Four Team Deal Sends Howard to Lakers

[Tornicade]

This is what pisses me off. When one Laker superstar's career is ending, they are gift wrapped a stud.

That is what makes the Lakers, The Lakers.

A rebuild for them is always about upgrading and going forward. never in reverse. Even in their "down" years they make the moves that makes them better for that year.

They arent content with having the 2nd best center in the league when they can get the best.

If they lose howard to free agency. then they just move on looking for the next piece and hope they get a ring out of that year.

they set the standard high. which is good for the NBA because it forces their competitors to push the envelope as well.

from a USA today article:

The Lakers have a long history of acquiring elite centers:

• They received Wilt Chamberlain in 1968 from the 76ers for three players who were not better than Wilt Chamberlain.
• They got Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (and Walt Wesley) in 1975 from the Milwaukee Bucks for four players who were not better than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
• They signed Shaquille O'Neal away from the Magic as a free agent in 1996.
• They traded for Pau Gasol in 2008, sending the Memphis Grizzlies three players and two draft picks, none of whom ended up better than Pau Gasol. (Though Marc Gasol, one of the pieces of the trade, is an excellent NBA center in his own right.)

 

[daytripper]

This is what pisses me off. When one Laker superstar's career is ending, they are gift wrapped a stud.

In this 4 way deal the Lakers turned Bynum into Dwight without taking back any bad contracts. In 2014 when Kobe and Pau come off the books they will have capspace to acquire another star in free agency.

 

[wuck]

This post was depressing:

Stefan Bondy: Big winner? Dan Fegan. Gets his top client to Los Angeles $$$ and $14 million more for another client (Humphries).

 

[nxmehta]

And the hilarious part of this whole fiasco is that the Magic, from what I can tell, shed basically no salary at all. They bring back Afflalo (can we stop pretending this guy is on the verge of becoming a start please) and Harrington while unloading Richardson and Duhon. I mean.......good god man. They don't get a single unprotected pick for Dwight Howard? WE GOT AN UNPROTECTED PICK FOR MO WILLIAMS!!!

This right here. I just can't understand this for the Magic. We've waited months for this stupid trade and this is what they come up with? Aaron Afflalo, Al Harrington, and some late first rounders? How is this for real?

If I was a Magic fan I'd be on the equivalent of their 480 bridge right now.

 

[RikSmits]

from a USA today article:

The Lakers have a long history of acquiring elite centers:

• They received Wilt Chamberlain in 1968 from the 76ers for three players who were not better than Wilt Chamberlain.
• They got Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (and Walt Wesley) in 1975 from the Milwaukee Bucks for four players who were not better than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
• They signed Shaquille O'Neal away from the Magic as a free agent in 1996.
• They traded for Pau Gasol in 2008, sending the Memphis Grizzlies three players and two draft picks, none of whom ended up better than Pau Gasol. (Though Marc Gasol, one of the pieces of the trade, is an excellent NBA center in his own right.)

They also got Mychal Thompson, a former no. 1 draft pick and 20-10 player, in '87 for Frank Brickowksi and change...

 

[LondonCav]

One of the worst trades i've ever seen when losing a star.

Just awful.

I feel sorry for Orlando now, never thought i'd say that after 2008/9!

 

[Akron330]

Awesome!

Dwight cried and moaned like a little bitch and he got exactly what he wanted. I really wish there was a way that this nonsense could stop. I know that the ratings were high last year but I cant think of anyway that this crap is good for the NBA.

Orlando needed to close the deal with one of the earlier trades that reported, they got nothing out of this

 

[mrbeaks]

The next time you hear a Lakers fan bitch about the nixed CP3 trade, punch them in the face as hard as you can.

 

[Phills14]

Let's not get our panties in the bunch for LA. They did give up an All-Star Center, arguably the 2nd best center in the league, who is 24 years old. They did get the best center in the league but he's close to 30 and is coming off back surgery. Not necessarily the slam dunk it seems to be. I can easily see Howard having injury issues and Bynum hitting his prime and dominating. Could also continue that Howard is the best center in the league for the next 3-4 years too.

The real problem is Orlando did an awful job at getting value for Howard. The other reported deals that Orlando supposidly turned down look 10x better than this hot garbage.

 

[Green Lantern]

As a Lakers fan, I'm glad this is over more than anything. It's nice to know where the team is going to be next season and that no more major shakeups are going to occur. I think if we sign a few solid bench guys like Barbosa, we'll have a good chance at winning it this year.

Not sure I feel like listening to this..Lakers just seem to get the better players and U say you're glad it's over like you've been put through a ringer...totally stupid Orlando Tragic..keep funneling the best centers to LA...absolutely stupid. They had better offers and hit the panic button..

 

[mrbeaks]

Let's not get our panties in the bunch for LA. They did give up an All-Star Center, arguably the 2nd best center in the league, who is 24 years old. They did get the best center in the league but he's close to 30 and is coming off back surgery.

Howard's twenty-six. Not exactly "close to thirty".

 

[AMC]

The Lakers have a long history of acquiring elite centers:

• They received Wilt Chamberlain in 1968 from the 76ers for three players who were not better than Wilt Chamberlain.
• They got Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (and Walt Wesley) in 1975 from the Milwaukee Bucks for four players who were not better than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
• They signed Shaquille O'Neal away from the Magic as a free agent in 1996.
• They traded for Pau Gasol in 2008, sending the Memphis Grizzlies three players and two draft picks, none of whom ended up better than Pau Gasol. (Though Marc Gasol, one of the pieces of the trade, is an excellent NBA center in his own right.)

Teams who trade a Top Center is rarely ever going to get a better player in return. So you can't really judge it by that, most star trades end up like that in the NBA.

 

[The Oi]

Problem here is that Kobe ain't gettin any younger.

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

This is unreal. If the rumors about the Cavs and Houston offers were even remotely true, Hennigan passed on two far superior offers for this mess. Hell, trading Howard straight up for that Toronto pick that Houson owns than this garbage.

 

[JMcCurry08]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Still hearing that the four-team deal is bigger than what has been reported. Don't be surprised if additional players are in finalized deal.</p>&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/233912964502138882" data-datetime="2012-08-10T13:09:31+00:00">August 10, 2012</a></blockquote>
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