In Amare's face? Bad Nash!

[jibikao]

Well, since there's not much going on...

I found this article about Dwight Howard and how bad they are doing now... then as I read more and more, I found a quote:

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Howard clearly is the focus and future of the franchise. He has been so impressive in his first two NBA seasons that reigning league MVP Steve Nash said at the All-Star Game of all the players in the NBA, he would select Howard if he had to start a team right away. [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]

Mmmmm, not sure why Nash had to make a comment about that especially when Amare is injured. Do you think Amare would get offended?

Edit: If you want to read the whole article, it's here: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060221/SPORTS/602210323/1002
[/FONT]

 

[jbeecham]

It was probably taken out of context. They probably asked Nash who he would choose out of the rookie/sophmore game to build a team around.

 

[George O'Brien]

Well, since there's not much going on...

I found this article about Dwight Howard and how bad they are doing now... then as I read more and more, I found a quote:

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Howard clearly is the focus and future of the franchise. He has been so impressive in his first two NBA seasons that reigning league MVP Steve Nash said at the All-Star Game of all the players in the NBA, he would select Howard if he had to start a team right away. [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]

Mmmmm, not sure why Nash had to make a comment about that especially when Amare is injured. Do you think Amare would get offended?

Edit: If you want to read the whole article, it's here: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060221/SPORTS/602210323/1002
[/FONT]

He didn't say he'd take Howard first.

I would say Howard would fit very nicely on the Suns.

 

[jibikao]

Yeah, some other Suns fans were discussing about it and I think they just over-emphasized it. Nash is known to compliment everybody so it's not surprising if he said Dwight can carry a franchise.

I actually haven't seen much of Howard (due to the lack of national TV appearance).

What is he like? Amare? Shaq? Or more like Bosh?

 

[jbeecham]

His body is similar to Amare. His rebounding and defense are better, but his offense is raw.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

His body is similar to Amare. His rebounding and defense are better, but his offense is raw.

His build is more like Ben Wallace's. His D and rebounding are like Wallace's, too. His O is a few steps better than Wallace. The kid is an animal. Imagine hime and Stouds alongside each other!!!!

Nash-Bell-Diaw-Stoudemire-Howard

Marion/Jackson/#1 for Howard/salary dump to match?

Problem is I love Marion and we'd be subtracting one dimension to add another. It would be tough to make that trade, but I'd probably do it. If Howard could develop offensively like Amare did, we'd have a true dynasty....

 

[green machine]

His build is more like Ben Wallace's. His D and rebounding are like Wallace's, too. His O is a few steps better than Wallace. The kid is an animal. Imagine hime and Stouds alongside each other!!!!

Nash-Bell-Diaw-Stoudemire-Howard

Marion/Jackson/#1 for Howard/salary dump to match?

Problem is I love Marion and we'd be subtracting one dimension to add another. It would be tough to make that trade, but I'd probably do it. If Howard could develop offensively like Amare did, we'd have a true dynasty....

I'm pretty sure Orlando won't even think about trading Howard. He's a stud, and they just got Darko who I think is a great fit to play alongside him.

 

[jbeecham]

The Ben Wallace comparison is actually pretty close, although I don't think his defense is at the same level as Ben and he's about 2 inches taller. Their offense is pretty similar from what I've seen of Howard so far. Howard's jumpshot is probably better. Dwight and Amare together would be an awesome duo, but I don't think Orlando will part with him and giving up Marion would probably hurt our team more than Howard would help because Marion does so much for us.

I'd rather send KT, Jackson, 1st rd pick & filler for Howard & filler, but I know Orlando won't trade him unless they were getting a player like Garnett / Duncan / Shaq.

 

[elindholm]

Howard's not going anywhere.

Nonetheless (warning: thread hijack), I came up with a bizarre idea a few days ago. This was because I read on HoopsHype that the Rockets were considering a "dramatic" move to get Steve Francis back. That got me to thinking -- what does Houston have that Orlando could possibly want, and what kind of player would make the trade "dramatic"?

There's only one answer, as far as I'm concerned, and that's Yao Ming. That led to the following:

Houston gets
Steve Francis
Dwight Howard

Orlando gets
Yao Ming
Luther Head
David Wesley (expiring contract)
Bob Sura (required to make numbers work)
draft pick(s)?

Yao is very difficult to trade because he has a "poison pill" contract, so the numbers get all weird, but RealGM says this works.

I figure Houston would consider it since it looks like Yao isn't leading them anywhere, and maybe a McGrady/Francis/Howard trio could be really good in a few years.

Orlando's reason for doing it would be less clear. They'd have to think that Yao will inspire a lot of local enthusiasm, they'd have to be pretty desperate to get rid of Francis, and they'd have to be willing to part with Howard in spite of his evident promise. It would be a longshot, but perhaps not impossible.

 

[jbeecham]

That would be a pretty dramatic trade and I wouldn't be surprised to see Houston trying to dump Yao. They're not going anywhere this season and Yao doesn't seem to have the desire to become a dominant player in the league. He's still putting up decent numbers, but I wouldn't want to build a team around him. I'm not sure why Orlando would want him except to bring asian fans into the stands and maybe get even more tourism for thier city. Orlando would be trading their two best players for one guy who can't create for himself.

 

[elindholm]

Orlando would be trading their two best players for one guy who can't create for himself.

Yes, but don't forget, they have Darko Milicic now.

Orlando doesn't want Francis, so they'd see getting rid of him as a plus. But would they consider Yao an upgrade over Howard? That's not clear.

I agree it's entirely unlikely, but at least it would satisfy the "dramatic" requirement.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

That would be a pretty dramatic trade and I wouldn't be surprised to see Houston trying to dump Yao. They're not going anywhere this season and Yao doesn't seem to have the desire to become a dominant player in the league. He's still putting up decent numbers, but I wouldn't want to build a team around him. I'm not sure why Orlando would want him except to bring asian fans into the stands and maybe get even more tourism for thier city. Orlando would be trading their two best players for one guy who can't create for himself.

Aha! Now my scenario has direction:

PHX sends Marion/Jackson/#1

PHX receives Howard/Sura/filler

ORL sends Francis/Howard

ORL receives Ming/Marion/Head/Wesley

HOU sends Ming/Head/Wesley/Sura

HOU receives Francis/Jackson/#1 <--- Need some more compensation

Soomehow, someway, there's a 3-way that works. I haven't checked salaries, so I'm probably WAY off....

 

[elindholm]

HOU receives Francis/Jackson/#1 <--- Need some more compensation

I'd say that's a bit of an understatement.

 

[George O'Brien]

If Houston is serious about trading Yao, I'd think the Warriors would be the most obvious destination. The Warriors have some useful players and Yao would be a major draw in an area with a huge Chinese population.

 

[Yuma]

Howard + Amare = Tim Duncan + David Robinson!

 

[Divide Et Impera]

Howard + Amare = Tim Duncan + David Robinson!

No:

Howard + Stoudemire > Duncan + Robinson

 

[Diamondback Jay]

All the hypotheticals are for lost cause, Orlando won't be trading Howard anytime soon.

 

[Delmon Young]

Dwight Howard is an animal, pure and simple. After tonight's game, he has 40, that's right, FOURTY, double doubles on the season. Oh, and he's on pace to be the youngest player ever to lead the league in rebounding. Once Francis is traded, Howard should see his PPG average jump as well. His offense is still raw, but it's good enough with his size and quickness right now to put up 17-18 PPG, but Francis has been holding him back.

He's going to be absolutely dominant in a few years and I'd give my left nut to get him (not really, but I would consider it).

 

[slinslin]

I doubt Steve Nash said exactly that. It's not even a quote in the paper.

Howard has been good but he is terribly overrated. He gets his shot blocked more than any other player in the league, he hasn't shown anything to tell he will be better than a healthy Marcus Camby for sure.

Howard's offense and all around game has long ways to go, isn't even close to where Amare was in his 2nd season. Did he even have a 30 point game yet?

 

[Delmon Young]

I doubt Steve Nash said exactly that. It's not even a quote in the paper.

Howard has been good but he is terribly overrated. He gets his shot blocked more than any other player in the league, he hasn't shown anything to tell he will be better than a healthy Marcus Camby for sure.

Howard's offense and all around game has long ways to go, isn't even close to where Amare was in his 2nd season. Did he even have a 30 point game yet?

Orlando averages the fewest possessions per game in the NBA because of their slow down style. Add to the fact that Francis is the PG, and Howard doesn't get as many touches as he should. He is NOT overrated. Leading the league in double doubles and rebounding at 20 is nothing short of astonishing. Add to that his 15.6 PPG average, and you have yourselves the makings of an amazing player in the near future. If Orlando trades Francis, and from all indications, they will, look for Howard's scoring to sky rocket in the second half.

I'm not an Orlando fan, but I do live in Jacksonville, and I get a ton of their games and watch them just to see Howard play. His offense is raw, but it's not nearly as bad as people make it seem. Again, fewest offensive possessions per game in league plus selfish PG = limited touches. It's not like he's Ben Wallace on offense or anything. I love Amare, but just give Howard time, people. He's just tapped into how good a player he can be. I'd kill to have him and Stoudemire on the frontline together.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Orlando averages the fewest possessions per game in the NBA because of their slow down style. Add to the fact that Francis is the PG, and Howard doesn't get as many touches as he should. He is NOT overrated. Leading the league in double doubles and rebounding at 20 is nothing short of astonishing. Add to that his 15.6 PPG average, and you have yourselves the makings of an amazing player in the near future. If Orlando trades Francis, and from all indications, they will, look for Howard's scoring to sky rocket in the second half.

I'm not an Orlando fan, but I do live in Jacksonville, and I get a ton of their games and watch them just to see Howard play. His offense is raw, but it's not nearly as bad as people make it seem. Again, fewest offensive possessions per game in league plus selfish PG = limited touches. It's not like he's Ben Wallace on offense or anything. I love Amare, but just give Howard time, people. He's just tapped into how good a player he can be. I'd kill to have him and Stoudemire on the frontline together.

Welcome to the board Delmon, wow, insightful commentary and a can't miss prospect...is there anything you can't do?

 

[slinslin]

Well I like Bosh better than Howard right now, but imo they both don't have "it" they don't have that edge that you'd be concerned about them winning the game.
And I wish Steve Francis was playing more selfish this season, his poor individual production is hurting my fantasy team big time.

At this point there is really nothing I can see Howard doing better than Amare except rebounding, but he is in the East and he doesn't have teammate averaging ~11-12rpg as well.

Anyway I doubt Nash said that. Cmon even if he didn't say Amare if that was really the question, he'd likely say Lebron or Kobe before he says Dwight Howard..

 

[Delmon Young]

Welcome to the board Delmon, wow, insightful commentary and a can't miss prospect...is there anything you can't do?

Heh, Delmon's a beast, man. Checked out Rays camp today, he came in at 221 lbs of pure muscle. You guys have yourselves a great one in Justin Upton, so don't fret. He's a bigger, faster, stronger version of his brother.

 

[Delmon Young]

Well I like Bosh better than Howard right now, but imo they both don't have "it" they don't have that edge that you'd be concerned about them winning the game.
And I wish Steve Francis was playing more selfish this season, his poor individual production is hurting my fantasy team big time.

At this point there is really nothing I can see Howard doing better than Amare except rebounding, but he is in the East and he doesn't have teammate averaging ~11-12rpg as well.

Anyway I doubt Nash said that. Cmon even if he didn't say Amare if that was really the question, he'd likely say Lebron or Kobe before he says Dwight Howard..

The quote was probably taken out of context, but you are kidding yourself if you don't think every GM in the league wouldn't fall all over themselves at the prospect of getting Howard. With Howard's quickness and jumping ability, he'd be put of eye popping numbers in the D'Antoni's system. No, he wouldn't put up 26 a game like Amare did last year, but 20 a game is certainly reasonable. I have no doubt that if Orlando had a pass first PG and played more uptempo, Howard would be averaging at least 18 PPG. As I said, his offense is still raw and could certainly use improvement, but it's respectable without a doubt.

People forget, Amare was very good his second year, but he still only shot 47% from the floor which, for an elite big man, is slightly above average. His game didn't really explode until Nash came. We as Suns fans are kidding ourselves if we don't think Nash didn't help Amare's game out. Hell, he's made players like Raja Bell and Quentin Richardson look good.

As for rebounding, the fact that Howard gets 12.6 a game while playing a slow down style makes it even more impressive. What would he put up in a run and gun system? 13-14 RPG? He's a freak of nature. Leading the league in double doubles and rebounding as a 20 year old... enough said.

I love Amare as much as the next guy, and I know you are a big Amare fan, but that doesn't mean I can't give credit where credit is due. Dwight Howard is a phenomenal basketball player at just 20 years of age, and, like Amare, is only going to get better. Overrated? Absolutely not.

 

[slinslin]

Well Amare averaged like 27/10 before Nash signed after he came back from his toe/ankle injury. That was with a rookie Barbosa at the PG who couldn't even speak english and was far from a pass first PG.

We have yet to see Howards explode in a game other than rebounding he hasn't had any huge games really, yet he many people claim he is going to be the next dominant big guy? That's why in my opinion he is overrated.
Amare at this time had 38 points games, 20 rebound games, 10 block games. Not saying he isn't going to be an allstar for years but I don't see him leading a team to big success. First of all I'd want to see him contributing to a winning team.