Written by Demetri Inembolidis

---

 

In the 1998 Coen Brothers film "The Big Lebowski," the protaganist is a well-meaning unemployed loser who enjoys the finer things in life (marijuana, bowling, not working and White Russians).  The Dude owns a car that works, but barely.  It gets him from Point A to Point B, but it is rusty, very large, a gas-guzzler and is probably more trouble than it is worth.  The car is a central setting in many key scenes.  It is run into a dumpster, hit by an angry neighbor with a crowbar and finally set on fire by a group of nihilists.  The Dude seems sad and irritated that his car is dead, but it is probably for the best.  The car may work for The Dude, but barely and it is best for him to move on.  He could have probably made the car work for him longer, but it was a losing proposition for The Dude.  The best thing to happen to The Dude's ability to drive around town is for the car to be destroyed and for him to be forced to look elsewhere for transportation.

The Orlando Magic finally did it.  After what felt like an endless national "Dwightmare," the team finally traded Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers.  This comes as little surprise to NBA fans with a pulse considering that it is the birthright of Lakers fans to have the league's best centers.  The fact that Lakers fans still have nightmares about the "Chris Mihm and Smush Parker" era demonstrates just how great things have been for the team.  Both of these guys played for the Cavs in the same year and the fact that you rarely hear anything about them from Cavs fans speaks volumes to the level of success and luck that both of these franchises have had.  That is, of course, if the 16 NBA championships to 0 didn't say enough.

The offseason is almost over and the Truehoop/ESPN propaganda machine to "#StopTanking" is a distant memory.  The endless debates over the merit of the NBA for supposedly encouraging teams with limited ceilings to be bad lays dormant.  Have no worries, for it will be back and as annoying as ever after about a month of the upcoming season.  Henry Abbott from Truehoop broke his silence and did his part to quell misinformation about the NBA after the Dwight Howard trade.  One listen to sports radio in a small market or a quick jaunt on Twitter reveals that people are upset that "the rich keep getting richer at the expense of small market teams."  I am not sure that I agree or disagree with this narrative, but Sherwood Strauss of ESPN brought up a great point on Twitter on Tuesday that has been under-appreciated:

 

We must stop this unfair system where the Lakers can just trade a younger All Star for an older All Star

— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) August 14, 2012

 

I begrudgingly have to admit that Strauss has a solid argument.  The Lakers weren't necessarily "gifted" the best center in the NBA.  They traded the second best center, who is younger than Dwight Howard, for a player who plays on a horrible team whose front office proved that they cannot build around him.  It is a tough pill to swallow for Magic fans.  I know this because I experienced it with LeBron James.  Having said that, sometimes it is best to cut ties with a superstar and try and start over.  The Cavs probably have a better future and more options than they would have had James decided to re-sign with the Cavs in the summer of 2010.  Building through the use of trading expiring contracts proved to not be enough to get it done and the Cavs have been able to move on quite effectively.  The Cavs have had four first round picks since James left Cleveland.  To put that into perspective, you'd have to go from a span from 2004-2010 to have four first round picks under the James era.  It doesn't help that those four picks were Luke Jackson, Shannon Brown, J.J. Hickson and Christian Eyenga.  Acquiring the extra picks probably would not have been possible without cutting ties with James.

If I can digress for a moment, Andrew Bynum's presence on the Lakers made the Dwight Howard trade possibile.  The Lakers had to give up one of the two best players at the position in order to make it happen.  The fact that Bynum was even on the Lakers was only possible because the lottery system works in the NBA.  While people may not like watching a bad team lose and rack up lottery balls, the system accomplishes exactly what it is supposed to:  Bad teams who need talent have a chance at upgrading their roster.  The Lakers missed the playoffs just twice since the 1993-1994 season.  The most recent time was the 2004-2005 season which earned them the 10th overall pick and drafted Bynum.  The pick was a risky one because he was 17 years old, immature and a project big man.  The Lakers groomed the young center from a rookie who scored 1.6 PPG on 40.2% shooting into an 18.7 PPG and 11.8 RPG dominant center.  Once again, the lottery system that gave the Lakers the 10th overall pick as compensation for missing the players worked.  It helped them win two championships and gave them the assets to trade for Dwight Howard.  This should be taken into account the next time a "good" team appears to lose intentionally and the popular opinion is that tanking is a major problem that must be addressed.  The draft lottery helps teams with limited potential possibly upgrade their roster, but only if luck and proper scouting is employed.

The Dwight Howard trade affects the Cavs in a number of ways.  The most obvious is that the Cavs only have to face Howard twice a year as opposed to three or four times.  Considering how much better the Lakers are with or without Howard, these two matches against the Lakers could have probably been penciled in as losses without Howard.  The Cavs have a much better chance of beating the Magic now that Howard has left the team and it could result in a few more wins for the young squad.  The Cavs have not been able to beat the Magic since February 11, 2010.  The teams have match up nine times since then.

In addition, Chris Grant made a savvy trade late in the 2011 draft.  The Cavs traded the rights to Justin Harper, who they selected with the 32nd overall pick, for two future second round picks from the Magic.  Since draft picks in the second round are weighted based on team record without the use of a lottery, the Cavs potentially have two high second round picks in 2013 and 2014.  The players selected with these picks will probaby not amount to much of anything, but Chris Grant proved that he can package multiple second round picks and a later first round pick for a higher choice in the 2012 draft.  The Cavs were able to draft Tyler Zeller with the 17th overall pick.  The team was rumored to have Zeller ranked significantly higher than 17 on their draft board.

The Dwight Howard trade could also open the door to Chris Grant exploring other potential trades.  It appeared as if the Cavs were rumored to be involved whenever there were rumors about Dwight Howard.  Now that these trades are officially off the table, it could allow the Cavs to take a look at their plans B and C.

Building an elite basketball team takes the right amount of savvy, luck and timing.  Every little bit helps.  The Lakers got the 10th overall pick in 2005 and were able to snatch the top pick of the 2004 draft as a result of all three.  Hopefully the Cavs can get their turn someday.