Dash Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 With the Brooklyn Nets going another direction, the Rockets could be in the driver’s seat to land disgruntled Magic star center Dwight Howard. The problem, as it has been for months, is getting the continuing talks to go far enough. Talks on Wednesday grew “serious,” and at one point seemed close to an agreement, according to a person familiar with the process, but the Magic backed off to consider their options. Rockets are open to the three-team deal in which they would receive Lakers center Andrew Bynum with Howard going to the Los Angeles Lakers, but are primarily working directly with the Magic to acquire Howard, the individual with knowledge of the talks said. Getting in position for the planned next move will be difficult. To create enough cap room for the kind of blockbuster trade that has been proposed, the Rockets are considering making veteran forward Luis Scola an amnesty cut, likely in the next 48 hours, a person with knowledge of the move said. That would create enough cap room for the Rockets to take on the additional contracts necessary to complete a trade for Howard. Scola, 32, is due $21 million guaranteed over the next three season. The Rockets could wait until July 17 to make Scola an amnesty cut, in which he would receive his full guaranteed salary but not count against the salary cap or luxury tax figures, but received information that he would have a better chance of moving to a stronger team if the move was made quickly. The Rockets’ chances to land Howard greatly improved on Wednesday when Brooklyn, Howard’s preferred destination, removed itself from the race. The Nets signed center Brook Lopez to a four-year deal, worth $60.8 million, duplicating the max offer he could have gotten elsewhere and taking Brooklyn out of trade talks with the Magic. Orlando general manager Rob Hennigan called reports that the Magic had broken off trade talks in general “false.” The Rockets have been in frequent talks with the Magic throughout the day on Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the process said. For the Rockets, a key to either deal would be the ability to take on the contracts of as many as three Orlando veterans. To trade Howard, the Magic will seek to move some of the long-term contracts they had collected when trying to surround Howard with veterans Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Chris Duhon. Richardson, 31, has three seasons and $18.6 million remaining on his contract. Turkoglu, 33, is signed for two more years and is owed $23.8 million. Duhon has two years and $7.5 million remaining on his contract. The Rockets could make a minor move in free agency, including potentially signing former Rockets guard Aaron Brooks, but will be careful about using too much cap space, even if they do cut Scola. They completed the trade to get the draft pick they would need in a deal, officially sending guard Kyle Lowry to the Toronto Raptors for a first round pick. The Raptors will convey the pick if it falls between four and 14 next season. If the Raptors are either in the playoffs or picking in the top three picks, they would convey the pick the next season if it falls between the third and 14th picks the following two seasons. If they still have not moved the pick, it would be protected for two more seasons only if in the lottery but not among the top two picks of the draft. If after five seasons, the Raptors have still kept the pick, they would convey the pick the following season no matter where it fell. The Rockets’ sign-and-trade deal with New York, with Marcus Camby signing with the Knicks and New York sending the Rockets guard Toney Douglas, Josh Harrellson and Jerome Jordan, and two second-round pick, was also approved. Harrellson will join the Rockets summer league team today. The trade is not considered complete until the players involved all pass their physicals, forcing the Rockets to hold off on signing Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik to offer sheets. The Knicks have said they will match Lin’s offer sheet, with New York coach Mike Woodson saying on Wednesday he is the Knicks starting point guard. The Bulls are expected to match Asik’s offer sheet. That deal is not expected to impact the pursuit of Howard, no matter what the Bulls decide. The priority remains the pursuit of Howard with the Rockets moving in that direction on Wednesday until ending the day with the deal still stuck in neutral. http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2012/07/rockets-re-emerge-as-contender-in-howard-sweepstakes-as-talks-with-magic-grow-serious/ So we give a ton of youth, draft picks and take on 3 freaking Magic contracts?! We're getting raped in this deal bad, I hope if this actually happens that we actually leave open some wiggle room to surround talent around Howard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted July 12, 2012 Owner Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Houston is better off just doing the three-team trade with LA, and taking Drew over Dwight. The Rockets were wanting Nene badly, wanted Gasol (to team with Nene), may have wanted Brook Lopez...so, why not take the second-best center in the game? That way, LA can take on J-Rich, Houston can take Duhon, the trade will be a bit easier to pull off, and Houston can team Drew up with Scola in the frontcourt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted July 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Taking on Turkoglu, Richardson AND Chris Duhon would cripple whatever flexibility we have for at least the next 2 years. If Dwight walks then its even worse. I'd be interested in the three way deal with the Lakers but the problem is that they're at the point where they have little to no assets outside of Bynum meaning most the pieces the Magic would be getting in the proposal would be from Houston. The Rockets might as well just take on Richardson, cut an aging Scola and pick up the best center in the game. If the Lakers weren't depleted of assets or could somehow string in a 4th team that wants to take on Pau then I figure the Rockets would be more interested in getting Bynum than Dwight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted July 12, 2012 Owner Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Taking on Turkoglu, Richardson AND Chris Duhon would cripple whatever flexibility we have for at least the next 2 years. If Dwight walks then its even worse. I'd be interested in the three way deal with the Lakers but the problem is that they're at the point where they have little to no assets outside of Bynum meaning most the pieces the Magic would be getting in the proposal would be from Houston. The Rockets might as well just take on Richardson, cut an aging Scola and pick up the best center in the game. If the Lakers weren't depleted of assets or could somehow string in a 4th team that wants to take on Pau then I figure the Rockets would be more interested in getting Bynum than Dwight.But why even risk it? Howard even stated he wouldn't re-sign with the Rockets (unless someone was just making that up, pretty sure they stated this on ESPN though). I know he made the statement that he wants to be in Brooklyn, and that he didn't want to follow in Shaq's footsteps back in LA (whatever that means)...but winning resolves everything. Howard to Houston doesn't make the Rockets a championship contender immediately, and to be honest, Houston would only have 6-7 months to win games and make him feel at home. What if Houston loses in the first round to, say, the Thunder? What if they win less games than those Magic teams he has been on over the years? Bynum wants the Rockets. I have no idea why (family preference, he likes Houston, someone on the team he likes, he wants to be the next Hakeem, whatever), but the fact remains that the Rockets are on his list. Why not just dive into this thinking he's the bigger picture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted July 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 (edited) But why even risk it? Howard even stated he wouldn't re-sign with the Rockets (unless someone was just making that up, pretty sure they stated this on ESPN though). I know he made the statement that he wants to be in Brooklyn, and that he didn't want to follow in Shaq's footsteps back in LA (whatever that means)...but winning resolves everything. Howard to Houston doesn't make the Rockets a championship contender immediately, and to be honest, Houston would only have 6-7 months to win games and make him feel at home. What if Houston loses in the first round to, say, the Thunder? What if they win less games than those Magic teams he has been on over the years? Bynum wants the Rockets. I have no idea why (family preference, he likes Houston, someone on the team he likes, he wants to be the next Hakeem, whatever), but the fact remains that the Rockets are on his list. Why not just dive into this thinking he's the bigger picture? Houston seems to think that they could somehow convince Dwight to sign an extension with the Rockets. In free agency, where exactly will Dwight go? The Mavericks appear to be the only real threat to sign Dwight Howard and all they have to present Dwight with is a 35 year old Dirk Nowitzki, is really worth leaving $30 million on the table to leave Houston for that? Reportedly the only places Dwight will receive his big fat check from Adidas is if he goes to Brooklyn/New York or Los Angeles, neither of those teams are in position to sign him and do note that Dallas isn't on that list which makes it harder for Dwight to leave that extra $30 million. Its not like Houston is a small market either, we're the 4th largest city in the entire United States AND twice the size of Dallas AND have no state income taxes AND are the most marketable team in China still to this day (the most populated country in the world at that too). I'm not guaranteeing that Dwight will resign but I can see the argument for him staying. It was reported earlier that Houston intends to pair Dwight with some all-star level talent, not sure who exactly but previously they were targeting Eric Gordon in free agency. If the Rockets have enough young talent left over from a Dwight Howard trade then they will chase a 2nd all-star. No chance they leave Dwight all by himself and exhaust ALL of their assets in a deal or else he will surely skip town. Bynum is clearly the smaller risk but I think a combination of the Lakers not having enough assets to compensate Houston in a three way deal, the Rockets being sick of mediocrity and Dwight obviously being the better player and superstar is behind them willing to go all in. Edit: Taking on Turkoglu, Duhon and Richardson is going to seriously cripple our chances at trading for another all-star level talent, which is why I'm confused by this report because Houston originally didn't intend to handcuff themselves this bad. Depending on which young pieces we're dealing exactly, we might not have much left over but at the same time Morey seems to think we can put a competitive team around Dwight. Edited July 12, 2012 by Dash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Regime Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBAHouston has decided to use the amnesty provision on Luis Scola and will likely file with NBA on Friday, league sources tell Y! Sports. Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA The Rockets will soon have the space to absorb Orlando's Dwight Howard, Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Duhon and Epcot Center. Hmmmm. Interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Check my Stats Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 (edited) Sounds like him getting amnestied is a done deal. So stupid, Scola is a good, quality player that is on a reasonable contract (given what other FA's are getting) that you actually have, in your hands, and you're letting him go for a CHANCE at one year of Dwight. Why the [expletive] would Dwight stay in a situation that is basically the exact same as Orlando, personnel wise. Bunch of mediocre players around him. I hope the Raptors take a look at Scola. EDIT: Honestly Morey is putting together a pretty horrible off-season bit by bit. Seems like their team can't decide what the [expletive] they are going to do. If you wanted to absorb all those contract, why didn't you just NOT offer Asik a huge contract? Retarded. Edited July 12, 2012 by Check my Stats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted July 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Lol we are so screwed. Scola was coming off a bad year and clearly held little trade value considering we amnestied him. Dwight to Houston is a lock at this point, no chance they get a better deal but we bend over hard. Asik hasn't signed the offer sheet yet btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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