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NBA 2013 - 2014 Season


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ESPN

 

Howard's call to the Lakers came hours after a person from his camp informed the team that he would not re-sign with Los Angeles, according to the source.

 

"He changed his mind," the source said. "Hey, he's Dwight. What can you say."

 

He just summed up the last three years in a nutshell.

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Oh we're gonna get that. Howard swapping teams but staying in the west, he and Kobe undoubtedly wanting to prove they don't need each other to win, and the media pushing the cart along as much as they can to hype every aspect of it that they can fathom.

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If I'm a Rockets fan I have way too many questions to be completely optimistic about this deal.

 

1) Is his back okay? Nothing derails a basketball player's career like back problems.

 

2) Is his back okay?

3) The Rockets don't play a style favorable to him either.

4) The Rockets absolutely sucked on D last year. And that was with Asik playing impressive ball will Howard solve the problem? Because Harden, Parsons, and Lin aren't keeping guys from driving on them.

 

5) Was the last couple of years just an aberration when it comes to Howard's behavior? Will McHale be able to control him? Or will he start lobbying for Phil Jackson?

 

There are so many questions involving Howard it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

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I believe Howard to Houston is going to work out the best for both teams. In the short run, I think Nash, Kobe and Gasol will do well together without the distractions Howard brought to the team, i.e. his not liking the system, not liking the coach, their feeling he's not serious enough when it comes to winning. In the long run the team will figure out something with all that cap space coming its way. And in Houston, Howard will be free of the media and team scrutiny that comes with playing in L.A. You have to be wired a certain way to be the center of attention in places like New York, L.A. and Boston. That's why you see players do well in places like Pittsburgh and then go downhill as soon as they sign with the Yankees. Howard is one of those guys that isn't. That's not a knock on him. It's just how it is with a lot of guys. He will thrive being back in a smaller pond. The only question for the Rockets now is his health.

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He averaged good numbers while recovering last year, all the while being criticized. Those numbers should improve.

 

The Rockets style went from his style to uptempto, so the know-how is there w/ the coaching staff. Not worried.

 

No, he won't want Phil Jackson. I guarantee that. Just the opposite, probably.

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I think the Spurs are indeed sticking with what they have. They signed Manu to two years with Parker and Duncan also left with two years on their contracts. Even the draft looked like they'd decided that because I think we took a Turkish dude. Which makes me think that with an aging team we are not thinking of the far future as Manu was the beginning of our fall in the playoffs.

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Well, that's why it makes sense that they go after Gortat. In the short term, Gortat is an upgrade. Maybe even longer, if they reach an extension. I'm not convinced Splitter is going to get significantly better. So I don't really think he'd make a good long term solution for the Suns. He plays well enough next to Duncan, but can he anchor the line himself? I think (and hope) that you're right and that the Spurs simply plan to go with the status quo.

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He averaged good numbers while recovering last year, all the while being criticized. Those numbers should improve.

They should, but improving from last season and returning to his dominant form of four years ago when he led his team to the Finals are two different things. As a Lakers fan I was just worried that what if #5 was true:

 

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9308573/searching-dwight-howard

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And quite a frickin' check it is - $14M/year. Damn. He made less with the Hawks and I'm not sure he was worth what he got then. He's an inefficient scorer, a horrible free throw shooter, and fairly weak outside shooter. While he's still a good rebounder, he no longer necessarily lives up to his defensive reputation - over the last three years, he's averaged just 1.7 blocks and 1.3 steals, which is good, but hardly elite.

 

He'll be 31 when he's in the last year of this 4yr contract, so those numbers are more likely to go down, than up. Plus, well, there's the whole headcase thing. Yeah, Met, I don't get it, either.

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So, yesterday ESPN went over Houston's next steps and options. This was one...

 

While the Rockets have been described as capable of signing Howard outright, technically that's still not the case. The team is close, but to clear the full $20.5 million Howard can get from Houston under the cap, the Rockets would have to waive the nonguaranteed contracts of guard James Anderson and center Tim Ohlbrecht and trade one of their three second-year power forwards (Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas or Royce White).

 

Not familiar with the forwards, but looking them over a bit just now, I'm wondering if Jones or Motiejunas might fit in with the Suns rebuilding project. Both ...

 

****. Never mind! I just went to check on something about Royce White and found out that he was just dealt to Philly. Oh, well. Guess that takes care of that. This seems to be the only real option for Houston, because the others were getting L.A. to do a sign-and-trade (which seems unlikely) or finding someone else to trade for Lin and Asik (which seems even less likely, given that both players were given back-loaded contracts that will shoot up to almost $15M each next year).

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Well, that's why it makes sense that they go after Gortat. In the short term, Gortat is an upgrade. Maybe even longer, if they reach an extension. I'm not convinced Splitter is going to get significantly better. So I don't really think he'd make a good long term solution for the Suns. He plays well enough next to Duncan, but can he anchor the line himself? I think (and hope) that you're right and that the Spurs simply plan to go with the status quo.

 

I have this idea where Pop goes for another big man duo team like Duncan and Robinson when they won Waaaaaaaaaaaay back when.

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Howard asked the Lakers to bring in Jackson last season.

 

But he won't now.

 

I feel that he only did so before because of the Lakers/Jackson relation, and the constant speculation, and the fabled myth that only Phil could lead the modern day Lakers to victory.

 

I still say he's just the lucky happenstance coach of stacked rosters with extra-talented wing players. He's never proven otherwise.

 

I'm satisfied with the current coach.

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