Dwight Howard Trade Ideas: Should Clippers Trade Blake Griffin for Howard?

Dwight Howard has added a new team to his preferred teams to be dealt to list. It was reported that Howard now has both Los Angeles teams on his wishlist, as the Clippers are another team "Superman" would like to play for.

This scenario is highly unlikely, however, as the Clippers don't have the right pieces to land a trade for Howard. That is, unless they include Blake Griffin in the deal.

Would trading Griffin for Howard be a smart move for the Clippers?

Blake Griffin will easily be the best trading piece that the Magic could get in return for Howard. The other teams that are on Howard's wishlist are the New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks.

The Nets would include Brook Lopez as the focal point of their deal for Howard. The Lakers would focus their deal to the Magic around their center, Andrew Bynum. And the Mavericks don't really have a key player that they could use to deal for Howard and would probably have to wait until he becomes a free agent in the offseason.

The Clippers would most likely be able to land Howard if they were willing to ship Griffin to Orlando. Howard would improve the Clippers, and it might be a good idea for them to consider that option.

Three main reasons why the Clippers would be wise to trade Griffin for Howard are that Howard is the best player at his position, Griffin's injury history and how it is easier to acquire a quality power forward than a quality center.

Howard is one of the top players in the NBA today. He is the most dominating player in the game and would improve the Clippers. Howard is averaging 14.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 19.4 points per game. Howard is a vast improvement over Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, who does not average double digits in any major stat category.

Griffin is not necessarily injury-prone, but there should be some concern about his knees. Griffin is a player who relies on his vertical ability and strength. He missed his entire rookie season (well, what should have been his rookie season) because he broke his left kneecap and required surgery.

History has shown that knee injuries are common among "big men", and it should always be a concern that Griffin's knees may be a problem in the future.

Arguably the two most important positions in the NBA are the point guard and center positions. With Chris Paul already locked in at point guard, Howard would allow the Clippers to have star players at the two most important positions.

It is hard to find a star center in the NBA right now, meanwhile there are more star power forwards. The Clippers will have an easier time locking up a future Hall of Fame center and trying to fill the power forward position after, as opposed to trying to find another quality center not named "Dwight Howard."

Another bonus would be that the Clippers would steal the Lakers' "thunder" again by acquiring another star player that was on the Lakers' wishlist.

The Lakers were on the verge of acquiring Paul until NBA commissioner David Stern vetoed the deal. The Clippers than were able to make a successful deal and acquire Paul.

The Clippers would be foolish not to at least consider dealing Griffin to get Howard.