Knicks Trade Rumors: Why Dwight Howard to Knicks Is Better on Paper Than Reality

Of course the Knicks have interest in Dwight Howard, but in their current situation, D-12 doesn't make the Knicks much better than they are now. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reported this:

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New York is another place Howard would consider settling in long-term, and the talent-laden Knicks could offer a package that could rival just about anyone's, something along the lines of Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler.

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If New York does that deal, obviously Howard replaces Chandler in the middle, but subtracting Melo shouldn't be understated.

Anthony is one of the games' top-four offensive players. You don't just remove a 24.7 point-per-game career scorer without feeling it. It's not as much about the points as it is about the threat and floor spacing.

Melo can score from anywhere, and defenses must pay attention to him wherever he catches the ball. That is part of what creates the very important, but often neglected, floor balance. Would the Knicks' roster still have that after a deal like this?

I don't think so.

In late-game situations, who takes the shot for this team?

We know Howard is a poor free-throw shooter (59 percent for his career), so late-game situations are an issue for him. If you think Jeremy Lin is ready to be that guy already, you are deceived.

This is just another situation where the Knicks would desperately miss Anthony. He is the unquestioned go-to man in these crucial scenarios. "Clutch" has been defined by 82games.com as "4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points."

In those situations, Anthony is the third most productive player in the NBA.

If New York moves him, they need to replace him with someone who can produce when the game is on the line. That isn't Howard, Lin or Amar'e Stoudemire.

Speaking of Stoudemire, are you convinced that Stat and Howard can coexist? Consider this: While Howard can help hide Stoudemire's defensive deficiencies, he will also take shots from him.

Howard turns Amar'e into a mid-range jump shot shooter, as he doesn't still have the explosion to blow by defenders as he once did. Is this something both pivot players will be happy with?

Amar'e has accepted a diminished scoring role this season and the end of last season without much issue, but Howard may not be so gracious if he has to share post-area freedom.

Stoudemire is not the ideal power forward to play along side Howard. If I had to pick a guy perfect for that role, it would be someone like Udonis Haslem or Kris Humphries. They don't need to have plays run for them, they make the 15-footer consistently, they hustle and defend.

Good luck convincing Stoudemire, who has averaged 21.7 points per game in his career, that his role has been diminished to that level.

Finally, as great as a Howard-Lin tandem sounds, it still doesn't mask the fact that Mike D'Antoni is not a championship-level head coach. In fact, the trade could be the last step in conveying that to Knicks' management. 

With that roster, D'Antoni would have the point guard he needed running his system and the world's best big man. If he can't win with that set-up, he never will. 

Well, I guess he never will.

D'Antoni peaked as a coach in Phoenix—the Suns realized that—and the Knicks will come to the same conclusion. Defense will always win championships, when you have to be dragged kicking and screaming into that philosophy, your players won't commit.

This is the first year a D'Antoni team has ever allowed less than 100 points per game.

As much as Howard would bolster the interior defense, the perimeter defense is still less than stellar under D'Antoni. Chandler is already a defensive-minded center, and the Knicks still rank only 13th in points allowed.

This is a deal that could lead to a championship-caliber team in a few years, but the Knicks need a new man on the sidelines and clutch scoring to make it work.

This is a perfect example of a deal that looks great on the surface, but further analysis highlights some undeniable issues. The Knicks are better off exploring how far this current nucleus can go before selling the farm again for Howard.