SCadetThe NBA’s had a flair for reaching headlines in the past week even though they haven’t all been favorable. Yet the latest in the superstar trade saga could deal some potent ramifications. Sports Illustrated reports the Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets and Portland Trailblazers are close to making a colossal deal involving Dwight Howard: far and away the league’s best center. Jersey would receive Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Chris Duhon. The Magic would get Brook Lopez, Gerald Wallace and Johan Petro while the Blazers end up with first round draft picks.
The optimistic Nets fan in me (oxymoron?) wants to get excited for this deal. Nevertheless, the realistic side says it’s still a long shot. First off, you can’t get an equal return on a player like Dwight. At the same time Brook Lopez and a suspect backup center still provide a huge talent disparity even if Orlando gets Hedo’s and Duhon’s bloated contracts off their books.
However, should this trade go through, it’ll have a domino effect on the Lakers’s pursuit towards Chris Paul. ESPN recently stated Jim Buss n’ em still haven’t given up on grabbing CP3 from David Stern’s clutches. Apparently the lake Show’s front office still feels their a third team away from pulling off a deal. Pulling the trigger on it still makes next to no sense if they can’t secure Dwight. That would allow the Clips to move in once more with another attempt at getting Paul.
Now, in regards to LA’s “other” ball club, it’d be highway robbery if they worked out a deal all while keeping Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin. Griffin’s obviously untouchable but, despite Gordon’s supposed extension, he may as well be history if Paul’s an attainable target. It’s a shame since Gordon’s coming of age on an emergent squad but Chris remains a cut above the young shooting guard.
The aforementioned moves are anything but set in stone. But they still set the scene for the ongoing drama otherwise known as NBA player movement. Let’s see if the teams involved can make things happen before they overstay their welcome.
