Dwight Howard Informs GM Otis Smith He Does Not Want To Be Traded To The Los Angeles Lakers
It seems as if the Dwight Howard saga has gone on forever now and we’ve only had two months of NBA games. When the saga began Howard listed the New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks, and Los Angeles Lakers (in that order) as the teams he would sign a long-term deal with. Well now it seems that Howard has removed one of those teams from his list. According to HoopsWorld Dwight Howard has informed the Los Angeles Lakers that he will not sign a long-term deal if he is traded there.
This recent news comes as a surprise to many as the Lakers were one of the teams who were thought to be the best destination for Howard. The Lakers also have the best possible package to send over to the Magic that would include Andrew Bynum and possibly even Pau Gasol. The article also stated that if Howard were to betraded to L.A that he would opt-out at the end of this season and test free-agency. Another interesting statementwas included in the article by Alex Kennedy, “Howard’s interest in Los Angeles has always been overstated, mainly because he doesn’t want to follow in Shaquille O’Neal’s footsteps and he doesn’t want to go through another rebuilding process anytime soon.”
Now I am not saying that Kennedy is wrong because many people close to Howard have said the same thing for a while now but as for the second part I do have a differing opinion. If Howard were to be traded to Los Angeles, and the Lakers could keep Pau Gasol, the Lakers would have the most dominant front-court in all of basketball. Howard could come to Los Angeles and instantly win an NBA title, possibly even this season. If he chooses to go to the New Jersey Nets, which is where he is now forcing the Magic to trade him, with what the Magic will be forced to give up, Howard will be in an instant rebuilding situation. Yes the Nets will still have Deron Williams, and adding Howard to the mix will surely help ( they’ll make the playoffs for sure) but he won’t win a title in New Jersey (or Brooklyn), not with the roster they would have.
The Nets would be best served by waiting out this whole process and re-signing Williams on the off-season and then signing Williams as a free-agent, as they will have the cap-room to do so. But still I don’t see the Nets, with the players they have and just adding Howard, winning an NBA championship. I think I can speak for many fans of the NBA though when I say that I would just like to see this whole matter resolved quickly so we can stop talking about it already.
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