dwight and lewis are going to make orlando in cap troubles for a long time... anyway, dwight is worth way more than lewis. link
D. Howard is welll worth the money. (Max contract) Now he's a good player to build around. Lewis? Well Lewis is just lucky!
expensive-man's rockets? I think they are making more $$ than Tmac and Yao, and they are inferior to both of them.
Is it me or he seems like he's very overrated? I mean he puts up good numbers with his scoring, rebouding and blocks but he doesn't seem like he dominates effectivly on either end of the floor especially on offense. He can't really shoot or have many moves on the post offensively to take over a game yet. Defensively, he rebounds well but from what I've seen he's not that great of a team and 1 on 1 defender. I know I based it on about 7-8 full games I saw him play last year, but I'm not that impressed with his game.
Agreed. Their supporting cast isn't all that impressive either, and even less impressive now that both Grant Hill and Darko are gone.
Why does it seem like every player in the NBA is being called by their first name? The only players worthy of such a distinction (talent wise and the ring of the name) are Kobe, Lebron, Yao, and Shaq. I might be missing a couple of names, but it really is getting ridiculous.
Consider that he came straight out of high school and is only 21 years old. His improvement has been impressive. The key to Howard reaching ultimate superstardom is developing consistent, reliable offensive moves and touch instead of just relying on his athleticism. If he ever does that, Howard will be a perennial MVP candidate. He reminds me of Moses Malone but I don't know if he has the same motor. I can't think of any big man that played so relentlessly hard 82 games/year like Moses. At this point, Howard is ahead of where Moses was.
Even though Howard is only 21 I think the guy is close to reaching his ceiling. He is just too mechanical to ever bring his offensive game up another notch. He doesn't seem to have more than an average basketball IQ nor does he have the fire to be an elite defender. Still, if the kid gets no better than he is now that is a hell of a player but to think he can lead a franchise to a title is wrong IMO. Orlando just screwed themselves by maxing out both of these guys. Superstar tandems only work if both guys are REAL superstars and if there is some money left over to sign some blue collar types to put around them.
I agree. Dwight is worth it, especially in today's new NBA style. He will get a lot better in time. He's so raw fundamentally yet he still put up good numbers. That's a special player. A FAR cry from Lewis' worth.
Howard is just a couple of low post moves away from being a bonafide beast. I like this attitude and the way he plays.
Moses was a 13.5 and 13.4 guy by his 3rd year in the L (straight out of high school)...he was a center and young and raw. Played with a 25 yr old? Rudy T (all star decent rebounder and good shooter), 25 yr old? Calvin Murphy (all star scorer), rookie John Lucas (talented PG), and strong stiff Kevin Kunnert. I think it took Moses 6 yrs to peek and win a championship, but at 21ish, Moses battled competently with the likes of Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, a young Daryl Dawkins, and even Kareem and Walton. It's so hard to compare generations and say D.Howard is better or worse or on track...but it would be fair to say they are similar. Moses is a very good example of rawness out of high school transitioning from athletic dominance to overall dominance. D. Howard can very well have a Moses type career in the L.
I don't know yet how good Dwight Howard will be, but if I could get one guaranteed healthy year, I'd take Emeka Okafor over him in a heartbeat. Okafor's more polished on offense, and in another league defensively.
Moses had a relentless drive and kept getting better and better. If Howard has that drive, he will become the best C in the NBA and stay there a while. Remains to be seen but he has a chance.
Howard's deal just magnifies how much they overpaid to get Lewis. The main thing I dont understand is why the Magic worked out a sign and trade. Seattle was not going to match the five year offer and they could have inked Lewis to five years and 90 million or so. Instead they give up a 2nd round pick and get him for six years and 113 million. Makes no sense, especially since no other team seemed remotely interested in paying him that much.
