NBA

A Whole Lot Of People Think The Magic Are Idiots For Doing This Dwight Howard Deal

So Dwight Howard is (pretty much totally officially unless there’s something to this please let there be nothing to that) a Laker. It looks like a tremendous deal for the Lakers, so long as they can lock Howard up long-term (and Andrew Bynum’s going to be a free agent after this year too, so they’re just swapping that uncertainty for uncertainty with a better player. The Sixers lose Andre Iguodala but get a massive frontcourt upgrade in Bynum, while the Nuggets add Iguodala and give themselves some versatility. A lot of teams have made some intriguing improvements here.

One team that seemingly hasn’t: the team that gave up Howard, the Magic. Their haul in this deal: Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic, rookie Moe Harkless, three (non-lottery) first round picks, eventual cap room. CBS Sports’ Royce Young wasn’t the only one asking: “That’s it?” SB Nation’s Tom Ziller reacted to the Magic’s acquisitions with, “UGH.” And let’s not forget the deals the Magic turned down before making this one. Take it away, Adrian Wojnarowski:

Final Nets offer Orlando rejected in July: Lopez, Humphries (1 year, $9.6M), Brooks, 4 unprotected No. 1′s for Howard, JRich, Duhon, Clark.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) August 10, 2012

HOU offered ORL $12M in space (instead of Afflalo), recent 1st picks, future lottery and unprotected picks. Would’ve taken bad deals (cont.)

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) August 10, 2012

(cont.) and no need to take on Harrington contract.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) August 10, 2012

We’re not the only ones who can’t help but note that both those deals look more promising than what the Magic took. Maybe that’s because, as the last linked tweet speculates, that Houston’s reported offer was never really there for the taking. Maybe it’s because, as CBS’ Ken Berger said, the Magic decided they want to rebuild with hand-picked pieces, rather than work primarily with what other teams can give them.

But even then, and even if we assume the Houston deal wasn’t feasible… check that Nets offer. Maybe it didn’t provide the cap room the Magic were looking for? And even then, Humphries would have come off the books after a year, and would the cap room have been able to buy them a better big man than Lopez, rebounding troubles and all, anyway? And one can argue that MarShon Brooks would have been a more enticing piece to add than Arron Afflalo.

Oh, and the picks they got from the actual trade aren’t any better than what the hypothetical Nets deal would have given them, either. New Magic GM Rob Hennigan must have really, really wanted that freedom to build almost entirely from the ground up. And as we said here, given what he apparently could have gotten for Howard instead, he’s got a tough road ahead to prove he made the right call.

Getty photo, by Ronald Martinez

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