Rockets and Charlotte have discussed Dwight

[phillycheese]

So every contract with a player option is negative value from that perspective?

No, every contract with a player option vs the same without the player option is lower value. I like to look at it this way. The player does really well, he will opt out and the team gets no benefit and will have to re-up at higher salary to retain. If the player does crap he will stay and the team is stuck with a player they don't want. Team lose flexibility. Morey refused to give Dragic a 3+1 player option contract and Dragic walked instead. Morey did not think Dragic was a top tier talent to warrant such a negative drag. I would think at this stage he probably feels the same way about Howard. Now players like Lebron, Westbrook, Durant and Curry could demand a player option and team will likely have to give them one. Howard is no longer in that echelon.

I agree Houston would not want Hawes for that reason. Insert Cody and a second round pick, and maybe Houston would bite. Insert a first rounder and I think Houston would have taken the trade. But no way Charlotte should have given Houston a first rounder for a half year rental, unless they were like Toronto who with one piece could have joined Cavs as a top Eastern title contender, or they were like Boston with lots of draft picks.

[TheKingofSting]

I can't help but think the Hornets missed out big here. There is no way Howard declines his player option.


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[BlackOutBuzz]

I can't help but think the Hornets missed out big here. There is no way Howard declines his player option.


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From his agent:

"Not surprisingly, as the deadline approached, several teams called stating they had worked out the trade parameters with Houston for a Dwight deal but were not prepared to give up their assets unless Dwight agreed to opt into the last year of his contract and forego free agency. Dwight declined."



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[TheKingofSting]

I can't help but think the Hornets missed out big here. There is no way Howard declines his player option.


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From his agent:

"Not surprisingly, as the deadline approached, several teams called stating they had worked out the trade parameters with Houston for a Dwight deal but were not prepared to give up their assets unless Dwight agreed to opt into the last year of his contract and forego free agency. Dwight declined."



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I knew he wasn't smart but wow. He wouldn't do himself any favors by not opting in. They probably wanted Kemba or MKG anyway.


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[spaceballer]

I can't help but think the Hornets missed out big here. There is no way Howard declines his player option.


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From his agent:

"Not surprisingly, as the deadline approached, several teams called stating they had worked out the trade parameters with Houston for a Dwight deal but were not prepared to give up their assets unless Dwight agreed to opt into the last year of his contract and forego free agency. Dwight declined."



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I knew he wasn't smart but wow. He wouldn't do himself any favors by not opting in. They probably wanted Kemba or MKG anyway.


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Opting out is the smart move for Dwight. His agent knows what he's doing. Since he is still productive, this may be Dwight's last big contract.

While opting out may mean that his coming contract may not pay as much per year as he would make from picking up the option, the length of the contract means he stands to make more in aggregate with a new contract in the summer than if he opted in and postponed his free agency for another year.

Look at how people are reluctant to give him the max and how his value has fallen since his prime. If he opted in, then his free agency would be another year removed from his prime, where his performance may decline even more with another year. If people are having doubts about giving him a pricey long term contract now, they'd be even more reluctant when his performance declines another year away from now.

And part of the rationale for him leaving the supermax from the Lakers on the table was that the player option with the Rockets allows him to return to the free agency market sooner and recoup the lost money from the Lakers supermax by getting one last big contract this summer with the cap jump.

I would have been shocked if his agent was foolish enough to allow him to opt in. This is his chance for one last big contract while he's still productive.

[lin is ok]

i wonder what the rockets were asking for. so obvious that dwight's vaule is underated now due to the problems in huston

[316Hornets]

Interesting article that really hammers home the difference between reality and perception. Superman hasn't been that super as of late. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/02/no-trade-houston-rockets-dwight-howard-because-hes-no-longer-a-franchise-player

[phillycheese]

i wonder what the rockets were asking for. so obvious that dwight's vaule is underated now due to the problems in huston

We know they turned down Al and Hawes for Howard. I am sure that Houston would have taken Al, Cody, 1st round pick.