FanPost

Nothing has changed on the Howard front, but I wrote a FanPost about it anyway.

Story on NBA.com

Dwight Howard intimated that if the Magic don't win a title next year, "then things have to change." The Magic have as good a shot at the title next year as LeBron James does to not put his foot in his mouth ever again, so it seems like things are going to have to change.

Hop, skip, and jump.

Obviously, Chris Paul is already on our radar, with the most likely route to acquiring him being through a trade, though he could also be signed as a free agent. On the other hand, Howard seems intent on sticking it out for another year with Orlando, and therefore it might be easier to sign him rather than trade for him. It stands to reason that it makes more sense to simply sign Howard as we would be able to keep more assets, but as aforementioned, that's an option with Paul as well. The advantage to trading for Paul or Howard rather than waiting for free agency is the certainty that comes with it; rumors constantly swirl that Howard might prefer the Lakers or Nets to the Knicks (I've also seen a few "Heat should trade LeBron for Dwight" stories today, but whatever). As you can see, that applies more to Howard than Paul, however, as Paul has been almost exclusively linked to the Knicks.

Whenever a trade for Dwight Howard is discussed, the name of our beloved Amare Stoudemire comes up as a possible trade chip. I, for one, have no interest in trading STAT for Dwight. I know that it might be necessary to use him as a chip, but I feel personally indebted to STAT for pulling the Knicks out of the depths of hell and can't bring myself to support stabbing him in the back (side note: Orlando is the one place I could be convinced to send him to, since he grew up there; I'm still against it though). The only positive in trading STAT for Howard and acquiring Paul is the uniqueness of our Big 3: Anthony, Howard, and Paul are all first names as well as last names! James is alone in that regard, as is Ray Allen. I guess you could name your son Pierce or Wade, but they're not horribly common, especially Wade. Still, no one's naming their children Bosh or Garnett. That would be silly. But I digress.

This has gotten completely off topic. Just vote in the poll and comment.

P.S.: I didn't include sign both or trade for both, because those aren't feasible options. Also, I didn't include building the team around just Melo and Amare because I didn't feel it was relevant to the post. I'm not saying it isn't an option, just that it's not necessary in this poll.