Dwight Howard to Nets: Rumored Trade Would Not Make New Jersey Team to Beat

The best teams in the Eastern Conference are the Heat, Bulls, Celtics and Knicks. The Heat, Celtics and Knicks are all front loaded, while the Bulls are deep. Still, Miami, Boston and New York have depth, while the Bulls have talent at the top. 

In all honesty, it's going to take an awful lot to keep those teams from being the top four teams. 

ESPN's Chris Broussard posted something interesting via Twitter.

I use the word interesting because while Howard would certainly be a big name, his acquisition wouldn't make the Nets one of the Eastern Conference's top four teams. 

The combination of Deron Williams and Howard would give them a nice duo, but it doesn't stack up well to the other top teams. 

As the team currently stands, the pieces aren't in place to make a serious run. This team hasn't made the playoffs since the 2006-2007 campaign. That's also the last time they had a .500 record.

The last two seasons have been pathetic. The Nets won 12 games in their 2009-2010 campaign. The 2010-2011 season was better, but 24-58 is hardly a good season. 

What all that means is that the team still has a long way to go before they are serious championship contenders.

The Celtics did load their team up for the 2007-2008 season. They were a bad team the year before, brought in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to compliment Paul Pierce and then won the title. That's all true, but they had three elite players, and the Eastern Conference wasn't anywhere near as good then.

The Heat won the Eastern Conference a season ago after bringing in LeBron James and Chris Bosh to play around Dwyane Wade. But again, that's three stars and they weren't starting from anywhere near as far back. 

So, while this move would make the Nets a playoff team, it wouldn't get them anywhere near an Eastern Conference Championship.

They just don't have the foundation in place around Williams and Howard to make any kind of significant move.

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