My reasoning for why the Cs can't sign Dwight as a FA

[jc3celticsphan]

I don't see how Rondo + Dwight makes a championship team. 

Count me as one of the few people who isn't thrilled by Dwight Howard.  He gets into too much foul trouble and gets too many T's.  Yes he is a freak of nature and a defensive monster.  But his post moves are average and he has zero inside-outside game.  And no FT shooting.  Him and Rondo could have a brick contest. 

People compare him to Shaq - but let's remember that Shaq only made the Finals when he had a playmaker on the wing to carry much of the load.  I would also argue that Shaq had a better interior offensive game, with the same inside-out limitations and no FT shooting.

Who will be the C's wingman?  Pierce at 35/36 years old?  Certainly not Rondo - he is at his best with the floor spread out and on the run.  Wait till Dwight gets here and he parks himself on the block.

The only way it would ever work out would be if they could mimic the Orlando model and get a ton of sharpshooters rotating in and out, with Rondo and Dwight play the pick/roll game, and Rondo kicking for 3's.  Then again...that didn't work for Orlando.

I disagree, a dominate big man is exactly what rondo needs
our game plan isnt to shoot freethrows at a high percentage. its to rebound and play defense with rondo on the break dwight is the perfect fit for rondo. Its fine that dwight isnt double teamed in the post but hes still very dominate and some one like kg in the front court with him opens up a lot of SPACE.

[DavorCroatiaFan]

As i was saying in another thread:
If salary cap is 62mill, my dream scenario would be:

RONDO 11 mil
BRADLEY 1,6 mil
MOORE 0,5 mil
ALLEN 2,0 mil (rennounce rights to sign DH12, then re-sign)
RIVERS 1,7 mil (as a Clipper lottery pick)
BROWN 0,5 mil
PIERCE 16,7 mil
GREEN 7,0 mil
vet.min guy 0,4 mil
vet.min guy 0,4 mil
2nd round pick 2012 0,4 mil
GARNETT 2,0 mil (same as Ray Allen)
JOHNSON 1,02 mil
ZELLER 0,9 mil (our 1st round pick)
HOWARD 15 mil (big FA signing)

Imagine having Pierce, Allen and Garnett on the second unit and dinamic duo Rondo-Howard in its prime surrended with such athleticism and youth (Austin Rivers, Jeff Green, JaJuan Johnson, Avery Bradley, Zeller, Brown...)
I bet this team would make LeBron cry every night...

And Rondo/Rivers or Bradley/Green/Zeller or Johnson/Howard would be serius contenders and few years after BIG 3 goes to HOF...

So step one: Danny must offer only 1 year contract this year
Step two: Full court press on Dwight Howard to come here and win multiple championchips
Step three: Ray and KG join us for near veteran minimum to chance for another ring(s)
Step four: make a room for another banner

No way Howard could get more then 15mil a year in a new CBA.

[PosImpos]

When I think of Dwight Howard, my first thought is about the Knicks, Nets, and Bulls in the summer of 2010.  They all lined things up to go after Lebron and Wade that summer, and they all struck out on the big guns.  However, at the same time, that fiscal sanity that they showed, put them all in a position where they have rebounded to the point where they are in the best positions they have been in for years, and they have leaped over franchises that have been rebuilding without the cap space.  

So, I don't like this whole planning for Howard stuff.  The chances he comes here are microscopic, and it is just going to lead to disappointment.  However, I think maintaining as much of that cap space as you can is vital to being able to jumpstart the rebuilding process.

I think it's iffy to compare the summer of 2010 to the summer of 2012, though.  The franchises you mentioned struck out on LeBron, but they were able to get other big names.  Also, the Bulls already had a superstar-in-the-making in place, and the Nets had to be really bad for a couple years in order to compile the trade assets to acquire a star / superstar (who hasn't even signed an extension with them yet).  The Knicks only got Melo because he told his team he wouldn't sign an extension anywhere else.

Cap space is very important, but you can only use it to drastically improve your team if you already have core assets.

So much comes down to location, too.  Teams like the Rockets and even the T-Wolves have tons of tradeable assets and cap space, but it's been difficult for them to greatly improve their teams because they are in small markets.  Boston isn't really a small market, but it's also not a hugely desirable location for most players.

[KGs Knee]

Boston isn't really a small market, but it's also not a hugely desirable location for most players.

I won't disagree with this completely, but, the strange thing is, it seems to be only true for basketball players.  Boston is one of the pre-emminent destinations in baseball and football.

[Chris]

Boston isn't really a small market, but it's also not a hugely desirable location for most players.

I won't disagree with this completely, but, the strange thing is, it seems to be only true for basketball players.  Boston is one of the pre-emminent destinations in baseball and football.

Well, for Baseball it is because they pay more than 90% of the rest of the league (plus, it is played during the summer, so the weather is not a negative like it is for winter sports).

And for Football, it is all about the coach and the players...and they really don't attract that many stars, do they?  There is plenty of talk of it, but it rarely seems to happen.   

[action781]

Boston isn't really a small market, but it's also not a hugely desirable location for most players.

I won't disagree with this completely, but, the strange thing is, it seems to be only true for basketball players.  Boston is one of the pre-emminent destinations in baseball and football.

Well, for Baseball it is because they pay more than 90% of the rest of the league (plus, it is played during the summer, so the weather is not a negative like it is for winter sports).

And for Football, it is all about the coach and the players...and they really don't attract that many stars, do they?  There is plenty of talk of it, but it rarely seems to happen.   

Chris hit it dead on for baseball.  No star players ever take a discount when they come to Boston.

In football, I wouldn't say we "rarely" get attract stars.  In the last few years, we've brought in Corey Dillon, Adalius Thomas, and Randy Moss.  While it seems few in number, not many other teams have brought in 3 stars of that level in the past few years.  With Dillon and Moss, it was in an attempt to clear their name and show that they were team players and could play for the team.  With Thomas, that dude got paid and he knew he was coming to a winning organization.

[energyking1]

20 mill contract after the new cba? you serious?

[Cman]

20 mill contract after the new cba? you serious?

Yep, that's what I wrote.  What should it be, $15M?

While this will increase the amount of money that the Cs would have to spend on FAs, it also increases the number of teams that can compete with the Celtics to offer a "max contract" to Howard.

Boston
New York
LA Clippers
OKC
(all from above)

Lakers (they could not pick up the team option on Bynum and Odom and just sign Howard outright). 
Philly
San Antonio

And the list goes on (Phoenix, Washington, etc...)

There's a lot of competition for Howard.  If I am Howard and I have no loyalties and I just care about money, fame and championships, then the Lakers look like the best bet by far.

A lot of people would argue sunshine, Kobe, Pau and Howard is better than snow, Rondo, Pierce and Howard...

[action781]

20 mill contract after the new cba? you serious?

Yep, that's what I wrote.  What should it be, $15M?

While this will increase the amount of money that the Cs would have to spend on FAs, it also increases the number of teams that can compete with the Celtics to offer a "max contract" to Howard.

Boston
New York
LA Clippers
OKC
(all from above)

Lakers (they could not pick up the team option on Bynum and Odom and just sign Howard outright). 
Philly
San Antonio

And the list goes on (Phoenix, Washington, etc...)

There's a lot of competition for Howard.  If I am Howard and I have no loyalties and I just care about money, fame and championships, then the Lakers look like the best bet by far.

A lot of people would argue sunshine, Kobe, Pau and Howard is better than snow, Rondo, Pierce and Howard...

That bit about the Lakers is false.  Kobe and Pau together will be guaranteed over $46M in salary.  Then Luke Walton and Steve Blake combine for $10M guaranteed and Artest has a $7M option (sure to exercise).  That comes to $63M right there, so no way they could simply sign Dwight outright.

And also, yeah, I don't see Dwight commanding a salary starting at $20M with a new CBA.  I think salaries are going to get scaled back with the new CBA.