Only problem is that young high potential C is hampered by weight and injury issues. More importantly, DH is not like Thugello and probably won't hold Orlando hostage like what Melo did to Denver. The league is wide open right now, if Dirk could win the ring I don't see how DH can't. He just needs a better supporting cast, Jameer Nelson and Jason Richardson are a good start. If Arenas can come back healthy and rejuvenated they might take the L by surprise.
I think people are kidding themselves if they think that the Magic owner will sign off on a Howard trade to the Lakers, he'd rather see him in Miami than go thru Shaq 2. Their fans would be calling for his lynching, they'd rather get nothing than trade him to the Lakers.
DH doesn't pose the kind of threat DN does and vice versa. But a shoot your lights out from anywhere 7 fter that can with handles and can take it to the rim is a much greater match up problem than anything in this league. Dirk > Dwight. End of story
Owners always trade their superstar to the other conference. Once Magic trade DH, they are not gonna make finals any time soon, why would they care if Lakers win some more rings?
public image the magic know that their fanbase would probably want dwight traded anywhere but LA or Miami given histories of the two franchises. They already lost one young, dominate franchise center to LA it would be hard to lose a second one and see the lakers win multiple rings because of it. Unless they got Lebron back seeing him go to Miami would hurt big time too being the instate rival and of course the new evil empire of the NBA. The backlash from their fans would be huge, I dont mean the hard core fans that own Doleac and DeClerq jerseys, but the majority of the season ticket holder fans, casual fans and corporate sponsorship that makes up the largest chunk of revenue. Generally yes GMs will trade to the other conference but I am pretty sure the Magic will do whatever they can to prevent Dwight from going to LA. If another team in the west is willing to absorb Arenas' contract I am sure the Magic will trade Dwight there. I doubt the Lakers will want another huge, long contract on their books with the new CBA coming in place when they would already have 3 (kobe, gasol and in this scenario, dwight)
If Brandon Roy and Greg Oden can somehow come back halfway healthy, the Magic should trade Dwight and Arenas to Portland for Roy, Oden, Andre Miller and a future 1st and 2nd. I'd rather see Portland win multiple rings with Dwight, Gerald Wallace, and LaMarcus Aldridge, than to see the Lakers take over Boston for most ships in the league.
GM will 1. move the star to the other conference. 2. Get the best deal they can get. Even Cavs agreed a S&T with Heat last summer so that they could get an extra 2nd round pick. They could refuse to do that and Heat would lose their MLE. So much about public image.
Do you know why they trade them to other conferences? Having to lose 4 times a year to a division rival with Dwight would still be better than the Lakers for the Magic.
Lebron was a free agent, and chose miami. The cavs had to do that sign and trade. The only way Orlando will deal Howard to the Lakers is if he publicly announces that the Lakers are the only team he will play for.
As I said, they could refuse to do that and Miami would lose their MLE. But they cared more about what they could get than if Miami could win it all. If you think Magic management hate Lakers more than Cavs management hate Heat, think again.
<!-- http://twitter.com/SpearsNBAYahoo/statuses/83416531295404032 --> <style type='text/css'>.bbpBox83416531295404032 {background:url(http://a2.twimg.com/profile_background_images/266965574/yahooball_normal_normal.jpg) #9AE4E8;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}</style> <div class='bbpBox83416531295404032'><p class='bbpTweet'>Lakers have no interest in trading Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum, source said.<span class='timestamp'><a title='Wed Jun 22 06:10:25 +0000 2011' href='http://twitter.com/SpearsNBAYahoo/statuses/83416531295404032'>less than a minute ago</a> via <a href="http://blackberry.com/twitter" rel="nofollow">Twitter for BlackBerry®</a> <a href='http://twitter.com/intent/favorite?tweet_id=83416531295404032'><img src='http://si0.twimg.com/images/dev/cms/intents/icons/favorite.png' /> Favorite</a> <a href='http://twitter.com/intent/retweet?tweet_id=83416531295404032'><img src='http://si0.twimg.com/images/dev/cms/intents/icons/retweet.png' /> Retweet</a> <a href='http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?in_reply_to=83416531295404032'><img src='http://si0.twimg.com/images/dev/cms/intents/icons/reply.png' /> Reply</a></span><span class='metadata'><span class='author'><a href='http://twitter.com/SpearsNBAYahoo'><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/408572304/yahooball_normal_normal.jpg' /></a><strong><a href='http://twitter.com/SpearsNBAYahoo'>Marc J. Spears</a></strong><br/>SpearsNBAYahoo</span></span></p></div> <!-- end of tweet -->
@incarceratedbob just tweeted Lakers and Magic are close to a deal. Could go down in next 48 hours. I'm on my phone, so sorry for no link.
Didn't the same guy say something about the Rockets and somebody (Bucks?) had a done deal or something like that?
No. He reported the Bucks had traded the 10th pick and would be picking for another team, he didn't specify which team.
