Brook Lopez's Big Return Proves Time Is Right to Deal for Dwight Howard

Brook Lopez played in his third game of the season last night and scored 38 points in the process. Suddenly, the prospect of swapping Lopez and others for Dwight Howard doesn't look so horrible after all. 

The "others" in the potential deal shouldn't be overlooked—they are real players with real NBA potential. And while Lopez might not be the equivalent of Howard, he is sufficient to be the centerpiece of a package deal. 

Look at some of the other players that had a package built around them to obtain a superstar player. Danilo Gallinari was the key to obtaining Carmelo Anthony, Devin Harris was the chip to secure Deron Williams and Eric Gordon was essential in receiving Chris Paul. 

In none of those cases were the players whom the trades were built around even close to being on par with the players they were traded for. People shouldn't be comparing Lopez to Howard; they should be comparing Lopez to Gallinari, Harris and Gordon. 

The difference between a good trade and a bad trade isn't just the best player in the trade, it's the "others" that are also involved. There's a reason that the Denver Nuggets have been better than the Knicks since the Anthony trade, and it's not just because of Gallinari's success. 

Ryan Anderson was one of the "others" in a previous Orlando trade involving Vince Carter, and that worked out pretty well. If anyone can appreciate the value of "others," it's Magic GM Otis Smith. 

Lopez's 38-point game does not prove that he's going to be an All-Star someday. However, it does suggest that he has that potential. It also suggests that he's back from his foot injury. Those two signs—that he can perform and that he's still healthy—should be sufficient for the Magic to make a move. 

Lopez is only 23 years old. He's averaged 17.4 points and 7.5 boards per game over the course of his career. There are two things we know for sure—he's a good scorer and a horrible rebounder. The question is whether the rebounding thing is something he can work out.

In his first two seasons, he averaged 8.1 boards and 8.6, respectively, before mononucleosis hurt his aggressiveness down low last year. Once he gets his feet under him this year, he should return to form. 

There's still details to be worked out as to who those "others" might be, but Lopez "and others" looks like a better deal now than it did 24 hours ago.