bias to be proven true. They will never believe either what they see with their eyes (great athletic plays and potential for a young player like Lin), or even with the stats (25 historic starts last year which have a high correlation with past all-stars and basically zero examples of busts or fluke players).
Here are facts to throw in ignorant faces which will generate zero rational or intelligent response: - Lin put up a 96 defensive rating with the Knicks, an amazing defensive stat. He made Tyson Chandler look good one year and then Chandler looked bad after Lin left. Let's be clear, the Knicks were one of the worst defensive teams and then during the first 10 games of Linsanity before Melo and also before Woodson, the Knicks actually had the league's #1 defense in PPG allowed and FG% allowed. Lin is GOOD at defense, contrary to lies by Screaming A Smith. Lin was Golden State's defensive specialist his rookie year. He has made Asik look good this year. Lin was actually ranked top 20 in the entire league in RAPM even this season until the coaching staff started seriously messing with his rotation. - Lin frequently goes left but just finishes with his right hand. Even star players do this, Tim Duncan for example (The Big Fundamental) frequently finishes with his right hand even on layups from the left side. Manu Ginobili almost always goes left. - Harden LED THE LEAGUE in turnovers, but haters will ignore this and scream (with zero evidence) that Lin is still a huge turnover machine. Lin's games have actually resulted in less total team turnovers, plus the passes he makes set up his teammates for extremely high percentage easy buckets. - Lin put up 6 assists and 13 points a game this year, shooting a better FG% than Harden, even though his usage rate was ranked 38th among point guards. He put up average starting PG numbers with a usage rate of a backup PG. Tons of potential here, not even close to a ceiling or of a career marginal backup. - Lin averaged 22 points and over 7 assists a game this year while Harden was out, against title contending teams. Lin shot 40% from 3-point-land the last 37 games of the year, and this doesn't even include all the buckets he made with a toe on the line. - Finally, most of Lin's American fans are not even Asian. Most are white, black, hispanic. Last year for those who actually went to games, you would see arenas filled with Lin jerseys and most of them were non-asian families. The TV cameras hyper focused on any Asian face in the audience but most of his fans span across racial barriers as everyone loves the underdog humble sleeping on a couch story, especially for a guy coming from an unusual place like Harvard and overcoming multiple obstacles and adversity. Fans don't support a player unless that person is a star. Yao was supported in Asia because he was GOOD, not because of his racial markers. Yi Jianlian was followed dramatically less because he was a role player. Lin made it in this league because he had to be clutch in key moments of his life such as winning an underdog championship in HS, outplaying 1st round NBA picks in college, outplaying lottery picks in summer league, and then shining for 25 NBA games in a stretch that nobody had seen in 40 years. None of those things were because of some sort of marketing reason or affirmative action, his race has never helped him it has only hurt him especially in the American sports world.
Actually Anonymous, you should copy your 2nd comment for future posts because your points are good, and you shouldn't have to rewrite the whole thing again.
You may need to post it up like 10 more times before Training Camps begins.
But I still think that it's not necessary to add 'black' to the fat sow. We gotta always conduct ourselves better.
It isn't very likely at all honestly. Trading Asik is more likely because Asik is just a backup now anyway. But trading Lin would mean either A) getting a superstar back or B) getting someone back who is better in terms of ability, salary and/or age.
You can forget about getting a superstar back in return for Lin/Asik. Remember: the only reason why OKC gave up Harden for what they did was because Harden was only a 6th man and there was still some question in their minds as to how he would handle being a starter. Had they known then what they know now, they would have kept Harden to make a run at a title last season and then let him walk, since what they got in return for the trade (Jeremy Lamb and some picks) doesn't equal what they lost, especially since they didn't re-sign Kevin Martin. So don't think that the Rockets are going to get a 20 ppg scorer for Lin, Asik and some picks (plus the Rockets don't have any picks to give away anyway) because they were lucky to get Harden for so little, and deals like that are rare.
Less likely but still possible. Unless u r considered a superstar, no one is safe on the rockets. At this point, I'm sure priority number 1 for trade is asik and them followed by Lin ( very close). Trust me neither of the are safe. How would u like to work under such condition.
On the same note, Lin will never be considered secure until the feb trading deadline passes. Then he will be safe until off season when same shit starts again.
Although I think that would be my preference, I can see that high school kid/ coach giving Lin a legit chance.. Don't think ainge has the balls to pull off what will be viewed as a contriversual trade.
But that would put Lin back on the map. And if Lin is able to accomplish what he is capable of, I could see the Boston crowd embracing him. Plus would add to Celtics Knicks rivalry. Could u just imagine?drool...
See below. The Celtics have no interest in Asik because they have 3 young centers already, at least two of whom have more upside. The Boston situation would be terrible for Lin (the team will stink, Lin will be replacing a popular all star, and the Boston fans and media are vicious). And it is debatable what interest Houston would have in Rondo since he has a notorious attitude and an atrocious outside shot, and cannot play off the ball.
@Solidz75:
It is one thing to say "no one is safe." But what I have consistentl said: the Rockets are not going to trade Lin just for the sake of making a deal. They will only move Lin if they feel that it makes the team better. There are two ways that can happen: getting a star (or close to it) at PF, or getting a decent PF plus a PG similar in ability to Lin. There are a lot of PGs who couldn't have put up Lin's numbers in the situation that Lin was in last year and the Rockets know it. The Rockets aren't going to move Lin for one of the many PGs who can't.
Unknown I don't know why u keep belaboring this point to me. I agree with you. Morey probably won't make a deal just to move Lin if his team ends up being weaker as a result. Not sure what his asking price is..but IMO the trade hasn't happened, more due to the fact that there is a lack of interest - teams rather take a chance with a draft pick or lower prices alternative than Lin.
But just because the trade hasn't happened, it doesnt morey will stop trying. As a matter of fact, i guarantee this is their number 1 priority tto get rid of asik and Lin before les is made to pay 30 miil for both players next year.
Rajon Rondo makes $12 million. To make the trade work, it would have to involve both Lin and Asik. The problem is that the Celtics would have no interest in Asik because they have 3 young centers already: Fab Melo, Kelly Olynyk and Colton Iverson. 2 of those guys are rookies, and 2 of them are 1st round picks (including 1 at #13 overall). The Celtics aren't going to throw a pair of 1st round picks away by acquiring Asik, who has a questionable ceiling given that he is already 27, and dumping Olynyk and Melo for 2nd rounders less than a year after drafting both.
Also, why would the Rockets want Rondo in the first place? They need guards who can play off the ball (due to Harden) and hit outside jumpshots (due to Howard and also Harden). Rondo, a career .241 3 point shooter (!?!?!) can't do either. If he doesn't have the ball in his hands he is a liability on offense. Remember, Kevin Garnett, even in his advanced age, is no Dwight Howard. He has the offensive game of a PF, not a center, and earlier in his career was a SF.
Rondo is a very good, all-star caliber player but the pieces have to fit, and it would be difficult to think of a worse fit (among PGs that can actually play that is) with Harden, Howard and Parsons than Rondo. And if I know this, McHale and Morey know it also.
And even if Rondo did fit the Rockets and the Celtics weren't trying to recoup their draft picks on 3 big men, gee how do you think the Boston fans and media - which takes their basketball a lot more seriously than Houston does, only New York and Los Angeles are bigger basketball/sports media towns, and oh yes both are absolutely vicious - would view the trade? Let me tell you: not well at all. Keep in mind: A HUGE PART OF THE REASON WHY LIN WAS SO EMBRACED IN NYC WAS BECAUSE THE TEAM HAD BEEN TERRIBLE OR MEDIOCRE FOR SO LONG AND BECAUSE THE MEDIA AND A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE FAN BASE DESPISED MELO AND WERE FRUSTRATED WITH STOUDEMIRE. It wouldn't be the same dynamic in Boston, a winning franchise where Lin would be replacing a very popular player still in his prime (Rondo is only 27). Also, Brad Stevens ran a motion offense at Butler, which is not exactly D'Antoni's system either.
Boston does not need or want Asik, it would be a bad situation for Lin, and Rondo is a terrible fit for what the Rockets will want to do on offense. (Rondo is also a very strong and negative personality so the chances of him getting along with Harden, Howard and McHale is almost nothing. Doc Rivers was only able to control Rondo because Rondo respected his being a former NBA point guard. With McHale, it would be the opposite.) Basically, it would be a recipe for disaster for everyone involved.
Olynycyk will play as pf in NBA. A stretch 4. Houston and boston could really make a trade if boston want both Lin and Asik. Problem is Rondo can play off ball when harden penetrates? Don't think that can happen although stevens could be the right coach for jeremy. They look similar .. Anyway if they want they have time to rebuild in.2 years and ask jeremy to sign :D
I know unknown is vehemently against it and its a wishful and maybe a naive dream, but imo, at this point, Lin would be much better off in boston than im Houston ( provided that Lin's role on the rox is not expected to change and the deal can miraculously happen with Ainge taking a big leap of faith in Lin).
Lin will be playing the pg position in a coach who will not just blow him off like Mchale did.
And while the pressure from the Boston media and the crowd will be sky high ( watch Simmons blow a gasket), I think Lin has the fortitude to turn them around. He had already handled the media capital of the world, so he has the potential to handle the pressure in Boston. Plus, Boston is in rebuilding miode.. So few mistakes will be allowed. And if Lin can lead them to playoffs, then he could have a nice long career there.
Again, it's wishful thinking. But I don't think Lin in Boston is a horrible for as some people think it is. If Lin fails, then at least he got a chance. But with him running the team, I can't see him doing bad at all. Come on Ainge lin asik for rondo. Make it happen.
Unknown is the same clown who a few days ago was adamantly demonstrating no clue about how a potential LA 5-year sign and trade would work for Howard, which Houston was eligible for since they were under the tax. This is the same clown who still thinks LeBron will go to LA. Sounds a lot like Screaming A Smith, or a close follower of that hater.
Nobody thinks Fab Melo is a legit prospect, he is a LONG way away from being even a role player in the NBA even this year. Olynyk is not their starting center, and C.Iverson is another long term developmental project. The Celtics have a huge hole without Garnett and they would also readily move Bass who is a below average rebounder, below average defender, and basically a mid-range shooting specialist. This would actually complement Houston who is looking for a bit of a stretch 4 who won't clog the paint with Howard.
Rondo+Bass does make a lot of sense for Lin+Asik. I still think Lin's best bet is a long term career with some sort of West Coast team, but since LA doesn't seem interested and every other West Coast team already has a starting PG, Lin in Boston isn't too bad of a destination. He would have a decent following being a Harvard player, he's also old school humble and hardworking which Boston likes. It wouldn't be the worst place to spend the next two years left on his contract. He would also work well with an analytically inclined coach in Brad Stevens, one focused on objective production than subjective bias, and also pressure would be off since the Celtics and their fans KNOW they are in development and rebuilding mode.
Under the new CBA. Sign and trade is allowed a max of 4 years only. Doesn't matter if you teams are under the cap.
The new CBA is designed to help teams keep their stars/superstars. That is why the Lakers who has Howard's bird rights is the only team allows to sign him to a five year contract. Here is the reference.
Here's a summary of the new rules:
Sign and trade contracts are reduced to a maximum of 4 years, with 4.5% percent raises. These are the years and raises used for non-bird players. In the past CBA, you could give the player maximum raises for maximum years if you had their bird rights, which would be 7.5% raises over 5 years in the current CBA.
Teams more than $4 million above the luxury tax cannot receive players in a sign and trade deal. If a team acquires a player in a sign and trade deal, then the team cannot go $4 million or more above the luxury tax for the remainder of the salary cap year. There were previously no restrictions.
There are also some changes to how Base Year Compensation is applied, but these are not applicable in the Andrew Bynum Situation, so I'll skip those for now.
In prior CBA's, the player had two major incentives to work with his previous team. The first was to be able to get the longer term contract and higher raises afforded to free agents with Bird rights. In this case, that would mean a 5 year deal with 7.5% raises. That is no longer possible, as sign and trade deals are restricted to 4 years in length at 4.5% raises, essentially removing the this incentive for players to work out a sign-and-trade.
The other major reason players would pursue a sign and trade was to go to a team that didn't have enough salary cap space to sign them outright. This incentive still exists, although it is restricted. In the current CBA, teams acquiring a player in a sign-and-trade deal cannot go more than $4 million over the luxury tax limit, either as the result of the trade or at any point during the remainder of the salary cap season.
Please note this tidbit which counters the Lakers' trash Howard propaganda: "Howard’s best all-around month as a Laker was when Nash was fully ensconced in the lineup. To close the season in April, Howard averaged 20.9 points on 61 percent shooting, along 10.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game with Nash at the helm."
The article basically states that Howard should embrace playing with Lin, and that the Howard-Lin matchup would be great for both players.
That's the point solidz. Howard and Lin could be a great combo ... But does Howard want it? Would harden like that partnership? That's my concern ... Rockets could be instantly contender if they give the ball to jeremy and all the gunners ready to fire ... But that could have been the gameplan of last year... But it didn't happen.... Mchale wanted to play hard on jeremy to test him and now he'll give him the keys of the team? Morey wanted harden in asg But this year he just wants to win a ring? Anything can happen... But rockets are still trying to bring lull in or players like him... And you don't pay 4 mln + buyout from Real for a replacement....
Who knows what will happen? God knows. We can only support and Pray God for our boy to shine and convert the majority of people on his road.
Trading Jeremy Lin? You’ve read the rumors. I’ve had a hard time believing the Rockets will trade Jeremy Lin . Rockets owner Les Alexander went to great lengths and cost to bring Lin back to Houston. He is important to the business side of the team as they continue to enjoy the benefits of being China’s favorite basketball squad. The Rockets also have a preseason game scheduled in Taiwan this year, and if they’d like to survive it, Jeremy Lin should probably be in attendance. Having said all that, note that Chandler Parsons and James Harden have both spoken up to welcome Dwight to Clutch City (for that matter, so has Patrick Beverley), yet Jeremy Lin has not said a word.
This could be because Jeremy himself is uncertain or believes his name could be out there in trade talks, but something’s off here, in my opinion.Jeremy Lin and James Harden
Is Lin still part of the team’s future and the right fit in the backcourt next to Harden? Here’s why I think Jeremy Lin would be hard to trade with that contract: Last year, as a free agent, Lin could have signed with anyone. As a Harvard-educated young man, I highly doubt Jeremy took less than market value to play in Houston. He agreed to a deal worth between $6 and $6.5 million per year, meaning it’s safe to assume that no team in the league offered more. The Rockets strategically chose to give Lin $2 million more annually (on top of what they agreed upon) simply to make it more difficult for the Knicks to match. So unless you think Jeremy far exceeded expectations in 2012-13, he’s currently signed to an above market value contract. Making it more complicated? Lin was signed before Harden, when the Rockets were in full-blown rebuilding mode. Patience was on the menu. Now, the Rockets have probably three untouchables on their roster, are ready to contend, and are focusing on adding the right pieces to complement their core. In my opinion, the most vital characteristics of a point guard next to Harden are three-point shooting, defense and low turnovers. Lin’s final few months of the regular season were quite encouraging — he hit 50-125 (40%) of his three-pointers in his final 37 games. Adding Howard should only help him — he formed quite a pick-and-roll combo with Tyson Chandlerwhen he was in New York. But keep in mind, excluding the Rockets, the likely top 5 teams in the West will field Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Mike Conley and Stephen Curry at the point. Four of those five teams will throw top defenders at Houston’s best guard (Thabo Sefolosha, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Allen and Iguodala), making the Rockets having someone to slow those points fairly important. My feeling is Lin needs another year, but team direction has shifted and shifted hard. It goes without saying — this is going to be a very important year for Jeremy Lin.
I think you have to take these rumors with a grain of salt. Remember when the rumor was that Rockets looking to dump Asik? Then a week later it's that Asik wants to be traded but they don't want him to go a 180 degree change. Then all the rumors of Dwight Howard back to 50/50 and flying back to LA to speak to the Lakers. It was only one guy who said they were shopping Lin and everyone else just repeating it.
I agree, but the fact that Jeremy has said NOTHING about Dwight ("Welcome!" "So excited for next season!") is a strong sign that he could be traded.
The Rockets are still the league's worst at PF and they'd prefer a rich man's Derek Fisher at PG...so it makes sense to move Lin and/or Asik to fill one or both of those needs.
They're together for Summer League, but yeah. The starting PG should still have something to say about landing the NBA's #1 center. So you know something is up.
Anyways, Jeremy knows it's a business, so he's probably waiting for confirmation from Morey/Les that he's definitely staying. Until then? Radio silence...
I think it might be that FO hasn't talked to Lin at all about the situation. And I think it's wise for him to stay quiet if that is the case.
Lin was in the dark last year in NY as well during his FA period. He said FO never talked to him until the end to let him know they were letting him go.
I guess you could also think that today is the day Dwight Howard could have signed the agreement but haven't heard that he has. They said they are waiting until the weekend for an event at Toyota Center. Or could it be to buy more time to arrange a sign & trade to send either Asik or Jeremy away.
Feignen said they need to officially complete the trades first before signing him (makes sense). I just think its weird that a player who was such a prominent part of Houston marketing last year is not even talked about much. It shows where Houston stands with Lin at this juncture.
Although I would be very surprised that the lakers would want Jeremy (I would love him with the lakers), perhaps the two teams have agreed to a sign and trade for Howard with Jeremy and-or someone else going the other way.
I know that this is highly unlikely from reading unknown's excellent summaries above.
Interesting article about DHo's time with the Lakers. Of course, this is just one side of the story, but the anecdotes about DHo's behavior are interesting. Seems like he was a major d-bag in LA - what'll he be like in Houston?
What I got out of the article was that Kobe is a more intense no-nonsense guy and Howard is kind light hearted and likes to have more fun as well as win. I think he fits the young college-like atmosphere of the Houston locker room better. It was fun watching the team joking around having fun while they were blowing out Golden State in a barrage of 3 pointers and doing their 3 glasses. Hoping this will create good chemistry.
Seems like the more they sign roll players the less likely they will trade Jerremy because they would have wanted to preserver cap space to pull off a trade.
Morey is good at this trade up game. He need to fill his inventory so he can trade up. It doesn't mean there's a package planned ... he's just opening up inbound asset inventory to create more options later. That's how he looks at people in trades. It's worked pretty well for him these past 2 years, considering where HOU were before the Lin contract.
It would be such Karma if Houston traded Lin for Rondo, take the ball out of Harden's hands and give it to Rondo to make plays, and forces Harden to become an easily replaceable spot up shooter.
Yeah, Rondo's star power is even greater than Harden's, karma is a b*tch.
Dorell Wright was a much better shooter for Golden State. And he had better chemistry with Lin than Williams. Too bad Dorell is off the market, he was a good SG/SF type.
I doubt trade will happen prior to d12's conference on Sat ( if there is one in the works). They wouldn't want this trade to overshadow d12 welcoming party on Saturday.
Watch morey droiol all over him repeating the same thing he said to Lin just a year ago.
I wonder if lin will tweet anything once this becomes finalized with his signing. It is awfully quiet from his end though.
Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen To clarify on Reggie Williams' deal with Rockets, second year non-guaranteed as opposed to team option. First year 50 % guaranteed. 9:32 PM - 10 Jul 13
@Rikki I have a strategy for you cos this is what I sometimes do when I want time to pass faster to know what happens or get something.
Pit yourself against Lin. Say you have 10 lbs to lose (just an example), tell yourself you are going to lose this 10 lbs before you find out that Jeremy is traded. It doesn't have to be weight. It can be anything like cleaning your house, finish studying that textbook etc.
Then when and if the trade finally happens, you'll say something like..."What? I needed more time!"
The risk for all pg's who are unselfish, help their team, spend great energy on defence and concentrate on winning rather than selfish padding of their stats is that they can be discarded when their contracts come to expiring.
Coming off his knee injury, Lin was more than happy to pass to his team mates rather than missing his shots and it was evident that he didn't have full strength in his left knee. However, as the Rox season went on, Lin was often pulled by coach when he seemed to be on a hot streak or sat down on 4th quarter routs which resulted in poorer personal stats.
Due to the hundreds of players in the NBA, nearly all commentators judge a player by his stats and therefore Lin is now described as a mediocre player, despite his injury or unselfish contributions.
Lin has played his way out of D League. This is similar and he really needs to increase his stats. Until he signs a 5 year guaranteed contract (similar to Stoudemaire) he has to play as if every season is his last in the team. He mustn't undermine the coach but he's gotta be savvy, reduce his interviews, say his coach's thoughts not his own during the interviews and focus solely on his game. If he stays in Rox this is extremely important cos it's like the last year of his contract.
The best scenario is if H-H fail and Lin improves his scoring. No one looks at his defence (but he will be criticised unlike Harden for poor defence). They'll renew his contract if he proves irreplaceable unlike Howard-Harden who have longer term contracts.
Unfortunately this is a stats driven sport. Lin got his chance at Knicks based on great D League stats, his Linsanity stats were among the top 5 for a rookie season and now he seems to be ignored by Rox based on his average 13.4pts 6.1 asts season. Most rookies build up their stats for the first 2-3 years and this is where Lin can improve. He still has a great opportunity to improve and it's up to him as he's already said.
Where are the JLin stalkers??? come on someone knows where he is and whats up. Radio silence sucks. :-(
Seriously...I just hope he is happy, with friends and family and ignoring all this drama. He seems so down to earth and 'normal' I like to imagine him going about his business laughing with friends, working out, playing basketball (b/c he likes it), eating great food and maybe catching up on great TV like Orphan Black (OMG if you have not seen this check it out)
Jeremy came from a stable, and honest family whether the NBA ever treats him honorably or not he will always have that stable, honest family support. He will make a difference in this world. He will be a great father one day and an honorable husband. His greatest achievement will not be basketball but his faith and true spirit.
Team JLin! basketball be damned. I will always admire his true and honorable spirit. Sadly this is rare in the world.
Very nice post, wu kong. Sunday, he will probably at church, and he's probably doing as you said above. Also, he probably prays every night leaving all this turmoil to his management team and God, only slightly tinged with sorrow but still, excited for the path ahead. You know he's practicing hard and eating good food late at night with his buds.
thank you for this post, i love it. however, with all the silence, i am starting to believe Lin will be traded before the training camp starts. still, i am sure a greener pastures await in another city for Lin.
i paid US$530 for one ticket for the coming taiwan game. I will sell it on line or ask for a refund if Lin is no longer with the Rockets.
yep US$ 530. what can i say.....i love this kid so much. i am with a fan group in taiwan and i am considered the least die-hard fan. you should see how far our group members would go or willing to do just for Lin.
When Lin visits taiwan next month, i really hope he comes alone for i want him to get our undivided attention and love.
@always_lin I got to scream at him from the side bleachers to sign my jersey once. That's as much love as he got from me, and trust me, it was quite a lot of love. All these little kids with their high voices screaming "Jeremy Jeremy!" and me with my manly voice shouting "JEREMY!"
But hey, he signed it cos they were making him sign like the backside of printed e-tickets while I dropped a jersey to his nose. Goes to show he appreciates quality.
$530 to watch Lin - you're in the correct J Lin site. If you didn't pay that extraordinary amount to watch Lin but had life membership of Rox you'd be on another site. Good luck to either fan.
Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA Restricted free agent guard Jeff Teague plans to sign a four-year, $32 million-plus offer sheet with Milwaukee, league sources tell Y!
Holy jump to conclusions and turn to super emo-mode wow. All because apparantly;
1) wasn't apart of howard recruiting pitch.(lets just disregard the fact that parsons/harden actually are long time friends of howard, but i guess let lin pitch to him makes more sense...) oh Bev wasnt there either guess he's gonna be traded also right?
2)morey/les/mchale hates lin and only goal in life is to make him fail. So i guess that's why they were the only ones to aggressively go after lin and offer him a good paying contract and starting role.......BECAUSE this is the best way to ruining his career and also gimp the knicks team who are their arch nemesis and rivals. Oh wait knicks arent even in the same div/conference as them, son of a.....thats weird :/
3)Lin's mediocre play last season was because of his role being switched to spot up shooter. Okay so now we're making excuse for a PRO who couldnt play well in an NBA offensive system that requires him to switch roles. You do realize this is very common in the nba. Just off the top of my head there was a post here that compared lin to steph curry(which is a laughable comparison anyway) as players. Well first of all if you are going to compare lin to someone like curry, (who actually switches from PG and SG a lot/ is ball dominant but plays very well off the ball....) then don't make excuses about role switching woes for lin. If he is going to be compared to someone else, better hold the same standards for both or dont compare them at all.
With that said i actually think Lin did very well last year given the circumstances. It was only his first year in a new system, and honestly the rocket's future is looking very bright right now and i really think it's best lin stays and be apart of this young and upcoming team regardless of his role. People forget this team was completely revamped and rebuilt last season and they were only projected to be a 30 win team yet they proved the odds way wrong and nearly upset the thunder in rd 1. Lin had a big part of last season success and morey knows and has acknowledged this, he's been upfront with fans on his plans from the get-go and has followed thru on it all so far so for people calling him a sneaky weasel of a GM just boggles my mind.(spending too much time on conspiracy sites lol) yeah yeah, i kno most people dont give 2 shits about the rockets and only care bout jeremy(nothing wrong with this btw) but if you are one those ppl who from the begining of the signing said you support/root for any team lin plays for, u better live up to your word or put yourself in fake fan department.
There used to be a lot of good post on bball discussion here but lately theres nothing but bitching, whining, personal attacks to anyone who disagrees with the "rockets hate lin" conspiracy, and just overall depressing. It's like a circlejerk for a bunch of debby downers, i thought the laker fans were classless in handling howard's departure but man... They aint got nothing on some people on here.
31f ... yes, we need to get back to Lin and bball. Nobody knows and we should just let life surprise us. I believe a few solid bball posters have said your view. Maybe we all head for cover for a few days until something settles.
Why is Bev playing in the summer league and not Lin? Bev is in the coaches face , kicking the inferior summer league players' asses, while Jeremy is in the shadows working quietly on his game. Bev must have a great agent. He knows just what to do to build his career.
What we're seeing with Lin is normal for all pro's who are not NBA All Stars. Your last season determines your next contract. This is business at its best/worst. Some teams have a teamwork model eg Spurs, and some have a ruthless model and treat players like stock commodities.
Fans sometimes think sports should not treat players like pieces and also players should be loyal to their team. But it often doesn't work out like that.
While Bev and Parsons are continually pushing their barrow, Lin is nowhere to be seen. Additionally the Rox owners may think Lin's heart is not with Houston.
The determination by Lin not to have interviews, Rox's deliberate ignoring of Lin and Lin not tweeting a welcome for Howard are completely opposite to the situation a year ago. Conversely people don't want to see a Dwightmare saga.
First of all, how brown nosing and ass kissing would it look if after Lin (supposedly an integral piece of the team), is dissed by being excluded from the Dwight-a-thon meeting, tweets "Yo Dwight dude, welcome to this team that couldn't give a crap about me" Secondly you are right, Bev-erly Hills Chihuahua (you know he likes like one with those buggy eyes), is chasing the limelight that he was lucky enough to fall into. If he hadn't been Lin's back-up, no one would have paid him any attention in the first place. Because so many people wanted Lin to fail, they praised and worshiped every little victory Bev had and overlooked his many failings.
Dwight buying breakfast for people is actually quite in line with his personality.
I heard stories of his kindness when he popped over to my town for a visit a few years back. And I know his Sunday School teacher from when he was a kid.
I'm certain his personal wavelength is closer to Jeremy's than it is with Horndog Harden. So if Jeremy is not traded away, I think Lin and Howard can develop a pretty decent, and real friendship.
Whether that translates to on court chemistry, who knows, but it would be a nice twist if Howard got Jeremy's back.
It's interesting seeing what players do publicly. Howard buys free breakfasts, Parsons exudes his charm, Harden pleases the dancers, Lin promotes charities. All harmless fun I guess but Rox FO would have their own preferences.
I would not mind if JL and Asik get traded to Hawks. They have two very solid Bigs, Hartford and Millsap, a 3 pt specialist Kyle, and several young talents. They also have a new coach ex-Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, who should play a more structured basketball.
Anytime an elite player in the NBA changes teams during the summer, the organization that acquires him is almost by default going to be the winner of the offseason. So it is that by signing Dwight Howard away from the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets are the champions of summer 2013.
The task for Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, coach Kevin McHale and the newly formed star duo of Howard and James Harden is to turn success in July into success in June.
The "most improved" team in any given season, in terms of raw win total, is usually going to be a struggling team that has nowhere to go but up. The real feat is to move from the middle to the top, a trick that Houston might be able to pull off. The Rockets were a good team last season, with 45 wins and a point differential typical of a 50-win club. Their four most productive players -- Harden, Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin -- were all 26 or younger. That starting point is what made the Rockets so attractive to Howard; they're a team in the middle that has all of the traits of a rapid riser.
As of Wednesday morning, the Rockets' outlook has brightened to about 54 wins, the third-best forecast in the West and fifth-best in the league. Likewise, the playoff projection, which is based on weighing the winning percentages of the team's top eight rotation players, also ranks fifth in the league. As a result, my most recent run of simulations -- using the 2012-13 schedule -- gives Houston an 8 percent chance at next season's title. The only teams ahead of the Rockets are the ones you'd expect: the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder. It's been a tremendous week for the Rockets by any standard.
So what's next?
In the immediate aftermath of Howard's decision to change teams, there was widespread belief that Morey would pursue a third star-level player to complete a new big three for the Rockets. To pull this off, Morey would have to move Asik and Lin. One scenario was to package that duo to the Atlanta Hawks in a sign-and-trade deal for Howard's pal, Josh Smith. But Smith ended up signing with the Detroit Pistons, taking the last healthy All-Star-level player off the free-agent market.
Another early, post-Howard rumor had Asik headed to the New Orleans Pelicans for sharpshooting big man Ryan Anderson, who was off-the-charts efficient when tethered to Howard in Orlando. That whisper disappeared in the wind, as well. The Rockets needed shooters to fill out the roster, and Morey moved to bring back Francisco Garcia and signed Omri Casspi as a free agent. Garcia is a proven commodity, and his off-the-bench perimeter defense will be as valuable as his solid 3-point stroke. Casspi has been an underutilized player during his career with the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers. He might turn out to be the Rockets' version of Anderson, a player whose value appreciates on a good team when he has a clearly defined role.
Let's not forget the collective youth on the Houston roster, which shows tremendous potential for growth from within. Harden, Parsons, Lin, Donatas Motiejunas, Patrick Beverley and Terrence Jones are on the upward arc of the aging curve. If Harden gets any better, he'll garner MVP support. Motiejunas, Jones and Casspi give the Rockets three floor-spacing options who could alleviate the team's perceived need for an upgrade at power forward. McHale will have the option to spread the court with one of those players. He also can pair Howard and Asik for stretches in a twin-towers set, as both centers are highly mobile for their body type -- assuming, of course, that Howard returns to full health after a long recovery from back trouble.
The Rockets also can play small, with Harden sliding to the 3. Basically, even as the roster stands today, McHale can roll out an effective lineup of just about any type. That includes one with a traditional 4 if Jones develops into a reliable option. Does that mean the Rockets are done for the summer? They could be, but there still are decisions to be made. In order to accommodate Howard's max contract, it appears that at least two of Morey's four nonguaranteed players will have to be waived or traded. This depends on how the actual salary figures shake out, as my calculations make it a pretty tight fit under the cap numbers released early Wednesday morning. The aforementioned group includes Beverley, Greg Smith, Tim Ohlbrecht and James Anderson.
Beverley will be back, and he might be Houston's most important defender beyond the centers. Because wing defense isn't a team strength, Beverley's dogged effort at delaying opposing point guards from getting into sets will be crucial. Plus, he's just a good player. Smith has been very good at times and likely will be retained. As for Anderson and Ohlbrecht, even if they are let go in order to make the cap math work, they still can be brought back on minimum-salary deals without losing any money.
Houston, of course, will be able to sign any veteran-minimum deals that seem attractive, and the Rockets should be near the top of the list for players in that niche. The Rockets also have a "room exception" available worth about $2.6 million. Beyond the players already on the roster, that is the most likely avenue for the Rockets to add a significant role player. It could happen this summer, but my guess is that Morey will keep that option in his hip pocket while giving his new roster's strengths and weaknesses a chance to manifest. Once the regular season begins, you never know who might spring loose from another roster.
Beyond that, the only real option to shake up the roster is via a trade, and if you look at the Rockets' salary hierarchy, the most obvious candidates to be dealt are Asik, Lin or the two in combination. Again, with the top free agents off the market, I don't expect such a deal to happen this summer. Asik was reportedly less than thrilled by the Howard signing, but he's under contract for two more years. As he saw firsthand in Chicago, and as we saw during Dallas' title run in 2011, there is tremendous value in having two top defensive centers on a roster. The Rockets struggled badly on defense when Asik sat last season. Those days are over.
As for Lin, he might function as more of a second-unit player on the new roster. There are worse fates. In a Manu Ginobili-type role, he would have more opportunities to attack than he had when primarily playing alongside Harden. Whether Lin starts or not, he can be tremendously valuable by exploiting other teams' reserve guards and by keeping Houston's offense humming when Harden sits.
This is all a long way of saying that right now, Morey is in the catbird's seat. He needs to hit the trade market only if a clear opportunity to upgrade presents itself. If so, he can take on a young third star, whose salary would easily fit into the vacated salary slots of Asik and Lin. Or Morey can simply sit back and enjoy what he's already put together. On paper, it looks awfully good. [Broford/ CF]
How funny, I just realized with Morey and McHale getting fined today for announcing Howard's intent before the start of signing season ... that might be why Bev removed his very early congrats tweet. LOL his positive nature.
hi Rose,
ReplyDeleteSOME PICS OF J LIN
Never give up
DeleteGreat pic via ! :D
Deletewe all missed you
hey Spotless ^^
Deletewe may not have linsanity 2.0, but we have viasanity to help us cope. welcome back.
DeleteWe all enjoyed Linsanity, but we have to face the fact that even Jeremy playing at Linsanity levels won't win championships. However Jeremy has the potential of winning a championship with this Rockets team. Could anybody have dreamed of this situation at the beginning of last season? It would be so sweet if Jeremy ends up with a championship ring before Melo and the rest of the Knicks.
Deletethere's winning championship, and there's winning championship on the bench.
Deletelol, stop making "viasanity" happen, w...everybody's begging you!
Delete=P
"there's winning championship, and there's winning championship on the bench."
Deletetrue...
i think everybody (hmm... or mostly everybody) is just excited that you are back, like via... i mean linsanity.
DeleteSeems like nobody will be happy unless Jeremy wins a championship AND is the main star. The Rockets will not win a championship with Jeremy on the bench. Jeremy had his chances last year and he proved he was the best passer on the team. However, he also proved he wasn't the best shooter at home or finisher on the team. He has worked on his outside shooting this summer and I believe adding DH will open up the lanes for Jeremy because the opposing center will have to stay more. Jeremy will not win a championship on the bench, he will win it with the ball in his hands! It's a perfect setup for the next chapter in his career.
Delete=P
Deletehey man, i'm all for that scenario. and lin winning championship and one of the lead actors, that just sweet end to a chapter of the Cinderella story, right?
Deleteoops, 11:27 AM post was @w.
DeleteLike any good story, the main character needs to overcome multiple obstacles to reach the top. Last year at this time, everyone in NY was turning their back on Jeremy and calling him a one hit wonder that could never lead a team to a championship. A year later, Jeremy is playing on a young exciting team with better talent than the one he left in NY. Can Jeremy have scripted a better situation for himself?
DeleteJLIN TAIWAN SCHEDULE in AUG
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if Parsons is going to Taiwan with Jeremy? There was something about that last year but don't know if that was just speculation.
DeleteParsons: coming this summer!
DeleteThank via. Hmm... that was back in January, I wonder if plans have changed like, "sorry I have to show Dwight around town, had to cancel my trip to Taiwan." I hope not... we shall see!
Deleteit sounds like JLin is visiting China, too, after 20 aug.
Deleteyw, Dave. :)
Deletechange of plans possible...no word fr Parsons or his gf about it.
Rockets Fined $150K for Howard Comments
ReplyDeleteMcHale: ‘We can compete with anybody’
ReplyDeleteCNM: Will Dwight Howard Be Happy Running Pick-And-Roll Offense With Jeremy Lin In Houston?
ReplyDeleteIf JL's play with G Smith, Asik and Tyson C is any indication, JL will have variety of ways to feed the center. It will be a fun season. Godspeed JL
Deletegood to see you back, via :D
ReplyDeleteGot some of us a bit worried!
psalm ^^
DeleteKhuang and Via gone at the same time? Hmm.. Could they be..? Nah...that's cray...
DeleteKHuang's having an aneurysm at the mere suggestion. =P
DeleteWhat suggestion is that? Via? Huh?
DeleteI love how u disappear for stretches.
Btw.. I went on a haterade rampage while u were gone. See what happens when U leave? It's all your fault!
you're such an incorrigible hothead...
Delete[AND i wouldn't have left if you'd kept your promise and put on the speedo, smh...]
Only your love can correct me via. Otherwise no one can melt my ice cold heart.
Deletedon't worry, i have a heavy-duty blowtorch for that. =P
DeleteU "blowtorch" me? Wink wink. how sweet. It's not even valentines yet. It's working via !!! OMG!!
Deletehey! smh...
Delete[somewhere out there is a lady sharpening her machete and preparing to hunt me down...]
Delfino with Bucks
ReplyDeleteBlazers finalized TRob acquisition fr Rox
DeleteProjecting West Playoff Order
ReplyDeleteWhat Dwight's exit say about the Lakers?
ReplyDeleteNash: Dwight didn't seem like he really wanted to do a pick-and-roll offense...
DeleteQuote Translator: Steve Nash talks Dwight Howard's departure
DeleteReading Nash's account of DH's reasons for leaving from the Quote Translator article, we may have to be cautious with our optimism on JLin and DH PnR.
DeleteJeremy is good at the pick and roll, but he can also beat his man dribbling and toss up the ally-oop pass.
DeleteDo you guys forget how good Jeremy is at the ally oop pass?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwu8vIMQIi0
Houston is the new lob city!
but it sounds like DH wants to be an iso post player? dunno if that's true, that's the impression i get. not that its a bad thing, if he can be develope into a skilled post player.
Deleteat the same time, i do agree it can be a good thing for jlin's assists and involvement. dh has good hands and good hops after the dish off from Jlin penetration.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteJonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen
ReplyDeleteLin, and probably. RT @Fxxxx_Mxxxxxxxx: @Jonathan_Feigen At the start of the season who is the starting pg and will Asik be on the team?
Off bench. W/ Dwight only in rare late-gm situations. RT @axxxxxxxxx: @Jonathan_Feigen if we keep asik will he start at the 4 or be benched?
Dwight Howard, Leslie Alexander are ready to win together
ReplyDelete"Chandler, Patrick and I..."
DeleteIs Jeremy no longer on the team or something? There has been a lot of mention of Howard talking to Harden, Chandler and patrick beverly but no mention at all about him talking to Jeremy. I wonder what's going on.
Has Howard mentioned Lin even once when talking about his new team? Is he pissed because Jeremy probably never called him (knowing his situation sucks).
DeleteEven though Howard said he talked to "some" Rocket players, I doubt he talked to Lin. Lin's silence tells me that he is not sure he will be on the team when the season starts. That's my interpretation.
DeleteMore Pro-Lin press:
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin Will Have All-Star Caliber Season with Addition of Dwight Howard?
I completely agree with this article. Lin is not a one-on-one flashy scorer. He needs weapons around him. Last year the Rockets lacked an inside scorer. Dwight Howard fills that hole. The worst thing would be for Lin to be traded to a weaker team without the weapons he has on the Rockets. This is a pro-Lin site. Why aren't people more excited to see the Lin-Howard combination? I can't think of a better complement to Lin's game. The Lin Nation should be stoked!
DeleteInteresting point, that Tyson's D energy went up with offensive involvement. NBA.com stats show D12 defensive rebounds down to worse in past 6 years at LAL. Blocks not so stark a difference, just slightly under his 6 yr avg. I threw out his first 3 yrs as those looked like just getting used to NBA.
DeleteJLin may not be flashy, but he can be a pretty good one on one player. but unfortunately, not much evidence from last year, since circumstances did not allow JLin to demonstrate his one-on-one game in most games.
DeleteJLin, like any other pretty good one on one player, will of course benefit from having talent around him. even the beastly LBJ complained about talent.
JLin on a team which is not supposed to have weapons will suddenly shine light where no light has shone before. guys become weapons because JLin is around (and allowed to run offense).
For me, both excited about the possibility and cautious about whether that possibility will pan out. if Lin-Howard combo allowed to happen, great. if mostly Harden-Howard pnr, then it may be worse than last year. so not quite stoked yet.
sorry for being kinda a killjoy for you, but just can't be so optimistic for things to pan out in a good way after last season.
"Why aren't people more excited to see the Lin-Howard combination? I can't think of a better complement to Lin's game. The Lin Nation should be stoked!"
DeleteThat's why I think Lin should stay in Houston this year and see what happens instead of jumping to yet another team.
It could go either way. Best case is that Dwight loves Lin feeding him the ball off his penetration, getting him lots of touches, easy dunks, alley oops.
Worst case, McHale makes Harden the distributor to get Dwight the ball, and Lin gets marginalized again. Nash said that Dwight didn't seem to want to play PNR, so that's a red flag.
But I think it's worth seeing how this season plays out, at least the first few months. If Lin's getting benched regularly again, then yeah, trade him before the trade deadline.
Those articles are the first step of the set up that when Rox lose next season, they can pin every thing on Lin.
DeleteOr when JLin succeeds, its not so much Lin, but Howard. Like Lin wasn't really that good if it weren't for Tyson's defense kinda thing.
DeleteNot that Tyson or Howard would not help immensely, but usa media tends to focus on downplaying JLin's contribution.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteCompletely agreed...
Delete@Smoovies, McHale and Morey won't allow Lin to outshine Harden or create with the ball. Notice last season when McHale pulled Lin out of the game when he was hot and putting up numbers. 4th quarter, Lin sits until Douglas or Beverley blow the lead.
DeleteThe fact is Lin struggled early last season (due to injured knee or whatever) but slowly improved as the season wore on. If Jeremy hits the game winning 3 pointer against the Miami Heat in November people would be screaming Linsanity all over. Instead he airballs the wide open shot by a couple feet and that is what people and coaches remember. If Lin gets off to a hot start this year, he will see minutes and he will run the offense. However if he struggles again early he will get benched, quickly. Jeremy hasn't earned the respect of the coaches to shoot through slumps. Jeremy just can't let that happen and I don't think he will let it happen. He just needs to produce on the court and not make many mistakes. Jeremy has a lot more control of his destiny than people want to believe.
Deleteyeah, unfortunately this world runs on first-impression; those first-impression is what many remembers and talks about.
DeleteAlthough did indeed improve as the season went, and especially after the all-star break, many was still harping on the airball and selected few (very few) bad games. And those stuck with him.
He has to come in strong for at least the first 5 games or so....
I'm not sure how the trade stuff works, but if Lin doesn't get traded today, is there a pretty decent chance that he'll be around on the Rockets for awhile? I'd heard that today was significant for some reason.
ReplyDeleteI'm also aware that Harden wasn't traded till way late, and there's a February trade deadline (or something?), so I guess there's no insurance. Part of this is that I want my LeaguePass to have Lin's team on it too.
Today is the 1st day FA can sign.
DeleteAs for trade, it will be around FA, there are not many decent FA available now. And with the one availbale, they probably will willing ro take min or room exception. So trade is very unlikely.
Ellis/Jennings/ Tegue still available though.
Next one is for player extension, some team may do trade when player demand out, but it has not get reported any decent player wants out.
Very likely the team is set with few FA here or there then some cut or d-league bring up to complete the training camp. You will not see big transaction until trade deadline (which will be Feb/March time)
You probably can wait till the training camp starts to renew your pass
Today is the first day free agents can sign their contracts. Everything before today have been verbal agreements/commitments. But there can still be trades all throughout the summmer. Look at how James Harden was traded just two days before the start of the regular schedule. There are still free agents floating around though and there will still be new deals coming out too.
DeleteToday, July 10, is the start of NBA free agency where teams can officially sign free agents. But Lin can be traded up to the trade deadline (sometime around February). I don't see why Lin would be more or less likely to be traded after today.
DeleteRick: Harden was a big fish who didn't sign and couldn't come to terms with OKC, so that's why so late. We just have to see which big PG is out there unsigned. I wouldn't think Ellis is interested to HOU because he needs a lot of shots to get his output.
Deleteinterested = interesting
Deleteit all depends on what Morey can get back from the trade.
DeleteI think teams would be interested if it wasn't for that $15 mil in the third year. Yes only $8 mil counts towards the salary cap but still $15 mil gives you pause. It is more characteristic of Morey to try to feed the ball and pad his stats to boost a prospect (Kevin Martin) than to sell low. So I think/hope they will actually give him a chance this year. I don't think just boosting him in the pre-season would be enough after all the damage they did to him last year though. But maybe that was their plan, feed Harden the ball to create a superstar to get Howard to come. Hopefully now is Jeremy's turn.
DeleteSo if we take Harden as an example from last year, are there any big name players with 1 year left on their contract who might be unwilling to sign an extension for whatever reason?
DeleteI don think there are any left in the market right now, Jennings are asking more. If markets does not change, it might be hard to "DUMP" Lin
DeleteI'm just so sick of the negativity toward and undervaluing of Jeremy Lin. Just now I was watching a few minutes of ESPN's tv show "Numbers Never Lie" and they started talking about what weapons Howard has with him on the Rockets, and obviously they mention James Harden as some sort of god to play with for Dwight. Then another guy on the panel named "Hugh" said Jeremy Lin, and he was pounced on by some fat black sow who said "don't got there" (as if Lin was garbage, and Chris Broussard immediately yelling out "Jeremy Lin is a backup point guard." So this is how Lin's been further denigrated by the press after a season of McHale devaluingLin and jerking him around in games. The Rockets have really destroyed the perception of Lin as a greta player by his total misuse and abuse last year. I hope he either fucks everyone and comes out like a Tiger and demands the ball and says fuck you to his coach or that he gets traded as soon as possible and fourishes and scores 50 on Harden in his first game against the Rockets!!
ReplyDeleteLin has faced this type of negativity his entire career. He's had to prove himself over and over. It's just part of the territory when you're a trailblazer. People weren't comfortable with black players playing quarterback and people aren't comfortable with an asian kid excelling at basketball. It would be kind of like a hispanic player coming out of nowhere and dominating in an asian sport like table tennis. What is most impressive about Jeremy is his character. He will prove his critics wrong on the court. Watch out for a break out year from Jeremy. The stage is perfectly set for it to happen.
Delete"some fat black sow"
DeletePlease do not complain about anti-Asian discrimination if you continue to use language like this. You frequently use this type of language against other races, especially blacks, whether they are NBA athletes, coaches or media members, as if you would be happier if they are all janitors or something. Hey, if you want to dislike and trash blacks and other races that is your prerogative, but don't you dare whine and complain about anti-Asian discrimination at the same time, because when you do it reveals you to be a bigot or hypocrite or possibly both and it doesn't help Lin's case. Look, the people on Clutchfans and other sites do read this forum. They may not comment much but they definitely read it, and garbage like what you frequently spew justifies their own garbage in their minds.
What kinda Asian name is spencer Haywood?
DeleteVietnamese?
I have a feeling that some people are posting racist comments here on purpose for various reasons. Pretty disgusting, and I agree with Unknown on this issue.
DeleteI agree with the Unknown guy.
DeleteSome fat sow is adequate. No need to over specify.
As for CF, why go there? It's seething with dark hatred and negativity. Your clicks to the site provide 'C' with money, so avoid I say...avoid at all costs!
Unknown is a clown. I've noticed this troll's writings ever since Linsanity last February, and he is definitely a hater. Most likely black, not asian. No Asian person would write things like he has written before, like that Jeremy Lin is a marketing gimmick because he's Asian. He occasionally will write something neutral to throw some of you off, but make no mistake, he is JUST LIKE other ridiculous haters like Floyd Mayweather, Screaming A Smith, Jason Whitlock, and Chris Broussard. Think of movies like "42" or "The Express", when it comes to basketball these days the tables have turned and Jeremy Lin is the one fighting through hurdles and discrimination, and it's the majority race in the NBA media and "decision makers" putting him down. It isn't just those guys, people like Matt Steinmetz and Ken Berger have said ridiculous things too. These haters from multiple groups will say various things like:
Delete- Lin is only a marketing ploy. This is extremely ignorant and offensive, because it deliberately ignores or gives zero credit to Jeremy Lin's legit NBA game. People like this have to rationalize that this person only made it because of some perceived loophole. Think of analogies like whiners of affirmative action toward blacks for college or job positions, or people hating on Eminem or Justin Timberlake that they are only famous because they're white doing "black" music or moves.
- Lin is a marginal player or a career backup at best. Again, these morons WISH their prejudice and confirmation bias to be proven true. They will never believe either what they see with their eyes (great athletic plays and potential for a young player like Lin), or even with the stats (25 historic starts last year which have a high correlation with past all-stars and basically zero examples of busts or fluke players).
Here are facts to throw in ignorant faces which will generate zero rational or intelligent response:
Delete- Lin put up a 96 defensive rating with the Knicks, an amazing defensive stat. He made Tyson Chandler look good one year and then Chandler looked bad after Lin left. Let's be clear, the Knicks were one of the worst defensive teams and then during the first 10 games of Linsanity before Melo and also before Woodson, the Knicks actually had the league's #1 defense in PPG allowed and FG% allowed. Lin is GOOD at defense, contrary to lies by Screaming A Smith. Lin was Golden State's defensive specialist his rookie year. He has made Asik look good this year. Lin was actually ranked top 20 in the entire league in RAPM even this season until the coaching staff started seriously messing with his rotation.
- Lin frequently goes left but just finishes with his right hand. Even star players do this, Tim Duncan for example (The Big Fundamental) frequently finishes with his right hand even on layups from the left side. Manu Ginobili almost always goes left.
- Harden LED THE LEAGUE in turnovers, but haters will ignore this and scream (with zero evidence) that Lin is still a huge turnover machine. Lin's games have actually resulted in less total team turnovers, plus the passes he makes set up his teammates for extremely high percentage easy buckets.
- Lin put up 6 assists and 13 points a game this year, shooting a better FG% than Harden, even though his usage rate was ranked 38th among point guards. He put up average starting PG numbers with a usage rate of a backup PG. Tons of potential here, not even close to a ceiling or of a career marginal backup.
- Lin averaged 22 points and over 7 assists a game this year while Harden was out, against title contending teams. Lin shot 40% from 3-point-land the last 37 games of the year, and this doesn't even include all the buckets he made with a toe on the line.
- Finally, most of Lin's American fans are not even Asian. Most are white, black, hispanic. Last year for those who actually went to games, you would see arenas filled with Lin jerseys and most of them were non-asian families. The TV cameras hyper focused on any Asian face in the audience but most of his fans span across racial barriers as everyone loves the underdog humble sleeping on a couch story, especially for a guy coming from an unusual place like Harvard and overcoming multiple obstacles and adversity. Fans don't support a player unless that person is a star. Yao was supported in Asia because he was GOOD, not because of his racial markers. Yi Jianlian was followed dramatically less because he was a role player. Lin made it in this league because he had to be clutch in key moments of his life such as winning an underdog championship in HS, outplaying 1st round NBA picks in college, outplaying lottery picks in summer league, and then shining for 25 NBA games in a stretch that nobody had seen in 40 years. None of those things were because of some sort of marketing reason or affirmative action, his race has never helped him it has only hurt him especially in the American sports world.
Actually Anonymous, you should copy your 2nd comment for future posts because your points are good, and you shouldn't have to rewrite the whole thing again.
DeleteYou may need to post it up like 10 more times before Training Camps begins.
But I still think that it's not necessary to add 'black' to the fat sow. We gotta always conduct ourselves better.
At this point, can we say that it's pretty unlikely that Lin will be traded? Is that still a matter of disagreement?
ReplyDeleteStill possible tho...
DeleteIt isn't very likely at all honestly. Trading Asik is more likely because Asik is just a backup now anyway. But trading Lin would mean either
DeleteA) getting a superstar back or
B) getting someone back who is better in terms of ability, salary and/or age.
You can forget about getting a superstar back in return for Lin/Asik. Remember: the only reason why OKC gave up Harden for what they did was because Harden was only a 6th man and there was still some question in their minds as to how he would handle being a starter. Had they known then what they know now, they would have kept Harden to make a run at a title last season and then let him walk, since what they got in return for the trade (Jeremy Lamb and some picks) doesn't equal what they lost, especially since they didn't re-sign Kevin Martin. So don't think that the Rockets are going to get a 20 ppg scorer for Lin, Asik and some picks (plus the Rockets don't have any picks to give away anyway) because they were lucky to get Harden for so little, and deals like that are rare.
Less likely but still possible. Unless u r considered a superstar, no one is safe on the rockets. At this point, I'm sure priority number 1 for trade is asik and them followed by Lin ( very close). Trust me neither of the are safe. How would u like to work under such condition.
DeleteOn the same note, Lin will never be considered secure until the feb trading deadline passes. Then he will be safe until off season when same shit starts again.
DeleteI still think it will be easier to send away Asik and Lin together. But in this case, the return has to be an All-star player, Rondo maybe?
DeleteAlthough I think that would be my preference, I can see that high school kid/ coach giving Lin a legit chance.. Don't think ainge has the balls to pull off what will be viewed as a contriversual trade.
DeleteBut that would put Lin back on the map. And if Lin is able to accomplish what he is capable of, I could see the Boston crowd embracing him. Plus would add to Celtics Knicks rivalry. Could u just imagine?drool...
@Brent Yen:
DeleteSee below. The Celtics have no interest in Asik because they have 3 young centers already, at least two of whom have more upside. The Boston situation would be terrible for Lin (the team will stink, Lin will be replacing a popular all star, and the Boston fans and media are vicious). And it is debatable what interest Houston would have in Rondo since he has a notorious attitude and an atrocious outside shot, and cannot play off the ball.
@Solidz75:
It is one thing to say "no one is safe." But what I have consistentl said: the Rockets are not going to trade Lin just for the sake of making a deal. They will only move Lin if they feel that it makes the team better. There are two ways that can happen: getting a star (or close to it) at PF, or getting a decent PF plus a PG similar in ability to Lin. There are a lot of PGs who couldn't have put up Lin's numbers in the situation that Lin was in last year and the Rockets know it. The Rockets aren't going to move Lin for one of the many PGs who can't.
Unknown I don't know why u keep belaboring this point to me. I agree with you. Morey probably won't make a deal just to move Lin if his team ends up being weaker as a result. Not sure what his asking price is..but IMO the trade hasn't happened, more due to the fact that there is a lack of interest - teams rather take a chance with a draft pick or lower prices alternative than Lin.
DeleteBut just because the trade hasn't happened, it doesnt morey will stop trying. As a matter of fact, i guarantee this is their number 1 priority tto get rid of asik and Lin before les is made to pay 30 miil for both players next year.
@Unknown, I know that, I was referring in a general sense. Not specifically saying trade with BOS.
Deletejeremylin.net @JeremyLinNet 1m
ReplyDeleteNBA Trade Rumors: Charlotte Bobcats and Houston Rockets in Lead for Rajon Rondo http://zite.to/1aqu0g8
citing from this site, feels funny...LOL
DeleteROX, RONDO and D12?
DeleteLOL, they could team up to be the most FAIL free throw shooting tandem in the NBA.
Deletehack-a-rondo?....lol
DeleteRajon Rondo makes $12 million. To make the trade work, it would have to involve both Lin and Asik. The problem is that the Celtics would have no interest in Asik because they have 3 young centers already: Fab Melo, Kelly Olynyk and Colton Iverson. 2 of those guys are rookies, and 2 of them are 1st round picks (including 1 at #13 overall). The Celtics aren't going to throw a pair of 1st round picks away by acquiring Asik, who has a questionable ceiling given that he is already 27, and dumping Olynyk and Melo for 2nd rounders less than a year after drafting both.
DeleteAlso, why would the Rockets want Rondo in the first place? They need guards who can play off the ball (due to Harden) and hit outside jumpshots (due to Howard and also Harden). Rondo, a career .241 3 point shooter (!?!?!) can't do either. If he doesn't have the ball in his hands he is a liability on offense. Remember, Kevin Garnett, even in his advanced age, is no Dwight Howard. He has the offensive game of a PF, not a center, and earlier in his career was a SF.
Rondo is a very good, all-star caliber player but the pieces have to fit, and it would be difficult to think of a worse fit (among PGs that can actually play that is) with Harden, Howard and Parsons than Rondo. And if I know this, McHale and Morey know it also.
And even if Rondo did fit the Rockets and the Celtics weren't trying to recoup their draft picks on 3 big men, gee how do you think the Boston fans and media - which takes their basketball a lot more seriously than Houston does, only New York and Los Angeles are bigger basketball/sports media towns, and oh yes both are absolutely vicious - would view the trade? Let me tell you: not well at all. Keep in mind: A HUGE PART OF THE REASON WHY LIN WAS SO EMBRACED IN NYC WAS BECAUSE THE TEAM HAD BEEN TERRIBLE OR MEDIOCRE FOR SO LONG AND BECAUSE THE MEDIA AND A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE FAN BASE DESPISED MELO AND WERE FRUSTRATED WITH STOUDEMIRE. It wouldn't be the same dynamic in Boston, a winning franchise where Lin would be replacing a very popular player still in his prime (Rondo is only 27). Also, Brad Stevens ran a motion offense at Butler, which is not exactly D'Antoni's system either.
Boston does not need or want Asik, it would be a bad situation for Lin, and Rondo is a terrible fit for what the Rockets will want to do on offense. (Rondo is also a very strong and negative personality so the chances of him getting along with Harden, Howard and McHale is almost nothing. Doc Rivers was only able to control Rondo because Rondo respected his being a former NBA point guard. With McHale, it would be the opposite.) Basically, it would be a recipe for disaster for everyone involved.
Wow, another long post! , thanks @unknown, very clearly explained.
DeleteI disagree. Morey would love rondo because he is considered a "superstar" and appease d12's request for a third superstar
DeleteMorey and Mchale wouldn't blink an eye tailoring the offense to Rondo's strengths.
The trade won't happen not because of morey but because of Ainge. Morey would be considered a genius if he were to make this trade happen.
That's say this trade actually happens....I thinkg Rondo will hurt this Rox team a lot...
DeleteWho cares. Let morey get his third star. Then i couldnt careless what happens to this team and their fanbase.
DeleteOlynycyk will play as pf in NBA. A stretch 4. Houston and boston could really make a trade if boston want both Lin and Asik. Problem is Rondo can play off ball when harden penetrates? Don't think that can happen although stevens could be the right coach for jeremy. They look similar .. Anyway if they want they have time to rebuild in.2 years and ask jeremy to sign :D
DeleteThat's a fake source -- citing a fake Bill Simmons tweet (not that's he even a source on these things).
DeleteI know unknown is vehemently against it and its a wishful and maybe a naive dream, but imo, at this point, Lin would be much better off in boston than im Houston ( provided that Lin's role on the rox is not expected to change and the deal can miraculously happen with Ainge taking a big leap of faith in Lin).
DeleteLin will be playing the pg position in a coach who will not just blow him off like Mchale did.
And while the pressure from the Boston media and the crowd will be sky high ( watch Simmons blow a gasket), I think Lin has the fortitude to turn them around. He had already handled the media capital of the world, so he has the potential to handle the pressure in Boston. Plus, Boston is in rebuilding miode.. So few mistakes will be allowed. And if Lin can lead them to playoffs, then he could have a nice long career there.
Again, it's wishful thinking. But I don't think Lin in Boston is a horrible for as some people think it is. If Lin fails, then at least he got a chance. But with him running the team, I can't see him doing bad at all. Come on Ainge lin asik for rondo. Make it happen.
That said, you know I'd love a trade that sends Lin to Boston with Brad Stevens.
DeleteUnknown is the same clown who a few days ago was adamantly demonstrating no clue about how a potential LA 5-year sign and trade would work for Howard, which Houston was eligible for since they were under the tax. This is the same clown who still thinks LeBron will go to LA. Sounds a lot like Screaming A Smith, or a close follower of that hater.
DeleteNobody thinks Fab Melo is a legit prospect, he is a LONG way away from being even a role player in the NBA even this year. Olynyk is not their starting center, and C.Iverson is another long term developmental project. The Celtics have a huge hole without Garnett and they would also readily move Bass who is a below average rebounder, below average defender, and basically a mid-range shooting specialist. This would actually complement Houston who is looking for a bit of a stretch 4 who won't clog the paint with Howard.
Rondo+Bass does make a lot of sense for Lin+Asik. I still think Lin's best bet is a long term career with some sort of West Coast team, but since LA doesn't seem interested and every other West Coast team already has a starting PG, Lin in Boston isn't too bad of a destination. He would have a decent following being a Harvard player, he's also old school humble and hardworking which Boston likes. It wouldn't be the worst place to spend the next two years left on his contract. He would also work well with an analytically inclined coach in Brad Stevens, one focused on objective production than subjective bias, and also pressure would be off since the Celtics and their fans KNOW they are in development and rebuilding mode.
Under the new CBA. Sign and trade is allowed a max of 4 years only. Doesn't matter if you teams are under the cap.
DeleteThe new CBA is designed to help teams keep their stars/superstars. That is why the Lakers who has Howard's bird rights is the only team allows to sign him to a five year contract. Here is the reference.
Here's a summary of the new rules:
Sign and trade contracts are reduced to a maximum of 4 years, with 4.5% percent raises. These are the years and raises used for non-bird players. In the past CBA, you could give the player maximum raises for maximum years if you had their bird rights, which would be 7.5% raises over 5 years in the current CBA.
Teams more than $4 million above the luxury tax cannot receive players in a sign and trade deal. If a team acquires a player in a sign and trade deal, then the team cannot go $4 million or more above the luxury tax for the remainder of the salary cap year. There were previously no restrictions.
There are also some changes to how Base Year Compensation is applied, but these are not applicable in the Andrew Bynum Situation, so I'll skip those for now.
In prior CBA's, the player had two major incentives to work with his previous team. The first was to be able to get the longer term contract and higher raises afforded to free agents with Bird rights. In this case, that would mean a 5 year deal with 7.5% raises. That is no longer possible, as sign and trade deals are restricted to 4 years in length at 4.5% raises, essentially removing the this incentive for players to work out a sign-and-trade.
The other major reason players would pursue a sign and trade was to go to a team that didn't have enough salary cap space to sign them outright. This incentive still exists, although it is restricted. In the current CBA, teams acquiring a player in a sign-and-trade deal cannot go more than $4 million over the luxury tax limit, either as the result of the trade or at any point during the remainder of the salary cap season.
http://www.libertyballers.com/2013/7/2/4485996/sign-and-trades-under-the-new-cba-and-how-they-affect-andrew-bynum
This is why I keep HARPING about the salary cap (and luxury tax).
DeleteJeremy Lin Watch from the International Business Times:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ibtimes.com/jeremy-lin-watch-free-agent-dwight-howard-leaves-lakers-rockets-can-howard-lin-win-nba-championship#
Please note this tidbit which counters the Lakers' trash Howard propaganda: "Howard’s best all-around month as a Laker was when Nash was fully ensconced in the lineup. To close the season in April, Howard averaged 20.9 points on 61 percent shooting, along 10.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game with Nash at the helm."
The article basically states that Howard should embrace playing with Lin, and that the Howard-Lin matchup would be great for both players.
I haven't even seen Howard utter Jeremy's name once when talking about the team.during the entire processz
DeleteI mean he even mentioned bev's name.
I doubt they even talked. Jeremy's role on the rox is diminshing even before the start of the season - and prople expect him to be floor leader? Smdh
That's the point solidz. Howard and Lin could be a great combo ... But does Howard want it? Would harden like that partnership? That's my concern ... Rockets could be instantly contender if they give the ball to jeremy and all the gunners ready to fire ... But that could have been the gameplan of last year... But it didn't happen.... Mchale wanted to play hard on jeremy to test him and now he'll give him the keys of the team? Morey wanted harden in asg But this year he just wants to win a ring? Anything can happen... But rockets are still trying to bring lull in or players like him... And you don't pay 4 mln + buyout from Real for a replacement....
DeleteWho knows what will happen? God knows. We can only support and Pray God for our boy to shine and convert the majority of people on his road.
Similarly Howard did not say much about Asik too.
DeleteTrading Jeremy Lin?
ReplyDeleteYou’ve read the rumors.
I’ve had a hard time believing the Rockets will trade Jeremy Lin
. Rockets owner Les Alexander went to great lengths and cost to bring Lin back to Houston. He is important to the business side of the team as they continue to enjoy the benefits of being China’s favorite basketball squad. The Rockets also have a preseason game scheduled in Taiwan this year, and if they’d like to survive it, Jeremy Lin should probably be in attendance.
Having said all that, note that Chandler Parsons and James Harden have both spoken up to welcome Dwight to Clutch City (for that matter, so has Patrick Beverley), yet Jeremy Lin has not said a word.
This could be because Jeremy himself is uncertain or believes his name could be out there in trade talks, but something’s off here, in my opinion.Jeremy Lin and James Harden
Is Lin still part of the team’s future and the right fit in the backcourt next to Harden?
Here’s why I think Jeremy Lin would be hard to trade with that contract: Last year, as a free agent, Lin could have signed with anyone. As a Harvard-educated young man, I highly doubt Jeremy took less than market value to play in Houston. He agreed to a deal worth between $6 and $6.5 million per year, meaning it’s safe to assume that no team in the league offered more. The Rockets strategically chose to give Lin $2 million more annually (on top of what they agreed upon) simply to make it more difficult for the Knicks to match.
So unless you think Jeremy far exceeded expectations in 2012-13, he’s currently signed to an above market value contract.
Making it more complicated? Lin was signed before Harden, when the Rockets were in full-blown rebuilding mode. Patience was on the menu. Now, the Rockets have probably three untouchables on their roster, are ready to contend, and are focusing on adding the right pieces to complement their core. In my opinion, the most vital characteristics of a point guard next to Harden are three-point shooting, defense and low turnovers. Lin’s final few months of the regular season were quite encouraging — he hit 50-125 (40%) of his three-pointers in his final 37 games. Adding Howard should only help him — he formed quite a pick-and-roll combo with Tyson Chandlerwhen he was in New York.
But keep in mind, excluding the Rockets, the likely top 5 teams in the West will field Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Mike Conley and Stephen Curry at the point. Four of those five teams will throw top defenders at Houston’s best guard (Thabo Sefolosha, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Allen and Iguodala), making the Rockets having someone to slow those points fairly important.
My feeling is Lin needs another year, but team direction has shifted and shifted hard. It goes without saying — this is going to be a very important year for Jeremy Lin.
thanks, Spotless, for sparing us from bringing traffic to Clutch's site.
Deletefor reference: [Article] Notebook Dump: Reflections on Dwight Howard, Morey, Asik and Lin
Right via :D big 3 harden Howard and Parsons... Shame on them! People who called Parsons a fake friend were right from the beginning.
DeleteMaybe it could end like that: 3 teams trade
Houston get courtney Lee and monroe
detroit get Rondo and bass
boston get Lin and Asik
Lee is a 3 pointer and monroe is a former c that last year played pf.
Detroit will have his pg and Rondo could play with smith again
boston will have another pg and a c they miss(they're trying to get faverani too)
My Preferred Trade:
DeleteLin, Asik, D-Mo, & a 1st rd pick for Rondo and Bass.
Or substitute whatever filler you need to make the basic trade work.
The International Journal of the History of Sport
ReplyDeleteThe Guard's Three Bodies: Linsanity, Celebrity and National Identity
I think you have to take these rumors with a grain of salt. Remember when the rumor was that Rockets looking to dump Asik? Then a week later it's that Asik wants to be traded but they don't want him to go a 180 degree change. Then all the rumors of Dwight Howard back to 50/50 and flying back to LA to speak to the Lakers. It was only one guy who said they were shopping Lin and everyone else just repeating it.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but the fact that Jeremy has said NOTHING about Dwight ("Welcome!" "So excited for next season!") is a strong sign that he could be traded.
DeleteThe Rockets are still the league's worst at PF and they'd prefer a rich man's Derek Fisher at PG...so it makes sense to move Lin and/or Asik to fill one or both of those needs.
Patrick Beverley, Greg Smith, Terrence Jones on D12 joining the Rox
DeleteThey're together for Summer League, but yeah. The starting PG should still have something to say about landing the NBA's #1 center. So you know something is up.
DeleteAnyways, Jeremy knows it's a business, so he's probably waiting for confirmation from Morey/Les that he's definitely staying. Until then? Radio silence...
I think it might be that FO hasn't talked to Lin at all about the situation. And I think it's wise for him to stay quiet if that is the case.
DeleteLin was in the dark last year in NY as well during his FA period. He said FO never talked to him until the end to let him know they were letting him go.
It goes both ways with D12. As others have pointed out, d12 has never mentioned Lin's name in interviews either.
DeleteIs this just an oversight or is there something brewing behind the scenes?
I guess you could also think that today is the day Dwight Howard could have signed the agreement but haven't heard that he has. They said they are waiting until the weekend for an event at Toyota Center. Or could it be to buy more time to arrange a sign & trade to send either Asik or Jeremy away.
DeleteFeignen said they need to officially complete the trades first before signing him (makes sense). I just think its weird that a player who was such a prominent part of Houston marketing last year is not even talked about much. It shows where Houston stands with Lin at this juncture.
DeleteLong story short: you still can't rule out a trade.
DeleteThere's probably only 1 or 2 possible trade destinations for J-Lin, but that's all it takes. We'll see...
Although I would be very surprised that the lakers would want Jeremy (I would love him with the lakers), perhaps the two teams have agreed to a sign and trade for Howard with Jeremy and-or someone else going the other way.
ReplyDeleteI know that this is highly unlikely from reading unknown's excellent summaries above.
Interesting article about DHo's time with the Lakers. Of course, this is just one side of the story, but the anecdotes about DHo's behavior are interesting. Seems like he was a major d-bag in LA - what'll he be like in Houston?
ReplyDeletehttp://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--rockets-give-dwight-howard-what-lakers--kobe-wouldn-t--unconditional-love-061137592.html
What I got out of the article was that Kobe is a more intense no-nonsense guy and Howard is kind light hearted and likes to have more fun as well as win. I think he fits the young college-like atmosphere of the Houston locker room better. It was fun watching the team joking around having fun while they were blowing out Golden State in a barrage of 3 pointers and doing their 3 glasses. Hoping this will create good chemistry.
DeleteDwight is immature, his demeanor over the past few year clearly shows that. Guys like him can't win championships.
DeleteHe can with Lin at his side. Jeremy made JR Smith look like a team player during Linsanity.
DeletePower transfer worried Howard
DeleteMarc Stein @ESPNSteinLine
ReplyDeleteAnother shooter bound for the Rockets: Reggie Williams to Rockets on two-year minimum deal. Team option in Year 2
Seems like the more they sign roll players the less likely they will trade Jerremy because they would have wanted to preserver cap space to pull off a trade.
DeleteMaybe these players will be lumped together with Jeremy + Asik for a third superstar sooner or later?
DeleteMorey is good at this trade up game. He need to fill his inventory so he can trade up. It doesn't mean there's a package planned ... he's just opening up inbound asset inventory to create more options later. That's how he looks at people in trades. It's worked pretty well for him these past 2 years, considering where HOU were before the Lin contract.
DeleteHa! I remember Reggie from Jeremy's GSW days. Hopefully, he can find his mojo while reunited with Jeremy.
DeleteIt would be such Karma if Houston traded Lin for Rondo, take the ball out of Harden's hands and give it to Rondo to make plays, and forces Harden to become an easily replaceable spot up shooter.
DeleteYeah, Rondo's star power is even greater than Harden's, karma is a b*tch.
Dorell Wright was a much better shooter for Golden State. And he had better chemistry with Lin than Williams. Too bad Dorell is off the market, he was a good SG/SF type.
DeleteI doubt trade will happen prior to d12's conference on Sat ( if there is one in the works). They wouldn't want this trade to overshadow d12 welcoming party on Saturday.
DeleteWatch morey droiol all over him repeating the same thing he said to Lin just a year ago.
I wonder if lin will tweet anything once this becomes finalized with his signing. It is awfully quiet from his end though.
Solidz, now would be a prefect time for you to do a "Lin Camp" interview. Don't forget to ask them what they've asked of Morey.
Deletenice! an old friend of Lin's!
Delete"Dorell Wright was a much better shooter for Golden State. And he had better chemistry with Lin than Williams."
Deleteon and off court.
correction to Stein tweet~
DeleteJonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen
To clarify on Reggie Williams' deal with Rockets, second year non-guaranteed as opposed to team option. First year 50 % guaranteed.
9:32 PM - 10 Jul 13
Man this is super frustrating. The uncertainty is eating me alive. Anybody know when we can expect certainty of where Lin is heading?
ReplyDeleteMaybe not till late October -- Kevin Martin was suddenly traded after a couple of impressive preseason games (used to inflate his value).
DeleteThat said, I don't think Morey wants to go into training camp (late Sept/early Oct.) not knowing who the PG is.
In other words: maybe tomorrow...maybe October. No way to know.
@Rikki I have a strategy for you cos this is what I sometimes do when I want time to pass faster to know what happens or get something.
DeletePit yourself against Lin. Say you have 10 lbs to lose (just an example), tell yourself you are going to lose this 10 lbs before you find out that Jeremy is traded.
It doesn't have to be weight. It can be anything like cleaning your house, finish studying that textbook etc.
Then when and if the trade finally happens, you'll say something like..."What? I needed more time!"
My gut says no trade for Lin yet. Jeremy has a few months to make an impact. God willing he does.
ReplyDeleteThe risk for all pg's who are unselfish, help their team, spend great energy on defence and concentrate on winning rather than selfish padding of their stats is that they can be discarded when their contracts come to expiring.
ReplyDeleteComing off his knee injury, Lin was more than happy to pass to his team mates rather than missing his shots and it was evident that he didn't have full strength in his left knee. However, as the Rox season went on, Lin was often pulled by coach when he seemed to be on a hot streak or sat down on 4th quarter routs which resulted in poorer personal stats.
Due to the hundreds of players in the NBA, nearly all commentators judge a player by his stats and therefore Lin is now described as a mediocre player, despite his injury or unselfish contributions.
Lin has played his way out of D League. This is similar and he really needs to increase his stats. Until he signs a 5 year guaranteed contract (similar to Stoudemaire) he has to play as if every season is his last in the team. He mustn't undermine the coach but he's gotta be savvy, reduce his interviews, say his coach's thoughts not his own during the interviews and focus solely on his game. If he stays in Rox this is extremely important cos it's like the last year of his contract.
The best scenario is if H-H fail and Lin improves his scoring. No one looks at his defence (but he will be criticised unlike Harden for poor defence). They'll renew his contract if he proves irreplaceable unlike Howard-Harden who have longer term contracts.
Unfortunately this is a stats driven sport. Lin got his chance at Knicks based on great D League stats, his Linsanity stats were among the top 5 for a rookie season and now he seems to be ignored by Rox based on his average 13.4pts 6.1 asts season. Most rookies build up their stats for the first 2-3 years and this is where Lin can improve. He still has a great opportunity to improve and it's up to him as he's already said.
This was July 2012 from Daryl Morey: “Welcome to Houston Jeremy Lin! We plan to hang on this time. You will love Red Nation.”
DeleteWhere are the JLin stalkers??? come on someone knows where he is and whats up. Radio silence sucks. :-(
ReplyDeleteSeriously...I just hope he is happy, with friends and family and ignoring all this drama. He seems so down to earth and 'normal' I like to imagine him going about his business laughing with friends, working out, playing basketball (b/c he likes it), eating great food and maybe catching up on great TV like Orphan Black (OMG if you have not seen this check it out)
Jeremy came from a stable, and honest family whether the NBA ever treats him honorably or not he will always have that stable, honest family support. He will make a difference in this world. He will be a great father one day and an honorable husband. His greatest achievement will not be basketball but his faith and true spirit.
Team JLin! basketball be damned. I will always admire his true and honorable spirit. Sadly this is rare in the world.
Very nice post, wu kong. Sunday, he will probably at church, and he's probably doing as you said above. Also, he probably prays every night leaving all this turmoil to his management team and God, only slightly tinged with sorrow but still, excited for the path ahead. You know he's practicing hard and eating good food late at night with his buds.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Deletethank you for this post, i love it. however, with all the silence, i am starting to believe Lin will be traded before the training camp starts. still, i am sure a greener pastures await in another city for Lin.
Deletei paid US$530 for one ticket for the coming taiwan game. I will sell it on line or ask for a refund if Lin is no longer with the Rockets.
amen
DeleteWow, always_lin ... you get my respect for being a loyal fan and hope ou post more from that die hard point of view.
Delete@always_lin US$530!!???
DeleteFor that price, Jeremy should follow you on twitter.
PRICES in TAIWAN.
Deleteyep US$ 530. what can i say.....i love this kid so much. i am with a fan group in taiwan and i am considered the least die-hard fan. you should see how far our group members would go or willing to do just for Lin.
DeleteWhen Lin visits taiwan next month, i really hope he comes alone for i want him to get our undivided attention and love.
@always_lin
DeleteI got to scream at him from the side bleachers to sign my jersey once.
That's as much love as he got from me, and trust me, it was quite a lot of love.
All these little kids with their high voices screaming "Jeremy Jeremy!"
and me with my manly voice shouting "JEREMY!"
But hey, he signed it cos they were making him sign like the backside of printed e-tickets while I dropped a jersey to his nose.
Goes to show he appreciates quality.
$530 to watch Lin - you're in the correct J Lin site. If you didn't pay that extraordinary amount to watch Lin but had life membership of Rox you'd be on another site. Good luck to either fan.
DeleteVia thanks for the pics. You are a rockstar. Looks like Lin is livin' his life and not getting wrapped up in bs. He is a trooper.
ReplyDeleteglad to share, @Rose. :) yep, JLin livin' his life.
DeleteAdrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
ReplyDeleteRestricted free agent guard Jeff Teague plans to sign a four-year, $32 million-plus offer sheet with Milwaukee, league sources tell Y!
Holy jump to conclusions and turn to super emo-mode wow. All because apparantly;
ReplyDelete1) wasn't apart of howard recruiting pitch.(lets just disregard the fact that parsons/harden actually are long time friends of howard, but i guess let lin pitch to him makes more sense...) oh Bev wasnt there either guess he's gonna be traded also right?
2)morey/les/mchale hates lin and only goal in life is to make him fail. So i guess that's why they were the only ones to aggressively go after lin and offer him a good paying contract and starting role.......BECAUSE this is the best way to ruining his career and also gimp the knicks team who are their arch nemesis and rivals. Oh wait knicks arent even in the same div/conference as them, son of a.....thats weird :/
3)Lin's mediocre play last season was because of his role being switched to spot up shooter. Okay so now we're making excuse for a PRO who couldnt play well in an NBA offensive system that requires him to switch roles. You do realize this is very common in the nba. Just off the top of my head there was a post here that compared lin to steph curry(which is a laughable comparison anyway) as players. Well first of all if you are going to compare lin to someone like curry, (who actually switches from PG and SG a lot/ is ball dominant but plays very well off the ball....) then don't make excuses about role switching woes for lin. If he is going to be compared to someone else, better hold the same standards for both or dont compare them at all.
With that said i actually think Lin did very well last year given the circumstances. It was only his first year in a new system, and honestly the rocket's future is looking very bright right now and i really think it's best lin stays and be apart of this young and upcoming team regardless of his role. People forget this team was completely revamped and rebuilt last season and they were only projected to be a 30 win team yet they proved the odds way wrong and nearly upset the thunder in rd 1. Lin had a big part of last season success and morey knows and has acknowledged this, he's been upfront with fans on his plans from the get-go and has followed thru on it all so far so for people calling him a sneaky weasel of a GM just boggles my mind.(spending too much time on conspiracy sites lol) yeah yeah, i kno most people dont give 2 shits about the rockets and only care bout jeremy(nothing wrong with this btw) but if you are one those ppl who from the begining of the signing said you support/root for any team lin plays for, u better live up to your word or put yourself in fake fan department.
There used to be a lot of good post on bball discussion here but lately theres nothing but bitching, whining, personal attacks to anyone who disagrees with the "rockets hate lin" conspiracy, and just overall depressing. It's like a circlejerk for a bunch of debby downers, i thought the laker fans were classless in handling howard's departure but man... They aint got nothing on some people on here.
Not talking about this page's comments specifically, there are plently of the negativity im talking about in the last couple pages w/ 400+ comments.
Delete31f ... yes, we need to get back to Lin and bball. Nobody knows and we should just let life surprise us. I believe a few solid bball posters have said your view. Maybe we all head for cover for a few days until something settles.
DeleteI think the best way to bring up the atmosphere is to post a positive comment yourself.
DeleteTry not to scold or call people names even though you mean well. We're probably mostly adults here and so nobody will appreciate that.
And trolls are trolls. You can't have zero trolls in a public site...ever.
It's agreed extremist views whether pro or anti Lin aren't too helpful. Ignore them rather than repeat them.
DeleteWhy is Bev playing in the summer league and not Lin? Bev is in the coaches face , kicking the inferior summer league players' asses, while Jeremy is in the shadows working quietly on his game. Bev must have a great agent. He knows just what to do to build his career.
ReplyDeleteJeremy should not play in the summer league because it's a league for hopefuls and not quite established players trying to prove themselves.
DeleteAt this point, we're discussing whether Jeremy is really elite or average, so he's no longer in that danger zone.
Doesn't that also apply to Bev as well? He played significant minutes last year.
DeleteHe is just showing off in the summer league!
I think it's for new draftees and young bench players. Bev lobbied for it, I read. No foul-out, so Bev was fouling heavily first game.
DeleteI think Bev is still rather insecure about his position with the Rockets.
DeleteWhat we're seeing with Lin is normal for all pro's who are not NBA All Stars. Your last season determines your next contract. This is business at its best/worst. Some teams have a teamwork model eg Spurs, and some have a ruthless model and treat players like stock commodities.
DeleteFans sometimes think sports should not treat players like pieces and also players should be loyal to their team. But it often doesn't work out like that.
While Bev and Parsons are continually pushing their barrow, Lin is nowhere to be seen. Additionally the Rox owners may think Lin's heart is not with Houston.
The determination by Lin not to have interviews, Rox's deliberate ignoring of Lin and Lin not tweeting a welcome for Howard are completely opposite to the situation a year ago. Conversely people don't want to see a Dwightmare saga.
First of all, how brown nosing and ass kissing would it look if after Lin (supposedly an integral piece of the team), is dissed by being excluded from the Dwight-a-thon meeting, tweets "Yo Dwight dude, welcome to this team that couldn't give a crap about me" Secondly you are right, Bev-erly Hills Chihuahua (you know he likes like one with those buggy eyes), is chasing the limelight that he was lucky enough to fall into. If he hadn't been Lin's back-up, no one would have paid him any attention in the first place. Because so many people wanted Lin to fail, they praised and worshiped every little victory Bev had and overlooked his many failings.
DeleteIt was reported that Rockets actually did not want Bev. to play, but Bev persuade Rockets to let him play couple games.
DeleteRose: Bev is aggressively self promoting.
DeleteJLIN PLAYING.
ReplyDelete*meant to say: JLin played tonight.
Delete[footage later]
Menlo Park!
Deleteyeah, biz as usual, at SF Pro-Am. :)
DeleteDwight buying breakfast for people is actually quite in line with his personality.
ReplyDeleteI heard stories of his kindness when he popped over to my town for a visit a few years back. And I know his Sunday School teacher from when he was a kid.
I'm certain his personal wavelength is closer to Jeremy's than it is with Horndog Harden.
So if Jeremy is not traded away, I think Lin and Howard can develop a pretty decent, and real friendship.
Whether that translates to on court chemistry, who knows, but it would be a nice twist if Howard got Jeremy's back.
1:42 - DWIGHT LIN
DeleteThanks Via. I've never seen that.
DeleteNow you can call it the Lin-Lin connection. LOL
=P
DeleteIt's interesting seeing what players do publicly. Howard buys free breakfasts, Parsons exudes his charm, Harden pleases the dancers, Lin promotes charities. All harmless fun I guess but Rox FO would have their own preferences.
DeleteM. Bucks just made an offer to Hawks' RFA Jeff Teague @ 4 yr $32Mil.
ReplyDeleteI would not mind if JL and Asik get traded to Hawks. They have two very solid Bigs, Hartford and Millsap, a 3 pt specialist Kyle, and several young talents. They also have a new coach ex-Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, who should play a more structured basketball.
DeleteThink i found the perfect trade:
ReplyDeleteDetroit get Rondo bass and wallace
houston get Lee and monroe
boston Lin Asik papanicolau and picks
More or less ... It could work
Dwight Howard Fans @D12FanPage
ReplyDeleteI am hearing that the Dwight Howard press conference with the Houston Rockets WILL be open to the public.
Date is TBA.
The Rally will be after the Dwight Howard press conference outside the Toyota Center on Saturday. Be the #RedNation
11:24 PM - 10 Jul 13
ClutchFans @clutchfans
At the fan rally will be Dwight Howard and others, including Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming.
1:14 PM - 10 Jul 13
If Harden, Parsons and Bev are there busily backslapping Howard and the others (not just Asik and Lin) are missing, THAT would indicate something.
DeleteESPN Insider: Should Rockets trade Lin, Asik?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for Asik, Houston shouldn't be in a hurry to maneuver
Updated: July 10, 2013, 3:31 PM ET
By Bradford Doolittle
Anytime an elite player in the NBA changes teams during the summer, the organization that acquires him is almost by default going to be the winner of the offseason. So it is that by signing Dwight Howard away from the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets are the champions of summer 2013.
The task for Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, coach Kevin McHale and the newly formed star duo of Howard and James Harden is to turn success in July into success in June.
The "most improved" team in any given season, in terms of raw win total, is usually going to be a struggling team that has nowhere to go but up. The real feat is to move from the middle to the top, a trick that Houston might be able to pull off. The Rockets were a good team last season, with 45 wins and a point differential typical of a 50-win club. Their four most productive players -- Harden, Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin -- were all 26 or younger. That starting point is what made the Rockets so attractive to Howard; they're a team in the middle that has all of the traits of a rapid riser.
As of Wednesday morning, the Rockets' outlook has brightened to about 54 wins, the third-best forecast in the West and fifth-best in the league. Likewise, the playoff projection, which is based on weighing the winning percentages of the team's top eight rotation players, also ranks fifth in the league. As a result, my most recent run of simulations -- using the 2012-13 schedule -- gives Houston an 8 percent chance at next season's title. The only teams ahead of the Rockets are the ones you'd expect: the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder. It's been a tremendous week for the Rockets by any standard.
So what's next?
In the immediate aftermath of Howard's decision to change teams, there was widespread belief that Morey would pursue a third star-level player to complete a new big three for the Rockets. To pull this off, Morey would have to move Asik and Lin. One scenario was to package that duo to the Atlanta Hawks in a sign-and-trade deal for Howard's pal, Josh Smith. But Smith ended up signing with the Detroit Pistons, taking the last healthy All-Star-level player off the free-agent market.
Another early, post-Howard rumor had Asik headed to the New Orleans Pelicans for sharpshooting big man Ryan Anderson, who was off-the-charts efficient when tethered to Howard in Orlando. That whisper disappeared in the wind, as well. The Rockets needed shooters to fill out the roster, and Morey moved to bring back Francisco Garcia and signed Omri Casspi as a free agent. Garcia is a proven commodity, and his off-the-bench perimeter defense will be as valuable as his solid 3-point stroke. Casspi has been an underutilized player during his career with the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers. He might turn out to be the Rockets' version of Anderson, a player whose value appreciates on a good team when he has a clearly defined role.
DeleteLet's not forget the collective youth on the Houston roster, which shows tremendous potential for growth from within. Harden, Parsons, Lin, Donatas Motiejunas, Patrick Beverley and Terrence Jones are on the upward arc of the aging curve. If Harden gets any better, he'll garner MVP support. Motiejunas, Jones and Casspi give the Rockets three floor-spacing options who could alleviate the team's perceived need for an upgrade at power forward. McHale will have the option to spread the court with one of those players. He also can pair Howard and Asik for stretches in a twin-towers set, as both centers are highly mobile for their body type -- assuming, of course, that Howard returns to full health after a long recovery from back trouble.
The Rockets also can play small, with Harden sliding to the 3. Basically, even as the roster stands today, McHale can roll out an effective lineup of just about any type. That includes one with a traditional 4 if Jones develops into a reliable option. Does that mean the Rockets are done for the summer? They could be, but there still are decisions to be made. In order to accommodate Howard's max contract, it appears that at least two of Morey's four nonguaranteed players will have to be waived or traded. This depends on how the actual salary figures shake out, as my calculations make it a pretty tight fit under the cap numbers released early Wednesday morning. The aforementioned group includes Beverley, Greg Smith, Tim Ohlbrecht and James Anderson.
Beverley will be back, and he might be Houston's most important defender beyond the centers. Because wing defense isn't a team strength, Beverley's dogged effort at delaying opposing point guards from getting into sets will be crucial. Plus, he's just a good player. Smith has been very good at times and likely will be retained. As for Anderson and Ohlbrecht, even if they are let go in order to make the cap math work, they still can be brought back on minimum-salary deals without losing any money.
Houston, of course, will be able to sign any veteran-minimum deals that seem attractive, and the Rockets should be near the top of the list for players in that niche. The Rockets also have a "room exception" available worth about $2.6 million. Beyond the players already on the roster, that is the most likely avenue for the Rockets to add a significant role player. It could happen this summer, but my guess is that Morey will keep that option in his hip pocket while giving his new roster's strengths and weaknesses a chance to manifest. Once the regular season begins, you never know who might spring loose from another roster.
DeleteBeyond that, the only real option to shake up the roster is via a trade, and if you look at the Rockets' salary hierarchy, the most obvious candidates to be dealt are Asik, Lin or the two in combination. Again, with the top free agents off the market, I don't expect such a deal to happen this summer. Asik was reportedly less than thrilled by the Howard signing, but he's under contract for two more years. As he saw firsthand in Chicago, and as we saw during Dallas' title run in 2011, there is tremendous value in having two top defensive centers on a roster. The Rockets struggled badly on defense when Asik sat last season. Those days are over.
As for Lin, he might function as more of a second-unit player on the new roster. There are worse fates. In a Manu Ginobili-type role, he would have more opportunities to attack than he had when primarily playing alongside Harden. Whether Lin starts or not, he can be tremendously valuable by exploiting other teams' reserve guards and by keeping Houston's offense humming when Harden sits.
This is all a long way of saying that right now, Morey is in the catbird's seat. He needs to hit the trade market only if a clear opportunity to upgrade presents itself. If so, he can take on a young third star, whose salary would easily fit into the vacated salary slots of Asik and Lin. Or Morey can simply sit back and enjoy what he's already put together. On paper, it looks awfully good. [Broford/ CF]
I stopped reading when I saw "Beverly is the most important defender." What universe am I in again? Oh right, 'MURICA universe.
DeleteThanks for the article. I couldn't access it of course.
DeleteLOL at Rikki
pew pew pew (hope you get it)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki6aPu6Gy3k
ReplyDeleteConservative New Media. I've no barrow to push, however he has good non-extremist views on Lin's current situation.
How funny, I just realized with Morey and McHale getting fined today for announcing Howard's intent before the start of signing season ... that might be why Bev removed his very early congrats tweet. LOL his positive nature.
ReplyDelete