Dwight Howard Reportedly Headed to Lakers in Four-Way Trade

Just watched the intro press conference. He’s so happy. Good for him, and the Lakers. Would’ve liked to see what Nash could do for Bynum, but this is a clear upgrade. The Nash-Amaré style pick-and-roll of the mid-decade could be brought back and would be deadly with Howard flying in. Pau will be rejuvenated, and Metta will keep an edge. And Kobe?
that’s the best part.

Caboose. On paper yes. Only in terms of “best” Big names list, but not head to head when age and number of players in thier prime is factored in. I would take that 86-87 lakers team over any team past or present, including the 12’13′ Lakers even with old @ss Kareem. That was basketball perfection. The celtics team they beat that year imo is 1B in tearms of “best” teams ever. Also people always leave out the “bad boys” pick a year between 87′-90 they were sick…87’88 Zeke/Dumars/AD/ Mahorn/Laimbeer/ plus Microwave,Rodman and Salley? That said anything short of a chip will be a failure for the 12’13 Lakers. The heat had a buffer since thier best player had yet to win a chip’ but with kobe holding 5 and already losing twice in the finals, there is no buffer. plus Nash and D12 have no more excuses, at this point in thier careers (especially Nash) surrounded by that much talent it’s time to put up or shut up. But on the real all the Kobe critcs and stans are funny. Back in 00′ it was Shaq’s team. If Jordan was on that team it would have been Shaqs team. He was the most dominant player in the game. That said, Shaq doesn’t lead the Lakers past the stacked Blazers or Pacers to win the chip if Kobe didn’t do then what he’s done more than any other player since Shaq in the playoffs and finals. Win games. Pippen never carried that torch from michael, in that sence you could say he rode on Mike’s coatails. I don’t think you can really make that statement in refrence to Kobe, yeah it was obviously Shaqs team, He was greater than Kobe, or any other player in the L at the time.. Duncan,KG,Iverson,Vc,Tmac, but by 01′ kobe was in the convo with those guys already proving to be a superstar in his own right while playing with Shaq. #34 and #8 were arguably the greatest tandem in NBA history.
As farr as Kobe’s legacy goes, we’ll just have to see..Like Huey said ridiculous is the norm in the NBA not sure if the CBA will prevent this sort of thing in the future, but at least for now the current generation of players are defining thier legacies by teaming up with other great players to win.

that aint the best starting five of all time because they lack athleticism and speed. they need at least one guy out there who could guard guys like bron, durant, ellis, iggy, etc… or any point guard in the league. without that teams will find a way to kill the lakers with perimeter game even though gasol and howard would wait in the paint

Man this Lakers squad isn’t better than those prime Lakers and Celtics team. Hell, it might not be better than the championship Lakers of the 2000s. It’s arguable whether the squad is better than the early 90s Magic or Piston Bad Boys teams.

Having read the thread up and down, I have to say what is clear about arguments on this site is a general tendancy to lie by omission. Inconvenient facts get dropped by people on here like merde d’oiseau on a park statue. The false dichotomy of shaq kobe, the catestrophic loses of superstars where they perform well, the idea that a 38 year old steve nash will have no excuse for failure on a team where 3/4 superstars are past their prime. argument requies nuance and some treatement of the counter argument’s best facts, unless you’re a politician campaigning, where sophistry rules supreme. This lakers team looks stupendous on paper, but so did a starting line up that had karl malone at pf, gary payton at pg, kobe at sg and shaq at c. If this team plays well they play well, but reputations and legacies don’t win championships so while the acquisition is exciting, this is no sure thing.

This team is old, no doubt. But they also have extreme advantages for at least another two year. Kobe can still score very well in isolation against most of the league and his supreme intelligence means he knows how to get to the best spots to get off his shots.
Nash is still one of the most efficient offensive talents in the League and probably still the best shooter off the bounce or spotting up. And obviously he’s one of the best passers.
Artest can still play defense, hit the occasional shot and post up smaller players.
Gasol is still a top five power forward, with elite passing skills, decent jumper and great back to the basket moves when he fights for position.
Howard is the best center in the League, a defensive juggernaut who averaged 20 points and 14 rebounds despite only getting 13 shots and being horrible from the free throw line. He doesn’t need touches to get buckets and his lack of shots rarely impacts his rebounding or defense.
The only Laker problem that is not controllable by the players is their age. Nash can play defense if he so desires, it’s not impossible. Kobe can move the ball. Gasol can play with fire and aggression while Artest is capable of having success as a defender and fifth option. Dwight can embrace his role and be special.
There is no excuse for anyone on the Lakers team, particularly not for the team’s two most decorated members if they don’t challenge themselves to do what it takes to get a ring. If Ray Allen and Paul Pierce could morph into part of one of the greatest defensive units in recent NBA history, Kobe and Nash can address the weaknesses that have contributed to their past failures.
Or pay the price as far as legacy.

As if nobody commented on this article…

Just to be clear, I’m well aware there are better TEAMS than this Lakers squad, I was solely talking starting 5. That’s all.

Fair enough. We’ll have to see. On paper, the lineup looks great. When it’s game time, no, I don’t think these 5 surpass the best Lakers or Celtics teams.

Damn im good! I said it from the beginning, Lakers should not trade Gasol, it would kill the value of this team. They listened, ofcourse (haha) and now this team is gonna be a wicked good. Im reading some of the posts and some people are mentioning the age difference, and if they will be able to mesh. Neither one will be a problem. Nash is too damn good as PG for this to be a problem. Yea theyll get tired becaue of all the years theyve put in, but look at the Celtics last year. Everyody said they were too old, and they nearly knocked out the Heat. Only real losers in this trade is Orlando! I guess they plan on building for the future, cause they got nothing but lottery picks…The NBA is gonna be hell-a-exciting this year..

The joys of being a Laker fan! Simply outsmarting everyother team out there! We are the Yankees of Basketball!

bryant wont like to hear that but they should really consider moving gasol for a bruiser who only rebounds the ball and plays d like humphries or a younger reggie evans and maybe get one or two quick swingmen in return. otherwise their small perimeter players will be emberassed by faster squads with slashers and shooters like memphis, golden state, oklahoma, miami, denver, etc