Dwight’s Collateral Damage

Dwight Howard has done an impressive job transforming himself from a likable and goofy star into the NBA’s biggest prima donna in just 6 months. For a man who refuses to utter a swear word and who entered the league hoping to add a cross to the NBA logo in deference to his religion, he clearly is not a bad person.

But the 26 year old center, drafted out of high school, is proving he still has yet to grow up. Immaturity in the NBA usually describes players like DeMarcus Cousins or Andrew Bynum who regularly show lapses in judgement, inconsistent effort, and poor body language. Dwight’s immaturity is a different breed and possibly a much worse one, considering the damage it has done, not just to his own reputation, but to the NBA as a whole.

Howard is the only one smiling at his latest round of antics.

For the NBA’s most physically imposing specimen, Howard’s childish antics have long seemed out of place. But as they have begun to affect his business decisions and those of several NBA teams, he needs to grow up and quickly.

Now it appears the Howard drama could be nearing its end, or at least relocating and continuing in Brooklyn. A ridiculous 4 team, 14 player trade is in the works that could look something like this, according to ESPN:

According to sources the Nets would receive Howard, Jason Richardson, Chris Duhon and Earl Clark in the proposed deal. The Magic would get Brook Lopez, Luke Walton, Damion James, Shelden Williams, Armon Johnson and three first-round picks — two from the Nets and a lottery-protected first from the Clippers. The Cavs would get Kris Humphries, Quentin Richardson,Sundiata Gaines, a first-round pick from the Nets and $3 million in cash. The Clippers would receive MarShon Brooks.

Trade talks are still ongoing, so this is subject to change, and may not ever come to fruition. As of now, though, this appears to be the most likely scenario, as Howard has limited his trade request to just the Brooklyn Nets.

Howard’s inability to decide his fate at the trade deadline has clearly affected many people, and his change of mind to again desire to be traded will affect even more.

The list of casualties in the Dwight Howard hostage situation:

• Howard’s reputation
• Orlando head coach Stan Van Gundy (fired), with whom Howard long butted heads and who Howard demanded be fired if the Magic hoped to keep him
• Orlando General Manager Otis Smith (fired), who Howard complained did not include him enough in decisions
• Deron Williams: Williams re-signed with Brooklyn largely because of the possibility of Howard coming. He seems to have been recruiting Dwight for some time.
  

  Teaming Dwight with Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Gerald Wallace would make the Brooklyn Nets instant title contenders

• Joe Johnson: Without Johnson D-Will says he would not have stayed with the Nets, so by trading for him they were able to keep one superstar (Williams) that they needed to bring in another superstar (Howard). Complicated stuff.
• Gerald Wallace: Wallace was an early attempt to achieve the same outcome that the Johnson trade brought. The Nets hoped having Wallace on the team would make them more appealing to both Williams and Howard.
• Damian Lillard: Drafted 6th overall by the Blazers using the pick sent to them in the Wallace deal, Lillard would most likely have been taken outside the top-10 had the Blazers not been there. Other teams in the lottery didn’t have a pressing need to draft a point guard.
• Mirza Teletovic: Teletovic was forced to restructure his contract with the Nets after the Joe Johnson trade to free up extra cap space to fit Howard into the salary cap. He gave up several million dollars.
• Brook Lopez: Lopez would go from being a complementary piece on a talented playoff team to the main option for a barren Orlando roster.
• Kris Humphries: For the proposed trade to work, Humphries (as well as several of the smaller trade pieces) would have to agree to a one year agreement with the Nets and a sign-and-trade to the Cavaliers. Given that the Cavs have the space to sign him for a longer deal without the trade, Humphries would lose out on the financial security of a multi-year contract. His agreement to this trade is its biggest holdup right now.
• MarShon Brooks: Brooks would go to a Clippers team that has a very similar player in Jamal Crawford. That could reduce his role.
• Jason Richardson, Earl Clark, Chris Duhon, Armon Johnson, Damion James, Sundiata Gaines, Luke Walton, Shelden Williams, and Quentin Richardson: These guys are all just throw ins to the trade to make it work financially and to give teams like Orlando and the Cavs more financial incentive to be a part of the deal, as they shed salary.
• Houston Rockets: Houston tried desperately to get Howard during the draft, hoping to use their three 1st round picks to entice Orlando into a deal. If not that, they hoped to move into the top-10 and draft Andre Drummond and include him in a trade for Howard. Neither of these worked, and Houston is now left with 3 more decent players on a team full of decent players. They’re still stuck in no man’s land between playoff contention and the lottery.
• Brian Shaw/Michael Malone: The Pacers and Warriors respective assistant coaches are among the names of interviewees for the Magic coaching job. These coaches both had important roles on their teams’ benches and their departure could have a negative impact on their former teams.
• Marvin Williams: Atlanta traded Joe Johnson and Williams, clearing cap space to make a run for Howard, who grew up in Atlanta. Williams will get a fresh start in Utah.
• Andrew Bynum: The lower we get on the list, it’s more of a stretch to determine the impact. Bynum’s name was mentioned a lot as the Lakers’ trade chip to get Howard. LA’s willingness to trade him could drive him away as it did to Lamar Odom.

Obviously the ripple effect caused by Howard has been extensive.

Prior to the beginning of last season Howard demanded trade, citing the Nets, Lakers, and Mavericks as desired targets. Orlando clearly did not want to part with their franchise centerpiece and tried to convince him to stay during the first half of the season. But Howard maintained his desire to be traded, and Orlando did not want to risk losing him as a Free Agent after the season and receive nothing in compensation, as Cleveland did after LeBron’s departure.

But constrained by his request to be traded to 1 of only 3 teams, none with desirable assets they were willing to part with, Orlando had its hands tied. But as a deal with the Nets, centered around Brook Lopez and draft picks, pieced itself together, Howard suddenly changed his stance (several times), finally deciding he wanted to stay with Orlando – but

Howard long made his frustration with former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy known.

would not sign a new contract. Instead he just waived his Early Termination Option, agreeing to stay with Orlando 1 more year before becoming an Unrestricted Free Agent, essentially realizing Orlando’s greatest fear of losing him for nothing.

Howard injured himself late in the season, forcing him to miss the playoff – ironic considering he claimed to stay with the Magic to make one more title run. Following the season he gave Orlando the ultimatum: him or Van Gundy. Along Van Gundy’s firing, Otis Smith was shown the exit. Howard then laid his trade demand back on the Magic management. Not cool.

Howard’s saga has shown his immaturity was worse than anyone ever imagined. He seemingly manipulated his team in order to try to force his way onto the Nets without them giving much up. Sadly it appears that plan may have worked.

Somewhere, LeBron is smiling. Just weeks apart he gets his first title and is no longer atop the NBA’s most hated list.

NBA Owners Not Learning from Pre-Lockout Mistakes

We’re less than a week into NBA Free Agency and teams have already made several decisions that they will regret for years, then use as evidence during the next lockout they cause in 2017.

You’d think owners and GMs would learn from the likes of Gilbert Arenas, Elton Brand, and Baron David to not throw buckets of cash at players with injuries or other question marks surrounding them. But alas, they’re at it again.

Let’s take a look at the deals that will haunt teams for the next half decade.

Gerald Wallace (Nets; 4 years, $40 million ): After trading the 6th pick in last month’s draft for Wallace, the Nets had little choice but to re-sign him. Wallace and his agents knew this and used it as leverage to run the price up. For a player nicknamed “Crash” who will be 30 in a few weeks, Wallace is almost guaranteed to not live up to his contract. His entire game is based off of athleticism, which is certain to be diminishing. His reckless play combined with his age makes injuries nearly inevitable. Not much long-term thinking going on in Brooklyn, but with Deron Williams re-signed (an example of a player who does deserve his large salary), the Nets are clearly focusing on the present.

Eric Gordon (Suns/Hornets; 4 years, $58 million): Giving a max deal to a player who missed 83 games the past 2 seasons is not how to start rebuilding, Phoenix. Gordon has been great when he’s healthy, but staying healthy is his biggest weakness. He’s missed 107 of the 306 possible games throughout his 4 seasons in the NBA. That’s over 1/3 of the games missed to injuries. Gordon is a Restricted Free Agent, and New Orleans has said they would match any offer, but locking a huge portion of cap space into one injury prone player may not be the best way to start the Anthony Davis era.

Jeremy Lin (Rockets/Knicks; 4 years, ~$29 million): For a player who has only played 27 games at an NBA starter caliber, throwing $30 million his way seems strange. In his short stint of excellence, Lin certainly was worthy of that type of money. But, as with Gordon, Lin has not proved he can stay healthy, nor has he proved that Linsanity wasn’t a fluke. If Lin can stay healthy and produce similar numbers as he did for that 27 game stretch, this deal could be a reasonable one, but the fact that he is so unproven makes it very risky and a questionable decision. New York has also said they will match any offers for Lin, but their recent signing of Jason Kidd could change that.

Roy Hibbert (Blazers/Pacers; 4 years, $58 million): Hibbert is a quality starting center, averaging 13 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks last season. But those are not star numbers and max contracts should be reserved for star players. Hibbert has been very healthy throughout his career, however, missing just 15 games over his 4 years. But his production just isnt at a level worth that type of money. Portland could have an impressive front line with Hibbert and LaMarcus Alrdridge, but committing this much money to Hibbert could prevent them from making even better moves in the future. Indiana will have to think about this one for a while. They may not have the financial flexibility to match Portland’s offer, but given their struggles to attract Free Agents over the years, keeping Hibbert for this type of money would be excusable.

Spencer Hawes (Sixers; 2 years, $13 million): Hawes’ deal doesn’t have the long-term implications of the other ones on this list, but is still perplexing. Hawes averaged just 10 points and 7 rebounds – numbers that plenty of centers could put up on a nightly basis. Giving $6.5 million a year to Hawes when the Sixers could have gotten similar production for much cheaper hurts Philadelphia, as they lose cap space to sign other key pieces or trade for a more expensive player. This team clearly isn’t a contender, so why keep the exact same pieces for more money than before? That’s not going to help the team win more. Mid-level type moves like this can be just as bad as the max deals, if given to the wrong players.

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement divided the NBA’s income up in a way such that the owners will continue to profit despite these moves. But from a fan’s standpoint, it’s frustrating to watch teams throw away their future for players that won’t have much effect on their championships. We can only hope teams learn from their most recent batch of mistakes.

Predicting Where The Top 12 NBA Free Agents Will Go

1. Deron Williams – Unrestricted

D-Will has narrowed it down to the Nets and the Mavs. The Nets can offer Williams 5 years, $100 million while the Mavs can only offer 4 years, $74 million. Both Brooklyn and Dallas have owners committed to winning. Brooklyn has the market and the new stadium to entice Williams but Dallas has Dirk Nowitzki and a team only one year removed from winning a championship. At the end of the day though, the 28-year-old point guard may not be able to resist the pull of $26 million more and should return to the Nets.

2. Tim Duncan – Unrestricted

This is an easy one. Duncan says he’s a “Spur for life” and San Antonio wants to bring him back. So he’ll finish out his career as a Spur.

3. Steve Nash – Unrestricted

The Suns, Knicks, and Raptors will be Nash’s top suitors this offseason. Though the Raptors can offer Nash the pull of his Canadian homeland, they can’t offer him a contender. At age 38, Nash’s best chance to win a championship may be teaming up with Carmelo and Stoudemire, which would land him in New York. Though if D-Will does resign with the Nets, Dallas may end up making a strong push for Nash.

4. Eric Gordon – Restricted

Gordon will garner interest from many teams: Indiana, Houston, Phoenix, New Jersey (if D-Will leaves), and Dallas (if D-Will doesn’t come). Still New Orleans has the rights to match any offer Gordon gets. Gordon was the centerpiece in the Chris Paul trade and though the Hornets drafted Austin Rivers, who plays the same position, it is unlikely they would let Gordon walk for nothing. He’ll probably be a Hornet for years to come.

5. Roy Hibbert – Restricted

With free agency not even 24 hours old, Hibbert has already been offered a max contract for 4 years, $58 million from Portland. If Hibbert signs the Blazers offer sheet, the heat will be on the Pacers, who will have three days to match that offer. It would be hard to see the Pacers, a team on the rise, let Hibbert leave for nothing after drafting him in 2008. They’ll pay up and the 25-year-old big man will be back in Indiana next year.

6. Brook Lopez – Restricted

Now that Howard has requested a trade to the Nets, the pressure is on the team to pull it off. It would have to involve a sign-and-trade with Lopez as the centerpiece for it to work. If Howard comes to Brooklyn next season, Lopez would head down to Orlando.

7. Goran Dragic – Unrestricted

Steve Nash’s understudy proved he could play last season when he filled in for Kyle Lowry and averaged 18 ppg and 8.4 apg. He’s due for a payday. He should return to the Rockets even though the Suns, Hornets, and Mavs will pursue him.

8. O.J. Mayo – Unrestricted 

Mayo has been a polarizing figure. The talent is there but so are the character issues. Those issues have assured Memphis won’t resign Mayo. Brooklyn, Boston, who tried to acquire him at the trade deadline, and Indiana are some of the interested teams. With Allen likely going to Miami, Boston will go after Mayo, but it seems like a desperate Nets team looking to build a contender will overpay him. Mayo should be in a Nets jersey next year.

9. Jameer Nelson – Unrestricted 

Nelson opted out of the final year with the Magic to join a point guard-heavy free agent class. Many teams are interested in point guards but at the end of the day, Nelson should resign with the Magic. However if teams like Dallas or Portland miss out on big free agents like D-Will, Steve Nash, or Roy Hibbert, don’t be surprised to see them go after Nelson with an offer he may not be able to resist.

10. Chauncey Billups – Unrestricted 

Billups is a winner period and brings intangibles that a stat sheet can’t quantify. The Clippers, Bulls, 76ers, and Rockets all have interest in Billups. His decision may be the most unpredictable of all the free agents. Taking a good guess, Billups joins the Bulls next year hoping to win another ring along side D-Rose.

11. Jason Kidd – Unrestricted 

Kidd has expressed a strong interest in backing up Deron Williams next year. So he will likely follow Williams to either the Nets or the Mavs.

12. Ray Allen – Unrestricted

Miami, Memphis, and Boston are all pursuing Allen. Miami can only offer 2 years, $6 million and Memphis can offer 2 years, $10 million. Boston can make the biggest offer at 2 years, $12 million. But money should take a backdrop to winning for the 36-year-old free agent. Allen will be taking his talents to South Beach next season.

Other Notable Free agents: Andre Miller – Unrestricted, Chris Kaman – Unrestricted, Jeremy Lin – Restricted, Jamal Crawford – Unrestricted, and Brandon Roy – Unrestricted.

Note: Kevin Garnett and Gerald Wallace were scratched from this list because both have already signed with teams. Garnett is returning to the Celtics for 3 years, $34 million. Wallace has resigned with the Nets for 4 years, $40 million.

NBA Draft Lottery: The David Stern Conspiracy Continues

It’s been a rough year for David Stern’s PR team. As the NBA commissioner, much of the blame of the lockout fell on his shoulders. The refusal of the owners, which he represented, to concede to the demands of the Players Union elongated the process and resulted in missed games and a truncated regular season.

Then came the Chris Paul debacle. Shortly after the league-owned New Orleans Hornets agreed to trade their superstar point guard to the Los Angeles Lakers, the league announced that Stern had shot down the deal for “basketball reasons.”

This set a pack of rabid Laker fans on Stern, and their complaints made some sense.

Jack Nicholson and a hoard of crazed Lakers fans protested David Stern’s decision to cancel the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers.

It seemed to be a conflict of interest that NBA commissioner was the owner of a franchise that was controlling the fate of two other franchises (the Houston Rockets would have gotten Pau Gasol in the trade).

Matters only grew worse when Paul was instead traded to LA’s other team, the Clippers, to team up with the NBA’s newest superstar in Blake Griffin. While the trade with the Clippers did land the Hornets some younger pieces to build around than the Lakers/Houston deal, things just smelt a tad fishy.

New Orleans better be ready for this handsome mug on their billboards.

Fast forward five months and Stern and the Hornets are in the news again. New Orleans won tonight’s NBA Draft Lottery, or better known as the Unibrow Sweepstakes as the Hornets will undoubtedly select Kentucky’s Anthony David first overall.

The league recently sold the Hornets to New Orleans Saints’ owner Tom Benson, and I’m sure Stern wishes the  deal wasn’t struck until after tonight’s results, as the addition of Davis will significantly boost the team’s value. But Stern and the league technically are still the team’s owners while the deal with Benson is finalized and approved by the other NBA owners.

After last year’s lottery went to Cleveland, allowing them to replace their lost superstar with

Vince McMahon might just be the perfect choice to replace David Stern as commissioner, given his background in WWE and their honest and not-rigged wrestling.

a new one in Kyrie Irving, it just so happens that this year’s lottery winner also lost their former franchise player. Conspiracy? Who knows, but if these types of “coincidences” keep happening, Vince McMahon might need to take Stern’s job.

Other story lines from the Draft Lottery:

• The Bobcats fell to No. 2 in the draft, continuing to hold onto the unlucky claim to be one of just two teams (the other being the Phoenix Suns) to never have won the draft lottery. This news will be especially hard to swallow this year, coming off the worst season in NBA history based on winning percentage and drafting second in a draft with just one elite player.
• The Brooklyn Nets did not move into the top three, meaning their pick at No. 6 will go to the Portland Trailblazers as part of the Gerald Wallace deal. Again, a tough break for a team that could have used extra help with the return of Deron Williams in doubt and the chances of acquiring Dwight Howard having disappeared. You can’t sympathize too much, though, because this was just a poor trade. The trade for Wallace could have been completed for a much lower pick, so even if the Nets only liked the draft’s top three players (their reasoning for only placing top-3 protection on the pick) they could have traded the No. 6 pick for a useful player to entice Williams to stay.
• The Warriors, on the other hand, were able to keep their pick, which was top-7 protected, thanks to a terrific tanking job to end their season (they went 5-22 to finish the season, moving from the 10th worst team to the 7th over that span and securing the No. 7 pick). There have been rumblings in Golden State that trading the pick is a possibility, with Andre Iguodala’s name popping up frequently, but given Philadelphia’s admirable performance getting deep into the second round of the playoffs, it seems unlikely they would trade away a key player for a chance to draft an unproven rookie. Golden State will have four picks in the draft, though, so it is likely at least one of those will be traded away.