Zach Lowe: C's "recoiled" at price for Dwight,may still have interest....

[rondohondo]

The Celtics may still be interested in Rockets center Dwight Howard.

According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Celtics have “recoiled” at paying a price that the Rockets would find acceptable. Lowe notes Howard wants a max deal that would start at $30 million per season, which the Celtics would likely be able to do.

The report adds the Rockets have been making calls on him for two weeks, but there has been no interest thus far.

As for current Celtics players potentially being traded at the deadline, Lowe says to keep an eye on Jared Sullinger and Tyler Zeller since they are set to become restricted free agents.

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday and it would appear there will be many more rumors between now and then.

http://greenstreet.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/2016/02/16/celtics-reportedly-have-recoiled-at-rockets-asking-price-for-dwight-howard/

[pearljammer10]

Dwight at 30 million a year is a miserable idea.

I hope we can turn Sully and Zeller into contract controlled goodness. I'd pay Zeller a 7-8 mil a year contract but I wouldn't give Sully the 10+ he'll most likely look for.

[ssspence]

Also from this article:

There are rumors that Howard would like to end up in Atlanta, his hometown, and the Hawks stand as the mid-tier seller who could dictate this deadline if they make Horford available. With the cap jumping, any non-contender with a 30-ish player approaching free agency has to at least gauge the trade market. Horford's pectoral issues raise some health concerns, but he has been healthy for two years, and his silky game figures to age well.

To put it politely, the league is skeptical this is anything more than a Hawks fishing expedition designed to gin up one crazy offer for Horford. Wes Wilcox, Atlanta's GM, is asking teams to "wow" him, sources say, and no one is biting.

The Hawks may not be fretting as much as it seems about Horford walking. Horford will look around, and he likes the idea of playing in a bigger media market with a larger Dominican population, per several sources familiar with the matter. But he also cherishes the continuity Atlanta has built, and the Hawks understand he is the keystone to their culture of selflessnes. If the Hawks keep Horford into the summer, they will have that extra fifth year in the quiver.

As for Howard, he doesn't fit Mike Budenholzer's system, he's older than Horford, and he's eligible for an even larger max contract.

Again, this Howard to ATL thing -- no matter how much Howard wants to 'go home' -- is not logical, and downright dumb if they include Teague to Miami as part of it.

A Jeff Teague deal is more likely, with the Bucks, Jazz, Nets, Knicks and perhaps even the Magic kicking the tires. The Bucks chased Teague in free agency three years ago, and they remain unconvinced that Michael Carter-Williams, coming off the bench again, is the long-term answer, league sources say.

The Jazz are sending out the stand-pat vibe, especially since they've been on a hot streak with Derrick Favors healthy, but no one ever really knows what's up in Utah. The Jazz should at least engage Atlanta about swapping Teague for the Trey Burke/Alec Burks Killer Bs package.

Teague has value. Probably more than Howard.

Lastly:

On the flip side, some players crave that extra year of security. People close to Al Horford, another sell-off target about to hit free agency, say he will value that fifth year more than almost every other variable in his free-agency calculus. If teams see a crowded free-agent bidding war for a player they like, they might feel an urgency to acquire him now and use that fifth year to get a leg up in that bidding war.

This is the reason I can see Ainge stepping up for Horford.

[BudweiserCeltic]

The Celtics may still be interested in Rockets center Dwight Howard.

According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Celtics have “recoiled” at paying a price that the Rockets would find acceptable. Lowe notes Howard wants a max deal that would start at $30 million per season, which the Celtics would likely be able to do.

The report adds the Rockets have been making calls on him for two weeks, but there has been no interest thus far.

As for current Celtics players potentially being traded at the deadline, Lowe says to keep an eye on Jared Sullinger and Tyler Zeller since they are set to become restricted free agents.

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday and it would appear there will be many more rumors between now and then.

http://greenstreet.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/2016/02/16/celtics-reportedly-have-recoiled-at-rockets-asking-price-for-dwight-howard/

Depending on what is being acquired I see Young, Sullinger, Turner, and Zeller as assets for Ainge to sell off.

Depending on what is acquired I see Amir, Olynyk, and Jerebko as assets to buy with.

So I can see both of those groups moving one way or another depending.

As in, if we trade for Horward, I can see Olynyk/Amir/Jerebko being moved before Sullinger/Zeller because those former assets should be more attractive to Houston in a trade.

The rest are the rookies that could go one way or another except for Mickey who I think it's our most prized rookie asset.

Then the rest are our core group who'd be very hard to see moving except for a substantial upgrade for a player that is not a rental.

And of course Lee... no explanation necessary.

[Chris22]

Overrated and over paid.
NO.

[ssspence]

As in, if we trade for Horward, I can see Olynyk/Amir/Jerebko being moved before Sullinger/Zeller because those former assets should be more attractive to Houston in a trade.

There is ZERO chance Ainge trades Olynyk for Howard. Less than zero.

[BudweiserCeltic]

As in, if we trade for Horward, I can see Olynyk/Amir/Jerebko being moved before Sullinger/Zeller because those former assets should be more attractive to Houston in a trade.

There is ZERO chance Ainge trades Olynyk for Howard. Less than zero.

LOL, OK.

[rondohondo]

As in, if we trade for Horward, I can see Olynyk/Amir/Jerebko being moved before Sullinger/Zeller because those former assets should be more attractive to Houston in a trade.

There is ZERO chance Ainge trades Olynyk for Howard. Less than zero.

huh? that's silly . At best KO is a 7th man type on a contender. I would have no problem moving him for Howard .

[ssspence]

As in, if we trade for Horward, I can see Olynyk/Amir/Jerebko being moved before Sullinger/Zeller because those former assets should be more attractive to Houston in a trade.

There is ZERO chance Ainge trades Olynyk for Howard. Less than zero.

huh? that's silly . At best KO is a 7th man type on a contender. I would have no problem moving him for Howard .

I don't know what to tell you. You're just way off. You don't understand how strongly the Cs disagree with you.

[kozlodoev]

Howard wants a $30 million contract in the offseason. Walk away slowly and make no sudden moves.

If Houston would take Lee, Zeller, and one or two low impact firsts, and Howard would be interested in resigning below $20 million, sure. Otherwise thanks but no thanks.

[ABOS (A bit of Sanity)]

As in, if we trade for Horward, I can see Olynyk/Amir/Jerebko being moved before Sullinger/Zeller because those former assets should be more attractive to Houston in a trade.

There is ZERO chance Ainge trades Olynyk for Howard. Less than zero.

huh? that's silly . At best KO is a 7th man type on a contender. I would have no problem moving him for Howard .

I don't know what to tell you. You're just way off. You don't understand how strongly the Cs disagree with you.

How do you know this? Or is it speculation ?

[Yoki_IsTheName]

As in, if we trade for Horward, I can see Olynyk/Amir/Jerebko being moved before Sullinger/Zeller because those former assets should be more attractive to Houston in a trade.

There is ZERO chance Ainge trades Olynyk for Howard. Less than zero.

huh? that's silly . At best KO is a 7th man type on a contender. I would have no problem moving him for Howard .

Same here, but I get why Ainge would like to keep Olynyk and get Dwight, floor spacing.

Kelly would open up the floor with his 3PT, while still having two big guys playing at the same time.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Howard wants a $30 million contract in the offseason. Walk away slowly and make no sudden moves.

If Houston would take Lee, Zeller, and one or two low impact firsts, and Howard would be interested in resigning below $20 million, sure. Otherwise thanks but no thanks.

I have no interest in Howard at $30 million either.

Here's the thing though, if you trade for Howard you have his bird rights and his cap hold is $25M. That means there's space for another max contract player.

If that's Ainge's plan, and he has a an understanding of good targets that he has a good chance with, I think it's a risk worth taking. And I'm not a fan of Howard at that price tag. I'm doubtful also of his interest of staying around as well.

[ssspence]

Folks overestimate the market for Howard. There's no team that he can put over the top this year that wants him, and he's not going to make the Cs a champ team this season.

Ainge knows this. He is not giving up one of his top two prospect to rent him for 3 months. If he can get Howard for cheap, he will. If not it's just not that interesting....

[BudweiserCeltic]

Folks overestimate the market for Howard. There's no team that he can put over the top this year that wants him, and he's not going to make the Cs a champ team this season.

Ainge knows this. He is not giving up one of his top two prospect to rent him for 3 months. If he can get Howard for cheap, he will. If not it's just not that interesting....

The problem is that you don't think that trading Olynyk for him is a cheap move.

It's a very cheap move. The problem from Ainge's perspective is not about whether to give up a player like Olynyk to acquire Howard, the problem is how confident Ainge is on keeping Howard once acquired and whether he's willing to put up the money he'd get or not.

As I said, going full-on with Howard still allows you to acquire another max salary player as it is.

The problem is the risk and whether Ainge is willing to take him. If Ainge is willing to take the risk, Olynyk should be a cheap cost to us.