Dwight Howard Trade Analysis

Dwight Howard is going to Hollywood (news444.com)

After an entire year of constant drama, the Dwight Howard free agency saga is finally and thankfully over.  The NBA's top big man has been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, following in the footsteps of legendary centers Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal each of whom was traded to the Lakers during his respective career.  The 4 team deal that sent Howard to L.A. also included the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets.  In addition to acquiring Howard, the Lakers also received guard Chris Duhon and forward Earl Clark from the Magic.  The 76ers got center Andrew Bynum from the Lakers and shooting guard Jason Richardson from the Magic.  The Nuggets received small forward Andre Iguodala from the 76ers.  The Magic got shooting guard Arron Afflalo and forward Al Harrington from Denver, center Nikola Vucevic and forward Moe Harkless from Philly, Josh McRoberts and Chritian Eyenga from the Lakers, along with 3 future first round picks and 2 future second round picks.

The Lakers are the obvious winners in this trade, becoming the team to beat in the Western Conference.  The Lakers had already acquired 2-time MVP point guard Steve Nash in a trade with the Phoenix Suns this offseason, and small forward Antawn Jamison, who has averaged 19.5 points per game for his career.  The Lakers starting lineup of Nash, future hall of fame shooting guard Kobe Bryant, small forward Metta World Peace, 4 time All-Star power forward Pau Gasol, and Howard, is now arguably the top starting 5 in the league.  Howard, the NBA's best center, is a perfect fit for the Lakers on the court.  Howard is the NBA's top defender and won the NBA's defensive player of the year award three consecutive times.  With Howard protecting the paint, Bryant and Nash, each of whom has 16 years of NBA milage, will not have to worry as much about staying in front of the league's younger and speedier guards.  Offensively, the Lakers have acquired a perfect fit for their Princeton offense.  The Howard-Nash pick and roll will be one of the most effective plays in the league this season, utilizing one of the best pick and roll ball handlers in the history of the league in Nash and the insanely athletic Howard who is very efficient scoring off rolls to the basket.  Gasol has proven in the past that he can work extremely well with a dominant post up center like Howard, and when they build chemistry on the court the Lakers offense will be impossible to stop.  With Bryant, a top 10 player in NBA history, waiting on the wing, defenders will not be able to double team Howard as they often did in Orlando.  Needless to say, anything but a championship trophy will be considered a disappointment in Hollywood.

Nuggets' general manager Masai Ujiri has done a masterful job rebuilding the team over the past two seasons.  His latest acquisition, the ultra athletic Iguodala, is the quintessential player for Denvers' run and gun style of play.  The Nuggets' average the 2nd most possessions per game in the NBA, the most fast break possessions and are among the most efficient teams in the league in transition.  Iguodala is one of the league's single most effective players in transition, scoring on over 79% of his field goal attempts on the fast break when he is not the primary ball handler.  Iguodala is also one of the league's top perimeter defenders, and has demonstrated great instincts playing the passing lanes.  Iguodala will thrive in Denver now that he is not being asked to be the primary focal point of the offense.

Philadelphia is the third major winner in this deal.  By acquiring Bynum, the 76ers have acquired their first bonafide NBA star since the team traded Allen Iverson to the Nuggets back in 2006.  Bynum is the 2nd best center in the league, behind Dwight Howard, and gives the Sixers an advantage in the paint over all the other teams in the East.  Bynum appeared to be unsatisfied with the number of touches he received on the Lakers; in Philly the offense will revolve around his ability to post up.  Jason Richardson joins a logjam at the shooting guard position.  With 2010 number 2 overall pick Evan Turner and recently signed Nick Young vying for minutes, Richardson will not receive as much playing time as he has in the past.  Bynum will be a free agent at the end of the season and will most likely resign with the team because it can offer him more money and years than an other team.

While I wouldn't call the Magic losers in this trade, it appears that they could have certainly received much more for Howard who is undoubtedly a top 5 player in the league.  Afflalo is the best player Orlando received in the deal; he can be penciled into the role of starting shooting guard for the team.  Afflalo, an excellent perimeter defender, is coming off a career year in which he averaged 15.2 points per game.  By acquiring Harkless and Vucevic, the Sixers' first round picks the last two seasons, along with the future draft picks, the Magic have begun their rebuilding process in earnest.  While the Magic received much less than the Hornets did in the Chris Paul trade, or the Nuggets did in the Carmelo Anthony deal, it is possible that the front office intended to do so.  The Magic have realized that in order to avoid being a mediocre team that either drafts at the end of the lottery or loses in the first round, an organization has to have elite players.  The Magic are unlikely to be a destination for top free agents, and therefore must rebuild through the draft.  This process will take years, and the Magic will likely be awful for several seasons, but if the team is fortunate it may luck into the next Dwight Howard.

Team USA Wins Gold

The United States men's basketball team defeated Spain in the gold medal game 107-100 on the final day of the London Olympics.  Team USA completed an extremely entertaining Olympic tournament by winning its 50th consecutive game, and its 2nd consecutive Olympic gold medal.  

Team USA brought home the gold (sneakernews.com)

The title game was a hard-fought, back and forth affair between the top two teams in the world.  This must watch event was attended by countless celebrities including Henry Kissinger, Tom Cruise, David Beckham, Arnold Schwarzenegger and even the Queen of Spain.  

From the opening tipoff it was clear that the Spaniards had arrived ready to challenge the Americans.  Spain played with a desperation that it had been missing for the entire duration of the tournament, and its defensive effort and intensity was readily apparent.  Offensively, the Spanish game plan centered on exploiting the size advantage of 7 footers Pau and Marc Gasol.  The Gasol brothers combined  for 41 points in the game, with Pau scoring 24 to go along with 8 rebounds and 7 assists.  The Gasols' effectiveness scoring in the paint on an array of jump hooks, turnaround jumpers and dunks forced the Americans to focus their defensive efforts on preventing interior scoring, which created open outside shots for Spain.  Juan Carlos Navarro was the main beneficiary, scoring 14 of his 21 points in the first quarter.

Celebrating the gold medal (business insider)

The U.S. did a fantastic job making the extra pass to find open 3-point shooters on the perimeter.  In the first quarter Team USA converted on 7 of 10 3-point shots which spread out the Spanish zone and created driving lanes to the basket.  Spain was forced to switch to man-to-man defense in order to counter the Americans' scorching outside shooting, which allowed the US to take advantage of the various mismatches it posed.  Kevin Durant was the star of the game for Team USA, scoring a game high 30 points with 5 threes.  Durant was extraordinary in every facet of the game.  His spot up shooting was sensational, he got the Spanish into foul trouble by earning 10 shots at the charity stripe, blew by defenders on his way to the basket, led the break, forced turnovers on defense, and controlled the boards by having a game high 9 rebounds.  Lebron James, who has already won a championship this year with the Miami Heat, had yet another excellent game with 19 points, 7 rebounds and a team high 4 assists.  James had two consecutive baskets with 2 minutes left in the game to put the game out of reach and secure the victory for Team USA.  The first was a mesmerizing dunk  and the second a back breaking 3-pointer with a man in his face.  Kobe Bryant also had a huge game for the US, scoring 17 points including 3 three pointers.  Chris Paul, who earned the game ball, scored 8 of his 11 points in the decisive 4th quarter.

Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Carmelo Anthony (USA Today)

While this US team did not dominate their opponents in the manner that the Dream Team did in 1992, its incredible accomplishments against very tough international opponents are worthy of a round of applause and will be remembered for years to come.