NBA: Reassessing The Four Teams Involved In The Dwight Howard To LA Trade
Jan 20, 2012; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard (12) and Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum (17) wait for the play to develop during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE
Reassessing all four teams involved in the NBA’s controversial Dwight Howard to LA trade from 2012In 2012, the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, and Denver Nuggets were all playoff teams, and they all played a large role in the Dwight Howard to Los Angeles trade.All four teams suffered for it. The 76ers and Magic haven’t sniffed the playoffs since, and the Lakers and Nuggets made the playoffs the next year, but haven’t come close since 2013.With the exception of the Nuggets, all four teams have consistently tried to tank since at least the summer of 2013, and their success in the coming years will prove to be a requiem on the very concept on NBA tanking.Skipping ahead to the 2017-18 season, which of these teams will make the playoffs, and be vindicated for their sustained awfulness?Next: Philadelphia 76ers March 24, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (4) talks to center Joel Embiid (21, left) during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings defeated the 76ers 107-106. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia 76ersStarted tanking: Midway through 2012-13 seasonThough they are the team most synonymous with trying to lose, it’s often forgotten that the Philadelphia 76ers – unlike the Orlando Magic – weren’t trying to tank when they traded away franchise player Andre Iguodala in the 4-team trade that sent Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers.More from Sir Charles In ChargeCleveland Cavaliers: Can Derrick Williams Find A New Home With The King?3h agoNBA Rumors: Jabari Parker Suffers Torn ACL; Out For Season5h agoNBA Trade Rumors: Miami Heat Eyeing Serge Ibaka?10h agoNBA: Five Injured Players That Are Missed Desperately10h agoThe Miami Heat Are On Fire1 d agoThe 76ers got Andrew Bynum in return for Iguodala, and were expected to improve on their 8th place finish in 2012. Of course that never happened, and Bynum only played 26 more games in a career that is surely over.The 76ers acquired top five picks in the 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 drafts, but used them on players with redundant skillets who have missed well over 400!!! combined games. It has been very difficult to “trust the process” while Joel Embiid missed his entire first two years, and Ben Simmons’ timetable for debuting keeps getting pushed back.Naturally, the 76ers can’t give big contract extensions to all four of their recent 6-foot-10 and over lottery picks – and they might not have to, with other young players like Dario Saric and T.J. McConnell rounding into decent rotation players.When they finally pull the trigger, the 76ers should get a few nice wing players for Jahlil Okafor, and maybe more for Nerlens Noel, as his superior defense and rebounding would immediately help teams like Portland or Boston. If management executes these potential trades well, they will finally wield a balanced roster with some depth.More important than the 76ers’ slow but finally steady Process, is the competition they will face. The East is still a mess, with the Knicks, Bulls, and Pistons all under-achieving. One of these teams might turn it around next season, but probably only one.
Verdict: Probably will make the 2018 playoffsNext: Orlando Magic Oct 12, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Serge Ibaka (7) and Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) talk against the San Antonio Spurs during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Orlando MagicStarted tanking: Summer 2012 (Dwight trade)While the Orlando Magic have done a better job of drafting lottery players at more than one position, they have used trades to create their own frontcourt logjam.Serge Ibaka will almost certainly leave in free agency this summer, and Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic don’t seem to have developed any chemistry together.Nor do any of them appear to have superstar potential to drag this team to the playoffs. In an Eastern Conference where middle-of-the-road teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, and even the Miami Heat have found at least something that resembles a franchise player and seem to be building for the future, the Magic can’t really hope to climb far out of the lottery.
Verdict: Definitely won’t make the 2018 playoffsNext: Los Angeles Lakers Nov 3, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guards Jordan Clarkson (right) and D’Angelo Russell (1) celebrate in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles LakersStarted Tanking: Summer 2013The Los Angeles Lakers have consistently been a bottom-two team in the West since Kobe tore his Achilles and Dwight Howard left town for Houston. But they have drafted well (or better than their Eastern Conference counterparts, anyway) and have good depth at almost every position. They also have a good coach, who was able to squeeze productivity out of everyone in the opening month of the season.Most importantly, even though they handed out questionable contracts to Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov, their young players – and former 6th man of the Year Lou Williams – are on team friendly deals (only in 2019, the last year of these deals, could they cause the Lakers problems extending Larry Nance Jr. and/or D’Angelo Russell).The Lakers will again receive a high draft pick this coming year, and make incremental progress, but they still play in the West, and they still need a true alpha player. Even if the Clippers break up, I also can’t foresee more than two of the current top 7 teams in the West falling out of the top slots anytime during the rest of the decade.
Verdict: Probably won’t make the 2018 playoffsNext: Denver Nuggets Apr 10, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood (5) controls the ball against Denver Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic (23) and center Nikola Jokic (15) and forward Will Barton (5) and guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) in the second quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Denver NuggetsStarted Tanking: Arguably NeverThe Denver Nuggets were a 57-win team with Andre Iguodala, and their first round loss to the Golden State Warriors in 2013 was the vehicle for Steph Curry’s ascension to NBA superstardom.More from Sir Charles In ChargeCleveland Cavaliers: Can Derrick Williams Find A New Home With The King?3h agoNBA Rumors: Jabari Parker Suffers Torn ACL; Out For Season5h agoNBA Trade Rumors: Miami Heat Eyeing Serge Ibaka?10h agoNBA: Five Injured Players That Are Missed Desperately10h agoThe Miami Heat Are On Fire1 d agoDespite losing Iguodala to free agency in the summer of 2013, and one-time franchise player Danilo Gallinari to injury multiple times, the Nuggets have boldly avoided tanking, never finishing worse than 12th place in the West.As a result, they haven’t had top 5 picks. They used the 7th picks in 2015 and 2016 on Emmanuel Mudiay and Jamal Murray, respectively, and neither appears to be a franchise player. But they found that in 2014 41st pick Nikola Jokic, the least athletic, but possibly most intriguing, of the young “unicorns.” While they still have a losing record, seven Nuggets currently have Player Efficiency Ratings (PER) above the league average of 15, which has helped them fill the void left by the rebuilding Mavericks, and underachieving Blazers.The Nuggets need to develop their young talent, and get a reasonable return for Jusuf Nurkic, so they aren’t left in the dust when the Lakers and Timberwolves finally get good (I’m predicting they both chase 50 wins in 2019).Must Read: Five NBA Players That Desperately Need To Get HealthyThe Nuggets are far from being an elite team, but they are better suited for the near future than the listless Kings, and will again be either the best bad team, or the worst good team in the West next season.
Verdict: Probably will make the 2018 playoffsThis article originally appeared on
