Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops got Round 2 of the Dwight Howard saga underway last week when he reported that Howard still wanted out of Orlando despite the recent firing of head coach Stan Van Gundy.
The interesting part is that Sheridan listed the Knicks as one of the potential teams that could make a serious push to acquire the six-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
But would Howard be a good fit in the Big Apple and would the price the Knicks would have to pay be worth bringing him to town?
As for being a good fit, anytime you add 20.6 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks at the 5 spot, it’s a very good fit.
But that brings me to the price the Knicks would have to pay and that would be reigning Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler and either Amar’e Stoudemire or Carmelo Anthony in exchange for Howard and they would have to take back one of Orlando’s bad contracts as well. Hopefully it would be Hedo Turkoglu’s and not Chris Duhon’s.
The one upside is that if it were Stoudemire and not Anthony in the deal, the Knicks would free themselves of the remaining three years of Stoudemire’s deal, which face it, is a risky one given his injury concerns.
Say that deal goes through, and assuming the Knicks re-sign point guard Jeremy Lin, the future lineup would look like this”
PG- Lin
SG- Iman Shumpert, when he’s healthy
SF- Anthony
PF- A huge hole
C- Howard
That’s assuming Turkoglu comes off the bench, but there’s also the option of starting him at the 3 and moving Melo to the 4, in that case I would like that lineup a lot.
But don’t get too excited. No one would touch Stoudemire in a trade like that and hopefully general manager Glen Grunwald wouldn’t think about pulling the trigger on a deal without Howard signing long-term in New York and that’s still unlikely to happen.
There’s also the fact of Howard’s immaturity and the prima donna he’s become throughout the course of the past season. He’s not a leader and is a liability on the floor in tight fourth quarters.
Then you have to look at if the personalities of Melo and Howard would mesh well in New York and I have my doubts. When would the first time Howard would cry about not getting the ball enough?
I’m setting the over/under at Game 4 of the regular season.
You can look at this from any angle you would like, but while it would be nice to add the best center in the NBA in order to take a run at a championship, this is a deal Grunwald has to pass on.
The production would be nice but the Knicks don’t need the baggage and the distractions that comes along with Howard.
Some guys you want to go to battle with and Chandler is one of those players.
Some guys are talented, but are nothing more than side-show comedy acts and that sums Howard up to a T.
So while there will be rumors flying around like crazy as soon as the season ends, don’t get too excited. Howard won’t be wearing a Knicks uniform anytime soon.