NBA Rumors: Why a Dwight Howard-Stephen Jackson Pairing Makes for a Disaster

There are reports that Stephen Jackson and Dwight Howard have had talks about teaming up with Deron Williams in New Jersey. Nets fans should be hoping this never happens. 

One thing is for certain in the NBA: chemistry matters. Why are teams like the Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers among the best teams in the NBA, even though between the four of them they have one superstar?

The answer is they all three have great chemistry. They have players who know their places and know their roles. The whole become greater than the sum of the parts, and the teams become better on court than they are on paper because they work so well together. 

Now look to the New York Knicks, where a team tried to compile a "Big Three" that would compete with the Heat's version. In the case of the Knicks, they have two bona fide superstars and another legitimate star in Tyson Chandler, yet they are producing a kind of "antergy"—or less than the sum of their parts. 

When you start assembling your team and you're looking at different star players, you can't just consider the quality of the players. You have to consider a) whether their games work together and b) whether their personalities work together.

In the case of the former teams, you see those things are true. In the Knicks; case, while  Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony might be close personal friends, their games and personalities don't mesh well on the court. That's why the team isn't working. They have antergy.

So when you think of Deron Williams combining with Dwight Howard and Stephen Jackson in New Jersey is that something that screams chemistry? Is it synergy or antergy?

You have a consummate professional in Williams, a comedian in Howard and a bit of a narcissist in Jackson. How well is Williams going to lead these other two, and how long are they going to follow him? 

I can see Williams and Howard working together, with Williams being the serious side and Howard being able to lighten the mood when needed. But if you throw Jackson into the mix, the whole thing becomes volatile.

Williams is a leader, not a babysitter. I don't see him having a lot of patience for foolish antics and self absorbed tendencies. Howard's clowning is something he could handle, even appreciate in isolation, but when combined with Jackson's tendency towards self-absorbed antics, Williams could see both as being childish and lose patience. 

Jackson coming on board with Howard and Williams is a bad idea. Williams and Howard works fine together, but they have a promising enough young player in MarShon Brooks. They don't need to bring the potential for trouble on board.