- This piece from Ken Berger had some interesting tidbits, namely that the Rockets are open to dealing Jeremy Lin. The cited sentiment from Hawks general manager Danny Ferry also was enlightening. More on that later.
- One of my trusted moderators, John Gold, made a compelling case for Rondo which has me leaning towards the dark side. As I just stated in my last piece, with as underwhelming as most of these reported Asik packages have been, part of me is hoping the team comes away with Rondo, despite my belief he’d be a terrible fit. Even though my latest at the mothership was a 1,000 word tome as to how only basketball matters now, it’s just not Daryl Morey’s MO to settle for 50 cents on the dollar like this. As bad a fit Rondo would be, he represents full value for Omer Asik and an asset that could easily be flipped along elsewhere in a later deal.
- And while you had him, you could at least try and see if it works. I don’t think it would work. But this is a guy who was the lead dog of a team that featured three future hall of famers. He earned their respect and anchored their offense. Rondo would instill instant accountability to a team with guys that at times, seem like chickens with their heads cut off. But again, I just can’t see it working…not with James Harden in this lineup. He came here to be the man and to have the ball in his hands at the end of games so that he can step back and take bad shots with a hand in his face (can you tell the honeymoon is over?)…he’s not giving that up. Some have pointed towards Harden’s coexistence with Russell Westbrook as proof that such a pairing with Rondo could work. In response, I’d have to say that that dynamic was the stuff of a different hierarchy and at a time when Harden was just happy to be getting on the court (with Jeff Green gone) and getting a real chance. Now he’s the man, he has the money, he has the beard, and he wants the ball.
- The part in that Berger piece about Ferry was interesting for no less reason than that such sentiment was something oft speculated on forums and pages such as this one. Has any GM ever created a fake trade deadline before this? No one liked the way they created those poison pills either or their active arbitrage in previous draft nights. The collective response when Morey does something like make a trade then follow-up with another trade just to gain two draft slots in the second round wavers between “are you really wasting our time with this?” to “wait….we’re allowed to do that?” In the olden days, you almost got the sense of GM’s heading out for drinks after the mid first round and handing things over to their kids/assistant GM’s in the later round(s); meanwhile, Morey deliberates on Polk St. to extract every last ounce of value from something otherwise considered worthless. And the old establishment probably doesn’t like it. Before, he was just an Internet champion, celebrity to numerous memes of his visage peering out from the stands at Madison Square Garden. Now, after the Harden/Howard coups, I don’t think people want to be “had” yet again. Innovation is despised as are the innovators. There is something as being too smart for one’s own good.
- Justin Wehr just now put up a piece the premise with which I regrettably agree, considering the underwhelming projections on an Asik trade. If the potential return on a Dwight Howard trade is, say, Kevin Love, you’d be better served keeping Asik and getting Love than trading Asik for say, Spencer Hawes, and keeping Howard. That’s the plain and honest truth and deep down, in places you won’t speak about at parties, you know it. Now, if they somehow fetch Paul Millsap or Rondo for Asik, that’s a different case. But at present reports, I agree with Wehr.
- Asik was possibly the most professional Rocket on this entire team last year, a guy who worked diligently to improve his game and gave full effort every second he was on the court. That’s why it’s been so disappointing the way he’s carried himself through this entire ordeal thus far. Now, with that said, I don’t blame him one bit for wanting out. He’s one of the best centers in the league in the prime of his career who came here on the promise of major playing time. But there is a way to go about doing things and expressing displeasure. He could and should have expressed his desire to be traded behind closed doors and continued helping his team rather than whining publicly through his agent and sitting out with a fake injury.
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