Report: Dwight Howard trade to Lakers is done
The "Dwightmare" is apparently over.
ESPN reports a four-team deal that will send Dwight Howard to the Lakers is done.
A source with direct knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com's Marc Stein the Lakers will receive Howard, the will acquire Andre Iguodala, the 76ers will receive Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson, and the Magic will get Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic and one protected future first-round pick from each of the other three teams. Sources close to the process told Stein and ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne that a trade call with the league office has been scheduled for Friday to secure the necessary NBA approval to make the deal official.
First thing to note: if we've learned anything from this madness, it's that nothing is final until it's final. So I wouldn't be surprised to wake up to this entire thing swirling down the commode.
The second thing to note is Orlando seems quite happy to simply dump Dwight Howard, accept bits and pieces in return for Howard in an effort to truly nuke the Magic roster and start from scratch.
Let's just run through some quick team-by-team reaction:
Lakers: If they truly did manage to trade for Dwight Howard without giving up both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, prepare yourself for a lot of "the league is fixed" talk. Do yourself a favor and brace for it now. A starting lineup that features Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant? That will be tough to stop... though the Lakers bench will leave a lot to be desired and this is clearly as "win now" as it gets. Kobe, as good as he can look, isn't going to be around forever. Steve Nash's rookie season was somewhere around the Kennedy administration. And Pau isn't exactly a kid either. Still, getting Howard without giving up both Bynum and Gasol is a win for LA.
Orlando: Like I said (and have said before) The Magic are blowing this thing sky high. Many will lament the lack of star power in return, but the Magic don't want that. They want draft picks, young talent, and cap flexibility. They are, in short, following the Sam Presti "OKC" model. It stands to reason... Rob Hennigan both played basketball in the same program (Emerson College, a division III school in Boston), and Presti has groomed Hennigan in both San Antonio and Oklahoma City. This is Thunder redux in Orlando. They'll have upwards of $20 million to play with in 2014.
Philadelphia: Let's face it, Andre Iguodala wasn't going to lead them anywhere. They needed to move him. In return, they got the second best center in the league. If Doug Collins has any luck in screwing Andrew Bynum's head on straight, then the Atlantic Division is suddenly a bloodbath with the Sixers and Bynum (and Jason Richardson), the re-loaded Boston Celtics, the much improved (at least offensively) Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks. Sorry Toronto, you don't get to play.
Denver: They get Iggy, who fits their style. They also shed $43 million in future guaranteed salary. They keep a decent young team fairly intact, they get a lot of future financial flexibility. In this CBA, that's a big deal.
So it seems Dwight is off to La La Land. I feel for the Orlando Magic fans who are being slammed over the head with Deja Vu as yet another dominant young center is running off to Los Angeles. But considering how much of a baby he's been throughout this whole process, I'm sure this news... assuming it actually pans out this time... is more welcome than feared. This mess may just be over. Orlando may actually start to focus on the task of building a future winner, while Los Angeles hopes it just built a current one.
 |
Like CC on Facebook |  |
Follow CC on Twitter |
I dont understand the Laker Hate in regards to this trade. (if you hate them because theyre your rivals thats fine). All GMs and owners should be busting their asses and making their teams better every way they can. With a salary cap and luxury cap, they are still landing talent. Shouldnt all teams be trying to do that? Lakers arent the Yankees of the NBA. The owner is far from the wealthiest and cant to afford to spend well into the cap. Instead of hating the Lakers for doing their job maybe people should hate the management of their favorite because they arent doing theirs.
lakers will be the next nba world champions,no matter who wins the eastern title. moolah rules!!!!
May be a wrap in the western conference but I'm not convinced it will lead to a championship appearance.
@knickfan212 Ummm... how would that work exactly? If it "may be a wrap in the western conference" - wouldn't that automatically lead to a "championship appearance" in the Finals?Just a bit confused...
Despite the complete absurdity of this trade, my money is still on a Thunder vs. Heat Finals rematch.
This comment has been deleted
@CollegeWolf @tarasm Not me dude.
Get used to CW sounding ugly and petulant when it comes to the Lakers.And I'll take that wager. $20 on the field vs your Thunder/Heat.
1 Like
the ny yankees of the nba, if you got the moolah, buy the championship makes me sick!!!!!!
This comment has been deleted
@tarasm There's no place here for language like this. Are you trying to get banned?
1 Like
@tarasm A valiant attempt... but some notes:
1. Caps doesn't make you look cool, authoritative or knowledgeable. It just makes you look like a complete douche.
2. Quotation marks ( " ) are used for *quotations*.
3. There is no such thing as "most high". The correct superlative is "highest".
4. You have a space after a comma.
5. "Applaud" has no 'e'.
6. Could you not do this here? Allow me to enjoy the moment without having to feel apologetic about some complete douchewad who happens to follow the same NBA team I do. Thanks in anticipation.
@BETHBOLTON Ok. LA are quite near the top of the pool. Given that the Buss family fortune comes from the Lakers, and the money earnt via that franchise is predicated on their success (TV deals/ticketing/merchandise), what would you suggest they do?
"Rebuilding" in a more traditional way (ie. bottoming out and praying for a franchise guy via the draft) is basically ensuring the franchise bites the dust.
What would you have them do?
"...though the Lakers bench will leave a lot to be desired..."Really? Jamison, Hill, Blake, Morris, Ebanks, Eyenga (maybe), Clark (maybe?) and Duhon (maybe?). Significantly better bench than any they've had in the past few seasons. Including ones LA have won championships in.
