The big thinkers who own and operate NBA franchises seem like they're not bothering to take Dwight Howard at his word.
With recent history as their guide, why should they?
The Orlando Magic's 26-year-old All-Star center is longing to play for the Nets in Brooklyn. After his recent meeting with Orlando's new general manager Rob Hennigan, it was been reported far and wide that Howard will refuse to sign a new contract with any other team daring to make a deal with the Magic.
Right, we've heard this before. We also remember when Dwight killed all trade-deadline intrigue by opting in for the final year of his Magic contract. All that tricky maneuver did was transfer most of the head-scratchin' moments from March to July. Now, he and his peeps are attempting to sell the notion that Howard was blackmailed into exercising his player option to remain in Orlando.
Oh, by the way ... he's also on the mend from back surgery, while the Nets reportedly are sending the flotsam and jetsam of their roster to the Atlanta Hawks for the honor of owing Joe Johnson about $90 million over the next four years.
So, with all of this seemingly cuckoo drama on board, why in the world would any team not residing in Brooklyn (Dwight's presumed intended destination) surrender important assets to acquire a player who promises to skip town in a year?
Well, depending on how much the Nets might have to spend to keep Dwight's pal Deron Williams (or land Plan B point guard Steve Nash), the Johnson deal and the loot earmarked for Gerald Wallace (more than $10 million per year) could put Brooklyn out of the running for Howard next summer.
The Los Angeles Lakers, for example, probably figure no superstar in his right mind (ah, there's the rub) would pass on an opportunity to secure a lengthy stay just a few bounces down the sideline from Jack Nicholson. Kobe Bryant should cede the leading-man role eventually (although he's probably exploring any medical means to play until age 80). Pau Gasol's contract might be impossible for the Lakers to move, but if he's still around, a guy could do worse for a baseline running buddy than the drifting-out-to-the-elbow Pau.
With the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors reportedly committed to coughing up assets for a shot at changing Howard's mind, the motivation for a Howard trade could be two parts franchise ego and another part confusion.
"I think some teams are banking on the idea that he really doesn't know what he wants," a Western Conference personnel executive said during a quick break from his own free-agency deliberations. "I haven't spoken to anyone from the teams supposedly involved with him about that, but if we thought getting Dwight was the way to go and wouldn't have to destroy our talent base to get him ... I would think his flip-flopping history would give us a shot at keeping him.
"But that being said, his indecisiveness would scare me to death, too, so count me out."
Houston doesn't have any surplus superstars to send to Orlando, but the Rockets have some guys who can play or have demonstrated the potential to play. With three first-round additions from last week's NBA Draft, the roster has a new look to it.
Unfortunately, these soon-to-be-rookies didn't start showing up on the Rockets' doorstep until the 12th pick (UConn shooting guard Jeremy Lamb). They also include an impressively talented, renaissance man-type point-power-forward with anxiety issues (Iowa State's Royce White), and a Kentucky combo forward (Terrence Jones) who lasted until the lottery was over due to a roller-coaster performance history.
Houston does have a dandy point guard in Kyle Lowry with two more seasons at a combined $12 million, give or take. Moving Lowry would require re-signing free agent Goran Dragic, who took over the position last season while Lowry was injured.
The Rockets also have a reasonably capable scorer in two-guard Kevin Martin; after attempting to move him for quite a while, that crusty $12.9 million under his name now represents the final year on an expiring contract. With Lamb and restricted free agent Courtney Lee — and a desire for pricey, restricted free agent guard Eric Gordon — Houston still would prefer moving Martin.
Houston reportedly also agreed on a three-year, $25 million deal for Chicago Bulls backup center Omer Asik. If the Bulls don't match, the Rockets might simply recharge their phone, prepare for life with Asik in the middle and look elsewhere for a low-post buddy.
But after all of the wheeling and dealing they did with an alleged eye toward putting together a draft package for Howard, they might not give up easily. Then again, if the Bulls pass on Asik, any lingering pursuit of Dwight would mean the Rockets wouldn't mind having an extremely well-compensated second-string center.
Whatever combination of the aforementioned players (or others) Houston would give Orlando is sufficient firepower for the Magic to be decent but would leave them with no center. These guys might do for Orlando what they accomplished in Houston: Win just enough to avoid earning a really high draft pick.
We're pretty sure that's not what the new regime in Orlando is gunning for.
As for the Warriors, unless they are prepared to gut the future by moving young guns Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes, they might have a trickier time making a deal. Center Andrew Bogut is a serial health risk with more than $27 million on the books over the next two seasons, and forward David Lee has four more seasons in excess of $55 million to absorb. Star shooter Steph Curry (ankle issues last season), however, could be a nice addition for the Magic.
The Lakers can offer Orlando a talented, young big man with a heavy, Howard-ballpark contract in Andrew Bynum. Bynum, a favorite of team mover and shaker Jim Buss, also has a history of wacky behavior ... so he'd fit in perfectly with Orlando.
Well, the Orlando of recent vintage.
New GM Hennigan has arrived from Oklahoma City, where a rise-through-the-draft schematic has been working pretty well. He said there's no timeline for dealing Howard, inspiring us to believe Orlando will attempt to squeeze legitimate young talent from a trade partner before a deal is consummated. A high draft pick wouldn't hurt, but adding Howard might prevent his new team from experiencing enough defeat to earn such a selection.
Hennigan also could use a team's interest in Howard to unload the ugly contracts of Glen Davis, Chris Duhon and perhaps Jason Richardson. Unfortunately, any sliver of existing leverage might become even thinner as this impasse drags on. We doubt Hennigan and the citizens of Orlando could handle the prevailing hay ride until the next trade deadline arrives. And how many teams desperate enough to nab Dwight for a playoff run would be even close to possessing a high lottery pick or talented young player(s) they'd be willing to trade?
Well, there's always the Nets, right? Actually, the boys in Brooklyn, while they'd love to have Dwight as playmate for Williams (should he return), are getting close to a massive exhale. The previous Orlando regime, it should be noted, didn't seem to think much of their trade assets when the Nets were in New Jersey, and Hennigan doesn't seem interested in discussing a deal now.
With Joe Johnson's contract coming in, the potential to keep D-Will at max level, the Wallace commitment, Bosnian hotshot Mirza Teletovic reportedly close to arrival and center Brook Lopez expected to show up with a robust offer Orlando probably won't want to take on, Dwight seems a long way from Brooklyn.
But at least the Nets, for now, have managed to keep MarShon Brooks.
