The trade:
Lakers got: C Dwight Howard, F Earl Clark and G Chris Duhon (via Orlando)
Magic got: G Arron Afflalo, F Al Harrington (via Denver), F Moe Harkless, C Nikola Vucevic (via Philadelphia) and F Josh McRoberts and G Christian Eyenga (via Los Angeles). They also received five draft picks over five years.
The 76ers got: C Andrew Bynum (via the Lakers) and G Jason Richardson (via Orlando)
The Nuggets got: F Andre Iguodala (via Philadelphia)
Philly obviously is the big loser here, especially if the don't re-sign Bynum. Giving up the emerging Vucavic was a colossal mistake, and losing Harkless and a first round pick hurts. They gave away Iggy for basically nothing.
The Nuggets got Iggy for a solid wing and a tweener vet with an outsized contract. Good move for them, although they had to give up a 2014 first.
Getting Howard, even this season's gimpy version, was a win for the Lakers, especially since all they had to give up was out of service Andrew Bynum and a 2017 first, and a 2015 second. If he re-signs there, and gets back to pre-back surgery form, it will be a big win for LA.
Orlando was faced with a classic a dollar for a bunch of quarters trade, but they ended up getting a handful of quarters, at least. Vucavic had a breakout year, averaging 13 and 12 in only 33 minutes. he's second in the league in RPG to Howard, by .4, and is actually snagging more rebounds per minutes than D-Ho. Harkless looks like he's going to be a solid wing, and if he can find the stroke from three, could be a big time scorer. Great size and a lot of athleticism, and he's still a teenager. Afflalo, a solid role player, was lost in his role as scorer on a lousy team, and his efficiency was as poor as his rookie year, but he did manage to average 16.5 ppg, a career high. Harrington barely got on the court, and still has two years and $15m on his deal.
Orlando's second worst record should get them a very good player this summer, probably either an explosive scoring wing, like Ben McLemore, or a rim defending big, like Nerlins Noel. If the final bounty for Howard ends up being Vucavic, Harkless, Afflalo two future firsts, Harrington's contract, and Noel after the Magic suffering through one bad season, that's a huge win for the Magic.
They'll be in one more year of salary hell until the overpaid pieces like Turkoglu who were there to surround Howard clear off the books, but if they can spin his expiring $12m deal for a couple of vets to surround their young players, the rebuilding could be less painful. The only cap cloggers after next season will be one more year of Harrington at $7m and BBD at $6m. Orlando, especially if they can move one of these deals, could be a FA player in Lebron Summer II after the 2014 season.
Topic: Did the Magic 'Win" the Dwight Howard trade? (Read 2061 times)