Dwight Howard to the Chicago Bulls: A Good Idea or a Big Risk?

Howard wants to win. So he says.

Well, if Dwight wants to win really bad, he has to know that there is no better place than Chicago. Howard is the defensive player of the year almost every year, so he will easily fit into Tom Thibodeau’s defensive system. In fact, he will only make the defense better as his rebounding and shot blocking is far superior to anyone on the Bulls. The Bulls play a team defense as they lack a true defensive star.

With Howard, the Bulls would turn into a defensive nightmare for potent offenses such as the Miami Heat. Also, Dwight gives the Bulls an offensive post player.

Joakim Noah is hardly a scoring option and Boozer is not the low post threat the Bulls were hoping for. Howard has developed into a very good low post player ever since last year, which makes him unstoppable down in the paint.

The Bulls should make a run at Howard, but they must be careful with their trading options. The main key in this trade will be Luol Deng. Deng has been equally as valuable to the Bulls as Derrick Rose and is the Bulls second scoring option with Hamilton injured. He is also there most consistent defender and well-rounded player.

The Bulls should look at two trade scenarios:

Scenario 1:

  Bulls get: Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu

   Magic get: Bulls first round pick, Charlotte pick, Joakim Noah, Gibson/Boozer, rights to Nikola Mirotic/Omer Asik.

Scenario 2:

   Bulls get: Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson

   Magic get: Bulls 2012 first round pick, 2016 first round pick from Charlotte, Joakim Noah, Gibson/Boozer, rights to Nikola Mirotic/Omer Asik, and Luol Deng

Either scenario would work out for both teams as the Magic would love to get rid of Hedo’s expensive contract and in turn receive a lot of young pieces.

The Charlotte pick will probably be a high lottery pick and could end up being a number 1 pick. Another first round pick this year will also be valuable as it is a deep draft.

Joakim Noah is a high energy player who is a top 3 center in the east. The Bulls should let the Magic pick between Gibson and Boozer although they would probably pick Gibson who is young, less expensive, a terrific defensive player, and a less overall risk for the long term.

Two first round picks, three solid young defensive players, and a key leader in Deng will allow the Magic to have a lot of young pieces and free up a lot of cap space in order to bring in a big time free agent like Deron Williams.

Hamilton’s injury makes Deng even more valuable to the Bulls so they should be careful in dealing him.

If Chicago can get Jason Richardson in return, the Bulls should then include Deng in the package as well. Deng and Richardson are almost equally talented offensively with Deng being the better defensive player.

Trading away Deng will also allow Jimmy Butler to get into the rotation who is a solid defensive player and a Chicago fan favorite.

The Potential Team:

A starting five of Howard, Boozer, Deng/Richardson, Hamilton, and Rose is a legit championship team and will probably be the favored team to win it all.

The Bulls would then potentially have Turkoglu along with Asik, Brewer, CJ Watson, Kyle Korver, Jimmy Butler, John Lucas III, and Scalibrine on the bench.

Dwight has monster stamina and will be able to play 35-40 minutes a game and having Asik backing up Howard will be a luxury.

The possibilities: 

Seeing Rose and Howard playing together would be a marvel for Bulls fans and an absolute nightmare for defenses. Howard will command a double team, allowing Boozer open jump shots which are his strength.

Rose in the pick and roll with Howard will confuse teams who to stay with.

Rose will either blow by his man in the pick or pass or lob it to Howard. There is no way teams will be able to stay with both Howard and Rose which will open up Kyle Korver and Rip Hamilton to shoot wide open threes.

The possibilities with this team are endless.

 The Catch:

Howard has to show his commitment to win and be a team player.

He has to not be afraid of being overshadowed by Derrick Rose, because honestly, Rose will not and does not do that to his teammates.

Rose does not like the attention anyway but Howard cannot take advantage of that and start acting like he owns this team. If he really wants to win he has to put his ego aside as all the Bulls players have which has resulted in one of the most cohesive teams in the league.

The Million Dollar Question:

So, do you break up the tight knit family bond that the Bulls players have or do you go for it all and bring in the most dominant big man since Shaq in order to become a dynasty for the next decade?

It’s a tough choice, but Howard and Rose on the same team? That’s just not fair.