Tweet of the Night goes to Jalen Rose for hoping that the Orlando Magic would receive more for Dwight Howard than the parts that were reportedly received.
NBA Photos; Retouch by @stevesolis
To clarify, it was reported by ESPN late Thursday night that the four-team trade involving Dwight Howard was completed. Here are the details: “A source with direct knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein the Lakers will receive Howard, the Denver Nuggets will acquire Andre Iguodala, the 76ers will receive Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson, and the Magic will get Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic and one protected future first-round pick from each of the three teams. In addition, the Magic will be getting other pieces, including 76ers No. 1 draft pick Moe Harkless, a source told Stein.”
When the possible deal was originally reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the scenario involved the Magic receiving Pau Gasol and Afflalo. It would have made the most sense for the Magic to receive either Gasol or Bynum to compensate for the loss of Howard. Instead, the team will apparently settle for former Sixers backup forward-center Vucevic.
In comparison, here is what the Brooklyn Nets had previously offered the Magic, from Woj:
The Houston Rockets were also willing to offer a trade that would have absorbed plenty of undesired contracts from the Magic. Here are some of the details of that offer to refresh your memory, from ESPN: “(Rockets) are now able to absorb the contracts of Glen Davis, Jason Richardson and Chris Duhon — in addition to offering Orlando various combinations of future first-round draft picks and players drafted in the first round by Houston last month — to give the Magic an opportunity to wipe their payroll virtually clean for their post-Howard rebuilding effort. General manager Daryl Morey is trying to construct a trade that will allow the Rockets to take back, in addition to Howard, multiple players from a group that includes Davis, Richardson, Duhon and Hedo Turkoglu. With Scola’s three remaining seasons valued at roughly $21 million off the books, Houston will have increased flexibility to help the Magic shed salary.”
So the question is, could the Magic have held out for a much better deal?
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