NBA Trade Rumors: Is Van Gundy Crazy for Talking LeBron James for Dwight Howard?
We live in a world where overreaction runs rampant—especially in the world of sports. The idea that the Miami Heat should trade Dwyane Wade or LeBron James in exchange for Dwight Howard is definitely a case of overreaction.
It's an overreaction to Miami's loss to the Dallas Mavericks. It's an overreaction to LeBron's failures in the fourth quarters of this series. But even if it is an overreaction, it's still interesting.
The idea was suggested by ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy following Dallas' Game 6 victory last night:
"“I think that Wade and James, going forward, they have to evaluate: Is that the best compliment they could be? Or should they make a play for Dwight Howard using one of those two guys, to get a more balanced team? That’s for the offseason.”
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Would a Big Three of Wade, Chris Bosh and Howard or James, Bosh and Howard be better than Miami's current trio? You could easily make an argument that it would. Their frontcourt would be unstoppable. The defense wouldn't suffer at all (in fact, it might even get better). And there would no longer be any confusion over who gets the ball in crunch time.
For as many reasons as there are to think this trade would work, there are probably more to suggest it's just plain ludicrous.
First of all, there's no guarantee the Magic would be interested in giving up the game's best center for a wing that they have to completely redesign the team for.
There's also the fact that despite losing, Miami currently employs the two most naturally talented players in the world. This was their first year together, and they made it to the NBA Finals. To think this core won't improve is absurd.
Miami definitely doesn't need to do anything drastic. Like I said at the start, this is simply an overreaction by Jeff Van Gundy (and a great talking point for me). All they really need to do is add little pieces, make minor tweaks. They need to refine rather than rebuild this roster.
They can look to add a starting center and bench pieces through free agency and the next couple drafts. Ultimately, this team, with these three stars, will be competing for titles for years without making any other huge summer deals.
You can follow Andy Bailey on Twitter @_Andy_Bailey
