5 Reasons We Can Justify LeBron James-Dwight Howard Trade If Heat Lose NBA Title

Disclaimer: In no way shape or form do I wish the Miami Heat to trade LeBron James for Dwight Howard at any time in the future. It's a ridiculous trade that the Orlando Magic would never go for, considering that they're not ready to sign another elite player only to surround him with mediocre talent and a horribly run offense. It's also important to note that in no way two teams from the same division would swap stars of this caliber...ever.

But it sure is fun to think about, isn't it?

With Dwight Howard possibly exiting Orlando during his period as a free agent next off season and LeBron James failing in his most recent trip to the NBA Finals, the talk of a possible swap between the two teams involving their superstars has been brought up.

It's a far-fetched idea since the Heat aren't exactly ready to give up James, and the Magic aren't going to swap a superstar with a superstar only to find themselves in the same problem as before.

It's still an interesting thought for the Miami Heat though, especially considering that Howard just might be a better overall fit than James. The team already has its slasher in Dwyane Wade and they lack anything near what you might call a reliable post presence.

With Howard on the Heat, the team not only allows Wade to become the sole slasher, but now has Dwight for a post presence to attract attention and create an inside-outside game between the two.

Throw in Chris Bosh and defenses might not know how to handle keeping Wade from slashing at will, Bosh from his mid-range and driving game, and Howard in the post and the Heat suddenly seem as deadlier than when they ever had LeBron James on the team.

Before writing any absurd comments, take note that the odds of this happening are basically near zero. This is only speculating if Pat Riley completely loses his mind if the Heat fail to win a title next year, and decides to blow up the team in favor of the Heat taking on possibly the most dominant player in the game not named LeBron James.

I have the Heat winning next year, as I did last season, so I don't expect this monumental move to be made any time soon, but if it does here are five reasons as to how Howard improves this team in ways that James couldn't.

You can follow John Friel and his rants and raves on twitter @JohnFtheheatgod

Better Flowing Offense

Much of a surprise to the Miami Heat and the rest of the NBA world, the team actually struggled far more on offense rather than defense.

Defensively, this team was nearly impenetrable and unstoppable. With LeBron James and Dwyane Wade manning the perimeter or shutting down opposing guards or forwards in a one-on-one setting, the Heat shut down an entire region on the offensive end of the floor for opponents.

Their main plan was to win the game over the duration of the first 36 minutes by wearing the opposition out on offense for the first three quarters so that their opponent would not be near its physical peak to compete in the fourth quarter.

It was on offense where the team struggled more frequently.

Whether it was not having the big men in the middle to capitalize on easy scoring opportunities, Chris Bosh's inconsistencies, or the complete ineptitude of the team's shooters to consistently hit shots, the Heat weren't always as fluent as we expected them to be at the start of the season.

Perhaps one of the most difficult circumstances to overcome was splitting up the time driving between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The duo no doubt appeared to be unstoppable at times, especially on the fast break, but they did struggle from time to time when sharing the ball.

For one, neither player is too keen when it comes to moving without the ball as well with the offense being restricted to the perimeter because of opposing defenses loading up on drives with Wade and James.

With James, he's never had the benefit of playing on a team that's had superstars in the past. The offense has always been focused on him, he's always dictated the offense, and he's become very accustomed to playing this way for the first seven years of his career, as opposed to Wade who had played with Shaquille O'Neal for three seasons.

With Dwight Howard...

Dwyane Wade becomes the sole slashing threat again, but gets the defensive attention reduced off of him since the opposition will now have to be worried about the possibility of a Bosh mid-range jumper or drive and the fact that Dwight Howard is now manning the paint.

With a player of Howard's caliber in the middle, he can see plenty of looks in the post while freeing up Wade, Bosh, and the rest of the team for easy scores from anywhere on the court.

Wade and Shaq 2.0

From 2004 until their final days together in 2007, the duo of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal was arguably one of the greatest inside-outside tandems in the league before injuries and age began to wear down on the bodies of both future Hall of Famers.

Keep in mind that this was the time that Wade's jumper was the best it ever was at the NBA level. The duo was too much of a threat from nearly every aspect on the court with O'Neal's ability to post up and score on anyone, and his even more important ability to attract double and triple teams in order to free up players like Wade for easy scores on offense.

Strictly O'Neal's offensive influence was enough for the Heat to dominate the Eastern Conference for two consecutive seasons. He played a huge part in the Heat's NBA Finals win, despite only averaging 13 points and nine rebounds, because of the double-teams he still attracted to allow Dwyane Wade to go off for 35 points per.

It was a terrific rite of passage for Wade, who learned how to play with a teammate like O'Neal as early as his sophomore year in the NBA. He learned the art of being a quality teammate, playing with a post presence, and knowing when to move without the ball because of the amount of looks that O'Neal would get as the team's second offensive option.

It's not to say that Wade and LeBron James haven't seen a terrific amount of success in only one year together, but a direct inside-outside game between Wade and a star center would be more effective because of both players' ability to attract double teams and free up teammates for easy scores.

It's a lot more effective than having two perimeter players that attack at all times to share the ball amongst each other from 25 feet out.

With Dwight Howard on the team...

Dwyane Wade gets his Shaquille O'Neal back. Since Wade has already had the benefit of playing with a star center that can score on offense at will thanks to their physicality alone, the process of him and Dwight Howard gelling together won't take nearly as long as it did between Wade and James.

It frees up Wade and Howard for easier scores since most opposing defenses will require double teams to limit both players, while also keeping Chris Bosh in mind as well.

Greater Offensive Advantage

There's no arguing it. Defending LeBron James is one of the most difficult obstacles an opposing team has to overcome.

He's an absolute handful to defend considering that he has a 6'8", 250-pound frame, and is capable of utilizing his strength and surprisingly quick speed to get as close to the rim as possible for his easy scores.

There aren't too many defenders in the league that has the strength or the speed to keep up with James and it allows him to either get to the rim for the easy lay in or dunk or a couple foul shots.

Not only that, but James has also considerably improved his mid-range and three-point game as well. Both aspects of offense could still use some work and he'll need to greatly improve his consistency if he wants to make it a legitimate part of his game, but they are improving and they'll only continue to improve as long as he keeps working on it.

James is an unbelievable physical specimen and that's just his problem. He's an unbelievable physical specimen and that's about it.

As you can tell by his work in the NBA Finals, he still needs to greatly work on the mental aspect of his game, especially when it comes to making adjustments, finding other ways to leave a positive impact on the team outside of scoring, and consistently performing well in the clutch.

DeShawn Stevenson and Shawn Marion are solid defenders, but they're not quality enough defenders to stop LeBron James. If he can overcome Andre Iguodala and Ron Artest, then he should be able to overcome the likes of Stevenson and Marion. Those two were able to keep James in check because they worked their way into James' head and completely threw him off, as well as placing him in situations that they knew he wasn't comfortable with, such as playing him with his back to the basket.

With Dwight Howard...

The Miami Heat would have an insurmountable offensive advantage with Dwight Howard on the team. It's impossible to play him one-on-one since there isn't a center with the size, speed, and athleticism to keep Howard out of the lane and away from the rim. Even so, Howard has been receiving practice with Hakeem Olajuwon and has significantly improved his offensive game outside of five feet.

Double teaming is the only way to stop Howard, and that's going to come as a problem when the Heat have two other options that can score at will.

Definite Defensive Improvement in the Post

I'm using the word improvement here loosely because there really wasn't any post defense from the Miami Heat's big men.

Joel Anthony was the best the team had as far as having a defensive presence in the post goes, but he was only 6'9" and was scored on at will by the usually taller, more scoring-oriented power forwards and centers.

Anthony's a solid defender when defending players his size thanks to his lateral quickness and timing when it comes to blocking shots, but it's not the answer the team needs when it comes to finding an answer in the post.

No, Erick Dampier, Jamaal Magloire, and Dexter Pittman aren't the answers either.

The Miami Heat need a legitimate center that can clog the lane and deter opponents from either driving into the paint or posting up at will, since the team doesn't have a center quick enough or strong enough to have any mention in what the opposition is going to do once they enter the paint.

With the free agency period hopefully starting up soon, the Heat will find temporary answers in centers that are either cost-efficient or extremely desperate for a ring. Nene Hilario would be the biggest splash, but that's a huge stretch considering he's the top big man in free agency and will be highly coveted by Denver and a number of other teams.

Samuel Dalembert is a top-notch defender that's appearing to be the most-likely choice, but he too might turn down the Heat's offer since it won't be enough to match-up against the offers from other teams interested.

For Heat fans, expect the possibility of Kwame Brown or Joel Przybilla possibly filling in at the starting center position with high hopes that Pittman will break out of his shell.

With Dwight Howard...

You lose out on an excellent perimeter defender, but you still have Dwyane Wade deterring opposing guards from entering. Even if guards and forwards break through the Heat's first line on defense in the back court, then they still have to encounter the league's top defensive post player and three-time defending Defensive Player of the Year in Dwight Howard.

The Heat get an immediate boost in defense in the post, and they also disallow a lot of driving opportunities from opponents since the looming, hulking figure of Dwight Howard is always present and waiting in the post for players that are bold enough to drive on him.

Makes Dwyane Wade the Clear-Cut Leader

The Miami Heat enjoyed the success that they saw from their roster last season.

They lost their two best options off the bench for the majority of the season, had momentary lapses throughout the season, and saw their big three struggle to get into a fluent offensive flow for the duration of the season.

Yet, their first season together was a near success as they only came two games away from a championship.

A 58-24 record, steamrolling their Eastern Conference foes, and coming extremely close to an NBA Finals victory is fitting for any team, but it's now time for the Heat to look towards the future. As I stated in the introduction to this article, I believe that the team will recover and will go on to win the championship next season with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade leading the way, thus eliminating any need for Dwight Howard on the team.

However, if the team fails to win it next year, the majority of the blame is going to be put on LeBron James strictly because he's LeBron James.

It was a disappointment last year that the team didn't win, and it would be a monumental disappointment if the team doesn't win next season with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller back, a number of free agents instilled to assist the team, and a greater understanding of each other between the big three.

There are no excuses next year, and the thought of moving LeBron James for the Orlando Magic superstar could come across the minds of the Heat organization.

With Dwight Howard...

Without James on the team, the control of the Heat goes back solely in the hands of Dwyane Wade. He's one of the best leaders in the history of the game and has proven so time after time with a championship already in hand, and the proven ability to lead a team no matter how bright the spotlight is shining upon him or a teammate.

Howard has the capability of leading a team to a championship if given the right pieces. He can guarantee himself a few rings if he joins the Miami Heat and allows a proven leader to take charge once again.