Chicago Bulls: Trading for Dwight Howard Would Guarantee NBA Championship

The Chicago Bulls are 9-2 and have the best record in the NBA right now (tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder).

Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah are playing well together and the bench has been steadily improving.

However, we've seen this current group of Bulls flame out against the Miami Heat in the playoffs in the past and the Heat got significantly better this offseason.

If this group of Bulls meets the new and improved version of the Heat in the playoffs this year, the result will likely be very similar.

How can the Bulls prevent another early playoff exit in 2012, you ask? The answer is getting Dwight Howard.

Howard is not happy with the Orlando Magic and wants to go somewhere else. He has stated that he would like to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets or Dallas Mavericks, but the Bulls should try to convince him that he can be more successful in Chicago than in any of the cities on his list.

As for the question of whether or not he'd get along with Rose, Shaun Powell of NBA.com thinks the two would get along splendidly:

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For starters, Rose and Howard would get along fine. Rose is the reigning MVP but doesn't act like one, doesn't carry himself like one, in terms of ego. He already signed his big contract, so money won't be an agenda, and Rose feels secure in his own skin anyway. This is important, because Howard is the opposite. Not in a selfish sense, but his personality and presence is larger than life and can overwhelm a locker room. Some stars couldn't deal with that, but Rose could.

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What would the Bulls have to give up to get Howard? It'd probably center around Noah and Deng or Taj Gibson.

If the Bulls can get Howard for that price, they'd be stupid not to pull the trigger. Howard is an upgrade over Noah in every aspect of the game and replacing Deng or Gibson wouldn't be impossible.

Ronnie Brewer has been playing really well lately, so he could step in at small forward and be an effective replacement for Deng (assuming the Magic would want him over Gibson).

A starting five of Rose, Richard Hamilton, Ronnie Brewer, Boozer and Howard would be good enough to stop the Heat and win an NBA Championship. With guys like Omer Asik, Gibson and Kyle Korver coming off the bench, this team would be able to match up favorably with any team in the Eastern Conference.

Simply put, the Bulls aren't good enough to win the NBA Finals right now. If they get Howard, they would get over the hump and an NBA Championship would be a given.