Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I would be shocked if the Rockets pursued Bynum... better off with the draft.
morey has already stated howard 1st, bynum 2nd choice, al jefferson 3rd.
now al jef would be a nice (cheaper) addition to play next to asik. asik with the defense, al jef with offense, would be a nice twin towers.
The Rockets cap situation for 2013-14 is $41,938,187 if they pick up the options of Beverly, Smith, and Parsons which they will do. The other non-guaranteed/team option contracts will not be picked up. The Rockets can get Howard by signing him outright AND still keep Asik . They just need to get rid of $4mil to be at the cap in order to do this. The salary cap for next year will be $58.5-60 mil($60mil projected for 2013-14). If they want to sign Howard the max, they can only offer 4yr/88mil. This means they will be at $64mil, so they need to trade Thomas Robinson and Royce White for picks or nothing before hand. If they are able to which Morey will, they will be a bit below $60mil. They won't have to add Scola's amnesty contract due to meeting the $51mil minimum salary requirements(85% of cap) and still meet roster minimum requirements of 10 players.
There is no reason for the Rockets to do a sign and trade with Lakers since Howard isn't going to get any more $ than he would signing outright with Houston due to the new CBA rules. Plus, the Lakers have nothing to offer the Rockets of value. Rockets will then be patient and wait until they get a good offer for Asik...
The difficulty is getting Howard to sign with Houston due to only the 4yr/88mil vs. what the Lakers can offer(5yr/118mil), so that is gonna be a hard sell for the Rockets. If Howard wants to seriously have a better chance to win a title, he needs to play with the young upcoming Rockets pairing up with Harden. He can develop a low post offensive game with McHale and Olajuwon(2nd time) tutoring him. He can also improve his FT shooting just like Asik has done with the Rockets staff. If Howard wants money, then he should re-sign with the Lakers.
I might add that if the Rockets don't get Howard, they will likely go after Milsap or Jefferson on a reasonable contract. They had interest in Bynum last year, but that was before the emergence of Asik. They're not going to pursue Bynum anymore especially with those shot knees...Bynum prefers bowling anyway. I do think they would like to re-sign Garcia for a reasonable contract too...or find a good perimeter shooter for a good contract...in other words, Darryl Morey will not overpay any player. Rockets have alot of cap space to work with this summer.
I might add that if the Rockets don't get Howard, they will likely go after Milsap or Jefferson on a reasonable contract. They had interest in Bynum last year, but that was before the emergence of Asik. They're not going to pursue Bynum anymore especially with those shot knees...Bynum prefers bowling anyway. I do think they would like to re-sign Garcia for a reasonable contract too...or find a good perimeter shooter for a good contract...in other words, Darryl Morey will not overpay any player. Rockets have alot of cap space to work with this summer.
Asik is a bargain at that price and is young and still improving. His ethic and attitude are also top-notch.
No team in their right mind should get rid of him. Heck, play him and Howard together.
So many great teams have played "non-traditional" line-ups.
Howard is mobile enough to guard 4's.
That would be a tough tough team on the glass at both ends.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
