Dwight Howard to the Lakers and the Blockbuster Trade That Would Shape the NBA

 It's 2:30 in the morning as I type this. A friend of mine just left after hours of going on and on about which sport franchises have had the most success playing somewhere other than where the team originated.

Naturally, the Lakers came up. Which led into a yelling argument of stubborn opinions about whether the Magic should trade Dwight Howard.

After a trip to 7-11, a cup of coffee and an embarrassing discussion of our first email addresses, we came up with the only fair trade that would send Dwight Howard to the Lakers.   

This is a four-team trade, involving the Lakers, the Magic, the Nets, and the Timberwolves. 

1. Lakers receive: Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, and Anthony Randolph.
2. Magic receive: Andrew Bynum, Anthony Morrow, Metta World Peace, Matt Barnes, Jordan Farmar, and the Utah Jazz 2012 first-round pick via Minnesota.
3. Nets receive: Jameer Nelson, Derrick Williams, Michael Beasley, Martell Webster, Darko Milicic, and the Dallas Mavericks 2012 first-round pick via Los Angeles
4. Timberwolves receive: Hedo Turkoglu, Pau Gasol, Mehmet Okur and JJ Redick.

Woah. Let's break it down. The Lakers walk away with two superstars, and a prospect. How did that happen? Well. It always happens.

Remember when they traded for Pau Gasol? They traded Kwame Brown, two first round picks, Pau's little brother, Marc, and Javaris Crittenton. None of those have amounted to anything close to what Pau has in LA.

They know they want to trade Pau, so does the market and media. But the Lakers are to the NBA what the Patriots are to the NFL; they sort of have this way of convincing teams trading with them is a good idea, even though it never is.

So I have no problem assuming that the Lakers can fleece the Nets and Magic in this deal. The Magic let Shaq walk away, and if they make that mistake again, well I'm sure the fanbase won't be happy.

Getting Deron Williams and Dwight Howard is a slap in the face to the Nets, and them helping them get that goal is like introducing your ex-girlfriend to her new boyfriend.

But what choice do the Nets have? If Dwight goes to LA, there is no chance of Deron re-signing, and they get nothing out of the deal.

They get taken hostage by the power of LA, they can get good young forwards from the Timberwolves in Williams and Beasley, a PG to replace Deron in Nelson, and a first-round pick. Yeah, it's not the best thing in the world, but it's better than getting absolutely nothing in return, right?

Minnesota would immediately become a contender. I will admit, I'm biased, I'm a fan. But that's what made me be able to do this so fairly, was that I am a fan, and I know the front office very well, how they think, and what they would do.

To become a playoff team in a town where nobody has cared about basketball since KG left, is monumental. Beasley is on the trade block, his future isn't in Minnesota. He will walk at the end of the year, so there is no love lost in trading him.

And during the draft, I don't even think the Timberwolves wanted Derrick Williams. I think they took him because he provided the best value, and with Pektacular coming in strong at Center, moving Kevin Love over to PF, Derrick Williams would be sharing minutes with the star.

(I have watched every Timberwolves game this year, and I can honestly say Derrick Williams seems to play more when we lose. Maybe it's a half a second more, but I can sense when we will lose based on his minutes.)

Pau Gasol is an All-Star. He's tough, and would provide veteran leadership on a team without a veteran to lead it (if you think Luke Ridnour counts, I don't know what to tell you).

I fully believe the Timberwolves would run Love at the 3 if they could get Pau Gasol. With Hedo coming off the bench as the sixth man, and JJ sliding into that 2 spot nicely. Two starters for the price of one.

All in all, that leaves us with these starting lineups

Lakers - Williams, Bryant, Walton, Randolph and Howard
Magic - Farmar, Morrow, World Peace, Anderson and Bynum
Nets - Nelson, Stevenson, Beasley, Humphries and Lopez
Timberwolves - Rubio, Reddick, Love, Gasol and Pekovic

None of those sound like terrible starting lineups. The Nets can let Humphries and his big contract walk at the end of the year, slide Williams into the starting lineup, grab a lottery pick, and be on their way to Brooklyn, where fans will be so excited to see any team play, that they will fill the stadium for the average/below-average team the first year there.

The Lakers can return to dominance, the Timberwolves can return to relevancy, and the Magic can compete and improve.

As always, I'd love to hear your opinions, see what trades you guys can come up with, discuss each other's trades. You could send Lin to the Kings. (Almost made it a whole article without a Jeremy Lin reference. Almost.)