Dwight's Decision

By Jordan Nedlin

July 5, 2013

Dwight's Decision. Who made out the best and who suffered the most consequence?

Late Friday July 5th, the landscape of the NBA's western conference changed for good when free agent Dwight Howard, most recently of the Los Angeles Lakers, decided that he would sign with the Houston Rockets, a move he made perhaps in order to "write [his] own story."  Houston and Los Angeles were certainly not the only teams that made the push to sign Howard, a defensive minded Center who many consider to be among the elite centers in today's game.  Among the other teams who met with Howard before he went into hiding in a secret lair somewhere far into the depths of Aspen, CO, were the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, and Howards hometown Atlanta Hawks.  I, a man of zero credibility, will assess a number ranking (1-10) to help clear up how much Dwight's decision really shook up the foreseeable future for his suitors, among other teams.  

Houston Rockets:10

After over a year of wooing, a process that started with an attempt to be the trade destination straight out of Orlando, the Houston Rockets finally got their guy.  GM Daryl Morey did a fantastic job making Houston a spot where Howard could see himself eventually winning championships.  Starting with the trade that landed them James Harden, a flashy 2 guard straight off a championship caliber OKC team, Morey continuously built his team that, with the addition of Howard, might be able to make its way to the end of the western bracket come June. 

Golden State Warriors:7

Though they did not land Howard the Dubs made some great moves throughout the day in anticipation that he might be coming next.  The warriors were able to send Andres Biedrins, Rickard Jefferson and Brandon Rush to Utah to clear cap space.  In somewhat of a surprise move, they decided to sign Andre Iguodala, a veteran elite defender, to a 4 year $48 million deal, a move that Golden State should be revered for considering that though they have an elite shooting backcourt, they lacked perimeter defense, something Iguodala will have no problem inserting. 

Atlanta Hawks:6

The Hawks were always the longshot in this situation, seeing as they only real way Howard would end up there was if Chris Paul also elected to leave his Clippers to also join the Hawks, a team that had enough cap space to hand out two max deals.  The Hawks were never really expected to land Howard, but they were able to sign some important pieces to great contracts (Paul Millsap: 2 years $19 million, DeMarre Carroll: 2 years $5 million) to make up for some of the talent that might be leaving town now that most of their roster is trying their luck in free agency. 

Dallas Mavericks: 3

After winning the championship in 2011 behind a valiant effort by longtime Mav Dirk Nowitzki, owner Mark Cuban traded Tyson Chandler to the Knicks and since has fallen short on most of their free agent endeavors. The Shark Tank personality and otherwise multi-billionaire struck out on Deron Williams during the 2012 free agency, Williams instead electing to stay with the Nets, and though Cuban offered Howard the keys to the franchise, letting him know that he would be the future of the Mavericks and that the team would be built around him, it always seemed that Howard had no real interest in playing alongside an aging dirk and very limited supporting cast. 

Los Angeles Lakers:1

The Lakers really struck out on this one, and they only have themselves to blame.  The big man spent only one year in tinsel town and apparently that was enough.  No, Howard wasn’t swayed by the opportunity to be another great center in the Lakers legendary line of great centers that include Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaq Diesel Cactus Aristotle O’Neal.  It also didn’t help that he had condescending Kobe offering his unmatched championship pedigree , supposedly promising Howard that he would “teach him how to win titles.”  The highest brass in Lakers organization Jim Buss, son of the late Dr. Jerry Buss, would reportedly not cooperate with Dwight’s requests to have the Zen master himself Phil Jackson come out of retirement to coach the squad again.  So as a man with any pride would do, he skipped town.

Orlando Magic:?

After a four team trade that seems like ancient history at this point, a trade headlined by sending Howard from Orlando to Los Angeles, Andrew Bynum, hair and all, to the Philadelphia 76ers, and Andre Iguodala from Philly to Denver, it is intersting to note that at least 2 of the three marquee talents are now on different teams, Howard with Houston and Iguodala with Golden State.  Andrew Bynum is currently a free agent, and though he says that he will not work out for any teams, it is unclear whether he will stay in Philadelphia.  In a strange kinda way, the Magic seem to have won this trade, adding young talent in Nikola Vucevic and eventually adding a young promising forward in Tobias Harris in a deal that send J.J. Reddick to the Bucks, though he is also now on a new team, signing with the new look Clippers.

This is the first in a series of many NBA related articles, Follow me on Twitter @JordanNedlin for constant updates and other NBA bits.