Dwight Howard Trade Rumors Swirl After Lakers Elimination
You knew it was only a matter of time.
After the Los Angeles Lakers were blasted out of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks, the talk turned to how Kobe Bryant and company can improve their team and naturally, Dwight Howard came up.
The Orlando big man who has his contract up after next year will be a focal point all season long, but the reality is that his future with the Magic is very much up in the air after the way their season ended and the way the roster looks for the next few years.
But would Howard want to avoid the Lakers after the way they lost yesterday's game?
Per George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel:
But at least the Magic have never trashed their reputation the way the Lakers just did. Perhaps Stevenson is right:
It is a reflection of their character, and that?s an indictment on the whole organization. One gets the sense that there?s a lot more going on inside that locker room than minor disagreements. As Bynum said earlier in the series: ?We have trust issues.?
The Lakers are by most accounts, a family in dysfunctional turmoil.
And they very much looked like unsportsmanlike quitters Sunday night.
Who in their right mind would want to hop abroad that crazy train?
Give me a break.
The fact that Andrew Bynum threw a cheap shot late in a blowout doesn't reflect on the Lakers' character. Diaz also ignores that Kobe Bryant and some other Lakers checked on J.J. Barea after the game and apologized for the play that sent him flying to the court.
Man, what monsters.
Maybe the Lakers did quit under that barrage of three pointers, but it's nothing compared to the way Orlando just rolled over and died this entire season. The whole year was nothing more than a prolonged death spiral for this Magic team and I wouldn't blame Howard if he didn't want to play for this franchise any longer.
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The Magic tried their best to win a title, and that's to be commended, but the reality is that they backed themselves into a corner with bad contracts that are going to hamstring this team for years to come, something that couldn't possibly be enticing to a superstar in the prime of his career.
In the end, the reality is that Orlando has Howard for another year and then after that, all bets are off. I highly doubt the Magic would trade him, and even then, what kind of assets does Los Angeles have to give?
It's nice to think about down the line, but the short term reality is that Howard is staying put.
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