Major trades generally occur during the NBA trade deadline or during the NBA draft. With the uncertainty of the upcoming CBA teams looking to land Dwight Howard better move quickly. While the Magic say they are not trading Dwight, their hands are tied and the longer they wait the more leverage they lose (as shown with Denver taking that Knicks deal when they could have had more from NJ).
In looking at Howard’s options the following options were considered:
Location/Market- Dwight is a major star and will want to play in a city where stars shine brightly. Although he can be traded to any city, teams in smaller markets will be hesitant to trade for Dwight without the guarantee of an extension. Teams like Sacramento, Cleveland and Indiana will kick the tires but small markets cannot afford to lose talent and cap flexibility to risk not locking up Howard long term.
Ability to Compete for a Championship after trade- The team trading for Howard has to have considerable assets. They have to have enough to keep be a title contender after making the trade. This means that the team has to have at least one other superstar on the roster after completing the trade.
Assets- Major talent or major cap flexibility is necessary in order to even consider trading for the best center in the league. This is needed pre-trade or post-trade in order to tighten up the roster.
Atlanta- Atlanta is in the conversation because Dwight is an Atlanta native. The Hawks also have some talent and they have to shake up their core team. The Hawks are in major danger of losing the Hawks. The ownership group sold the NHL team to a group that had every intension of moving the team. After spending major money on Johnson, Smith, Williams and Horford fan support was mediocre at best.
Atlanta is not considered a mega-star market but the city has treated superstars very well. Dominique Wilkins did very well for himself in Atlanta, Michael Vick was the face of the NFL from Atlanta and Chipper Jones is one of the few widely recognized baseball players in the league. NBA players love to visit Atlanta and many live in Atlanta during the offseason.
Trade and likelihood- Al Horford and Josh Smith & 2011 and 2013 1st Round Pick to Orlando for Dwight Howard and the trade exception for Marcin Gortat. This trade is a long shot especially considering they play in the same division. The only way ORL does this deal is if the Magic feel as though G. Arenas can give them the 18 ppg he scored this season prior to the trade to Orlando.
Chicago- Chicago has to swing for the fences. They have a great young roster. The competition for Bulls over the next 3-5 years will be OKC and MIA. Miami has proven that they have a higher talent level. Like Miami, Oklahoma city has multiple all-star level scorers while the Bulls have just one. The Bulls simply cannot rely on D. Rose continuing to improve his game to be the difference. If the Bulls stay put they could, ironically, be the Cleveland Cavaliers of the late 80’s (a team with a great roster but not good enough overcome the talent of Jordan and Pippen in Chicago).
While not the warm destination most NBA players like, Chicago has a tradition of catapulting its stars to the forefront. Chicago has had Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa in baseball, Brian Urlacher in football and D. Rose and, of course, Michael Jordan in basketball.
The Bulls have what every team in the league covets, young Bigs. Several teams called at the trade deadline to ask about Taj Gibson and Omer Asik. Gibson has shown to produce near double-double numbers when given minutes and his stock is higher when considering his per 36 minute numbers. Asik has huge upside as he can affect the game defensively today. He has not developed an offensive game but NBA scouts feel that he can be a 16 and 11 guy in the next 2-3 years.
Trade and likelihood- Chi trades Noah, Gibson, Asik, the 28th and 30th picks in the 2011 draft and Char 1st round pick (top 12 protected in 2012, top 10 protected in 2013, top 8 in 2014, top 6 in 2014 and unprotected in 2016). The Bulls would give up a king’s ransom but they have to make a move for several reasons. The Bulls have shown that they trust Gibson over Boozer in late game situations therefore increasing his value come free agency. Although Noah was 11 and 13 prior to breaking his right thumb, the Bulls see Asik as a better prospect (similar to Marc Gasol). That’ll create a logjam and where Noah could be a bench player for the team in a couple years. While the Bulls would give up a lot of bigs, they have shown with K. Thomas that you can find a serviceable back-up big man and several will be available for cheap (D. Jordan, K. Brown, S. Dalembert, B. Wallace, D. Gadzuric, Y. Ming, G. Oden, A. McDyess, M. Camby, S. O’Neal). Boozer is a better playing the high post therefore meshing well with Howard. Although the bench will be thin in the frontcourt, the Bulls would have Rose, Bogans, Deng, Boozer and Howard as their starting lineup which would allow them to compete with MIA and OKC in the future.
Orlando would consider this deal especially considering the Charlotte pick will almost certainly be a top 10 pick whenever they decide to use the pick. While the 2010 draft is awful, this is toughest draft to grade and like many of the previous drafts good talent can be found late in the 1st round. Orlando will not want to take on this deal without getting an impact player and may want to include Deng instead of Noah. The Bulls didn’t trade Deng for a younger Kobe and they won’t include him in a deal for Howard. In the end Orl will hold out for better talent.
Miami- This would be tough for fans outside of South Florida but this is a very real possibility. As well as the Heat are playing many people expected Miami to run roughshod through the league. That didn’t happen. This is because they played a lot of isolation did not play inside out. As evidenced, the Heat play better when Bosh has a large impact downlow (no pun intended) acquiring Howard would force the Heat to play inside-out.
There is concern in Miami about Wade’s health. Miami is a great town for superstars. NBA players love the weather and lifestyle. Also, Howard would remain in Florida and not pay state tax. They heat don’t have a lot of young talent but pardoning with Lebron is more than enough talent to win for a long time.
Trade and likelihood- Mia sends Bosh, Joel Anthony and 2013 1st rounder to ORL for D. Howard. Mia and ORL hate each other as franchises but ORL would have to consider the trade as they would be assured of getting an impact player in return for Howard. As mentioned earlier, the Heat would have to play inside-out with Howard. How will Lebron and D. Wade respond to the changing system? Also, how would Lebron and D. Wade respond to being the paid worse than Howard? If the teams can get over their deep seeded hatred for each other then this trade can happen.
New Jersey/Brooklyn-Moving to Brooklyn makes this deal more appealing as New York still is and always will be a star’s town. The Nets have to make a big splash to convince Williams to stay and he and Howard are great friends. While the Nets are not near competing adding Howard would put them in that conversation. The Nets also have great cap flexibility and can easily add pieces to fill out their roster and an owner willing to spend money.
Trade and likelihood- Nets send Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries and the 2013 1st round pick to ORL for D. Howard. This deal would work for the both teams as the Magic would get two young bigs that can blossom into stars. Humphries and Lopez are more likely to re-sign than Howard. The nets would have a combo of stars that would make the Knicks envy them and make NYC pay attention. This is the deal that is most likely to happen. The only way that this deal doesn’t work is if ORL thinks they can’t re-sign both players. Also, NJ cannot trade their 2012 pick because the traded their 2011 pick to Utah, would there be value in the 2013 picks if Howard and Williams start rolling?
New York-The Knicks have done a great job at improving their roster and have added a top 5 player in Anthony. Despite not winning a championship in nearly 30 years, the Knicks is still a premier franchise in the NBA and players love NYC. Despite what you’ve heard, many in NBA circles saw the Stoudemire signing as a panic signing. Concern is high as Stoudemire has had two knee surgeries and two eye surgeries. There is also concern as he broke down during the stretch run in playoffs after playing very well in the beginning of this season.
Trade and likelihood- Knicks send Stoudamire, and Billups to ORL for Howard, Nelson and Reddick. With Arenas contract the Magic will be in need of the cap relief provided by Billups. ORL will also shed Reddick’s contract as he under-performed last year. If there is any GM that will take a gamble on Stoudemire it is Otis Smith. Also, the Magic have realized that Jameer Nelson is not a long term answer at PG for their team and fits great in D’Antoni’s system. This would allow Otis Smith to give Arenas more minutes to justify the trade. The Knicks would have some decisions to make with their coach as D’Antoni does not value centers and the half-court game. Remember E. Curry got 19 & 7 prior to D’Antoni and was sent straight to the bench. Will the Knicks fire D’Antoni to make this team work?
Lakers- As a franchise Los Angeles is most noted for their consistency in attaining centers. They traded for Wilt and Kareem and sign Shaq via FA. The franchise is very aggressive in going out and getting dominant centers. Los Angeles is probably the most attractive destination for NBA players as many workout and live in LA during the offseason. NBA Stars are even bigger in LA without the NFL to steal attention.
The Lakers are at a turning point in their franchise. Kobe Bryant is still a top 5 player in the NBA but it is obvious that he is beginning to decline. The Lakers recently signed a 3 billion dollar deal with Fox Sports West and they have to have major talent on floor to maintain the deal. Also, Blake Griffin is challenging Kobe as the largest sports figure in LA. The Lakers still have tremendous assets and the lose this year centered in their ability to consistently score from the post as Gasol was able to be handled.
Trade and Likelihood- Lakers trade A. Bynum and L. Odom to ORL for D. Howard and JJ Reddick. The deal gives LA the toughness needed to allow the Kobe led Lakers to continue to compete for championships as Kobe begins to decline. Orlando would get major talent in return in Bynum and Odom. The major hang-up will center around the Magic’s belief that Bynum can remain healthy. For his career Odom has played in MIA and LA, how would be transition into living in ORL. Also, will Jim Buss trade A. Bynum?
Let me know what you think!
In looking at Howard’s options the following options were considered:
Location/Market- Dwight is a major star and will want to play in a city where stars shine brightly. Although he can be traded to any city, teams in smaller markets will be hesitant to trade for Dwight without the guarantee of an extension. Teams like Sacramento, Cleveland and Indiana will kick the tires but small markets cannot afford to lose talent and cap flexibility to risk not locking up Howard long term.
Ability to Compete for a Championship after trade- The team trading for Howard has to have considerable assets. They have to have enough to keep be a title contender after making the trade. This means that the team has to have at least one other superstar on the roster after completing the trade.
Assets- Major talent or major cap flexibility is necessary in order to even consider trading for the best center in the league. This is needed pre-trade or post-trade in order to tighten up the roster.
Atlanta- Atlanta is in the conversation because Dwight is an Atlanta native. The Hawks also have some talent and they have to shake up their core team. The Hawks are in major danger of losing the Hawks. The ownership group sold the NHL team to a group that had every intension of moving the team. After spending major money on Johnson, Smith, Williams and Horford fan support was mediocre at best.
Atlanta is not considered a mega-star market but the city has treated superstars very well. Dominique Wilkins did very well for himself in Atlanta, Michael Vick was the face of the NFL from Atlanta and Chipper Jones is one of the few widely recognized baseball players in the league. NBA players love to visit Atlanta and many live in Atlanta during the offseason.
Trade and likelihood- Al Horford and Josh Smith & 2011 and 2013 1st Round Pick to Orlando for Dwight Howard and the trade exception for Marcin Gortat. This trade is a long shot especially considering they play in the same division. The only way ORL does this deal is if the Magic feel as though G. Arenas can give them the 18 ppg he scored this season prior to the trade to Orlando.
Chicago- Chicago has to swing for the fences. They have a great young roster. The competition for Bulls over the next 3-5 years will be OKC and MIA. Miami has proven that they have a higher talent level. Like Miami, Oklahoma city has multiple all-star level scorers while the Bulls have just one. The Bulls simply cannot rely on D. Rose continuing to improve his game to be the difference. If the Bulls stay put they could, ironically, be the Cleveland Cavaliers of the late 80’s (a team with a great roster but not good enough overcome the talent of Jordan and Pippen in Chicago).
While not the warm destination most NBA players like, Chicago has a tradition of catapulting its stars to the forefront. Chicago has had Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa in baseball, Brian Urlacher in football and D. Rose and, of course, Michael Jordan in basketball.
The Bulls have what every team in the league covets, young Bigs. Several teams called at the trade deadline to ask about Taj Gibson and Omer Asik. Gibson has shown to produce near double-double numbers when given minutes and his stock is higher when considering his per 36 minute numbers. Asik has huge upside as he can affect the game defensively today. He has not developed an offensive game but NBA scouts feel that he can be a 16 and 11 guy in the next 2-3 years.
Trade and likelihood- Chi trades Noah, Gibson, Asik, the 28th and 30th picks in the 2011 draft and Char 1st round pick (top 12 protected in 2012, top 10 protected in 2013, top 8 in 2014, top 6 in 2014 and unprotected in 2016). The Bulls would give up a king’s ransom but they have to make a move for several reasons. The Bulls have shown that they trust Gibson over Boozer in late game situations therefore increasing his value come free agency. Although Noah was 11 and 13 prior to breaking his right thumb, the Bulls see Asik as a better prospect (similar to Marc Gasol). That’ll create a logjam and where Noah could be a bench player for the team in a couple years. While the Bulls would give up a lot of bigs, they have shown with K. Thomas that you can find a serviceable back-up big man and several will be available for cheap (D. Jordan, K. Brown, S. Dalembert, B. Wallace, D. Gadzuric, Y. Ming, G. Oden, A. McDyess, M. Camby, S. O’Neal). Boozer is a better playing the high post therefore meshing well with Howard. Although the bench will be thin in the frontcourt, the Bulls would have Rose, Bogans, Deng, Boozer and Howard as their starting lineup which would allow them to compete with MIA and OKC in the future.
Orlando would consider this deal especially considering the Charlotte pick will almost certainly be a top 10 pick whenever they decide to use the pick. While the 2010 draft is awful, this is toughest draft to grade and like many of the previous drafts good talent can be found late in the 1st round. Orlando will not want to take on this deal without getting an impact player and may want to include Deng instead of Noah. The Bulls didn’t trade Deng for a younger Kobe and they won’t include him in a deal for Howard. In the end Orl will hold out for better talent.
Miami- This would be tough for fans outside of South Florida but this is a very real possibility. As well as the Heat are playing many people expected Miami to run roughshod through the league. That didn’t happen. This is because they played a lot of isolation did not play inside out. As evidenced, the Heat play better when Bosh has a large impact downlow (no pun intended) acquiring Howard would force the Heat to play inside-out.
There is concern in Miami about Wade’s health. Miami is a great town for superstars. NBA players love the weather and lifestyle. Also, Howard would remain in Florida and not pay state tax. They heat don’t have a lot of young talent but pardoning with Lebron is more than enough talent to win for a long time.
Trade and likelihood- Mia sends Bosh, Joel Anthony and 2013 1st rounder to ORL for D. Howard. Mia and ORL hate each other as franchises but ORL would have to consider the trade as they would be assured of getting an impact player in return for Howard. As mentioned earlier, the Heat would have to play inside-out with Howard. How will Lebron and D. Wade respond to the changing system? Also, how would Lebron and D. Wade respond to being the paid worse than Howard? If the teams can get over their deep seeded hatred for each other then this trade can happen.
New Jersey/Brooklyn-Moving to Brooklyn makes this deal more appealing as New York still is and always will be a star’s town. The Nets have to make a big splash to convince Williams to stay and he and Howard are great friends. While the Nets are not near competing adding Howard would put them in that conversation. The Nets also have great cap flexibility and can easily add pieces to fill out their roster and an owner willing to spend money.
Trade and likelihood- Nets send Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries and the 2013 1st round pick to ORL for D. Howard. This deal would work for the both teams as the Magic would get two young bigs that can blossom into stars. Humphries and Lopez are more likely to re-sign than Howard. The nets would have a combo of stars that would make the Knicks envy them and make NYC pay attention. This is the deal that is most likely to happen. The only way that this deal doesn’t work is if ORL thinks they can’t re-sign both players. Also, NJ cannot trade their 2012 pick because the traded their 2011 pick to Utah, would there be value in the 2013 picks if Howard and Williams start rolling?
New York-The Knicks have done a great job at improving their roster and have added a top 5 player in Anthony. Despite not winning a championship in nearly 30 years, the Knicks is still a premier franchise in the NBA and players love NYC. Despite what you’ve heard, many in NBA circles saw the Stoudemire signing as a panic signing. Concern is high as Stoudemire has had two knee surgeries and two eye surgeries. There is also concern as he broke down during the stretch run in playoffs after playing very well in the beginning of this season.
Trade and likelihood- Knicks send Stoudamire, and Billups to ORL for Howard, Nelson and Reddick. With Arenas contract the Magic will be in need of the cap relief provided by Billups. ORL will also shed Reddick’s contract as he under-performed last year. If there is any GM that will take a gamble on Stoudemire it is Otis Smith. Also, the Magic have realized that Jameer Nelson is not a long term answer at PG for their team and fits great in D’Antoni’s system. This would allow Otis Smith to give Arenas more minutes to justify the trade. The Knicks would have some decisions to make with their coach as D’Antoni does not value centers and the half-court game. Remember E. Curry got 19 & 7 prior to D’Antoni and was sent straight to the bench. Will the Knicks fire D’Antoni to make this team work?
Lakers- As a franchise Los Angeles is most noted for their consistency in attaining centers. They traded for Wilt and Kareem and sign Shaq via FA. The franchise is very aggressive in going out and getting dominant centers. Los Angeles is probably the most attractive destination for NBA players as many workout and live in LA during the offseason. NBA Stars are even bigger in LA without the NFL to steal attention.
The Lakers are at a turning point in their franchise. Kobe Bryant is still a top 5 player in the NBA but it is obvious that he is beginning to decline. The Lakers recently signed a 3 billion dollar deal with Fox Sports West and they have to have major talent on floor to maintain the deal. Also, Blake Griffin is challenging Kobe as the largest sports figure in LA. The Lakers still have tremendous assets and the lose this year centered in their ability to consistently score from the post as Gasol was able to be handled.
Trade and Likelihood- Lakers trade A. Bynum and L. Odom to ORL for D. Howard and JJ Reddick. The deal gives LA the toughness needed to allow the Kobe led Lakers to continue to compete for championships as Kobe begins to decline. Orlando would get major talent in return in Bynum and Odom. The major hang-up will center around the Magic’s belief that Bynum can remain healthy. For his career Odom has played in MIA and LA, how would be transition into living in ORL. Also, will Jim Buss trade A. Bynum?
Let me know what you think!
