The Brooklyn Nets

[RutgersJetFan]

You have to be scared sh*tless if you're a Hawks fan btw. It's effing Danny Ferry. It would be pretty Ferry-esque to let go of a player like Horford and then lose Howard after only a year.

[JohnnyHector]

You have to be scared sh*tless if you're a Hawks fan btw. It's effing Danny Ferry. It would be pretty Ferry-esque to let go of a player like Horford and then lose Howard after only a year.

Agreed, but knowing that Dwight has proven to be a mental midget has to tilt the odds toward him staying. If Atlanta lands Dwight without Ferry being a moron (big if) by taking back all of Orlando's garbage contracts, they'll have the cap space to sign CP3 as well. Aside from staying with the Clippers (with whom he already rejected an extension), what other logical landing spot is there for Paul if Howard's willing to re-up in Atlanta? Dallas with an aged Dirk?

[RutgersJetFan]

Agreed, but knowing that Dwight has proven to be a mental midget has to tilt the odds toward him staying. If Atlanta lands Dwight without Ferry being a moron (big if) by taking back all of Orlando's garbage contracts, they'll have the cap space to sign CP3 as well. Aside from staying with the Clippers (with whom he already rejected an extension), what other logical landing spot is there for Paul if Howard's willing to re-up in Atlanta? Dallas with an aged Dirk?

Does Ferry even know who Chris Paul is though? That's the real question.

[SMC]

Horford, 2 1st rounders and shedding J-Rich/Turk is a better offer than the Magic are getting from the Nets or pretty much anyone else (especially since the Lakers are out of 1st rounders to trade this decade).

[RutgersJetFan]

Horford, 2 1st rounders and shedding J-Rich/Turk is a better offer than the Magic are getting from the Nets or pretty much anyone else (especially since the Lakers are out of 1st rounders to trade this decade).

It would be pretty hilarious if the Nets taking on Johnson's contract is what allowed Atlanta's flexibility for Hedo's deal.

[JohnnyHector]

It would be pretty hilarious if the Nets taking on Johnson's contract is what allowed Atlanta's flexibility for Hedo's deal.

Yup, I was talking to someone about this earlier. The other plus is that Turkoglu's contract for 2013/14 is only 50% guaranteed, which gives Atlanta some cap flexibility beyond this year if they were to take him on.

If I'm Orlando, I'm not agreeing to this s**tty deal with the Nets until I find out where Atlanta stands. I understand that you'd hate to trade him within the division, but in this case, it'd be worth it.

[T0mShane]

Yup, I was talking to someone about this earlier. The other plus is that Turkoglu's contract for 2013/14 is only 50% guaranteed, which gives Atlanta some cap flexibility beyond this year if they were to take him on.

If I'm Orlando, I'm not agreeing to this s**tty deal with the Nets until I find out where Atlanta stands. I understand that you'd hate to trade him within the division, but in this case, it'd be worth it.

This is just some saber-rattling by teams as Orlando goes back through and does their due diligence before signing off on the crappy Nets deal. Supposedly, Charlotte is ready to give Hump a multi-year (LOLMJ) if the Cavs pull out. Ferry would be an absolute idiot if he gambled Horford in the hopes that Dwight, fickle wackjob that he is, will sign with another organization that promises him all kinds of super-duper future free agent signings. Howard's a moron, but he had to learn something from watching Orlando burn him that way time and again. IMO, this is nothing more than Ferry putting on a little show for the benefit of the four Atlanta season ticket holders who are functionally literate enough to read the newspaper lining their cat trays.

[JohnnyHector]

This is just some saber-rattling by teams as Orlando goes back through and does their due diligence before signing off on the crappy Nets deal. Supposedly, Charlotte is ready to give Hump a multi-year (LOLMJ) if the Cavs pull out. Ferry would be an absolute idiot if he gambled Horford in the hopes that Dwight, fickle wackjob that he is, will sign with another organization that promises him all kinds of super-duper future free agent signings. Howard's a moron, but he had to learn something from watching Orlando burn him that way time and again. IMO, this is nothing more than Ferry putting on a little show for the benefit of the four Atlanta season ticket holders who are functionally literate enough to read the newspaper lining their cat trays.

Say Atlanta trades for Howard tomorrow. Where else is he signing next offseason that is worth him leaving $20m+ on the table?

Being that Dwight is from Atlanta, I don't think Ferry will take much heat if he bolts, as the most of the vitriol from all 432 Hawks fans will be reserved for hometown Howard. Without the trade, I don't see Atlanta being players for Paul, so it's worth the gamble IMO. Horford's a good player and it will sting if you end up dealing him for a rental, but he's also not a generational talent. Atlanta has been a middle-of-the-pack team and it's evident that if you're not a serious contender, then you need to tank in order to get there down the line.

If they deal for Howard and he splits, Josh Smith isn't sticking around as a UFA, so they should be back in the high lottery in a year. That's why they need to lottery protect any pick(s) beyond 2013 to guard against this situation. Hopefully, they don't screw up this time and draft the next Josh Childress, Marvin Williams, and Shelden Williams instead of the next Andre Iguodala/Luol Deng, Chris Paul/Deron Williams, and Brandon Roy/Rudy Gay.

[#27TheDominator]

This is just some saber-rattling by teams as Orlando goes back through and does their due diligence before signing off on the crappy Nets deal. Supposedly, Charlotte is ready to give Hump a multi-year (LOLMJ) if the Cavs pull out. Ferry would be an absolute idiot if he gambled Horford in the hopes that Dwight, fickle wackjob that he is, will sign with another organization that promises him all kinds of super-duper future free agent signings. Howard's a moron, but he had to learn something from watching Orlando burn him that way time and again. IMO, this is nothing more than Ferry putting on a little show for the benefit of the four Atlanta season ticket holders who are functionally literate enough to read the newspaper lining their cat trays.

On the Today show (where I get all my breaking sports news!) this morning they announced Hump as taking a multi-year deal with Charlotte. I figured that meant the Howard deal was dead. Then I came here and nobody mentioned it, so I am back to square one.

[T0mShane]

Say Atlanta trades for Howard tomorrow. Where else is he signing next offseason that is worth him leaving $20m+ on the table?

Being that Dwight is from Atlanta, I don't think Ferry will take much heat if he bolts, as the most of the vitriol from all 432 Hawks fans will be reserved for hometown Howard. Without the trade, I don't see Atlanta being players for Paul, so it's worth the gamble IMO. Horford's a good player and it will sting if you end up dealing him for a rental, but he's also not a generational talent. Atlanta has been a middle-of-the-pack team and it's evident that if you're not a serious contender, then you need to tank in order to get there down the line.

If they deal for Howard and he splits, Josh Smith isn't sticking around as a UFA, so they should be back in the high lottery in a year. That's why they need to lottery protect any pick(s) beyond 2013 to guard against this situation. Hopefully, they don't screw up this time and draft the next Josh Childress, Marvin Williams, and Shelden Williams instead of the next Andre Iguodala/Luol Deng, Chris Paul/Deron Williams, and Brandon Roy/Rudy Gay.

I understand what you're saying, and because I respect your perspective on the NBA, it has me scared. The couple things that are comforting me are that Berger and Wojo aren't reporting Atlanta as being a serious threat to actually make a concrete offer of Horford+, and my own opinion that if Atlanta actually offered Horford+ at any point, Orlando would have messed themselves taking that deal immediately. Stephen A (fwiw) has been saying that Dwight wants no part of Atlanta and the attendant mess of dealing with his family on an everyday basis.

The latest news seems to indicate that, barring a Dwight reversal, the Nets offer is going to be the only viable one on the table at the end of the day, even with Hump being a cock.

If it falls through, I will harbor a great, unspoken bitterness toward you, Hector. But I'll always love you. I'll change our relationship status to "It's complicated."

[T0mShane]

On the Today show (where I get all my breaking sports news!) this morning they announced Hump as taking a multi-year deal with Charlotte. I figured that meant the Howard deal was dead. Then I came here and nobody mentioned it, so I am back to square one.

Supposedly, Charlotte is amenable to giving Hump a multi-year deal if it gets them added to the draft pick wagon train. It'd still be a sign and trade.

[jason423]

Ive been out of the loop today, but how real is the Hawks offer? From what I was reading it seemed more like speculation from a beat reporter about how it would make sense than Atlanta actually being actively involved.

[SMC]

Supposedly, Charlotte is amenable to giving Hump a multi-year deal if it gets them added to the draft pick wagon train. It'd still be a sign and trade.

Who's going to be giving Charlotte a draft pick? Don't tell me Jordan is stupid enought to be offering picks.

[T0mShane]

Ive been out of the loop today, but how real is the Hawks offer? From what I was reading it seemed more like speculation from a beat reporter about how it would make sense than Atlanta actually being actively involved.

This morning it was revealed that Cleveland pulled out of the Humphries part of the deal. Instantly it was reported that Houston! Atlanta! LA! Golden State! were all back in play with AMAZING NEW OFFERS! Translation: Hennigan pulled a beat writer to the side and tried to make it look like he had some leverage in an effort to allay the tsunami of ridicule he's about to experience when he trades Dwight for Brook Lopez and a series of 25th overall-level picks.

[T0mShane]

dp

[RutgersJetFan]

Lakers in the mix with Houston for a 3-way deal now. Bynum to Houston and picks/prospects to Orlando. I'm assuming Lamb and one of the other 3 guys they've drafted the past couple years are getting sent from Houston, and picks from LA. Gotta believe that Houston is pushing this one hard, they got burned in the Gasol/Paul debacle and have been dying to size up for a year now.

[T0mShane]

Who's going to be giving Charlotte a draft pick? Don't tell me Jordan is stupid enought to be offering picks.

Honestly, I've lost track.

[T0mShane]

Lakers in the mix with Houston for a 3-way deal now. Bynum to Houston and picks/prospects to Orlando. I'm assuming Lamb and one of the other 3 guys they've drafted the past couple years are getting sent from Houston, and picks from LA. Gotta believe that Houston is pushing this one hard, they got burned in the Gasol/Paul debacle and have been dying to size up for a year now.

LA is the one that should gamble on Dwight, if anyone. Worst case scenario is they lose Bynum, who's a nutjob anyway. The only thing that makes that deal spotty is why Houston would send multiple firsts to LA for Bynum, who won't commit to signing anywhere.

[RutgersJetFan]

Honestly, I've lost track.

If that stupid Johnson trade cost them Howard, you, the other 5 original Nets fans, and the new 50,000 bandwagoners need to line up outside of Billy King's house and go Louis XIV on his ass.

[RutgersJetFan]

LA is the one that should gamble on Dwight, if anyone. Worst case scenario is they lose Bynum, who's a nutjob anyway. The only thing that makes that deal spotty is why Houston would send multiple firsts to LA for Bynum, who won't commit to signing anywhere.

LA makes the most sense for Howard by a country mile. From a trade standpoint it makes a hell of a lot more sense for Orlando than any other offers aside from Atlanta's. If Howard wasn't such a ****ing baby it would have happened a while ago. Waaaahhhh Shaq's gonna make fun of me more if I go to LA waaaaahhhh. God I hate him.

[T0mShane]

If that stupid Johnson trade cost them Howard, you, the other 5 original Nets fans, and the new 50,000 bandwagoners need to line up outside of Billy King's house and go Louis XIV on his ass.

I'd laugh and laugh and laugh. The hard part for me wouldn't be losing Dwight, it'd be watching Lopez lurch his way up and down the floor for three weeks until his acromegaly feet splinter and fall off.

[T0mShane]

LA makes the most sense for Howard by a country mile. From a trade standpoint it makes a hell of a lot more sense for Orlando than any other offers aside from Atlanta's. If Howard wasn't such a ****ing baby it would have happened a while ago. Waaaahhhh Shaq's gonna make fun of me more if I go to LA waaaaahhhh. God I hate him.

Preach. Either Dwight's getting the worst advice in the world from some sycophantic family members, or Prokhorov has promised him his own oil well in Siberia. I like Brooklyn. I like to go drinking in Brooklyn. I'm a Nets fan. But if you told me I could make $20 mil in LA or $20 mil in Ft Greene, I'm running to LA.

[T0mShane]

I may puke. It looks like Orlando and Brooklyn are currently locked in a room trying to work out the deal without using a third or fourth team, and Orlando is using the Houston/Lakers deal as the hammer to keep the Nets from screwing around. If I'm the Nets, I'd dare Orlando to walk away from the table, then watch as Bynum obliterates the Houston trade with his mouth. Unless Bynum has a secret, burning desire to be a Rocket, there's no way that trade comes off, especially if the Nets deal is off the table.

[jason423]

I may puke. It looks like Orlando and Brooklyn are currently locked in a room trying to work out the deal without using a third or fourth team, and Orlando is using the Houston/Lakers deal as the hammer to keep the Nets from screwing around. If I'm the Nets, I'd dare Orlando to walk away from the table, then watch as Bynum obliterates the Houston trade with his mouth. Unless Bynum has a secret, burning desire to be a Rocket, there's no way that trade comes off, especially if the Nets deal is off the table.

Im iffy on what Bynum even cares about. I think all he wants is a chance to prove he can be the guy and to get away from Kobe, but doesnt want to go to an awful team (which Orlando would be post trade not so sure about Houston) where he puts up numbers but doesnt win. In Howards case I dont think he wants to play with Kobe nor does he want to come across as Shaq jr, by heading to LA. I dont get it myself since LA is a great spot for him, but I think all these guys are being sold a bill of goods about how the city was so in love with the Knicks in the 90s and how the Nets will be 100 times more loved because the Knicks havent been good in so long and Brooklyn has a mystique to it moreso than MSG.

[RutgersJetFan]

I may puke. It looks like Orlando and Brooklyn are currently locked in a room trying to work out the deal without using a third or fourth team, and Orlando is using the Houston/Lakers deal as the hammer to keep the Nets from screwing around. If I'm the Nets, I'd dare Orlando to walk away from the table, then watch as Bynum obliterates the Houston trade with his mouth. Unless Bynum has a secret, burning desire to be a Rocket, there's no way that trade comes off, especially if the Nets deal is off the table.

Jarrod Rudolph: The rumored Houston, Lakers, Orlando proposal is very real. But that deal will be priority ONLY after talks with Brooklyn are dead. Twitter

[RutgersJetFan]

Im iffy on what Bynum even cares about. I think all he wants is a chance to prove he can be the guy and to get away from Kobe, but doesnt want to go to an awful team (which Orlando would be post trade not so sure about Houston) where he puts up numbers but doesnt win. In Howards case I dont think he wants to play with Kobe nor does he want to come across as Shaq jr, by heading to LA. I dont get it myself since LA is a great spot for him, but I think all these guys are being sold a bill of goods about how the city was so in love with the Knicks in the 90s and how the Nets will be 100 times more loved because the Knicks havent been good in so long and Brooklyn has a mystique to it moreso than MSG.

I think the big teller is that there haven't been any reports of Kobe reaching out to Howard yet, nor pushing for it. He always seems to have a hand in every move of this magnitude for them, even with the Nash signing recently. Supposedly he voiced during talks last season that he'd be the 3rd option behind Gasol and Howard got salty about it.

That said, I don't know what Dwight is thinking. Even from an animosity standpoint, if Kobe was able to play with Artest of all people, I don't get what would make him think that he a Kobe wouldn't make it work.

[T0mShane]

Im iffy on what Bynum even cares about. I think all he wants is a chance to prove he can be the guy and to get away from Kobe, but doesnt want to go to an awful team (which Orlando would be post trade not so sure about Houston) where he puts up numbers but doesnt win. In Howards case I dont think he wants to play with Kobe nor does he want to come across as Shaq jr, by heading to LA. I dont get it myself since LA is a great spot for him, but I think all these guys are being sold a bill of goods about how the city was so in love with the Knicks in the 90s and how the Nets will be 100 times more loved because the Knicks havent been good in so long and Brooklyn has a mystique to it moreso than MSG.

There was an article last year basically describing the Nets executive group as a bunch of slick, young, rich Russian dudes and Jay-Z. I can imagine that they can put on one hell of a cool sales pitch when they want to. IIRC, even Lebron came away impressed with the presentation. Obviously, the success hasn't been there, but maybe planting their feet in Brooklyn gives them the big push towards credibility that Newarkistan didn't.

Agreed on Bynum, btw. I think any team that makes him the cornerstone of their franchise will quickly come to regret it. Dude is 23 going on 16.

[T0mShane]

Jarrod Rudolph: The rumored Houston, Lakers, Orlando proposal is very real. But that deal will be priority ONLY after talks with Brooklyn are dead. Twitter

If it's back to just the Nets and Magic in the deal, what the hell can they be talking about now that they didn't talk about for the last month? Is this not the weirdest/stupidest trade negotiation saga you've ever seen?

[RutgersJetFan]

If it's back to just the Nets and Magic in the deal, what the hell can they be talking about now that they didn't talk about for the last month? Is this not the weirdest/stupidest trade negotiation saga you've ever seen?

It's why the Melo trade is one of a small handful of times in my life that I've respected Dolan. He basically looked at Donnie and said "oh the hell with this sh*t, if you're too incompetent to get this done, I will."

It's also a testament to how big of a moron Howard is. Guy would have already been a Net months ago if he wasn't such a schmuck.

[JohnnyHector]

I understand what you're saying, and because I respect your perspective on the NBA, it has me scared. The couple things that are comforting me are that Berger and Wojo aren't reporting Atlanta as being a serious threat to actually make a concrete offer of Horford+, and my own opinion that if Atlanta actually offered Horford+ at any point, Orlando would have messed themselves taking that deal immediately. Stephen A (fwiw) has been saying that Dwight wants no part of Atlanta and the attendant mess of dealing with his family on an everyday basis.

The latest news seems to indicate that, barring a Dwight reversal, the Nets offer is going to be the only viable one on the table at the end of the day, even with Hump being a cock.

If it falls through, I will harbor a great, unspoken bitterness toward you, Hector. But I'll always love you. I'll change our relationship status to "It's complicated."

Ive been out of the loop today, but how real is the Hawks offer? From what I was reading it seemed more like speculation from a beat reporter about how it would make sense than Atlanta actually being actively involved.

I ultimately don't think that ATL will make a serious offer... I think it's all speculation at this point, but it makes a ton of sense to ATL. They dumped Johnson, Josh Smith is a UFA after this season, and Marvin Williams is an overpaid, bitter reminder that they passed on both DWill and CP3 in the same draft. Horford will be the only guy under contract and Teague is the only player of any worth.

They can go in on Dwight in the hopes of pairing him with CP3 after next year, with the worst case scenario being that they wipe the slate clean and go back to drafting in the top-5. Those are the two paths to being relevant in this league... as nice of a player as Horford is, keeping him to put pieces around will only serve to keep them as a fringe playoff team.

If I'm Ferry, this is a no-brainer, as long as it doesn't cost me more than Horford and my 2013 #1 if Dwight bolts after this season.

[JohnnyHector]

Lakers in the mix with Houston for a 3-way deal now. Bynum to Houston and picks/prospects to Orlando. I'm assuming Lamb and one of the other 3 guys they've drafted the past couple years are getting sent from Houston, and picks from LA. Gotta believe that Houston is pushing this one hard, they got burned in the Gasol/Paul debacle and have been dying to size up for a year now.

The other plus to this deal is that Houston is the only team that can offer Orlando a draft pick of any worth, since they are landing a guaranteed lottery pick from Toronto with only top-3 (and progressively less) protection in the Lowry trade. The only way the pick doesn't leave TOR is if, by some miracle, they manage to make the playoffs for each of the next four seasons.

The late #1's that Orlando would be receiving from the Nets are viewed by many around the league as being less valuable than an early 2nd round pick, because you're forced to give a guaranteed contracts to, often times, marginal talents.

[JohnnyHector]

I don't quite understand why Orlando would even consider dealing solely with the Nets as it means they have to take back Humphries on a 3-year deal (even if years 2 and 3 aren't guaranteed) and don't get to shed any of their other contracts.

Brook Lopez is a RFA. If Orlando wants him that badly, trade Dwight to Houston for whatever assets you can get and sign Lopez to a freaking offer sheet. This sh*t has reached new heights of mind-numbing stupidity.

[T0mShane]

I don't quite understand why Orlando would even consider dealing solely with the Nets as it means they have to take back Humphries on a 3-year deal (even if years 2 and 3 aren't guaranteed) and don't get to shed any of their other contracts.

Brook Lopez is a RFA. If Orlando wants him that badly, trade Dwight to Houston for whatever assets you can get and sign Lopez to a freaking offer sheet. This sh*t has reached new heights of mind-numbing stupidity.

I can't remember anything as stupid as this thing, ever, in any sport. I have to believe that Hennigan is sitting in a dark room at this point sucking his thumb and rocking back and forth rhythmically. Aldridge has it now that the Lakers--whoops!--don't actually have the cap space to accommodate JRich and have no real assets to deal to help open up the room, so they're effectively going to do the same dance the Nets are doing and hope that Hennigan has a nervous breakdown in all the confusion. What a clusterf*ck.

[T0mShane]

It's why the Melo trade is one of a small handful of times in my life that I've respected Dolan. He basically looked at Donnie and said "oh the hell with this sh*t, if you're too incompetent to get this done, I will."

It's also a testament to how big of a moron Howard is. Guy would have already been a Net months ago if he wasn't such a schmuck.

But, hey! he got to fire Stan!

[JohnnyHector]

Aldridge has it now that the Lakers--whoops!--don't actually have the cap space to accommodate JRich and have no real assets to deal to help open up the room, so they're effectively going to do the same dance the Nets are doing and hope that Hennigan has a nervous breakdown in all the confusion. What a clusterf*ck.

They should be able to move McBob's expiring and Eyenga at a minimum and can S&T any combination of Jordan Hill, Ebanks, Barnes, etc. It's far more likely than the Nets being able to S&T 5-6 guys to make a straight-up deal with Orlando.

On another note, I forgot when I mentioned Marvin Williams earlier that the Hawks are about to turn him into Devin Harris's expiring. D12/CP3 or bust.