OT: Dwight Howard

[Rastapopoulos]

So: it looks pretty inevitable that the Lakers are going to take a run at Dwight Howard. Supposedly Orlando wants both Bynum and Gasol. On the face of it that looks like the best they could get from anyone. But let's think about this. If I'm Orlando, here are my prerequisites:
1. Dump major albatross salaries (#1 being Hedo).
2. Either get a superstar (if I'm Pat Riley, I'm thinking REALLY hard about offering Wade or LeBron but realizing I could never get away with it) or youth and picks.
10. Get aging all-star(s)

The Lakers offer 1 and 10. 1 is good, 10 not so much. The Mavs showed that a team including Kobe AND Bynum AND Gasol AND Odom wasn't up to much. And this was after Gasol only really hit his stride in the triangle. And with Bynum healthy FOR ONCE. The best Orlando can hope for with Bynum and Gasol is that Bynum continues to develop and his knees stay healthy, and that they can trade Gasol for #2. Possible.
Can anyone top this? NJ doesn't look too hot: Brook Lopez has better low post scoring than Bynum but rebounding for a small forward. And the picks aren't going to be great, because NJ will be winning. Chicago? could be interesting, if they're offering Noah (who starred in Florida, of course) but they better offer scoring, and can they absorb Hedo?

Here's what I think: I think Orlando will trade Howard to the Lakers, they'll do pretty well, maybe even make it to the West finals, but not the finals, and Howard will realize that his "co-star", besides being an A-grade asshole, is just about done. Meanwhile, NJ has just moved to Brooklyn and has a young superstar PG who has many years left and perfectly healthy knees, and sign with NJ as a FA. That would be just fine.

 

[Natebishop3]

So: it looks pretty inevitable that the Lakers are going to take a run at Dwight Howard. Supposedly Orlando wants both Bynum and Gasol. On the face of it that looks like the best they could get from anyone. But let's think about this. If I'm Orlando, here are my prerequisites:
1. Dump major albatross salaries (#1 being Hedo).
2. Either get a superstar (if I'm Pat Riley, I'm thinking REALLY hard about offering Wade or LeBron but realizing I could never get away with it) or youth and picks.
10. Get aging all-star(s)

The Lakers offer 1 and 10. 1 is good, 10 not so much. The Mavs showed that a team including Kobe AND Bynum AND Gasol AND Odom wasn't up to much. And this was after Gasol only really hit his stride in the triangle. And with Bynum healthy FOR ONCE. The best Orlando can hope for with Bynum and Gasol is that Bynum continues to develop and his knees stay healthy, and that they can trade Gasol for #2. Possible.
Can anyone top this? NJ doesn't look too hot: Brook Lopez has better low post scoring than Bynum but rebounding for a small forward. And the picks aren't going to be great, because NJ will be winning. Chicago? could be interesting, if they're offering Noah (who starred in Florida, of course) but they better offer scoring, and can they absorb Hedo?

Here's what I think: I think Orlando will trade Howard to the Lakers, they'll do pretty well, maybe even make it to the West finals, but not the finals, and Howard will realize that his "co-star", besides being an A-grade asshole, is just about done. Meanwhile, NJ has just moved to Brooklyn and has a young superstar PG who has many years left and perfectly healthy knees, and sign with NJ as a FA. That would be just fine.

I would make a run at Howard if I thought he'd stay here. A front court of Aldridge and Howard would be beastly.

 

[Natebishop3]

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=7wqrb72

They get Batum and Oden, with cap flexibility in Camby. Oden might not turn out to be anything, but at least there's a chance he might end up turning into a decent big for them.

We get Howard and Bass. Paul throws a ton of money at D12 and hopefully he stays.

Felton
Wes
Wallace
Aldridge
Howard

That's a pretty good lineup. The frontcourt would be insane.

 

[craigehlo]

I still think the Nets trade of Brooks + whatever for Howard and Hedo is better for Orlando. They can drop well under cap (after an Arenas amnesty) and get one of the best young centers in the NBA.

Although maybe Orlando is dumb enough to take on Gasol's contract? Any team with both Hedo and Areans can't be making good decisions.

 

[illmatic99]

I think they'd want Aldridge for Howard. And I'd give that some serious consideration.

 

[craigehlo]

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=7wqrb72

They get Batum and Oden, with cap flexibility in Camby. Oden might not turn out to be anything, but at least there's a chance he might end up turning into a decent big for them.

We get Howard and Bass. Paul throws a ton of money at D12 and hopefully he stays.

Felton
Wes
Wallace
Aldridge
Howard

That's a pretty good lineup. The frontcourt would be insane.

LMA is the only player we could swing a D12 deal for. They would hang up on that trade call.

 

[Natebishop3]

LMA is the only player we could swing a D12 deal for. They would hang up on that trade call.

I would take Batum/Oden/Camby over Bynum/Gasol if I'm Orlando.

Bynum = Oden

Gasol is a nice player but he's not going to be a part of their future. He's getting towards the end of his career. Batum is a good pickup for them and Oden is a questionmark that could either turn out good or not at all. I wouldn't deal Aldridge because I seriously have doubts that Howard would stay here. Giving up Batum is one thing, giving up Aldridge is another.

 

[craigehlo]

I would take Batum/Oden/Camby over Bynum/Gasol if I'm Orlando.

Bynum = Oden

As much as I dislike Bynum, there's absolutely no comparison between him and Oden anymore. Bynum is overrated for sure, but a productive center that actually plays professional basketball. Oden is sadly the poster boy for draft busts in the last decade.

The Magic fans would riot in the street of they essentially traded D12 for Batum.

 

[Kaydow]

I think they'd want Aldridge for Howard. And I'd give that some serious consideration.

What's the point? I'm not saying that LA is as good as DH, but how do we score without LA? You can't run your offense through DH like you can LA. Sure, we'd be stout defensively, but our offense would be even uglier than it is now. At least in Orlando they surrounded Dwight with shooters.

 

[magnifier661]

Why couldn't you get a third team involved? Hey maybe even new Orleans. Three way with Orlando, new Orleans and Portland.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=7u3nbpd

Paul, Wallace, Greg oden to Orlando. Camby and Batum to new Orleans. We get Turk and Howard. Looks like we offer a lot but pairing howard and lma would be beastly. Also still having Felton and Matthews will help too.

 

[magnifier661]

Why couldn't you get a third team involved? Hey maybe even new Orleans. Three way with Orlando, new Orleans and Portland.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=7u3nbpd

Paul, Wallace, Greg oden to Orlando. Camby and Batum to new Orleans. We get Turk and Howard. Looks like we offer a lot but pairing howard and lma would be beastly. Also still having Felton and Matthews will help too.

 

[craigehlo]

What's the point? I'm not saying that LA is as good as DH, but how do we score without LA?

Add Dwight and you get more possessions to score due to his defense and rebounding. If there were any chance in hell that Dwight would resign I'd do that deal in a second.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I think they'd want Aldridge for Howard. And I'd give that some serious consideration.

I would give up a lot for one year of his services, but not LMA. I understand we would still get something back if we traded Howard next summer (at his request) but I would not risk LMA. Anyone else in a heartbeat.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

There is no way in hell Howard would stay, and there's also no way in hell Orlando would think that Greg Oden had any value. Aldridge would have to be the centerpiece of ANY offer to Orlando, so forget it.

Get used to the idea of Howard as a Laker. But don't worry, he's not going to bring Kobe another ring.