Dwight Howard Nets: Deron Williams and D12 Would Lead New Jersey Back to Finals

Dwight Howard and Deron Williams would bring the New Jersey Nets back to the NBA Finals and win the franchise's first championship.

Howard has requested a trade to the Nets and the Orlando Magic must trade him to avoid getting nothing in return for him when Howard can become a free agent next summer.

The Nets can offer three first round picks, which is quite valuable with a very deep 2012 draft class, as well as young, promising center Brook Lopez.

With Howard, Williams would finally have a dominating big man who will help the Nets at both ends of the floor. Howard is the three-time defending defensive player of the year, and would really solidify the interior defense of the Nets.

One of the reasons the Nets were not able to beat the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs in the 2002 and 2003 NBA Finals, respectively, was because they were far inferior at the center position to their opponent.

In an era of NBA basketball where there are so few dominating centers, having Howard would give the Nets a tremendous advantage over every team.

Howard effects the game in many more ways than his own individual play. Due to the fact he's such a difficult player to defend in the paint, defenses are hesitant to leave him to close down shooters positioned at the three-point line.

Nets shooters like Jordan Farmar, Marshon Brooks, Anthony Morrow and even Williams will have many more open shots on the perimeter because Howard will prevent teams from leaving him one-on-one in the paint so they can defend the shooters.

In acquiring Howard, the Nets are also willing to take Hedo Turkoglu from the Magic and his massive salary-cap burdening contract that has three years and $34 million left on it.

Turkoglu would be a valuable part of the Nets' roster despite his large contract. His experience with Howard would help the team, and his outside shooting will help stretch the floor and allow Howard one-on-one matchups at the basket. He also is a quality ball-handler for a small forward.

Williams and Howard would be the perfect PG/C combo because they each are supremely talented and have a desire to win. Both have been on multiple playoff teams and have gotten close to winning a title, but neither has won a championship.

With Howard and Williams leading the team into the future, the Nets would have an elite top player at the two most important positions in basketball, and the duo would lead them back to the Finals where they would finish the job.

Nicholas Goss is an NBA Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report.

Follow @NicholasGoss35