The Dwight Howard saga is over. According to ESPN "A four-team trade that would send Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers is complete, multiple sources told ESPN on Thursday night. A source with direct knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein the Lakers will receive Howard, the Denver Nuggets 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."
This is the biggest trade in recent memory. This is bigger than Deron Williams to the Nets and its bigger than Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks. Dwight Howard going to the Lakers is the be all end all of trades. In my opinion Dwight Howard is the third most valuable player in the league. I came to that conclusion through this thought process. If I was going to trade LeBron James or Kevin Durant the only guy you could give me back in exchange for them is each other or Dwight Howard. Dwight may not be the third best player in the league, but he has the third most value. I would trade Kevin Durant for Dwight way before I would trade him for Chris Paul or Kobe and the same can be said for LeBron James.
Howard is simply a game changer. He plays defense, rebounds, hustles and is improving his offensive game each season. Not to mention, he is only 26.
Some good came of this trade for each team except the Orlando Magic. How was Pau not included? What kind of incriminating information do the Lakers have over every team in the league? Every time it looks like they are out they pull something like this. I mean its incredible.
I was a little surprised that Denver took Andre Iguodala considering how many guys they have that play the wing already, but he can step in at shooting guard immediately and have a bigger impact than Afflalo did. With Iguodala, Lawson, Gallinari, and Wilson Chandler running the break, Denver could be scary. I could see this team competing for a ring in a couple of years based the amount of talent they have. Its just a matter now of cultivating it and turning it into something special. They could be like the Detroit Pistons in 04' if everything falls in to place correctly.
The Sixers are probably the most slept on in this whole trade. Adding Andrew Bynum solidifies that team. They still can't beat Miami and probably won't move passed Boston, but they can compete with everyone else in the east now. Bynum is a big man surrounded by a bunch of guys that will "give me the f*cking ball." This is another team that is young and has talent. I doubt they will turn into something special, but they have a great piece to build around.
Orlando....wow...how?..I mean why? Was it the best?...I just...I can't even find the words.
Lastly, the Lakers have no excuses. They have a starting line-up that includs five guys who have been all-stars and at one point were the best player on a playoff team. No other team in the NBA could say that. This trade puts the Lakers ahead of the Spurs and in direct contention with the Thunder. If Kobe really is as good as he thinks then he should win it. I don't want to hear about Miami taking a year because that's BS. That team wasn't this good by any means. LA has to get it done to earn any respect from me. And please, lets quit any Kobe to Jordan comparisons from now on. If Jordan was on this team they would win 75 games. If LeBron was on this team they would win 75 games. Kobe on this team? better be 65 at least.
One final thought, this trade shows me that LeBron is better than Kobe at this point without questoin (I think hes been better for years anyway). If LeBron was on this team in place of Kobe I have no doubt they would win a ring. With Kobe on the team I still don't know.
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