Dwight Howard is a dumbass

[Ray_Dogg]

Ian O'Connor ‏ @Ian_OConnor

Stan Van: management told me story is true that Howard asked for him to b fired

Stan Van: yes I know Dwight Howard has asked for me to b fired..wow

Howard comes in hugs Stan and doesn't realize Stan just confirmed story

Howard never denied what Stan Van Gundy claimed..wanted to know source: that source would b ur coach Dwight

 

[CitySushi]

Pretty much my thoughts on all things Dwight.

 

[naes666]

Ian O'Connor ‏ @Ian_OConnor

Stan Van: management told me story is true that Howard asked for him to b fired

Stan Van: yes I know Dwight Howard has asked for me to b fired..wow

Howard comes in hugs Stan and doesn't realize Stan just confirmed story

Howard never denied what Stan Van Gundy claimed..wanted to know source: that source would b ur coach Dwight

so glad the Warriors never got him...he makes Captain Jax look like a saint...

 

[Yoshi]

so glad the Warriors never got him...he makes Captain Jax look like a saint...

His antics were definitely poor, but his inclusion in the Lakers lineup will undoubtedly make LA the favorites to represent the West in the finals...

 

[CitySushi]

It's amazing at how little the Magic got in return. 3 Mediocre draft picks, basically swapping J-Rich's contract for Harrington's, having Afflalo be the best player they receive in return, should be considered terrible. They would have been much better served going after the trade with Houston.

 

[CameronFrye]

It's amazing at how little the Magic got in return. 3 Mediocre draft picks, basically swapping J-Rich's contract for Harrington's, having Afflalo be the best player they receive in return, should be considered terrible. They would have been much better served going after the trade with Houston.

I was driving home from my kid's soccer practice when I heard on KNBR that Dwight was a Laker and automatically ASSumed that either Bynum or Gasol had gone to the Magic in return. I got home and checked the interwebs for details. I was amazed to see how poorly the Magic had come out of the deal.

Having three first round draft picks from the Lakers, Nuggets and Sixers means SQUAT because all of those picks will be in the mid-to-late 20s because all three of those teams are going to be solid.

The two additional second round picks? Garbage.

The Orlando GM should be fired.

 

[shaffdogg76]

I think everyone is being a bit unfair to the GM.

There is no such thing as getting fair value when you trade a top 3 player. The only way for the GM in Orlando to get fair value in a trade of Dwight Howard would be to get back a top 3 player or two top 10 players. That's pretty much it.

The Magic made a move that is almost certain to make them an awful team for several years and keep them in the part of the lottery where they can try to get lucky in the draft for the 3rd time (I have the feeling Stern is working on it with the guys at Arthur Anderson right now).

In the NBA you want your team to be elite or god awful because at least there is some hope for a brighter future if you are really bad. The worst thing you could do as a GM is put your team in the mid-to-late lottery every year.

 

[CitySushi]

I think everyone is being a bit unfair to the GM.

There is no such thing as getting fair value when you trade a top 3 player. The only way for the GM in Orlando to get fair value in a trade of Dwight Howard would be to get back a top 3 player or two top 10 players. That's pretty much it.

The Magic made a move that is almost certain to make them an awful team for several years and keep them in the part of the lottery where they can try to get lucky in the draft for the 3rd time (I have the feeling Stern is working on it with the guys at Arthur Anderson right now).

In the NBA you want your team to be elite or god awful because at least there is some hope for a brighter future if you are really bad. The worst thing you could do as a GM is put your team in the mid-to-late lottery every year.

Hennigan is coming from the Presti school of trying to be bad enough for a couple years to get some superstars through the draft. The only problem with this was that they had a top 5 NBA talent to trade, and I don't believe he maximized his returns to the fullest. He didn't get any lottery picks in return. His best young player he got back was Harkless, who in all fairness could be a nice player in the league. The best player he got back in return is a pretty good/decent shooting guard in Afflalo. Lastly the biggest draw was 3 first round picks, all going to be in the 20-30 range.

This could have all been accomplished with a trade with Houston for their Lottery picks, a couple young guys and Kevin Martin's expiring contract. They would have been just as terrible as their upcoming team, but with much less dead weight to carry for years.

In the end, he got rid of a superstar, got back 3 mediocre draft picks, one good player, one decent player, one talented rookie, and shed no bad contracts.

 

[ChuckDurn]

I agree with Cam and CitySushi. While we may want to give the Orlando GM the benefit of the doubt, at the same time it seems pretty apparent that the deal they are taking is the worst of the ones that was publicized.

Houston was offering 4 #1 picks, one of which was guaranteed in the lottery, Lamb, either White or Jones, and was going to absorb more of the bad contracts. That offer was superior to the current package Orlando's getting, including both the quality of picks and the quality of the prospects. Can't understand why they would take this package.

 

[CameronFrye]

I agree with Cam and CitySushi. While we may want to give the Orlando GM the benefit of the doubt, at the same time it seems pretty apparent that the deal they are taking is the worst of the ones that was publicized.

Houston was offering 4 #1 picks, one of which was guaranteed in the lottery, Lamb, either White or Jones, and was going to absorb more of the bad contracts. That offer was superior to the current package Orlando's getting, including both the quality of picks and the quality of the prospects. Can't understand why they would take this package.

Because Dwight told the GM that he didn't want to go to Houston. So the GM didn't trade him to Houston. I know that the media is saying that the Rockets were willing to take on Dwight without guarantees he would stay, but deep down inside, we all know that the offer they would have received would have been loaded with incentives based on Howard's length of stay.

Orlando was likely offered a series of draft picks that were conditional on Howard signing a long-term contract. If he signed a deal, they get all the picks. If he stayed one year and departed, they would only get a certain number of picks - and they would not have been the guaranteed lottery picks.

 

[shaffdogg76]

Morey and Alexander were pretty clear that they would take Howard on without any assurances. Just sayin'

I think the reason the Houston trade wasn't made was due to the CBA. The CBA put the Rockets in an unfavorable position to make a trade right now.

CBA rules prevented Houston from trading Asik, Lin, or any of their rookies.

Asik and Lin can't be traded for 90 days. The recent draftees can't be traded for 30 days once they sign their contracts (ITEM 97 Larry Coon NBA Salary Cap FAQ). The rookies signed on 7/26 so Houston couldn't play let's make a deal for two weeks.

 

[CitySushi]

Morey and Alexander were pretty clear that they would take Howard on without any assurances. Just sayin'

I think the reason the Houston trade wasn't made was due to the CBA. The CBA put the Rockets in an unfavorable position to make a trade right now.

CBA rules prevented Houston from trading Asik, Lin, or any of their rookies.

Asik and Lin can't be traded for 90 days. The recent draftees can't be traded for 30 days once they sign their contracts (ITEM 97 Larry Coon NBA Salary Cap FAQ). The rookies signed on 7/26 so Houston couldn't play let's make a deal for two weeks.

This may be so, but Houston had tons of assets prior to the draft and made it clear they were a player for Howard. Orlando slept on the offer and Houston couldn't wait on shoulda/coulda/woulda. I know the same hindsight applies to the Magic trade, but this draft was particularly deep and could have added lots of new prospects to their team, along with the cap space.

 

[rtiff68]

This may be so, but Houston had tons of assets prior to the draft and made it clear they were a player for Howard. Orlando slept on the offer and Houston couldn't wait on shoulda/coulda/woulda. I know the same hindsight applies to the Magic trade, but this draft was particularly deep and could have added lots of new prospects to their team, along with the cap space.

Orlando is going to be crappy either way. I think just about everyone would rather have enormous cap space, Jeremy Lamb, and Terrence Jones over Harrington, Afflalo, and their bloated, long term contracts.