On Thursday night multiple sources confirmed the Dwight Howard had indeed been traded to the Lakers in a 4-team trade including the Lakers, Nuggets, Magic, and 76ers.
The details of the 4-team trade.
Winners and Losers
Basically everybody in this trade wins big time except for the Magic.
Nuggets: The Nuggets gave up Aaron Afflalo, Al Harrington, and a 1st round pick in exchange for Andre Iguodala. This gives the Nuggets an all-star caliber small forward who can more than likely propel them to a top 5 seed in the west. I give their trade 4/5 stars.
76ers: The 76ers in this trade give up Ande Iguodala, Nikola Vucevic, Moe Harkless, and a 1st round pick for Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson. Although it is hard to give up your franchise player, I still believe that the 76ers come out successful in this trade. The 76ers can now put Hawes at a backup position and start Andrew Bynum who I believe is the 2nd best starting center in the league, of course behind Dwight Howard. I give their trade 3.5/5 stars.
Lakers: In multi-team trades there’s always some good breaks for some of the teams and the clear cut winner. Here the Lakers are by far the clear cut winner. In my opinion the Lakers basically traded Bynum and a 1st-rounder for Dwight Howard, the best center in the league offensively, and defensively. Although Howard’s current contract only lasts for 1 more year, after a one year trial, Howard will have the option to sign a long term contract. This will most likely depend on if he sees that Kobe Bryant (33 years old) and Steve Nash (38 years old) still have enough in the tank for a couple more years. As Chris Broussard reported Brooklyn was still Howard’s top team during this whole ordeal. So next offseason look for Howard to consider all of his options, not just limited to the Lakers and Nets. I give their trade a 5/5 stars.
Magic: As I sit here and try to figure out what the Magic did I continue to shake my head and look for some goodness. The Magic gave up Dwight Howard, their franchise player, the best center in the league, and the most dominate player in the post for 3-first rounders, all probably late, Aaron Afflalo (eh), Al Harrington (okay), Nikola Vucevic (a nobody), and Moe Harkless (a promising rookie). I guess the Magic’s idea was to look past Dwight Howard and try and COMPLETELY restructure the future. Hopefully Rob Hennigan, the new Magic GM, sees more to this trade than I do. I give their trade a 1.5/5 stars.
