NBA Off-Season Thread

Because he's not going to re-sign with Houston.

The big picture a year from now would be that they don't have Howard, and they don't have all of the players and picks they threw overboard to get Howard.

I understand the effort up to a point, but the Scola thing is insane.

 

If they don't have all those players, or Howard, it makes it that easier to just look at new players to sign, or to bottom out and get a high draft pick. Otherwise, you have to go through the trouble of finding trade partners to unload the non-minimum and non-guaranteed contracts on.

This love for Scola is somewhat odd to me. You guys realize he's 32, right? Tyson Chandler is three years younger than him. He averaged 15.5 ppg and 6.5 boards this year, which is nice, but he also played plenty of minutes (31.3). He's a nice player, but the fact that he was amnestied suggests to me that there wasn't much of a market for him, given his age and salary (around $8 million a year). Lin will be making roughly as much as Scola did, and I'd rather chance things with him.

 

The fact that he was amnestied could also mean they're just trying to create cap space any way they can, and they didn't want anything in return for him that might count against the cap.

Scola's 32, but he's still pretty good, and they have to put a team on the floor. If they are simply positioning themselves for a run at Dwight Howard -- which is what I think they're doing -- they're beyond screwed if they get him and he doesn't sign a long-term deal. If they clear out all their assets to get Howard and end up with nothing to show for it a year from now, that's a mammoth and very slow rebuilding project.

 

They can,always flip him at the deadline if they can't get him to sign. Houston is in the dreaded middle ground where you don't want to be. Take a chance on Howard convince him you have a shot at Paul and take your chances. The alternative is what, a sixth seed?

 

And that's the absolute best case scenario. Didn't make the playoffs this year and weren't gonna be any better next.

You make a good point, the middle is an awful place to be stuck in the NBA. Might as well go for it with Howard, if he bolts blow the whole thing up and start over rebuilding with high end lottery picks.

 

That's the exact same spot Dallas is in, funny enough. They've made all these one-year deals to clear cap space for Howard and Paul next year with no history of ever having successfully wooed a top-tier free agent.

If the Mavs fail again next year to make a splash, they need to blow it up once and for all, trade Dirk (his expiring contract will be valuable in 2013) and get some value for him.

 

From everything they're saying round these thar parts, that seems to be the logic. They've been the odd team out of the playoffs the past 2 seasons. And not good enough to make the playoffs, not bad enough to have a shot at the No. 1 is a really crappy place to be.

The difference between myself and Liesl is that I'm not really a Houston fan. I'm a transplant. So, I find all the change/young players interesting, and it makes me more likely to buy a ticket. I can see how someone who has been a Houston fan for a while would be really annoyed, though.

 

What is that you don't like apart from Scola?

 

Speaking of the Mavs, they apparently added OJ Mayo.

 

It's not a bad idea for the Rockets to unload a lot of players to acquire Howard even if he doesn't sign with them after next season. If Howard doesn't sign, they'd have a ton of cap room. With guys such as Chris Paul, Josh Smith and Andrew Bynum available, there's some talent out there they'd be able to afford and still build around.

 

I have no idea how any Howard deal would work at this point - I mean, if I was a GM, he would scare me shitless. If you're the Lakers and the price isn't too high, then sure. Otherwise, why not just wait it out and make Orlando trade him for pennies on the dollar? Nevermind the fact that I'm not sure that going from Bynum to Howard is THAT big of an improvement. It's turning a very good player on your team into a great one, whereas I think the Lakers' bigger issue is 1) controlling Kobe at the end of the game and not letting him play Heroball into his late 30s and 2) improving their general depth.

 

Is there no way to make it work under the cap for Orlando to just take Gasol & Bynum?