Dwight Howard is a Rocket, and thus ends one of the strangest sagas ever for a premier professional basketball player. In case you've been ignoring the NBA for the past two years, the 27-year-old and best big man on the planet has publily twisted and waffled his way through free agency.
Last summer, with the opportunity to hit the open market by opting out of his contract with the Orlando Magic, Howard did the exact opposite, hoping to force a trade to his team of choice, the Brooklyn Nets (who couldn't sign him as a free agent). Instead, he was traded to the Lakers, who assembled what looked to be an championship contender. However, they struggled all season long and found themselves out of the playoffs in the first round.
Howard settled on five possible destinations: Houston, Dallas, Golden State, staying with the Lakers or playing for his hometown Atlanta Hawks. After interviewing with all of the teams this week, he trimmed his list to Houston, L.A. and Golden State before reportedly picking the Rockets
As NBA fans put up with the Dwightmare, Howard's stock dropped in the eyes of the public. He's still the most talented big man in the league, but many people said due to his immaturity and inability to raise his game under the bright lights of Hollywood, that they wouldn't want him on their team. It's crazy to type this, but Howard actually has become somewhat underrated -- nearly impossible for a player of his caliber who is demaning a max contract on the open market.
Despite his struggles in L.A., Howard still logged averages of 17.1 points and an NBA-high 12.4 rebounds. He was still an All-Star and still remained a Defensive Player of the Year candidate with 2.4 blocks per game. He's a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and a seven-time All-Star who instantly turns the Rockets into one of the top contenders in the Western Conference.
But can Houston really compete? It's still too early to tell because the reshaping of the Rockets' roster remains a work in progress. One person who will be playing with Howard is James Harden, the team's breakout star from last year. After being traded before last season from Oklahoma City, Harden proved that he could be the go-to scorer and franchise leader. Howard and Harden should form a dynamic duo. But who will join them?
One possibility is Josh Smith. Smith is a young, athletic power forward who like Howard is from the Atlanta area. The two go way back, and Howard is one of the people pushing to land Smith. Smith's game has some holes, but he could be a No. 3 star on a legitimate contender. Harden-Howard-Smith could be an intriguing "Big 3," though there are questions about Howard's and Smith's maturity level. Smith's game is offensively limited -- he's a terrible spot-up shooter, but despite that, enjoys putting up jumpers -- but he and Howard could form a dominant frontline on defense.
Another possibility is Ryan Anderson. Rumors have started swirling about a possible trade sending Omer Asik, the Rockets' center who is now expendable, to New Orleans for Anderson, a stretch 4 who averaged 16.2 points in his only season in New Orleans. The Pelicans are looking for size after trading last year's center, Robin Lopez, as part of a package to acquire Tyreke Evans, so this trade could be a win-win for both teams.
The Rockets have some other intriguing pieces -- Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons, Patrick Beverley, Donatas Montiejunas, Terrance Jones, Isaiah Canaan. They could put some interesting combinations on the floor, but is it enough to compete with the Lakers and Thunder in the West? If Howard becomes the Howard of old -- the 20-point, 14-rebound guy who dominated on both ends of the floor in Orlando; not the guy who struggled with injuries and pressure in L.A. last year -- and Harden continues to develop into one of the top 10 players in the NBA, then that seems like a legitimate contender. Those are big ifs right, but the likelihood is those ifs actually become true.
Friday, July 05, 2013
What's going on in Nola?
So let me catch up real quick on what's going on with the New Orleans Pelicans. The team targeted restricted free agent Tyreke Evans, offering him a four-year, $44-million contract. He accepted. Fans (mostly) rejoiced. Then, they found out, no, it's actually a sign-and-trade bringing Evans to the Big Easy in return for last year's starting point guard, Greivis Vasquez, and starting center, Robin Lopez. OK ...
Of course, this came a week after the team traded not one but two first-round draft picks (this year's No. 6 pick and next year's first-rounder in a loaded draft [that is top-5 protected]) in return for former 76ers point guard Jrue Holiday. So in come Holiday and Evans, and out go two picks and two starters. I know the Hornets weren't very good last year, but that does seem like a high price to pay.
Vasquez finished third in the NBA last year in assists at 9.0 per game, and at $2.1 million would have been a great value even as a backup combo guard. Lopez was an unspectacular center, but at $5.1 million, he was a pretty cheap option. Now with those salaries out, and with Evans' and Holiday's $11 million salaries coming on the books, the Pelicans have about $58.4 million committed next year to seven players -- Holiday, Evans, Eric Gordon, Anthony Davis, Jason Smith and Austin Rivers -- with team options totaling about $2.5 million on three other players (Terrel Harris, Lance Thomas and Darius Miller). They also have their second-rounder, Baylor guard Pierre Jackson, and the rights to second-rounder Jeff Withey, a center from Kansas, coming over in the Evans trade.
The projected salary cap next year is $58.5 million, meaning that even without picking up the three team options, the Pelicans are over the cap. How do they fill out the roster with so little wiggle room, especially knowing the team is not going to approach the luxury tax level expected to be between $70 million and $71 million.
If they sign Jackson and Withey and pick up all three options, the Pelicans would have 12 players under contract totaling around $62 million. Because they're over the cap, the Pelicans would be able to offer a free agent the full mid-level exception of $5.15 million annually (or split that among multiple free agents).
I still have some major concerns about the way this roster is shaping up. The starting lineup today would likely feature a backcourt of the 6-4 Holiday, 6-3 Gordon and 6-5 Evans. While Holiday brings nice size for a point guard, Gordon and Evans are undersized for their positions. There are also major questions in the post. Davis is locked in as the power forward of the future, but who plays center? Is the Pelicans' brass comfortable with the combination of Jason Smith and Jeff Withey at the 5? That seems like a downgrade from last year. That would also leave Anderson, Rivers, Thomas, Miller, Jackson and Harris as bench options, with likely only Anderson and Rivers (assuming he improves over his ghastly rookie performance) as locks in the rotation.
It's clear that the Pelicans need to target a big man with the full mid-level exception. They're not going to be able to get someone like Paul Millsap or Carl Landry, most likely, for that kind of money. The best candidates likely are someone like Chris "Birdman" Andersen (who played in New Orleans in the past), Cole Aldrich, J.J. Hickson and DeJuan Blair. If they choose to go after a guard, some intriguing options likely would be Jarrett Jack (another former Hornet, though he's probably too expensive), Nate Robinson (again, maybe too pricey), Matt Barnes, Daniel Gibson and Wayne Ellington. All of those guys would immediately step in and contribute to the second unit.
Ultimately, Dell Demps still needs to tweak this roster. If he can flip Gordon for a couple of assets (or better yet, straight up for Indiana's Danny Granger), that would be a good thing to do. The fans aren't buying into Gordon after last summer's free agency fiasco, and he doesn't fit in with this small backcourt. They need to get bigger at small forward with Evans moving to the shooting guard position. I still don't fully understand the big picture, but I'm eagerly watching to find out.
Of course, this came a week after the team traded not one but two first-round draft picks (this year's No. 6 pick and next year's first-rounder in a loaded draft [that is top-5 protected]) in return for former 76ers point guard Jrue Holiday. So in come Holiday and Evans, and out go two picks and two starters. I know the Hornets weren't very good last year, but that does seem like a high price to pay.
Vasquez finished third in the NBA last year in assists at 9.0 per game, and at $2.1 million would have been a great value even as a backup combo guard. Lopez was an unspectacular center, but at $5.1 million, he was a pretty cheap option. Now with those salaries out, and with Evans' and Holiday's $11 million salaries coming on the books, the Pelicans have about $58.4 million committed next year to seven players -- Holiday, Evans, Eric Gordon, Anthony Davis, Jason Smith and Austin Rivers -- with team options totaling about $2.5 million on three other players (Terrel Harris, Lance Thomas and Darius Miller). They also have their second-rounder, Baylor guard Pierre Jackson, and the rights to second-rounder Jeff Withey, a center from Kansas, coming over in the Evans trade.
The projected salary cap next year is $58.5 million, meaning that even without picking up the three team options, the Pelicans are over the cap. How do they fill out the roster with so little wiggle room, especially knowing the team is not going to approach the luxury tax level expected to be between $70 million and $71 million.
If they sign Jackson and Withey and pick up all three options, the Pelicans would have 12 players under contract totaling around $62 million. Because they're over the cap, the Pelicans would be able to offer a free agent the full mid-level exception of $5.15 million annually (or split that among multiple free agents).
I still have some major concerns about the way this roster is shaping up. The starting lineup today would likely feature a backcourt of the 6-4 Holiday, 6-3 Gordon and 6-5 Evans. While Holiday brings nice size for a point guard, Gordon and Evans are undersized for their positions. There are also major questions in the post. Davis is locked in as the power forward of the future, but who plays center? Is the Pelicans' brass comfortable with the combination of Jason Smith and Jeff Withey at the 5? That seems like a downgrade from last year. That would also leave Anderson, Rivers, Thomas, Miller, Jackson and Harris as bench options, with likely only Anderson and Rivers (assuming he improves over his ghastly rookie performance) as locks in the rotation.
It's clear that the Pelicans need to target a big man with the full mid-level exception. They're not going to be able to get someone like Paul Millsap or Carl Landry, most likely, for that kind of money. The best candidates likely are someone like Chris "Birdman" Andersen (who played in New Orleans in the past), Cole Aldrich, J.J. Hickson and DeJuan Blair. If they choose to go after a guard, some intriguing options likely would be Jarrett Jack (another former Hornet, though he's probably too expensive), Nate Robinson (again, maybe too pricey), Matt Barnes, Daniel Gibson and Wayne Ellington. All of those guys would immediately step in and contribute to the second unit.
Ultimately, Dell Demps still needs to tweak this roster. If he can flip Gordon for a couple of assets (or better yet, straight up for Indiana's Danny Granger), that would be a good thing to do. The fans aren't buying into Gordon after last summer's free agency fiasco, and he doesn't fit in with this small backcourt. They need to get bigger at small forward with Evans moving to the shooting guard position. I still don't fully understand the big picture, but I'm eagerly watching to find out.
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