NBA Photos; Retouch by @stevesolis
This is not going to come as welcome news to Daryl Morey and the Houston Rockets, but there is a report out there today from an Orlando TV station that Dwight Howard is very close to being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
David Pingalore of WKMG-TV in Orlando uses some pretty strong language in his report.
“This past week has been nothing but multiple smoke screens concerning the Dwight Howard drama. According to Pingalore’s sources, this week is all about getting Dwight Howard to Los Angeles and on the Lakers roster. Sources close to the situation believe the “The Lakers will be the end game for the Magic center”.
It has long been known that the Lakers were on Howard’s B-list, and that B-list came into play midway through the week when the Brooklyn Nets abandoned their pursuit of Howard and chose to retain Brook Lopez with a max four-year contract with $60.8 million.
Howard reportedly has lucrative incentives in his deal with adidas if he finds a way to play in one of the nation’s two largest markets — New York or Los Angeles.
More from Pingalore’s report: “Many of the stories about Howard have come from Howard’s camp and not from front office people. It is widely believed with front office people that the end game for Howard is the Lakers. That point was stressed over and over to Pingalore. The sources went as far to say “follow the money,” adding “The Lakers are a big market team that needs a player as global as Dwight Howard. Pingalore’s sources believe that this deal is in place and is set for announcement in the short term. Pingalore reported Thursday night the Houston Rockets were in play but the situation remains fluid and is changing at the moment and it’s about keeping people off base. The sources say Friday night this still is all but done. “Some crossing of T’s and dotting of I’s is only left”.
It has been widely assumed around the league that the Rockets have a deal in place to acquire Howard, and their waiving of Luis Scola through the amnesty process was a move they needed to make to clear enough room under the cap to not only take on Howard, but several other Orlando players.
Houston has the type of assets Orlando general manager Rob Hennigan would like to acquire, including Toronto’s No. 1 pick (top-3 protected in the 2013 Draft, top-2 protected in 2014 and 2015, top-1 protected in 2016 and 2017 and unprotected in 2018) , and a future No. 1 pick from Dallas (top 20 protected through 2017, unprotected in 2018).
The Rockets also have the rights to three players picked among the top 18 in last month’s draft — Jeremy Lamb, Royce White and Terrence Jones, along with two young big men acquired from New York in the Marcus Camby trade — Josh Harrellson and Jerome Jordan.
The Lakers have no similar future assets, having surrendered two future No. 1 picks in their sign-and-trade deal for Steve Nash. But they do have the best center in the Western Conference in Andrew Bynum, whose contract (like Howard’s) expires at the conclusion of next season.
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This is whats wrong with the NBA and will eventually kill it. All the large markets are getting the best players and the smaller markets don’t have a chance. This is BS and is destroying the game. I have been a fan for 40 years but stopped watching last year. The league is rigged for a few teams in big markets, it’s not worth watching anymore, its about the rich getting richer and the poor suffering. Done with the NBA, love me some football.
I can believe Howard wants to get to the Lakers more than Howard wants to get to the Rockets and that that’s what Howard is trying to arrage, but I find it hard to believe that the Lakers will make a better offer to Orlando, which is all that actually matters for what deal is done.
Howard to bulls along with j rich and duhon for noah deng gibson teague hamilton mirotic and bobcats pick
that is ridiculously dumb
Lol at you quoting Pingalore.
Ping has always been so consistently all over the place and outright wrong that Magic fans no longer pay him any attention and are always constantly making fun of him.
Case in point Pingalore and his “sources” were responsible for this beauty of a “breaking news” report back on July 6th which basically stated that Howard was fixing to be traded but we can’t tell you to who and then went on to sorta insinuate it was the Lakers. LOL!:
Link to July 6th article:
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/Magic-reportedly-very-close-to-Howard-trade/-/1637132/15434348/-/g8kxebz/-/index.html
Again you will have a better chance getting reliable info from the National Enquirer that getting accurate news from Pingalore and his “sources”.
So is Bynum going to sign an extension in Orlando? BECAUSE HE ALREADY SAID HE WOULDNT! An I dont blaim him, why would he leave for a team thats rebuilding when they will be a contender for at least 2-3 more years. Get real….who hires these reporters. The Bulls have the best chance an they are just chilling waiting for all the smoke to clear.
Well, truth is if it happens, it happens. If this deal doesn’t happen and this is all a bunch of bulls**t, well then let it be. Lakers will still have Bynum for the season, of course, if he stays healthy. He may not be better than Howard, but Bynum can flat out play. But I believe if Howard does get traded to the Lakers, he’d be stupid not to re-sign with L.A., even if for another 3 years at least.
Might happen… but “Ping” is right about 8% of the time… he “reported” Howard signed a multi year extension last season and we all know how that went down… but who knows… maybe he actually got one right this time.
this guy Pingalore is an awful “reporter” who has been beyond wrong on this dwight howard story consistently. Howard may get traded to the Lakers at the end, but Pingalore reporting it mean zero, promise.
that’s daniel2 commenting, as i see tere’s a another daniel here.
How about the t´wolves as the third team, they want pau and the lakers could use a player like williams. just saying.
Chris,
Really doubt this is true, or better yet, valid because of a few reasons. First, the information provided gives us no other indication than Howard prefers to go to LA. Orlando does not care about D12’s desire to “follow the money trail.” What does Orlando care about Howards pay check. Also who cares thats where the league wants him to go. Unless the NBA is going to do a back room deal like what so many people believed they did with the Hornets, I again don’t see why the Mgic would care about this fact. Lastly, look at the comments by the local readers. They clown the writer for always being wrong. We all know that Ra-Ra-announcer who always gets things wrong about their team. Apparently to the Orlando sports fans he is THAT guy. Could be right, but seems unlikly
so with all these facts; just how is Dwight going to LA? Or is this just posturing by Orlando to get a better deal from Houston? Once again, media writing things for the sake of writing things.
What do you mean what else would the Lakers give them? They are getting the second best center in the league. That’s the best trade out there for both Orlando and The Lakers. Los Angeles is sitting pretty here. If the trade does not happen, Lakers still will have Bynum while Orlando will be stuck in rebuild mode for the next decade. If the Orlando GM was smart he would pull that trigger and build around Bynum, because there is no way Bynum will leave 30 million on the table. He will resign.
So Howard for Bynum straight up is the best deal the Magic can get? I don’t think so. Lakers don’t have any good young prospects, or good future picks. They could always find a third team, but if that third team is the Rockets, they aren’t going to do that deal without getting Bynum in return.
Start to cry! DH on the Lakers!
I’m not gonna cry, I just don’t think it’s realistic. Lakers can’t really take back a couple of bad contracts. Rockets can give them young players, picks and cap space. DH gets to the Lakers if the Rockets are involved in a 3 team trade, or another 3rd team that can give them what they want.
I just don’t see how a deal gets done between the Magic and Lakers. There would have to be commitments from both players towards their new teams. Also, what else would the Lakers give them? I still think the Rockets end up with either Bynum or Howard