Dwight Discussion: Griffin for Dwight?... Naaaa (1011)

phoenixrisingla wrote:Dwight Howard - out indefinitely.

Thank goodness he doesnt have a history of milking injuries in places where he's unhappy...

Couple things:

-Reports state that his back injury was so bad it caused nerve damage that he's still recovering from. This injury was serious enough that he actually had to entertain the idea of being forced into retirement now at age 26 if things went sideways during his recovery.

-He stated today that the team holding him out a week is a precaution and he anticipates being out only a week to 10 days.

-When has he stated he's unhappy here? Unhappy with losing? Sure. But unhappy here in LA? Nothing to base that on.

Your statement is categorically wrong on a few levels.

Well, I think there's a legitimate reason to trade Dwight to the Nets if their original deal offered to Orlando would still be on the table. And it has nothing to do with Dwight as a player. I love the guy and think he's a dynamic force. It has more to do with what this team needs going forward. And the AMOUNT of help we need.

"Win now" in Kobe's last few years is all well and fine, but it's glaringly obvious that this roster is aged or inferior. There just isn't much assistance for Bryant anymore. This squad needs re-tooling. The Nets offer to Magic was Lopez, Humphries and four first round picks (not sure how many were unprotected.)

Trading Dwight for another young, effective center plus a hard-nose Humphries plus four first round picks seems to make more sense for this team going forward than struggling along with Kobe, Howard and not much else, while other squads exploit us with youthful talent acquired through drafts.

I really would have no trouble at all with that deal. In fact, at this point I'd almost embrace it.

Alleyhoops wrote:Well, I think there's a legitimate reason to trade Dwight to the Nets if their original deal offered to Orlando would still be on the table. And it has nothing to do with Dwight as a player. I love the guy and think he's a dynamic force. It has more to do with what this team needs going forward. And the AMOUNT of help we need.

"Win now" in Kobe's last few years is all well and fine, but it's glaringly obvious that this roster is aged or inferior. There just isn't much assistance for Bryant anymore. This squad needs re-tooling. The Nets offer to Magic was Lopez, Humphries and four first round picks (not sure how many were unprotected.)

Trading Dwight for another young, effective center plus a hard-nose Humphries plus four first round picks seems to make more sense for this team going forward than struggling along with Kobe, Howard and not much else, while other squads exploit us with youthful talent acquired through drafts.

I really would have no trouble at all with that deal. In fact, at this point I'd almost embrace it.

it wasn't 4 1st rd picks, it was 3, Brooks made up the 4th and those picks are clearly gone thanks to the JJ trade. So you really want to trade Howard for an inferior player who'll make almost as much as Howard in Lopez and bunch aof garbage picks way way in the future?

Trading the best Center in basketball who's only 26 years old and isn't yet playing at 100% health this season (he's only going to get better moving forward) is not an option. The Lakers are all-in on Dwight for a lot of reasons. He will not be traded.

Lakerman JSJ wrote:Trading the best Center in basketball who's only 26 years old and isn't yet playing at 100% health this season (he's only going to get better moving forward) is not an option. The Lakers are all-in on Dwight for a lot of reasons. He will not be traded.

Yeah, I'm not sure why there's still some people entertaining this ridiculous thought of trading Howard...

Lakerman JSJ wrote:
Couple things:

-Reports state that his back injury was so bad it caused nerve damage that he's still recovering from. This injury was serious enough that he actually had to entertain the idea of being forced into retirement now at age 26 if things went sideways during his recovery.

-He stated today that the team holding him out a week is a precaution and he anticipates being out only a week to 10 days.

-When has he stated he's unhappy here? Unhappy with losing? Sure. But unhappy here in LA? Nothing to base that on.

Your statement is categorically wrong on a few levels.

Eeeeeeeasy partner.

I know things are testes ( ) around here this season, but I was just making a joke. Injuries that are "milked" dont usually require surgery. As for if he's happy here, I think you could have a debate on that, but it would all just be conjecture on both sides at this point.

Sorry if I offended.

phoenixrisingla wrote:Eeeeeeeasy partner.

I know things are testes ( ) around here this season, but I was just making a joke. Injuries that are "milked" dont usually require surgery.

Sorry if I offended.

I didn't mean to come off like I was passionately angry or anything. You never can tell with Lakers Discussion these days what outlandish agenda people are tossing around. I just saw a post I disagreed with. Didn't realize it was meant as light-hearted.

I apologize if I came off combative. Nothing but friendly debates from me.

Umm to be honest I think the guys need to stop using the age excuse because there's like 3 other teams with guys 38 and older on them, so people need to stop acting like we're the only team with old players. If I can remember wasn't Karl Malone like 40 when he joined our team back in 04? We made use of him and he played fairly well in the lineup, we didn't look old and slow either. This team just lacks chemistry. It's like watching moving puzzle pieces struggle to find their spots in the puzzle. As a fan it's frustrating to watch.

Lakerman JSJ wrote:Trading the best Center in basketball who's only 26 years old and isn't yet playing at 100% health this season (he's only going to get better moving forward) is not an option. The Lakers are all-in on Dwight for a lot of reasons. He will not be traded.

we've clowned ourselves bad enough with the coaching gaffe, trading Dwight now would just be the ultimate embarassment

pound4pound1 wrote:

Lakerman JSJ wrote:Trading the best Center in basketball who's only 26 years old and isn't yet playing at 100% health this season (he's only going to get better moving forward) is not an option. The Lakers are all-in on Dwight for a lot of reasons. He will not be traded.

we've clowned ourselves bad enough with the coaching gaffe, trading Dwight now would just be the ultimate embarassment

We're really in a bad place now. It feels like we need to make changes, but what can we do?

I think trading Dwight or Pau is an overreaction and treating the SYMPTOM as opposed to the DISEASE.

But how can we possibly justify firing D'antoni even at the end of the year?

Dark days.

phoenixrisingla wrote:

pound4pound1 wrote:

Lakerman JSJ wrote:Trading the best Center in basketball who's only 26 years old and isn't yet playing at 100% health this season (he's only going to get better moving forward) is not an option. The Lakers are all-in on Dwight for a lot of reasons. He will not be traded.

we've clowned ourselves bad enough with the coaching gaffe, trading Dwight now would just be the ultimate embarassment

We're really in a bad place now. It feels like we need to make changes, but what can we do?

I think trading Dwight or Pau is an overreaction and treating the SYMPTOM as opposed to the DISEASE.

But how can we possibly justify firing D'antoni even at the end of the year?

Dark days.

dude we're so stuck right now...can't do anything about the coach...can't make any moves...can't get healthy...can't play D


we just have to watch this misery til the end of the season and pray for the best for next year

Trading Dwight?


Never. That would be the ultimate fiasco. Dwight is a great player, athletic and young. We need a guy like him moving forward. Overall, we are old, have no chemistry, no real system, no defense and someone is always injured. That doesn't mean we should get rid of Dwight. If we get a scoring combo guard to play off the bench, an athletic, dynamic 3 and a 4 who is energetic and can shoot... well, this team would look totally different. But for that we need to see if it's possible to unload Gasol's contract and get a proper training camp to build chemistry. Overall, none of this is really Dwight's fault.

D12's not being traded unless it's clear that he doesn't want to be here.

Lakerman JSJ wrote:Couple things:

-Reports state that his back injury was so bad it caused nerve damage that he's still recovering from. This injury was serious enough that he actually had to entertain the idea of being forced into retirement now at age 26 if things went sideways during his recovery.

-He stated today that the team holding him out a week is a precaution and he anticipates being out only a week to 10 days.

-When has he stated he's unhappy here? Unhappy with losing? Sure. But unhappy here in LA? Nothing to base that on.

Your statement is categorically wrong on a few levels.

I remember those reports as well. The thought that a person with his kind of athleticism (pre-injury) will ever return to 100% is where I have broken with a lot of posters here. Being a little older and having seen some College Athletes derailed with back injuries that were not as severe gave me a little perspective on this.

His type of injury can go a couple ways typically..... be a nagging issue that will provide some degree of limitation until he retires or become chronic. The option for a full 100% recovery to pre-injury status is almost non-existent.

Trading Dwight wouldnt be the worst idea, if we can get a good defensive center, and a talented wing player at the SF position.

However, people need to let go of this idea because it simply isnt possible. NOBODY will trade for a half year rental of Dwight, and you can be certain hes not agreeing to any extension with anybody. We have one option with Dwight, like it or not. Keep him and hope he stays in the offseason, or use the cap space when he leaves. Simple as that.

TheOp wrote:Trading Dwight wouldnt be the worst idea, if we can get a good defensive center, and a talented wing player at the SF position.

However, people need to let go of this idea because it simply isnt possible. NOBODY will trade for a half year rental of Dwight, and you can be certain hes not agreeing to any extension with anybody. We have one option with Dwight, like it or not. Keep him and hope he stays in the offseason, or use the cap space when he leaves. Simple as that.

not disagreeing with you bout not trading Howard but even if he leaves we're still over the cap at the end of this season.

khmrP wrote:

TheOp wrote:Trading Dwight wouldnt be the worst idea, if we can get a good defensive center, and a talented wing player at the SF position.

However, people need to let go of this idea because it simply isnt possible. NOBODY will trade for a half year rental of Dwight, and you can be certain hes not agreeing to any extension with anybody. We have one option with Dwight, like it or not. Keep him and hope he stays in the offseason, or use the cap space when he leaves. Simple as that.

not disagreeing with you bout not trading Howard but even if he leaves we're still over the cap at the end of this season.

That's assuming Pau and his 20 mil is still a Laker. The chances of that is similar to me bangin' Kate Upton.

I think what is partially spuring this trade talk is the lack of confidence that Dwight will be here next year. He openly said before the trade that he preferred the Nets.

So, is ha happy here and committed to staying/leading or not? I havent seen anything definitive one way or the other, but I guess I side slightly on that he doesnt seem happy.

Couple that with the fact that we are likely to miss playoff this year (when he wsa expecting to be a title contender), and I dont think Dwight leaving is out of the realm of possibility.

borri wrote:

khmrP wrote:

TheOp wrote:Trading Dwight wouldnt be the worst idea, if we can get a good defensive center, and a talented wing player at the SF position.

However, people need to let go of this idea because it simply isnt possible. NOBODY will trade for a half year rental of Dwight, and you can be certain hes not agreeing to any extension with anybody. We have one option with Dwight, like it or not. Keep him and hope he stays in the offseason, or use the cap space when he leaves. Simple as that.

not disagreeing with you bout not trading Howard but even if he leaves we're still over the cap at the end of this season.

That's assuming Pau and his 20 mil is still a Laker. The chances of that is similar to me bangin' Kate Upton.

even without Pau remaining players still add up to 55mill+. So Pau has to be traded for value and not just salary dump either.

phoenixrisingla wrote:I think what is partially spuring this trade talk is the lack of confidence that Dwight will be here next year. He openly said before the trade that he preferred the Nets.

So, is ha happy here and committed to staying/leading or not? I havent seen anything definitive one way or the other, but I guess I side slightly on that he doesnt seem happy.

Couple that with the fact that we are likely to miss playoff this year (when he wsa expecting to be a title contender), and I dont think Dwight leaving is out of the realm of possibility.

If you were to look into the situation and find every quotation that's been released from either him or his representatives (including Rudolph), you'd find that he leans more towards staying than anything else. This is where he ended up, it's a good situation for him, leaving makes no sense for either party.

The majority of people who want to trade him want to trade him because he hasn't been Shaq part 2 and because he doesn't fit D'Antoni's system which is laughable.

therealdeal wrote:

phoenixrisingla wrote:I think what is partially spuring this trade talk is the lack of confidence that Dwight will be here next year. He openly said before the trade that he preferred the Nets.

So, is ha happy here and committed to staying/leading or not? I havent seen anything definitive one way or the other, but I guess I side slightly on that he doesnt seem happy.

Couple that with the fact that we are likely to miss playoff this year (when he wsa expecting to be a title contender), and I dont think Dwight leaving is out of the realm of possibility.

If you were to look into the situation and find every quotation that's been released from either him or his representatives (including Rudolph), you'd find that he leans more towards staying than anything else. This is where he ended up, it's a good situation for him, leaving makes no sense for either party.

The majority of people who want to trade him want to trade him because he hasn't been Shaq part 2 and because he doesn't fit D'Antoni's system which is laughable.

Agree on most of those points.

I still feel like we're not using him correctly.

He's never had dominant low post moves/footwork, his biggest strength is his athleticism rolling to the hoop.

I'd love to see a game that a P&R with Nash/Dwight 80% of the trips down the floor.

I wouldn't right now. His greatest strength is being on the post, then facing up his defender, then making a move around him. Unfortunately he's not 100% right now so his moves are slower, they're less explosive, and they're not as strong. This means more turnovers.

He's not a good roller to the basket right now. Nash hits him in the hands, but it's in traffic and then he gets stripped or travels or has to put up a tough shot. He's just clearly not himself and he's having a tough time offensively finding his rhythm.

Are we using him correctly? I think more correctly than pick and rolls, but only because his rolls aren't strong enough right now and we don't have the spacing he needs to be an effective roller.

Well it a tough situation then, because planting him in the low post isnt working.

He's not good at establishing good position, and once he gets the entry pass he either gets stripped or misses anything thats not a dunk.

And because he's getting so few touches (and our shooting isnt great) he seems reluctant to pass back out of the post to shooters.

He seems fine passing it out to me. Dwight actually gets a ton of possessions, but he usually doesn't shoot them. He'll make his move, get triple teamed, then hit Meeks or Morris or Artest in the corner. That guy usually misses though which is the problem.

-Reports state that his back injury was so bad it caused nerve damage that he's still recovering from. This injury was serious enough that he actually had to entertain the idea of being forced into retirement now at age 26 if things went sideways during his recovery.

Well that tells me we are dumb for trading for him then and we should have got a more useful asset for Bynum rather than a 26 year old who apparently will never be anywhere near his best again. Why bring along a barely retired big for another when we are trying to get another title in the Kobe era.

-He stated today that the team holding him out a week is a precaution and he anticipates being out only a week to 10 days.

Just like Nash was only supposed to be out 10 days too right? All our med staff ever does is lie and decieve when it comes to injuries and recovery time on this team and I don't get why.. its not like the rest of the league fears us right now, we are a laughing stock at best. Back when we lied about Bynum back in 07-08 at least the rest of the league feared what could happen.

When has he stated he's unhappy here? Unhappy with losing? Sure. But unhappy here in LA? Nothing to base that on.

He doesn't need to state it! Common sense would tell you that he is unhappy!!! Why in Gods name would any "star" of his "caliber" want to play for this Franchise right now. Decisions like hiring a clown like MDA to right the ship and a front office that still for w/e reason thinks Gasol has something worthwhile to offer a team when its clear as day he is finished in terms of his all star ways. Dwight walks, Nash retires, Kobe may or may not call it quits after this too. This is 2004 all over again except that team made the Finals where as we probably won't make the playoffs.

Your statement is categorically wrong on a few levels.

Only time will tell but it looks like our demise that seemed like an asinine thought a few years ago is actually upon us now. We have ourselves a rendezvous with destiny and it is not a pretty one. Seems like there is no stopping us from heading into the post Magic years all over again... heres a toast to a decade of irrelevance guys.. might as well call us the Celtics (the once mighty franchise that lives off a former reputation but won't be doing anything for a long time to come) Dammm you OKC and MIA!