The biggest news of the summer has been Dwight Howard signing with Houston. He agreed to terms a week or so back, but I was not going to write about it until he was officially signed and introduced in person. That happened yesterday and we can now be sure he will not flip-flop anymore or throw some tantrum. To be fair to Dwight, his off-season was relatively quick and easy compared to the drama he created last year in Orlando. The media attention was obviously elevated because he is a superstar, biggest name in the market, and because it involved the LA Fakers. Ultimately, he did make the right basketball decision in going with the talented, young roster in Houston. The Lakers have an aging, injured roster. I would have been scared to re-up with them as well if I was Dwight.
The Lakers needed Dwight more than he needed the Lakers. It would be a completely different argument if Kobe was 28 years old, but he is not. After next season, Nash is literally the only guy on contract. Thats a lot of flexibility and cap-room and you can easily see a franchise like the Lakers re-loading in a hurry. But if you are Dwight, that's just way too much uncertainty. And given the emotional and other kinds of bonds Kobe has with the franchise, you have to assume the Lakers will re-invest a lot of that cap-room in an even older Kobe next year. So Howard went with a more stable situation in Houston. Can't really blame him. As for the Lakers, it's not too bad for them either. They got Kobe for a year and a massive cap-room in 2014 when LeBron, Wade, and Carmelo (and Kobe) become free agents. I can't see any of them going to the Fakers, but you never know.
As NBA's off-season is moving along, baseball is at it's midway point. The home run derby was today and the A's Yoenis Cespedes won it. Well deserved recognition for the best slugger mainstream America has never heard of. Good things seem to be happening in baseball this season with both the A's and Diamondbacks - the teams I care the most about, are leading their respective divisions. The A's are in a dog fight for the division and it's going to be tight till the final weeks of the season. But the young A's seem very capable of seeing this through. This is shaping to be a good season, but the steroid scandal is supposed to take many players down very soon. I don't have a problem with that, but I am worried MLB will screw it up and create a big mess. The players association has enough juice to make things messy plus that's generally the way Bud rolls. Commish Bud Selig will find a way to screw this up.
The Lakers needed Dwight more than he needed the Lakers. It would be a completely different argument if Kobe was 28 years old, but he is not. After next season, Nash is literally the only guy on contract. Thats a lot of flexibility and cap-room and you can easily see a franchise like the Lakers re-loading in a hurry. But if you are Dwight, that's just way too much uncertainty. And given the emotional and other kinds of bonds Kobe has with the franchise, you have to assume the Lakers will re-invest a lot of that cap-room in an even older Kobe next year. So Howard went with a more stable situation in Houston. Can't really blame him. As for the Lakers, it's not too bad for them either. They got Kobe for a year and a massive cap-room in 2014 when LeBron, Wade, and Carmelo (and Kobe) become free agents. I can't see any of them going to the Fakers, but you never know.
As NBA's off-season is moving along, baseball is at it's midway point. The home run derby was today and the A's Yoenis Cespedes won it. Well deserved recognition for the best slugger mainstream America has never heard of. Good things seem to be happening in baseball this season with both the A's and Diamondbacks - the teams I care the most about, are leading their respective divisions. The A's are in a dog fight for the division and it's going to be tight till the final weeks of the season. But the young A's seem very capable of seeing this through. This is shaping to be a good season, but the steroid scandal is supposed to take many players down very soon. I don't have a problem with that, but I am worried MLB will screw it up and create a big mess. The players association has enough juice to make things messy plus that's generally the way Bud rolls. Commish Bud Selig will find a way to screw this up.
