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Dwight Howard is reportedly heading to the Los Angeles Lakers, according to various sources. As reported by ESPN, the drawn out drama that involved Howard's dissatisfaction with staying in Orlando finally found a release valve, and lo and behold, it is the mighty Lakers that stand to reap the benefits once again.
Sources: Dwight Howard to Lakers | ESPN
In a four-team trade involving the Lakers, Nuggets, 76ers, and Magic, numerous players will be finding new homes before next season starts. Here is how things shake out:
- Lakers get Dwight Howard
- 76ers get Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson
- Nuggets get Andre Iguodala
- Magic get Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, and Nicola Vucevic
Now, my first reaction after seeing how this breaks down is that the Magic committed the biggest sin you can make whenever an elite player is involved - you never trade away an elite player for a non-elite player. The Magic had one of the best players in the game, and in return they get a nice non-All-Star starter in Afflalo along with 2 bench players. The price piece in Bynum ends up in Philadelphia, where the Sixers suddenly have a piece that allows them to compete with Miami. How the Magic decided, "nah, we'll pass on one of the 3 best centers in the league while we clean our hands of this Howard mess" is beyond me.
As for how this impacts the Thunder, I am personally ambivalent at this time. The reason why OKC crushed the Lakers in the playoffs is not because of their center play; it is because they have no perimeter defenders who can stay in front of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Yes, LA gained Steve Nash and now Howard, but how do either of those guys solve that defensive problem? It's a wait-and-see approach, but I would imagine that other Western teams are far more concerned today about LA than the Thunder are. As long as Pau Gasol remains a basket case for LA in the playoffs, I don't see how the Lakers jump the Thunder at this time.
More to come later in the day as we examine the ripple effects of this trade.
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