Blockbuster Trade Scenario That Brings Dwight Howard and Deron Williams to L.A.
ESPN's NBA Trade Machine is an awesome tool that helps many sports fans fantasize about crazy NBA trades. Most of these trades will never happen, but a recent trade sent to my Twitter account (@AndreKhatch) by a fellow by the name of Alessandro Baghdasarian actually could gain some steam.
The Los Angeles Lakers need a point guard and the best one available right now is Deron Williams since Chris Paul is locked in with the Los Angeles Clippers and Steve Nash is just too old.
In addition, Dwight Howard has included the Lakers on his wish list, and it only makes sense for the Magic to trade him and get some players back rather than see him walk away in free agency for nothing. If Dwight walks away during free agency, the Magic would all of a sudden become the Cleveland Cavaliers of last year.
So, how will a trade work out to bring Deron Williams and Dwight Howard to L.A.?
Let's check this out with the help of ESPN's Trade Machine. Once again, thanks to Alessandro Baghdasarian (@sportscrooks) for the suggestion:
As you can see, it seems like every team benefits from this trade.
The New Jersey Nets acquire Pau Gasol, who is under contract until the summer of 2014. Unlike Deron Williams, who is a free agent this summer, Gasol will be guaranteed to stay for several years, and the Nets will be a thick, physical team with Brook Lopez in the frontcourt, too.
It'll also make sense for them to get a few draft picks from the Lakers and Orlando Magic so that they will be more viable in the future. They lost plenty of draft picks in the Deron Williams trade, which obviously hasn't really worked out for the team, as exemplified by their dismal record, so maybe getting some of those first-round picks will be great for the Nets.
For the Orlando Magic, they get rid of Hedo Turkoglu's ugly contract, acquire a young center they can build the team around and get a solid passer in Luke Walton, who arguably could be a better player if he got more playing team.
Bynum in Orlando is not as flashy as Howard, but at least they won't collapse like the Cavaliers did last season. He's pretty much a poor man's Howard, which can be good enough to get the Magic in the playoffs.
Hollinger's analysis says that the Magic will lose 11 more games after this trade, but that's hard to say when Bynum is putting up double figures in points and rebounds with the Lakers. With Orlando, he'll be the focal point of the offense and probably be able to put up closer to 20 points a game.
They won't win as many games, but they won't be the Cavs of 2010-11.
Finally, the Lakers become clear-cut favorites for the NBA title with this trade. They get an elite point guard in Deron Williams, a behemoth in the paint with Dwight Howard and they still have Kobe Bryant, who isn't ready to hang up his sneakers yet.
They will owe over $17 million in luxury tax but with all the playoff revenue that will be coming in for several years, it's hard to imagine that the tax would harm the team financially. Plus, ticket prices will most likely increase and the gigantic TV deal that the Lakers have next year kicks in, too. The money is definitely not an issue for this team.
This is a mutually beneficial trade for all teams and will instantly turn the Lakers into a dynasty team that will compete with the Miami Heat for years to come.
Thoughts?
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