ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Why The Lakers Need To Trade Dwight Howard NOW

Updated on February 21, 2013

Hard to believe that it was only 6 months ago that the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Dwight Howard in a blockbuster four-team deal. Even harder to believe the dystopian nightmare that this once promising situation has become for L.A. In a short span the Lakers have gone from being the darling of the NBA and the pick of many experts to win the Championship, to a non-playoff team and the laughingstock of the NBA.

How did it all go so, so horribly wrong? The answer is complicated. The solution is simple: Trade Dwight Howard, before it's too late. Here's why:

He is all but guaranteed to leave after this season. This is clear to seemingly everyone, except Lakers' management. Dwight has remained noncommittal, insisting that his focus is on this (doomed) season and he does not know what he will do afterwards. But anyone who's paying attention can see from his on-court demeanor and body language, as well as his off-court statements in the media, he's as good as gone.

But what if he does sign? If some miracle occurs between now and this offseason, and Dwight does sign long-term, I still think the Lakers are screwed.


Kobe and Dwight will never successfully co-exist. You know the phrase "two peas in a pod"? Yeah, Kobe and Dwight are the opposite of that. Kobe is ultra-serious, ultra-competitve, and desperate to tie and/or surpass MJ's total of six rings. He needs at least one more championship, and he's running out of time.

Enter Dwight Howard. He's aloof. He's a jokester. A clown. He's known to be caught chuckling on the bench as his team is being blown out. He's more likely to tell an elaborate joke than to give an inspiring halftime speech. In other words, he's the type of teammate that Kobe despises.

Kobe and Dwight are two of the most talented basketball players alive, but their personalities will stand in the way of this Lakers team ever "clicking".

He's on the decline. Most NBA fans still think of Dwight as the monster-child that led the Orlando Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals. Newsflash: It's been 4 years since then. Not only has Dwight developed a reputation for being an immature diva since then, his scoring numbers have dropped 4 years in a row.

His chronic back and shoulder problems have resulted in performance that can only be described as average. His 19.20 PER is good for just 16th among qualified NBA centers, ranked below such superstars as J.J. Hickson and Robin Lopez.

This could just be a down year for him, but again, his statistics have been trending downwards for years. Handing out max contracts to declining players has been the kiss of death to many NBA franchises over the years; do the Lakers really want to be next on that list?

Injuries. The Lakers know them well. All four of the Lakers key players have dealt with injuries this season, from Nash's back to Pau's feet to Kobe's feet to Dwight's shoulder. The Lakers desperately need an injection of health and youth.

With this season pretty much down the drain for L.A., it's time to look to 2013-2014. Aging these guys another year is not going to do anything to fend off the injury bug. Dwight is the one asset that the Lakers could use to bring in some young, healthy talent via trade.

Which brings us to our final point...

Despite all of this, Dwight still has value. He's still a household name, one of the league's most marketable stars, and a lot of teams would love to have him. He's not a good fit for the Lakers, but are you telling me Brooklyn wouldn't offer up a package centered around Brook Lopez? The Hawks won't dangle Josh Smith in a deal for Howard?

Now is the time to act. The Lakers are doomed if they sign Dwight to a max deal. L.A. is doomed if they let their most valuable asset walk for nothing at the end of the season.

If the Lakers want to do what's best for their future, they'll trade Dwight Howard, and they'll trade him now.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)