The NBA Dribbled Out

Carmelo Anthony’s defense problem and how it again affects this year’s Knicks team

If the Knicks are going to win a playoff series this year, and actually be in title contention— which they’ve alluded to yet again this off-season, Carmelo Anthony has to figure out how to play on both sides of the ball.

It’s become easy to dismiss Carmelo Anthony as a me-first player whose preternatural ability to put a spherical ball in a circumferentially larger circle of iron has vaulted him past his actual value to a basketball team. His defense, which is half the game (and whose importance to winning is inversely proportional to it’s markability), could best be described as when he feels like it. This could be explained away as merely the result of carrying a team’s offense, and how that takes a lot out of him, but—ahem—this other guy has dominated both sides of the ball, and of course there’s MJ—who terrified opponents equally as a scorer and defender. 

Since defense is closely associated with hustle and effort and less with god-given talent, ‘Melo’s lack of defensive prowess has led many to believe he doesn’t care much about winning, so long as he gets his. The problem for many Knicks fans is that he could be a great defender, which is almost worse than if he simply didn’t lack the mobility to do so. But, he’s athletic enough to be among the game’s best defenders, he just hasn’t extended God’s genetic gifts to the defensive end of the court.  

When Carmelo Anthony says he doesn’t need to score 35-40 points a game, he’s trying to placate those New Yorkers who ingest the full game (both offense and defense) like oxygen and have been left with more carbon dioxide since the Knicks-Nuggets blockbuster which brought ‘Melo to the mecca of basketball, and that’s increasingly—dare I say—looking like the Cowboys draft day haul for Herschel Walker back in 1989.

There are a myriad of excuses ‘Melo has to defend accusations he can’t defend, rather than won’t. The first is the coach he had for the first half of last season and the last half of the season before, Mike D’Antoni. While it was D’Antoni’s offensive style* that led to his departure (and the rumor Dolan and Co. balked when D’Antoni asked that they trade ‘Melo for Deron Williams), he does not care much about defense. This probably excited ‘Melo after toiling under George Karl’s defense-first approach in Denver, but once ‘Melo realized he’d have to pass the ball quickly for D’Antoni’s offense to work and to nullify a lack of defense intensity, that’s when he jumped ship and stopped defending, yet again. 

He can also blame his one year in college for failing to prepare him for the rigors of man-to-man defense in the NBA. Jim Boeheim, Carmelo’s coach at Syracuse, only preached defense within the spectrum of ‘Cuse’s ubiquitous 2-3 zone. That didn’t prepare Carmelo for the man-to-man that still dominates even in an NBA that now allows zone defense.

Then, there’s the implication ‘Melo started to care about defense and try harder when new Knicks coach Milke Woodson came on board, which is difficult to quantify in just 24 regular season games and 5 playoff games Woodson coached. But why would ‘Melo play defense for Woodson, and not for Karl or D’Antoni? D’Antoni never really expected him too (Nash certainly didn’t), but for Karl, defense is what wins basketball games, not Carmelo’s pretty turnaround. So, again, he loafed on defense for two different coaches, then defended harder under Woodson. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for this year since what’s to prevent ‘Melo from again giving up on defense if he and Woodson’s relationship deteriorates?

Last year, New York was a worse defensive team when ‘Melo was on the court—although his offensive additions made up for it slightly. That defensive discrepancy continued in the playoffs where they were eliminated in the first round, again. He ranked 142nd in Defensive Rating last year, and it was the best defensive rating of his career. Possibly the biggest strike against Anthony’s defense is San Jose Mercury News’ sportswriter, Tim Kawakani, naming Anthony his 2011-12 No Defense Player of the Year (NDPOY). He writes:

Anthony’s peripheral stats aren’t great, but they aren’t horrendous, either–the Knicks were slightly worse on D when Carmelo was out there than when he wasn’t. Not close to the bad numbers Jefferson and Kevin Martin put up in their award-winning years, for instance.

Yes, it looked like Anthony was really trying to play some defense there, once Mike Woodson took over, and the proof of that is in the victory total (18-6 after Woodson replaced Mike D’Antoni) and the general look of that team in the spring.

But Carmelo’s a fitting 2012 NDPOY because he so perfectly fits the careless mood of this reckless season–he essentially admitted he didn’t try hard on defense for D’Antoni, then got in the mood for Woodson, then was awful on both sides in the playoff series against Miami, playing either SF or PF.

LeBron James didn’t have a particularly great series vs. NY, but he didn’t have to–he was so much better than Anthony for every second of that series that you had to laugh at the thought that they once were considered peers.

They’re not, and defense is one of the many reasons why they’re not. LeBron is one of the best, most consistent defensive players in the league, and…

Anthony’s the NDPOY. Part of this is because he has shown he can play D, as he has displayed intermittently through his haphazard NBA career first in Denver and now in NYC.

And then this season, Anthony stopped giving the full effort and made it worse by doing the “I’ll look super-aggressive by bumping and crowding my man in the first 8 seconds of the possession, then either foul him or get distracted almost immediately and give up something easy.”

That’s false hustle. That kills team defense. That’s passive-aggressive don’t-blame-me superstardom. That’s a signature no-defense move for 2012. That’s why Carmelo’s the man this season.

‘Melo has again gone on a publicity tour this off-season recently saying he’s changed his attitude due primarily to his time with the USA Olympic Basketball team:

“For me, just trusting my teammates more…At the end of the day, all of us trust each other on the basketball court … being with those guys [in London] put everything in perspective.” 

… 

“It’s a matter of me just doing it.”

But defense is a large part of helping your teammates and believing in your team. Helping as a weak-side defender and defending your own opponent is part of being a good teammate. Almost a decade of evidence, not to mention last year’s defensive schizophrenia, suggests we’ll just get the same ol’ ‘Melo and in-turn, the same ol’ first round playoff loss.

Until Carmelo Anthony proves he can be a top-flight defensive player—regardless of coaching—the Knicks will continue to be on the precipice of contention without really contending for anything.  

*ironically, almost socialist in its attempts let anyone gun it; except that D’Antoni has never made the NBA finals, and Melo is dictatorial in his want for the ball.

[Top pic via nyknicks instagram]

As someone that resides in New York, but grew up elsewhere, assholes sometimes ask me if I think I’m better than people that don’t live in New York; I only think I’m better than people that ask that question un-ironically. Considering the fact someone in my building just got robbed yesterday, my roommate got rocks thrown at him as he left our building a couple weeks ago, and the recent Community Board 1 meeting detailed the upsurge in crack dealing in the housing project that buttresses my street, I would say no. I am poor, but being poor in New York is better than being poor elsewhere. I can angrily stare at the wealthy people and feel morally superior without really knowing why. 

But—at least in terms of NBA basketball—I think we’re at the point where the top basketball city is the City of Angels and not my beloved New York. Sorry Mr. Beck, but no matter how many Nets columns you write or how many concerts Mr. Z performs or however dope their new jerseys look, I still won’t be excited for the Nets and I’ll forever be a Knicks fan (also, fuck you Dolan for giving New Yorkers an excuse to switch allegiances). But Carmelo Anthony is hard to get excited about (Oh look! He lost weight. AFTER THE SEASON ENDED!) and I don’t have high hopes for the Knicks; although they still play in Madison Square Garden and the Nets will always play in a place called: Barclay’s Center. Nothing says basketball mecca quite like financial services firms. 

Anyway, to live in and die in LA ain’t so bad these days with the Clippers on the rise and the Lakers signing Howard and Nash. That’s why LA was featured so prominently during the opening of NBA camps and the inchoate media angles that littered my dashboard and RSS all day:

-Just about everyone wrote about LA and Dwight Howard, including Around the Horn talking head Bill Plascke of the LA Times. 

-Marc J. Spears  wrote about how Kobe believes this is his most talented Lakers team ever (Shaq & Bynum troll alert level: Orange).

Dave McMenamin highlighted how these are still Kobe’s Lakers and after reading a LakerNation post by Andrew Ungvari then scrolling through the comments, I realize Lakers fans are totally irrational when it comes to Kobe and that’s probably rubbed off on Kobe a little bit. Here’s what he said about whose team it was:

“I got a question earlier about whose team this is…I don’t want to get into the, ‘Well, we share …’ No, it’s my team. But I want to make sure that Dwight, when I retire, this is going to be his. I want to teach him everything I possibly know so that when I step away this organization can ride on as if I never left.” 

He’s not wrong, but he’s so damn grandiose about himself it rankles me and everyone else that didn’t grow up in LA (or jumped on the purple and gold wank fest). Speaking of the egos on the Lakers, J.A. Adande writes about how the Lakers superstar roster filled with capital A, Alphas, will coexist as a team. My guess is that Mike Brown, with his championship pedigree and experience coaching superstars so well will be the glue that keep them together as a team (sarcasm alert level: RED). We’ll have a better idea about the Lakers once they actually play games, but in a lot of ways they’re more fascinating to think and write about than the Heat going into the ‘10-‘11 season. 

But what about those other guys that share the Staples?

Not as much hullabaloo for the opening of the Clippers’ training camp, but we did learn new Clipper, Lamar Odom, wants to apologize to Mark Cuban for his performance with the Mavericks last year. I wonder if he’ll return the money he made?

-Odom is also a big fan of Blake Griffin (queue up the faux-sincerity of training camp, starting now).

-Clipperblog experienced some technical difficulties, which means they couldn’t continue discussing (into the ground) those silly ESPN rankings, which Clipsnation wrote about as well.

-About the only thing that piqued my interest surrounding the Clippers—aside from the lovely MS Paint from above—was that Chauncey isn’t rushing back after tearing his Achilles Tendon, which is smart. Billups is very smart even if his first name makes my girlfriend think he’s a snooty WASP. <3 you Chauncey!

So yeah, Los Angeles: home of Hollywood and Sunset Blvd, home to homeless people dressed as super heroes, home to Dwight Howard AND Kobe Bryant, home to a smog-filled sunset that makes the hot Midwest cheerleader think she can be a model/actress too. Home to the best basketball in America right now.

Now I gotta sleep in my Frazier jersey to stave off nightmares of a Kobe/Nash/Howard/Pau/Metta assault on the record books. 

[Clippers via; Clippers MS Paint via; Lakers starting 5 via BDL]

The Debate

The debate about the best power forwards over the course of the current millennium isn’t new. In fact, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan are almost identical statistically, both for their careers and head-to-head. Over the course of their careers, Duncan has averaged more rebounds and blocks, but Garnett more assists and steals; they’re almost identical putting the ball in the hoop (with Duncan slightly ahead at 20.1 p.p.g vs. Garnett’s 19.1), but Garnett shoots better from the outside and the free throw line while Duncan shoots a bit more efficiently from the field as a whole, but only by a paper-thin margin.

Not only that, if you look at their average field goal attempts per game and their average field goals made per game, they’re identical! Do you have any idea how rare it is that two hall-of-fame players in the league at the same time, playing the same position, and having both played over 1000 games would end up with the exact same fg/fga percentages on a per game basis? It’s like [insert some simile about something that’s really rare—like being struck by lightening—but which is impossible for anyone to calculate whether it’s an accurate comparison). 

They’re 2 & 3 for Hall of Fame probability among active players and 16 & 22 among players all-time with Duncan ahead, again—very slightly, using basketball-reference’s metrics. Duncan has also won more MVPs (2 to 1), more titles (4-1) more Finals MVP awards (3-0), and a ROY award; Garnett has a DPOY award and more all-star game appearances (13-12), but that last one is due primarily to the fact he came into the league two years before Duncan left Wake Forest.

Duncan is probably the greatest power forward of all time (sorry Mailman fans), and that’s primarily a result of his four titles (‘99, ‘03, ‘05, ‘07). But his coach was Gregg Popovich, a future hall-of-famer in his own right, and Duncan was able to team with David Robinson (HOF), Avery Johnson, Sean Elliot, Mario Elie, Manu Ginobili (possible future HOF) and Tony Parker (possible future HOF) during his career. Garnett floundered with a bevy of crappy teams in Minnesota before getting dealt to Boston in the summer of 2007 and promptly winning his first—and only—ring the next summer. But looking at both player’s prime years (in this case between the ages of 24 and 30, since they’re were born only 24 days apart in 1976), tells a different case.

The only year Garnett really had some talent around him in Minnesota, during the 2003-04 season when 33 year-old Sam Cassell and 34 year-old Latrell Sprewell joined the squad and played OK, he won his only MVP, and finally led his team out of the first round of the playoffs. During the Western Conference Semifinals that year, he even put up a 32 point, 21 rebound, 5 block, 4 steal game 7 in a close and low-scoring (83-80) win against a still-frisky Adelman-led Sacramento team. Sure, Garnett’s adequately talented squad that year (Wally Szczerbiak was their fourth-leading scorer that year) would lose to the Lakers’ inaugural super team of the millennium in the Western Conference Finals (the failed Mailman and Glove experiment that showed everyone just how complicated the triangle offense was and how strained Kobe and Shaq had become), but Garnett was still an awesome sight to behold that year. He had a pretty turn-around in the lane, which he could hit over anyone he wanted, plus the length and strength of youth, which bordered on LeBron-esque proportions in its you had to see it to believe it aura. Garnett could do whatever he wanted on the court and was unquestionably the best player in the league posting a league-leading PER of 29.3. Duncan was second at 27.1.

Garnett’s best season in a Timberwolves uniform reawakened a Duncan-Garnett debate that had gone hugely in Duncan’s favor after his two titles teamed with Robinson (‘99 and ‘03) and his back-to-back MVP awards in 2002 and 2003; especially when you combine Duncan’s successes with a string of first round playoff exits for Garnett. But Garnett proved in that ‘03-‘04 season he was a force to be reckoned with as the leader of a real title-threat of a team when he had teammates that could help him. 

Unfortunately, over the next three seasons, when Garnett and Duncan were both still in their primes, the Timberwolves were awful, finishing just one season over .500 and never again making the playoffs. Meanwhile, in the same span, Duncan went ahead and won 2 more titles, and the debate was—seemingly—over; except, Garnett was pretty good in his prime, too; he just had a crappy supporting cast.

In Garnett’s last three seasons in Minnesota, when they failed to make the playoffs and Duncan was winning the last two of his titles, Garnett averaged more points, more rebounds, more assists, more steals, and a higher PER than Duncan. It’s true! (here’s the yearly comparison: 2005, 2006, 2007). Not counting Garnett’s final season in Minnesota, when his team was one of the worst in the league and KG was frustrated enough to actually relent when they asked if he wanted to be dealt to Boston that summer (he’d steadfastly and honorably refused to ask for a trade during the years of losing, something rare these days), he was actually better than Duncan on Win Shares and field goal percentage, too. By all qualitative measurements, Garnett was the statistically superior player than Duncan for the four years preceding his trade to Boston.

But what about, you’re probably thinking, Duncan’s MVP campaigns in 2002 and 2003, when it was apparent to most people he was the most dominant player in the league (back-to-back MVP’s have a tendency to do that, with the possible exception of Stevie Nash)? In 2003, they were about even, statistically speaking. In 2002, Duncan was better, but not by much. In 2001, same thing: Duncan was a little better, but Garnett was right there. All told, between 2001 and 2007 when both players were in their primes (24-30 years-old), Garnett had a superior statistical season than Duncan in 4 or 5 years of those 7 seasons.

If we’re talking overall resume, it’s Duncan, but it’s only the rings that push him past KG. Statistically, it’s basically even over the long haul, but Garnett gets a slight edge over Duncan since he was statistically superior during their primes. Since their stats are so close over their careers—even though Garnett was superior in their primes—Duncan barely rings wins out. You just can’t overlook the hardware; Bill Russell taught me that. 

What adds a little fuel to the debate is their acrimonious relationship, which is a nice reminder that not everyone is going out to dinner the night before they play.

Instead of talking about their accolades, stats and titles, to differentiate them, lets do something different. Keep this in mind before freaking out, I already wrote that Duncan wins a straight-up basketball comparison based on his titles, but since they’re so close otherwise, lets do a little game of “Who you got?”, but with the added wrinkle that they’re completed fabricated scenarios. If you’ve made it 1200 words so far, why not read the (attempted) funny stuff?

The Silly Debate

Trying to get to the bar through a packed concert crowd: Duncan.

Garnett is too restless to just stand by while things are happening on the way to the bar. There’s a solid chance he’ll start a fight with someone if they step on his kicks, and you can be sure he’ll be pissed if he can’t hear the music. Duncan is mellow, and he’ll want to get to the bar, get his drink, then get the fuck back to whatever chill corner he’s picked out to get his drink on and listen to the band. This is probably null and void since Duncan only goes to Nascar events.

Instigating a fight: Garnett

See the above reasons, but Garnett’s always getting into stuff on the court. People outside Boston loathe him these days after a series of ridiculous scenarios with opponents, and his DMX Rough Riders routine is tiresome even for his fans. He’s probably chill off the court, but if you really want to get into some shit, Garnett would be a good choice. I’m almost 100% positive Duncan has never been in a fight in his entire life, and if he was faced with the prospect of a possible physical altercation, he’d probably just laugh. 

Barbecuing: Duncan

See above chill factor, but can’t you just see him in some ridiculous hat sitting by the tiki torch (he’s sensitive to mosquitos, or “skeeters” as Stephen Jackson calls them) sipping a Corona and having a blast? I envision Garnett as a pretty intense BBQ presence: constantly second guessing how long you’ve kept the steak on the grill, militant about proper bun to ketchup ratio, refilling people’s cups before they’re done, and furiously OCD about keeping things clean (actually, that’s Ray Allen).

Rap Video cameo: Garnett

Kevin Garnett wildly gesticulates in games, and you can be sure he’d be an NBA hype man on par with Flava. Plus, KG’s countenance during games reminds me of a young Ghostface Killah stink-eyeing an out-a-towner and robbing him with a ball-point pen disguised as a shiv. Duncan’s face usually resembles Johnny Chan after he nutted the straight on the river in the final table at the World Series of Poker; which is a long-winded way of saying, unruffled, uninterested and downright bored. Not what you want in your music video on 106th and Park (Do they still have that show? I haven’t had cable in a long time).

Inspirational speech before OT or during a 4th quarter timeout in a close game: Garnett

Garnett’s the emotional equivalent of every climactic sports scene in film history when it’s do or die. He’s so amped up during regular season games, when it’s time to decide the winner of a closely fought game, he’s the guy that will do anything, say anything, to get you ready to go out and kick butt just a little while longer. Even though Duncan has won a lot more, he’s never been a fiery speaker, and while he might have some great, yet subtle, advice about the best way to position yourself when the ball goes down low, he’s not gonna make you feel like you will do anything to win; at least, not with his words on the sidelines.

Swimming and Scuba-diving in the tropics: Duncan

Duncan is from St. Croix, and when Popovich drafted Duncan with the number 1 pick in the summer of 1997, he went down to Timmy’s Island and chilled by the sea for a week. Cantankerous Popovich called it one of the best weeks of his life. If you can get Popovich to sing your praises like that, then you can do anything. Plus, I’m SCUBA certified, so I’d love to go diving with Timmy; he’d be the only person longer than the Nerf Sharks down there. Garnett does own a home in Malibu, so he’s cool with the beach, but Duncan’s home-court advantage is too much to overcome.

Picking up women: Duncan

Duncan just seems smarter about it, and he’d probably abstain from edging in on a pariticularly attractive lady that shows some interest. He also probably has all these hilarious things he says to women that ask him what he does for a living, since most of them wouldn’t recognize him except by his size (“I’m a professional roller bladder”). I picture Garnett hogging the female attention and barking a lot.  

Post-game quote after a loss brought about by a referee’s mistake: Garnett

Duncan was once tossed from a game for laughing (thanks Danny Crawford!), but Garnett is surprisingly adroit with his post-game analysis and he’s made so much money over his career, both on and off the court, he won’t be afraid to get fined for criticizing a ref. He’ll also provide more penetrating analysis. But you have to be careful because Garnett will absolutely blame a loss on refs even if it’s not their fault and he has a tendency to understate opponents’ performances. Duncan is only edged out because he’s so bland an interviewee. 

Game-winning shot: Garnett

Garnett has better range, and he could get off a jumper against anyone when he was in his prime. Duncan has hit a bunch of game-winners over this career, but he’s not as accurate from 17+ feet  as Garnett and he’s not as comfortable outside the paint. If it’s a game-winner, the defense will double Duncan on the block, and he won’t get a look without some sneaky Popovich screen, so Garnett’s dexterity with the ball at the top of the key and shooting ability is his primary advantage.

Game-winning defensive stand: Duncan

Duncan has always been the defensive back-bone of the Spurs. Before the Spurs’ 2012 run and gun team that led the league in scoring, they’d been one of the top defensive teams in the league for the better part of a decade. Sure, KG has that DPOY award, but that was primarily the way he played defense: all-out, constantly talking to his teammates, calling out screens and defending the rim as much as his svelte body could handle (he was never one to pound with the big boys down low—although he certainly acted like he did). I’d prefer my defenders talented, smart and tough, and Duncan’s career and thinking man’s psychology back him up in that regard.

That’s 5 to 5, so even when I’m making up the comparison, they still tie. 

What do you think readers?

The above gif is from December 9, 1977, in a Sunday game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets. The gif shows Kermit Washington’s punch of Rudy Tomjanovich 5 times. It’s the most excrutiating punch in NBA history, and I’d rather not watch it more than I already did while making it, so I refrained from looping it forever. 

Picture running full bore ahead and then getting cold-cocked in the face from the opposite direction. It’s a bit like two cars crashing head on into each other, but with Rudy’s face and Kermit’s fist as the cars. Kermit* was a very strong and muscular 6’8” 230 pounds; it’s probably more accurate to describe that fist as a Mack truck. 

“The Punch” was so bad Rudy almost died from the hit and it almost ruined Washington’s life in professional basketball. Rudy’s face was fractured about 8 mm (1/3”) from his face, and he lay on the court in a pool of blood, unconscious. He did, later, get to his feet and walk off, but besides having his face fractured off his skull, he had a cerebral concussion, a broken nose, broken jaw, and his skull was fractured so that spinal fluid and blood leaked into his mouth. The doctor that performed surgery on him later said

“I have seen many people with far less serious injuries not make it.”**

Washington was fined $10,000 and suspended for 26 games (at the time it was the longest suspension for an on-court incident in league history); SNL ran back footage of the punch multiple times as part of a gag about the incident; Walter Cronkite and CBS News investigated the punch and multiple columnists called for the lifetime ban of Kermit.  

Replay footage did not include the scuffle that percipitated the punch. Tomjanovich was running into the fracas to break up a fight between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kevin Kunnert, but Washington thought Tomjanovich was going in to help his teammate against the bigger Kareem. Months earlier, Kareem had broken his hand when he punched Kurt Benson, so the Lakers’ players were anxious about guys going after their all-world big man.

Perhaps the most revealing writing about the incident and aftermath can be found in David Halberstam’s seminal basketball book,*** The Breaks of the Game. In it, Halberstam details what happened that night to Rudy and the ensuing backlash against Washington. Not two weeks after the “The Punch,” Washington was traded to Boston. He received death threats laced with racial epithets (remember this was the 70’s), and police warned him not to order room service when he was on the road because they feared he would be poisoned. His wife was 8 months pregnant at the time of “The Punch,” and they became so ostracized around the country, their obstetrician refused to help her because she was married to Kermit. 

I know I already blogged about the flagrant foul video earlier today and the Washington-Rudy hit was included, but this is just a reminder of what can happen when men the size of NBA players start throwing punches. 

Violence shouldn’t be extolled precisely because of what happened between Kermit and Rudy, but hard-nosed play should be applauded. There’s a difference, however slight, but the next time you see two NBA players square off then walk away, maybe you’ll understand why rather than crow about the fragile contemporary game.

*Kermit attended and played basketball at my alma mater, American University. His number was retired while I was an undergrad.

**page 273 of The Breaks of the Game. 

***The greatest basketball book ever written, in my humble opinion. 

Welp, the Dwightmare is over, and the knee-jerk reactions are—hopefully by now—over, but that doesn’t mean I can’t show you some of the reactions around the web. They’re interesting and also pretty unanimous: Orlando screwed the pooch (as my grandfather would say) and got poor Aaron Afflalo and Al “[Enter your favorite TMNT]” Harrington from Denver, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless from Philly and shitty, 1st round lottery-protected, picks (two of which the Magic won’t get until the 2015 and 2017 season) for the best center in basketball. If you’re a Lakers fan, you’re ecstatic; if you’re like 97% of the world’s NBA fan population, you’re gasping for breath as it slowly dawns on you Kobe Bryant could very well win his 6th championship next year. Say a silent prayer to the NBA Gods.

But what did real, like, NBA writers think about this trade? What did the national pundits and bloggers and NBA Illuminati believe transpired last night as Wojo and Steiny Mo breathlessly updated their twitter feeds and CMS fields with Dwight rumors and reactions? Keep in mind, this is gonna be a very long post, and I don’t use the read more button because you can’t include pictures with it. I’m stubborn about including pictures because Tumblr is a picture-heavy medium. So buckle up, and get ready to do a lot of reading about what the Dwight trade means for the team’s involved and the NBA as a whole. 

-The first guy I read about this deal was the estimable Kelly Dwyer at BDL. He did not hold back in his assessment of Howard and his hemming and hawing (in)decision the last two years in Orlando. After laying out the terms of the deal and how it effects the rosters of the Magic, Sixers and Nuggets, Kerby had his say about Howard:

“From there, with all those middle class pretenders sadly filed away, we turn to the idea of Dwight Howard as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. And how this will challenge your appreciation of this league.

Because he’s a phony, you know.

He lied to all of you about “loyalty,” last March. Lied. To. You. Looked in the camera and lied to you, whether you live in either Florida or California’s Orange County, or you’re reading this site from a time zone that has you up at four in the morning. Dwight Howard lied to you on record and in writing, whether you’re a fan of the Magic or not, about what he really wanted. He lied to his teammates, he lied to his front office, he lied to the press that had to show up to talk to him in March, and he lied to the children that he couldn’t muster up the courage to face at a camp their parents paid money for them to attend.”

That wasn’t the end, either.

“Overwrought, this? No. For one last time, revisit the nonsense that he’s created. Say goodbye to it, as he’s off to El Lay, but don’t forgive it.

He is a spoiled, immature, brat. And for all the condemnation that LeBron James endured from 2009-11 for his work before and following The Decision, or criticism Kobe Bryant took in during his trade demand waffling in 2007, or criticism any number of NBA stars have received following their destruction of a coach or teammate’s career or franchise’s decade — Howard has been worse. You’re not reading some in-the-moment hack that forgets that sporting life existed before 2012. It’s this bad. Dwight Howard should be ashamed of himself, and yet he’s about to receive the greatest reward in his profession.

And now we have to deal with the fact that a person that should be the league’s most-loathed player is on a team featuring giants of basketball spirit like Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and Pau Gasol.”

A-Fuckin-Men. 

-Then I turned to SB Nation’s Tom Ziller. Ziller, also wrote about the terms of the trade, and had the identical reaction I did. Then he went over what the Magic didn’t get in return for the best big man in the NBA: 

“UGH. [ed. this was my reaction as well]

The Magic took the extraordinary step of lighting it all on fire to become really bad — a time-honored NBA tradition — so that they can again become really good. The only problem is this: the teams that usually try to get really bad in order to get really good pick up some real young assets to help out on the upswing. Harkless was the No. 15 pick in June’s draft. Vucevic went No. 16 in the awful 2011 draft. None of the picks the Magic receive will be worth a whole lot unless GM Rob Hennigan hits home runs. Afflalo is a nice player who is nothing close to a star, and is paid pretty well. (He’s due about $30 million over the next four years.) Harrington is a player who’d be just fine on a contending team that needs a stretch four in spot minutes.”

“Ugh” is right. Ziller’s advice for future team’s (I’m looking at Dell Demps and New Orleans’ young roster) and their purported superstars: “trade your babies young.” I’ll say. Howard’s vacillations have been 10x more annoying than anything LeBron did or said in the summer of 2010, and teams would be wise to deal or lock up their superstars so this doesn’t happen to them as well.

-Next we have Trey Kerby at TBJ had a nice bullet-pointed list of reactions to the deal, including this gem mid-way down:

“Does this mean the Magic preferred Arron Afflalo to Brook Lopez or Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol? Have they seen all of those players playing basketball?”

That’s rhetorical, just so you know.

-But what about the other teams—aside from Orlando—that were involved in the deal? Kurt Helin at PBT explains why Denver, Philly and Iguodala all won in this trade:

“It’s a win for Iggy and Denver because he is a better fit with George Karl’s more open, up-tempo offense than he has been in Philly — Denver will use him in a way more like Team USA is using him in London. Denver played at the second fastest pace in the league last year and Iggy can finish at the rim. They move the ball and he will get good looks. Denver’s already good offense (third in the league in points per possession last season) gets a little better.

More importantly, he will dramatically improve what was the NBA’s 20th ranked defense last season, filling the Nuggets big need as an elite perimeter defender. (They need better defense from JaVale McGee, too, but that’s another story.)

…

As it was for Philadelphia — Kwame Brown isn’t their starting center any more.

The up-and-coming Sixers now have the best center in the East — Andrew Bynum is an All-Star who is just coming into his own. He provides a real matchup challenge for Miami. Put him in a starting five with Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young (who has earned the extra minutes) and maybe Spencer Hawesand you have a good team. And the core of that team is all under 25 — they will grow over the next couple years.

They now are maybe the third or fourth best in the East — Miami is the team to beat, but the Celtics, Pacers and now maybe Sixers are on that next tier. A Holiday-Bynum pick-and-roll is going to do be hard to stop. And Doug Collins has gotten this team to play hard and play defense.”

So, in case you’re not keeping score, Philly, Denver and most importantly LA have all improved, but Orlando has gotten significantly worse. What’s that? The new CBA was supposed to fix all this? Nope.

-Matt Moore, also at PBT, used the Howard deal to talk about the NBA’s Arm’s Race, complete with a pitch-perfect Martin Amis quote to kick it off: “Weapons are like money, no one knows the meaning of enough.” That’s a pretty astute assessment of what’s happening the league right now with team after team on the population-rich coasts loading up on superstars; it’s like the Cold War, but with not just the US and Russia, but also China, Spain and the entire Middle East involved. Here’s what Matt wrote to start the piece:

In 2008, it was the Celtics getting both an aging Kevin Garnett and an aging Ray Allen. Then it was the Lakers getting Pau Gasol, commonly a sub-star due to his market at the time. Then came The Decision, Melodrama, the Joe Johnson trade, Deron’s choice, and Steve Nash becoming a Laker.

And now, this. Dwight Howard will be a Laker. The Lakers will start Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol, and Dwight Howard.

This arms race has gone too far.

Maybe it was always too far. Maybe the Decision really was the worst thing that could ever have happened to the sport, maybe it was the Celtics that started all this and it was unavoidable thereafter. Maybe it was New York’s opulence and brazen assault on the cap that lead to this. But either way, here we are. It was always going to be like this, from the moment Howard made his list of teams he wanted to play for, following Carmelo Anthony‘s model of electing where he wanted and then maneuvering to get it. He was going to go to a big-market team with talent.

But this much talent?

I think it is, but what can anybody do about it?

-Lastly, I saw a bunch of articles/posts on the Lakers as the new NBA juggernaut. It’s true, they are. With Dwight at the 5, Pau at the 4 (how did they keep Pau!), Metta W____ P____ or [insert player of your choice] at the 3, Kobe at the 2 and Steve Nash running point, there isn’t a better starting 5 on the planet right now and that includes the Miami Heat.

I’m pretty sure there are NBA fans, outside of LA residents, who are going through the same set of emotions Martin Riggs faced at the beginning of Leathal Weapon.

• Kurt Helin asks: “Did the Lakers just become the NBA’s best team? Looks like it.”
• Lee Jenkins at SI with: “Lakers once again remaking franchise with a big-name star.”
• Chris Sheridan with “The Winners and Losers of the Proposed [not longer proposed] Dwight Howard trade.”
• Ken Berger at CBS Sports with “Agreement on Howard trade completes stunning Lakers overhaul.”
• And of course, the always easy-to-loathe Bill Plaschke at the Los Angeles Times with “Dwight Howard trade reaffirm Lakers’ will to win.”

[Pics: Via & Via]