OFFICIAL: Dwight A Laker NOT a Net WHeee!!!

[Leaguepass]

Let's not kid ourselves here----it definitely does impact us.....LAkers>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Heat. We needed a miracle to beat the Heat so our title window(if there even was one to begin with) pretty much completely closed now.

[GONYK]

Let's not kid ourselves here----it definitely does impact us.....LAkers>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Heat. We needed a miracle to beat the Heat so our title window(if there even was one to begin with) pretty much completely closed now.

It only affects us if we beat the Heat and make it to the Finals anyway

[moocow007]

Let's not kid ourselves here----it definitely does impact us.....LAkers>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Heat. We needed a miracle to beat the Heat so our title window(if there even was one to begin with) pretty much completely closed now.

So every other team in the NBA should just give up is what you're saying?

[duetta]

Let's not kid ourselves here----it definitely does impact us.....LAkers>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Heat. We needed a miracle to beat the Heat so our title window(if there even was one to begin with) pretty much completely closed now.

Not necessarily. The Lakers are an OLD TEAM. Old teams have trouble staying healthy in May.

The Lakers are so old, in fact, that I can't believe that Orlando didn't demand an unprotected #1 in '17 (since I assume '13 and '15 are already committed to Phoenix).

[Archerbro]

Let's not kid ourselves here----it definitely does impact us.....LAkers>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Heat. We needed a miracle to beat the Heat so our title window(if there even was one to begin with) pretty much completely closed now.

So every other team in the NBA should just give up is what you're saying?

heat weren't unbeatable last year , we saw the celtics take them to 7 games.

and then saw every one of the heats role players have the series of their lives (Battier/Mike Miller in the closing game) in the finals.
but for this club, it's not necessarily bad to rebuild. Get pieces back then try to get back to contention in 4-5 years after the lakers/heat era is over. Otherwise just stuck in early playoff exits.

[Hijinks]

Ask SVG what he did with his?

nice one!

[CrazyKnicks]

Let's not kid ourselves here----it definitely does impact us.....LAkers>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Heat. We needed a miracle to beat the Heat so our title window(if there even was one to begin with) pretty much completely closed now.

So every other team in the NBA should just give up is what you're saying?

You have a team in each conference that is way better than the rest for the next few years. Everyone else is an underdog and so those rebuilding teams couldn't have had a better timing.

Teams like OKC have a shot but if the Lakers and Mia are healthy, I don't like OKC's chances.

[duetta]

With Dwight Howard Trade, Orlando Aims Low
By ROB MAHONEY
3:08 p.m. | Updated Dwight Howard’s rumor-fueled stranglehold on the basketball world has come to a close, just in time for his limelit tenure in Los Angeles to begin. The Orlando Magic finally completed a four-team deal Friday that includes the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers, but ultimately makes Dwight Howard a Laker.

In exchange, the Magic become one of the worst teams in the league — at least somewhat by design. The N.B.A.’s backward rebuilding framework rewards teams for fully bottoming out, and after months of sorting through potential deals, the Magic front office ultimately signed off on a startlingly unimpressive haul of Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic, Moe Harkless and three protected future first-round picks. That’s not even comparable in basketball terms to the previously rumored trade packages centered around Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol or Brook Lopez, largely because the final form of this deal isn’t at all designed to make Orlando a better team.

Yet even with that alternative aim in mind, this is — at best — a highly questionable deal for the Magic. Harkless and Vucevic are the most intriguing long-term assets involved in a trade for one of the league’s top talents, and while both project to be rotation-caliber players, neither seems even remotely capable of being a foundational piece for Orlando. Afflalo is a solid (if overpaid) player, but of the ilk that’s far more useful on a winning team than a rebuilding one. Acquiring first-round picks is a sound play, but considering the other parties in the trade and the reported protections on each pick, those selections seem unlikely to produce anything better than midlevel assets.
That leaves us looking to Orlando’s cap sheet for guidance in ascertaining the team’s motivations, but there honestly isn’t much to be found. Orlando has naturally saved a bit in the deal, but in acquiring Afflalo (who will earn $31.2 million over the next four seasons) and Harrington (who will make a guaranteed $13.8 million over three years if the Magic release him before the 2013-14 season) without trading away the handsomely compensated Hedo Turkoglu or Glen Davis, the Magic have made less progress on that front than one might think. At present, Orlando only has a bit more than $30 million guaranteed on the books for the 2014 off-season, but that figure assumes the release of Harrington, Jameer Nelson (who has a partially guaranteed salary for that season), Gustavo Ayon (2014 FA), and J.J. Redick (2013 FA) and doesn’t yet account for any draft picks made in the interim. If the Magic are as miserable as anticipated, that cap space could dry up quickly, making the inclusion of Afflalo all the more costly and the possibility of a free-agent play even more unlikely.

Orlando will apparently have to earn its clean slate, as even trading Howard hasn’t managed to save the franchise from its own financial dead weight. With that in mind, it’s worth wondering what the deal will actually accomplish for a rebuilding Magic team. Are a few decent players and a trio of protected first-rounders preferable to simply letting Howard walk in free agency? And considering the other reported deals that were offered to the Magic (including an altogether superior package offered by the Houston Rockets, per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports), was there any unique reason to take back all of this salary without clearing out more future cap space? The silver lining here is almost nonexistent, as virtually every reported alternative seems to hold greater promise than the deal that ultimately nudged the Magic to ship out Howard.

Some of that may be because Orlando opted to trade Howard at one of the worst possible times. By this point in the summer, teams have little cap room, even less flexibility and very little reason for desperation. This is the no man’s land of the trade season, and had the decision-makers in Orlando opted to deal Dwight earlier in the off-season or closer to the trade deadline, they may have gotten a better return.

Yet as it stands, the Magic have pulled off the spectacular feat of dealing a superstar and getting astonishingly little in return — a reality made even more painful by all that Orlando gave up in their attempts to persuade Howard to remain with the Magic.

Stan Van Gundy was fired atop a sacrificial altar. Glen Davis was brought in on a senseless long-term deal. Jason Richardson and Jameer Nelson were re-signed to further clog up the Magic’s finances, and supposedly keep Howard happy. Yet none of it was enough to appease Howard’s wandering mind, leaving the Magic to undo their own contortions before finally being able to rebuild in earnest. The road back to relevance is a long one, but considering the foolishness of Orlando’s pandering, team officials (the newly hired Rob Hennigan excluded) really have no one to blame but themselves.

http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/ ... -aims-low/

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[Leaguepass]

Wheter I'm saying give up or not doesn't matter....it's the same talk like how what team could possibly take down the Heat in the east---basketball doesn't work that way. At a certain talent level you simply stand no chance. The Heat have won all their 6 east playoff series since teaming up together....With Bosh they have lost like 5 playoff games or so and are probably something like 20-5 or so. This Laker team is better hands down. And no, I'm not one of those chronic pessimistic guys...in fact I was looking forward to the season but this Laker team is insane. Looking at this realistically the next two years the finals will be LA vs. MIA.....

[Bravery]

Looks like I'll be watching a lot of Laker games this year. Dwight-Kobe-Pau-Jamison and Nash running point, holy cow haha

Congrats to Jerry Buss, Jeanie, Kupchak and Hennigan for building an actual, REAL contender against Miami. Looks like developing Bynum paid off in the end. They also managed to keep some lowly young assets DJO/Hill/Sacre as well should they decide to develop or move next year.

Bravo LAL. Outstanding and lucky organization.

[poeman]

Lakers just became amazing man...

Knicks moves mean nothing now...Nash and Howard with Kobe?

****

Doc Rivers shaking his head on the Olympics panel haha

[ctorres]

I live about 10 minutes away from Magic games. I'm excited to go see games for super cheap this season.

[denterprise]

Lakers championship window would be 1...2 years max?

So much to learn my son, the Lakers' championship window will never close. They may have hiccups but will turn around and reload like they have always done.

[Falstaffxx]

I'm surprised people think this is a bad deal for Orlando, at least in the context of other blockbuster trades. They are essentially getting 6 first round picks (Vucevic, Eyenga, Harkless + 3 other picks) + Afflalo. They may not get a lottery pick out of it, but I can't imagine any team taking the one of the other recent packages over this if they want to rebuild with a lot of young players. Afflalo is a good player and valued, and there's no trade in recent memory that has included quite this many draft picks/recent picks. This is probably the deal Orlando wanted, not the deal the had to "settle" for.

[Bravery]

Lakers championship window would be 1...2 years max?

So much to learn my son, the Lakers' championship window will never close. They may have hiccups but will turn around and reload like they have always done.

Yep, you got it.

The Howard trade, CP3 almost being a Laker, Nash choosing LA and the countless of superstars they've landed over the years all just enhance the Lakers' prestige and league players' impression of them.

When a future FA or disgruntled star thinks of LAL, they'll always see gold rings and fulfilled careers... Kobe, Wilt, Shaq, Phil, Magic, Kareem, West, Worthy and all the richness that comes with wearing purple and gold. Artest was a malcontent, but once he went to LA he became a champion.

Active NBA players past and present saw this years ago. Kids growing up sees this as well. As long as the Lakers have that certain standard, they'll have no trouble attracting elite players like a magnet while establishing even greater brand equity.

[Bran Fast Hands]

Man I like this trade for the Nuggets.

[DE FENSE]

Lakers championship window would be 1...2 years max?

So much to learn my son, the Lakers' championship window will never close. They may have hiccups but will turn around and reload like they have always done.

LOL you are absolutely right. But I meant this current incarnation, of course.

[ibraheim718]

Lakers signed Meeks.

[Thugger HBC]

Meanwhile, Jodie Meeks is a Laker too.

[red32]

Now, if you really wanna talk about a deep bench...