Dwight Unhappy; can we make a move?

[LilRip]

He's probably a great candidate for a 'buy low' star.
Ainge and Morey being friends helps too.

2018 Brooklyn pick with top 3 protection
Celtics 2017 pick with top 8 protection
Amir Johnson
Jonas Jerebko

 for Dwight Howard?

Sounds like a pretty fair deal. And what seems to be so easily overlooked is exactly what you just stated. He's a buy-low star. To me, that means we're acquiring someone who's currently not performing well but has all the tools to perform at a high level (hopefully when given a change of scenery). Of course, it could work out well, like Rondo in Sac Town, or it could work out horribly, like Rondo in Dallas.

But he is a buy-low, which to me, makes it a more realistic target than say, Paul George or Cousins, both of whom are having pretty darn good seasons.

[WeMadeIt17]

Only thing that scares me is that i believe he wasn't playing back to backs this season. But idk if he is healthy enough at this point where he is. Now to the point of taking him or not. I'd say yes. Of course at the right price which might be low right now. On the flip could we get a team like PHX involved where you have the morris twin upset right now? Get Morris and Chandler to PHX Dwight to boston. And pieces like Terrence Jones and players and picks from Boston to PHX? I think our defense would take a step up with Dwight here, and he would be "The Guy" We would have a similar team he had in Orlando where it was him and a bunch of shooters. Would be interesting to see a defense of

Smart
Bradley
Crowder
Mickey
D12

[WeMadeIt17]

Anyway if say we got dwight to get Ryan Anderson from NO? Guy can flat out shoot and would be a perfect stretch 4 in brads offense and next to Dwight.

[ssspence]

It's hard for Boston to trade for Dwight.

They can't give up much of value without Dwight giving a guarantee that he will sign a new contract in the summer ... and I do not see why Dwight would do that given the lack of star talent on the Celtics roster.

Dwight Howard being a free agent this summer is a problem for Boston.

I don't think this really reflects Danny's attitude towards deals, at all. I actually suspect the two sides will discuss it in depth, if Howard becomes available.

I see a deal that looks different than what folks have posted. I see:

Lee (expiring)
Jerebko (expiring)
Zeller (good fit in the p-n-r with Harden)
Sullinger (half season flier on a good player who'll be a RFA)
2 1sts, neither of which are the BKLN picks, which I don't see Danny giving up in a Howard deal

for

Howard
Brewer or Ariza (likely Brewer -- salary relief for HOU)
M. Thornton

I think this is competitive with what Miami can offer, considering it will be really tough to make the salaries work for the Heat. There's not a Whiteside or Winslow caliber-prospect from Boston in the deal, but the accumulation of additional value to Morey (which historically has been his MO) is strong.

Brewer's a risk and a pill to swallow, but a veteran Danny has admired in the past. He's a pretty low risk acquisition for the Stevens system in back-up minutes. Thornton provides plug-n-play bench scoring on nights (like last night) when needed.

[chambers]

I'd say the reports about him wanting to leave are true. But I don't believe that he's unhappy being the second fiddle. He can barely stay on the court for the Rox.

I'd say the '2nd fiddle' rumors were started by the media or taped on to the reports about him wanting out of that Houston Dumpster fire.

The reports have also said that James Harden has been an absolute douchbag in Houston. His defense provides evidence of this and his disrespect for Kevin McHale as coach during timeouts also suggests premiere Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.bag syndrome.

I think there's every chance that Dwight can't stand James Harden and knows they'll keep him over Howard in the long run.

The whiney Dwight story is what everyone wants to hear, and although it is possible, it doesn't mean it's true.

[Who]

It's hard for Boston to trade for Dwight.

They can't give up much of value without Dwight giving a guarantee that he will sign a new contract in the summer ... and I do not see why Dwight would do that given the lack of star talent on the Celtics roster.

Dwight Howard being a free agent this summer is a problem for Boston.

I don't think this really reflects Danny's attitude towards deals, at all. I actually suspect the two sides will discuss it in depth, if Howard becomes available.

When Ainge acquired Garnett in 2007, wouldn't he only make the deal if KG agreed to a contract extension first?

Ainge didn't want to lose those players and then see KG walk in 12 months time. That was why KG signed an extension immediately upon trade.

Am I remembering that right?

[Evantime34]

The only way I'm trading for Dwight is if he opts into the last year of his contract as part of the deal. Although if it's just a rental then his price tag has got to plummet.

I think if you add Dwight to our defense that makes it good enough to be a top tier team in the east, regardless of how you feel about Dwight personally that is tempting.

[Eja117]

[moiso]

It's hard for Boston to trade for Dwight.

They can't give up much of value without Dwight giving a guarantee that he will sign a new contract in the summer ... and I do not see why Dwight would do that given the lack of star talent on the Celtics roster.

Dwight Howard being a free agent this summer is a problem for Boston.

I don't think this really reflects Danny's attitude towards deals, at all. I actually suspect the two sides will discuss it in depth, if Howard becomes available.

When Ainge acquired Garnett in 2007, wouldn't he only make the deal if KG agreed to a contract extension first?

Ainge didn't want to lose those players and then see KG walk in 12 months time. That was why KG signed an extension immediately upon trade.

Am I remembering that right?

I think when KG agreed to drop his no trade clause it was a done deal that he would stay a Celtic for more than that year.

[Moranis]

I wouldn't mind Dwight depending on his price.  I think there are some other players out there and likely available that you could pair next to Dwight, like Ryan Anderson, that would help even out the roster. 

I wouldn't do much until the whole Cousins thing gets sorted out though.  Cousins is the one true game changer that looks like he might become available and you don't want to hurt your chances at signing him (if you get Cousins then getting a guy like Noah makes a lot of sense as well).

[ssspence]

It's hard for Boston to trade for Dwight.

They can't give up much of value without Dwight giving a guarantee that he will sign a new contract in the summer ... and I do not see why Dwight would do that given the lack of star talent on the Celtics roster.

Dwight Howard being a free agent this summer is a problem for Boston.

I don't think this really reflects Danny's attitude towards deals, at all. I actually suspect the two sides will discuss it in depth, if Howard becomes available.

When Ainge acquired Garnett in 2007, wouldn't he only make the deal if KG agreed to a contract extension first?

Ainge didn't want to lose those players and then see KG walk in 12 months time. That was why KG signed an extension immediately upon trade.

Am I remembering that right?

To me, very different circumstance:

1) KG was an aging vet who expressed clear displeasure with being moved to play elsewhere (which if you believe the reports, is not how Howard feels).

2) The Cs had a 'window' at that stage -- Pierce and Allen only has a few years left in the tank, and Ainge needed to know that Big Three would be complete and have every chance for those 2-4 years. This team is much younger, and it's harder to access "stars" than ever via trade.

3) The Cs are giving up less in my scenario -- there's no Al Jefferson in this deal, and no lottery picks.

Maybe I'm wrong. But in my recollection around the rumor mill over the years, Ainge has been willing to trade for guys on expiring deals in order to then convince them to stay, which the organization believes is easier to do if you have to come here first (instead of the sales pitch in FA, which has been a challenge for the Cs forever).

To a certain extent I'd imagine Ainge would LIKE the idea that Howard is on a short deal -- convince him to stay if he shows health (both mentally and physically) and productivity. If not, let him go. At least, if they make an ECF with Howard and he walks, they'll be one step closer to showing other FAs they're ready to 'win now'.

[CelticsFanFromNYC]

Does anyone remember when Jeremy Lin got traded and James Harden said "It doesn't really matter who's on my team because me and Dwight are the cornerstones for this organization and thats what matters at this point" ?
 
He must of been selling Lawson dreams while Ty was going 120 on the highway sipping and Old English. Guess he's eating those words now.

[BDeCosta26]

People don't think Cousins would fit in with this teams culture but Howard would?

[action781]

Dwight has been unhappy since he got into the league.  His teams always underperform and it is always someone else's fault.

I don't know if he has a no trade clause but maybe Houston can trade him in some package to the Nets for Lopez.  Let Dwight see what a real bad situation is.  To the Knicks to pair with Carmelo seems like another good fit for Dwight.  Dwight will still be unhappy but the drama will be better (or at least more visible) than in Houston.

As for the Celtics, I would be really disappointed if we traded for him.

I might be being way too nice to Dwight here, but:
-His teams didn't underperform in Orlando at all in my opinion; I'd say they even overperformed.  His time in Orlando coincided with the Big 3 era Celtics and Lebron's Cavs and by age 26 he had already made one ECF and one NBA Finals.  More than CP3 has done still yet today.  He did act immature in his last year there, but he was a 26 year old and we've seen a lot of NBA players act immature at that age and then turn things around, so I'm willing to not ignore that but also not weigh it too heavily.
-The LA Lakers underperformed and.... yeah... it was a lot of people's fault beginning with Kobe, but also management had an enormous role as well by firing Mike Brown just 5 games into the season and bringing in D'Antoni (the worst coach in the NBA for a DH12 team.  D'Antoni had said on record before joining LAL how he considers Dwight to be overrated).
-I also disagree that Houston has underformed.  In a very tough conference, they went 54-28 and 56-26 including a WCF appearance in Dwight's two full seasons there so far.  I posted earlier why I could understand him being upset with James Harden in general.  I think Harden is an elite offensive player, but that he also puts up a lot of empty stats and is among the worst defenders in the league.

[number_n9ne]

I feel like I don't even know what his game is like. Could someone who has watched him a lot and understands his game speak to his fit in Stevens' system? I feel like that is more important than any of the other factors. Because if he fits in the system, he's going to buy in.