The NBA and its players are into any number of great charities. But while both real and pressing, and an area where NBA figures have the potential to make a big difference, gang violence is beyond politically radioactive. Many in and around the NBA stay simply because it’s too hot.
Kris Humphries will be a member of the Brooklyn Nets next season. For now that is.
The former Minnesota standout inked an expensive two-year, $24 million deal with Brooklyn, probably making more money than he would if he tested the open market (via SI.com).
While many have chastised the Nets for definitely overpaying for Humphries, there was a method to their madness.
According to John Hollinger of ESPN.com:
Paying Humphries $12 million means that the combination of Humphries, Tyshawn Taylor and Reggie Evans can be used to take back $18.6 million in contracts from Orlando — which conveniently, is exactly enough to swallow the contracts of Orlando veterans Glen Davis, Jason Richardson, Chris Duhon and Quentin Richardson and clean the Magic’s books going forward.
Keep in mind, the proposed deal that would send Howard to the Nets could only happen when Brook Lopez can be traded, which would be in the middle of January.
Even so, the Nets seem to be building a compelling case for the Magic, a team that wants to completely rebuild.
Here is a possible deal that would send D-12 to Brooklyn:
Orlando Receives: Kris Humphries, Tyshawn Taylor, Reggie Evans, Brook Lopez, MarShon Brooks and multiple first rounders
Brooklyn Receives: Dwight Howard, Quentin Richardson, Jason Richardson, Glen Davis and Chris Duhon
This deal really benefits the Magic. When you can get rid of most of your bad contracts, pick up a solid frontcourt of Humphries and Lopez, while also building for the future (Brooks and the draft picks), it really is a huge win.
The Nets come out fine too. Acquiring the best big man in the league is a great prize, especially when you pick up solid role players in the trade too.
Howard does get his way in this deal and he joins a formidable starting lineup which includes All-Stars Deron Williams and Joe Johnson and Bosnian star forward Mirza Teletovic.
In essence, Howard makes the Nets relevant for the first time since at least the Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin days.
This new development should make Lakers and Rockets management worried because it puts the Nets, Howard’s preferred location, back into the mix.
Many believed that when Brook Lopez signed his four-year, $61 million deal, Howard would have to choose between being traded to Houston or Los Angeles or signing with the Mavericks in the 2013 offseason.
Now, Houston and Los Angeles will need to fend off a rising Brooklyn franchise that would give D-12 exactly what he wants, and possibly more.
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The big name that has dominated NBA trade rumors this summer has been Magic center Dwight Howard.
As the rumors of the big man headed to Brooklyn are heating up, the team that surprisingly has the motors running in the deal is the Cleveland Cavaliers.
When the speculation that Howard was to become a Net seemed at a standstill, the Cavs came out of nowhere to provide a third wheel to the deal and facilitate advancement in discussions.
While Brooklyn will come out with the biggest prize of this blockbuster and the Magic are going to stockpile first-round picks, what’s in it for Cleveland?
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, while Cleveland will give up Luke Walton, they’ll receive Orlando’s Quentin Richardson, Brooklyn’s Sundiata Gaines, Kris Humphries, a first-round pick and $3 million from the Nets.
The only catch is that the underrated Humphries wants a multi-year deal and the current trade proposes a one-year guaranteed contract via sign-and-trade.
However, if Humphries is only with the Cavs for a season, it will be an upgrade from last season.
Let’s be honest, the Cavs were atrocious in 2011 and any notable additions to the team will bolster their inexperienced roster. Last season Cleveland was 25th in points per game, 23rd in assists per game, and 26th in points allowed.
While Gaines won’t do much for the Cavs, journeyman Quentin Richardson could prove to be a valuable veteran coming off the bench. Even though he’s nowhere close to the player he was with the Clippers in 2003-04 (17.2 PPG on the season), the 32-year-old can still provide a spark for Cleveland.
If he can get back to the way he played for the Knicks from 2005-09 when he averaged a little over ten points per game, Richardson will be a low-risk steal for the Cavs.
While a future first-round pick and cash is a great add-on, Cleveland’s biggest gain would arguably be Kris Humphries.
One of the most underrated players in the league, Humphries is a consistent double-double machine, averaging 13.8 PPG and 11.0 rebounds per game in 2011-12 for the Nets last year in New Jersey.
If Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is able to get Humphries inked to a longer deal with the team, that would be great for them in the long run.
However, even if they only have the University of Minnesota product for a season, their team will be much better off than they were the past couple of years.
After adding Tyler Zeller in the draft along with Tristan Thompson coming back for his sophomore campaign, the Cavs were heading into 2012 with a talented, but extremely young and inexperienced frontcourt.
Things could change if the maturity of Humphries is added to the mix.
Sure he hasn’t really been noticed until the past few years, but Humphries does have eight years of NBA experience under his belt. With this, he would provide a veteran presence for the younger players and ease some of the pressure on their shoulders, allowing them develop at more reasonable pace.
Bottom line, the unsung winner of this deal, if things go as planned, would be the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Not only do they gain some serious cash and a future first-round pick, but also the club adds veteran help to a fresh and impressionable team–something that could put them in the hunt for a playoff spot in 2012.
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Some believe it could be a distraction if Dwight Howard sticks around and even begins next season with Orlando.
A distraction to what? An epic battle with Washington for third place in the Southeast Division.
The Magic aren’t going anywhere next season. They don’t even have a coach, and their pool of candidates for the job doesn’t include one guy who ever has been an NBA head man.
Forward Ryan Anderson is coming off being named the NBA’s Most Improved Player. His reward from Orlando is not to return. Instead, he’ll go to New Orleans in a sign-and-trade deal, with Anderson receiving a four-year, 35 million contract and the Magic getting back raw center Gustavo Ayon.
One hopes there’s a Lowe’s or Home Depot near Magic headquarters. Because they’re rebuilding.
With the mind, why is there any urgency for the Magic to deal their star center? The trade deadline isn’t until February.
ESPN.com has reported a proposed four-team deal in which Orlando would ship Howard to Brooklyn with big man Brook Lopez being the key piece arriving from the Nets. In the process, the Magic would have to give Lopez, a restricted free agent, a maximum contract so he could be included in a sign-and-trade.
Yes, that would be the same Brook Lopez who averaged a microscopic 6.0 rebounds (along with 20.4 points) in 35.2 minutes in 2010-11 (he played in just five games last season due to a foot injury so we’ll give him a break on the 3.6 rebounds he averaged). And, yes, he’s a center.
Perhaps Orlando Sentinel writer Brian Schmitz noted it best. Regarding new Magic general manager Rob Hennigan, Schmitz tweeted, “If Hennigan pulls trigger on this deal, he is the Nets’ nominee for Executive of the Year.”
According to ESPN.com, here would be the other pieces in a deal also involving Cleveland and the Los Angeles Clippers: The Magic also would receive Luke Walton, Damion James, Shelden Williams, Armon Johnson and three first-round picks, two from the Nets and a lottery-protected one from the Clippers. The Nets also would get Jason Richardson, Chris Duhon and Earl Clark.
The Cavaliers would end up with Kris Humphries, Quentin Richardson and Sundiata Gaines, a Nets first-round pick and 3 million from Brooklyn. And, when the dust settled, the Clippers would have MarShon Brooks.
Yes, the Magic would shed the salaries of Duhon and the two Richardsons, who combine to make 12.1 million next season and 12.9 million in 2013-14. But, say what you want about Lopez, there’s nothing inspiring about the other four players the Magic would receive. And there are no certainties with the first-round picks.
From the looks of this deal, Hennigan must be patient. If need be, play it out through the summer. Maybe even take it into next season. It sure couldn’t hurt.
If he hasn’t done it already, Hennigan might want to pick up the phone and talk to Denver Nuggets executive Masai Ujiri, who was in a similar spot with Carmelo Anthony two years ago. Anthony, like Howard, had asked to be traded. And Ujiri, like Hennigan, was thrown into his situation as a rookie general manager.
For Ujiri, it worked out well because he exercised patience. Anthony ended up being dealt to New York just before the trade deadline in February 2011 along with Chauncey Billups and other pieces for a package that included Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, Raymond Felton and two first-round picks.
One possible difference is the Nuggets were able to pit the Knicks and Nets against each other to raise the price of what they got back. Howard apparently now only wants to go to Brooklyn.
But last season, before Howard agreed not to pick up his 2011-12 contract option and push his free agency to next summer, he also had the Lakers and Dallas as approved destinations. It’s understandable why the falling-apart Mavericks apparently have fallen off his list, but it seems hard to believe Howard couldn’t be convinced to go to the Lakers and stick around for a spell.
You’d think Howard might have noticed what has happened in the past four decades after star big men have headed to the Lakers. After picking up Wilt Chamberlain (one), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (five), Shaquille O’Neal (three) and Pau Gasol (two), they won a combined total of 11 championships.
The main piece the Magic would want from the Lakers for Howard is center Andrew Bynum. It is a bit dicey that Bynum can become a free agent next summer.
But it might be a better gamble picking up Bynum as a rental than it would be to commit so much money to Lopez. Interestingly, during the 2010-11 season, Bynum averaged exactly twice as many rebounds per 36 minutes (12.2) as Lopez (6.1).
Regardless, the Magic should exercise patience. Even if they were to wait six months, it’s hard to imagine they couldn’t get a deal at least as good as the one now on the table.
As for this Howard stuff all continuing to be a distraction, big deal. If the Magic make the trade that has been proposed, there might not be too many fans showing up at the Amway Center to distract opponents.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson
The Brooklyn Nets are currently engaging in talks with the Orlando Magic to figure out a way to bring Dwight Howard to their team this offseason. However, because of limited cap room and available trading chips, the Nets are struggling to come up with a suitable offer to pry the superstar away from the Magic Kingdom.
There are a number of sources reporting a multitude of hypothetical deals that could eventually take place that would land Howard in the Big Apple. Let’s take a look at some of the interesting rumors floating around the Internet concerning this potential blockbuster.
Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries and MarShon Brooks for Howard, Quentin Richardson and Jason Richardson
CBS Sports’ Ken Berger is reporting that the Nets, who have little cap space left after trading for Joe Johnson and signing Gerald Wallace, could still absorb some excess salary from the Magic in this deal. They have a $3 million trade exception that they could use to pick up Q-Rich’s contract, while the numbers for the other players would work under the CBA.
However, the Magic seem to want to shed Hedo Turkoglu’s abhorrent $11.8 million salary the most, and the Nets will be hard-pressed to find a way to facilitate this.
Bring in a Third Team
Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski found that the only way for progress to be made in a potential trade is for the Nets to bring in a third party interested in taking on Kris Humphries:
For Nets-Magic to progress on a Dwight Howard deal, a 3rd team needed to take Kris Humphries in a sign-and-trade, league source tells Y!
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 3, 2012
The Magic would likely forge ahead with Ryan Anderson and Robin Lopez as their primary bigs, making Humphries the odd man out.
It looks like Nets GM Billy King might have to call in some favors if he wants to bring DH12 to Brooklyn.
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
As the Portland Trail Blazers finished off their draft night on Thursday by sending the 41st pick to New Jersey for cash, it suddenly hit me that, however GM Neil Olshey might try to spin it, this is in fact a rebuilding team.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad about that. It’s something that had to be done, and the reality is that it’s not a total rebuild the likes of which the New Orleans Hornets are undergoing post-Chris Paul. The previous iteration of the Blazers had become stagnant due to the constant uncertainty brought on by rampant injuries and inconsistent play, so changes were made.
I’ve been a fan of the team for almost 15 years now, so I remember well the Jail Blazer era and the subsequent low points in terms of wins, which were followed by high draft picks and a few seasons of promise.
Each season for the past four or five years, the Blazers have started out with hopes of contention in the Western Conference, only to have them derailed each time by injuries. Now, we are again at a point where we enter the season not with hopes to contend, but hope of improvement.
As exciting as it was to have two picks in the lottery this year, I’m hoping those are the last lottery picks we see by this team for quite some time. Even so, I understand that no matter how quickly Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard can adjust to the pro game, the development as a team will take more than just one season.
But they will develop, and they will be good.
Lillard seems to be one of the top picks who a lot of people love to hate right now, primarily because he never played against the top competition while in college. They point to past draft failures like Sergio Rodriguez and Sebastian Telfair and say that the Blazers can’t get lucky with a point guard in the first round.
There is truth in the complaint about his lack of elite competition in college, but that’s not something he had control over. All anyone can ask of you is to beat the competition you face, and that’s what he did.
Everyone complains about the BCS and how unfair it is to schools like Boise State, because when given the chance against the big names, the smaller schools have succeeded more often than not. Lillard is going to do the same.
We could go through and make a list of all the small school guys who have succeeded in the NBA and all the big school guys who haven’t, but the point is that what school you go to is NOT a determining factor or guarantee as to whether you will succeed at the highest level.
Leonard is not someone I was high on before the draft, and the truth is I still don’t really know too many details about him. But I guess I’m starting to talk myself into the pick.
He’s tall and skinny, but he’s not too skinny to be OK. He looks good on defense and should be able to develop into at least a respectable rebounder and shot blocker in the NBA. With his mobility and athleticism, his ceiling (and this might be overly optimistic) would be Tyson Chandler. So that’s what I’m hoping for; after all the Dallas Mavericks won a championship with that type of center.
I’m also excited for Will Barton, the guard who was taken by the Blazers with the 40th pick of the draft. Again, no one is projecting him to be a star at this point, but he did win the Conference USA player of the year award for 2012, which actually puts him in some pretty good company.
Guys like Quentin Richardson, Kenyon Martin, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Dwyane Wade all won the award before. He isn’t the athlete or talent that Wade is, of course, but even if he turns into a competent sixth man and scorer off the bench, that’s pretty good value here.
Overall, the Blazers deserve an A for having a solid draft, filling all their apparent needs and not straying from the strategy to build a team that they already put in place at the trade deadline last season.
Over the next few weeks, lots of questions need to be answered.
Will the Blazers be able to keep Nicolas Batum? Will they go after anyone else in free agency? Who will be this team’s next head coach?
It seems that, for now, there is still plenty of uncertainty to keep us all entertained.
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Dwight Howard needs to go … now!
Orlando Magic owner Richard DeVoss Sr. is 86 years old and wants a championship. The only way DeVoss Sr. is going to be wearing an NBA title ring anytime soon is if the Magic part ways with their indecisive Superman, period.
Dwight Howard has changed his mind about whether he wants to play in Orlando more times than a Ron Artest changes personalities. It’s time for the Magic to move on, do what’s best for the franchise instead of their immature superstar, and trade Howard for the best package they can get before the season starts, the drama starts and their asset starts to depreciate.
Richard DeVoss Sr. owns the Magic and needs to take ownership of the Howard drama. He does not need a coach in place. He does not need a general manager in place. He doesn’t even need a legend like Phil Jackson. DeVoss Sr. simply needs to make it known that Howard is done playing for the Orlando Magic and that he will be traded to the highest bidder, period. Devoss Sr. can start the bidding war himself, immediately.
All of the above said, below are the top 11 trade packages the Magic could realistically hope to receive if they truly put Dwight Howard on the market:
Magic trade Howard, Jason Richardson and Quentin Richardson to the Heat for Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh
Others have speculated that the Heat may offer Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh for Dwight Howard if they fail to win the NBA title this season. However, the simple fact is that neither Wade nor Bosh is worth Howard straight up. If the Magic are going to trade the face of their franchise to their state rival, they must receive both Wade and Bosh, period.
The above trade is the single best trade the Magic can make and one I believe the Heat would seriously consider agreeing to, especially if the Thunder beat them in the NBA Finals as I expect they will.
Magic trade Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Glen Davis, Chris Duhon and Quentin Richardson to the Knicks for Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Toney Douglas and Jerome Jordan
Outside of the first proposed Heat trade, the Magic simply cannot do any better from a talent perspective that being able to acquire the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler and star power forward Amare Stoudemire for Howard. Being able to also dump the horrible contracts of Turkoglu, Duhon and Richardson along with the lengthy contract of Big Baby Davis and receive the extremely inexpensive contracts of young Toney Douglas and Jerome Jordan is mere icing on the cake!
Magic trade Howard, Duhon and Quentin Richardson to the Lakers for Andrew Bynum, Josh McRoberts and Christian Eyenga
The above is perhaps the most likely to happen deal out of the eleven listed. The Lakers may be high on Andrew Bynum’s future but are not insane enough to truly believe he gives them a better chance to win a title next year. The Magic could do far worse than trading the top center in the league for the second best center in the league, who happens to be two years younger. Swapping the bad contracts of Duhon and Richardson for the inexpensive and short-term contracts of McRoberts and Eyenga is also a bonus for Orlando.
Magic trade Howard and Quentin Richardson to the Hawks for Al Horford, Zaza Pachulia and the #23 pick
Dwight Howard is the best center on the planet without doubt. However, Al Horford may indeed be a top three center in the league when fully healthy. Such being the case, trading Howard with the bad contract of Quentin Richardson and receiving the younger Horford, quality backup center Pachulia and the 23rd pick in the draft is a solid deal for the Magic.
Magic trade Howard and Turkoglu to the Wizards for Rashard Lewis, Kevin Seraphin and the No. 2 pick
If the Magic decide they want to build around a new young stud, they could certainly do worse than saving over $17 million by swapping the Howard and Turkoglu duo for the Wizards Lewis and Seraphin duo and acquiring the second pick in the draft to use on Kansas power forward Thomas Robinson.
Magic trade Howard, Duhon, Quentin Richardson and the No. 19 pick to the Grizzlies for Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol
While losing the No. 19 pick in the draft may not be ideal for Orlando, acquiring the Grizzlies duo of Gay and Gasol is more than worth it. This is one trade that immediately makes the Magic a better team with a brighter future than what they currently have with Howard.
Magic trade Howard to the Rockets for Kyle Lowry, Kevin Martin and the No. 14 and No. 16 picks
Bill Ingram recently reported in his Hoops World article that the Rockets have no desire to keep either of their two first round draft picks and are looking to trade them for a star player. Dwight Howard could be that star player. The Magic may not be receiving a superstar player in this trade but they are receiving a massive amount of talent. Lowry and Martin would instantly give Orlando one of the best back-courts in the East and the No. 14 and 16 picks could easily be packaged with their own No. 19 pick to move up in the draft to select the new face of the franchise, such as Dwight Howard clone Andre Drummond.
Magic trade Howard and Turkoglu to the Timberwolves for Nikola Pekovic, Derrick Williams, Wes Johnson and the expiring contracts of Martell Webster and Brad Miller
The above trade would be a Godsend for the Magic franchise. Pekovic has perennial All-Star written all over him while Williams has the makings of a future star. Dumping the horrid contract of Turkoglu for the expiring contracts of Webster and Miller, while also adding promising young swing-man Johnson is a no-brainer swap as well. Simply put, this is close to a perfect deal for the Magic.
Magic trade Howard and Turkoglu to the Jazz for Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap
This trade makes perfect and I do mean perfect sense for both teams. The Jazz could actually use a two big men for one big man swap in order to free up much needed playing time for both Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter. The Magic should be thrilled to trade their superstar big man for two young star big men as well. There really is nothing to dislike about this trade whatsoever.
Magic trade Howard, Duhon and Quentin Richardson to the Spurs for Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter
The above trade would give the Magic a great return on their investment, no doubt about that. Parker and Ginobili, who could step right into his sixth man role with the Magic, playing behind starter Jason Richardson would give Orlando perhaps the best backcourt in the Eastern Conference immediately. Tiago Splitter is also a fabulous young true center that adds great value to this package.
Magic trade Howard and Turkoglu to the Warriors for Andrew Bogut and David Lee
This final trade is much like the proposed trade between the Magic and the Utah Jazz. A simple two for one swap would improve the Magic, yet make perfect sense for their trading partner as well. I personally believe this trade is far less likely than the Jazz trade. This is due to the fact that while both the Jazz and Warriors would be afraid Howard would not sign long-term extensions with them, the Warriors don’t have two young studs waiting in the wings, ready to gobble up extra minutes in the post the way their Jazz do in the aforementioned Favors and Kanter.
Whichever of the above 11 trade proposals the Magic decide to focus on, and no worries Mr. DeVoss Sr., I won’t charge a consultancy fee. I believe it is a no-brainer decision that they must trade Dwight Howard as soon as possible.
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Magic center Dwight Howard is sitting out Orlando’s home game Monday against Detroit because of back spasms. Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy made the announcement Monday, adding that forwards Ryan Anderson (ankle) and Quentin Richardson (sore back) are questionable. Hedo Turkoglu (eye) is out for the regular season.
Magic center Dwight Howard is sitting out Orlando’s home game Monday against Detroit because of back spasms. Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy made the announcement Monday, adding that forwards Ryan Anderson (ankle) and Quentin Richardson (sore back) are questionable. Hedo Turkoglu (eye) is out for the regular season.
It’s an immutable rule, one that is taught in preschool and that every person knows — if you Randy Foye hit eight 3-pointers in 15 tries against you in an NBA game, you are going to lose that game. Well, somehow Rick Carlisle and the Dallas Mavericks forgot that golden rule on Monday night, and Foye made them pay.
The former first-round pick out of Villanova had his best game of the season, scoring 28 points on 19 shots — including an 8-of-15 mark from distance, tying a franchise record for 3-pointers set by Quentin Richardson in February 2004 — in 35 minutes to lead the Los Angeles Clippers past the defending champion Mavs in Dallas. The 94-75 road victory moved the Clips to within a game of the Los Angeles Lakers for the top spot in the Pacific Division ahead of the teams’ next meeting at Staples Center on Wednesday night. The teams split their first two matchups of the season.
The win was also the Clippers’ sixth in a row, marking the first time since March 1982 that the famously feckless franchise has won six straight. In honor of this historic occasion, I demand that the Clippers’ game operations team only play “I Love Rock and Roll” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, the No. 1 song in the country during L.A.’s last sextuple, when they take on the Lakers on Wednesday night. Seems like a pretty rocking good luck charm.
Hit the jump for more on Monday’s Clips-Mavs tilt, including some context for Foye’s big night and a couple of monster Blake Griffin dunks thanks to our friends at the Yahoo! Sports Minute .