NOT NET YET: The Nets’ ongoing attempts to import superstar Magic center Dwight Howard to Brooklyn hit a speed bump as the Cavaliers and Clippers dropped out of a proposed four-team trade scenario. (
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Several times, the Nets went to the brink then were pulled back from completing a trade for Magic center Dwight Howard, in scenarios reminiscent of the pursuit and confident feelings experienced in the tracking of Carmelo Anthony.
So when one team after another withdrew or declined to be part of a complicated deal to bring Howard to Brooklyn in recent days, Nets brass was braced for disappointment. And it was easier this time.
The deal isn’t on the coroner’s slab yet and still could be done with creativity and ingenuity as a straight two-team trade. But the Nets no longer are rushing around, begging other teams to participate.
This isn’t March. This isn’t December. This isn’t February 2011, when owner Mikhail Prokhorov flew in from Russia and crushed the pursuit of Anthony.
“The Nets are not desperate like they were in the past,” said one Eastern Conference executive. “There was a time when they had to make a deal.”
Do they want Dwight Howard? Of course. But there are no massive consequences to not locking him up. Deron Williams agreed to stay in the fold — whether Howard went to Brooklyn or not. They acquired Joe Johnson to form the best starting backcourt in the East. They re-signed Gerald Wallace to solidify small forward. They signed Europe’s top scorer, Mirza Teletovic, at power forward. They brought Reggie Evans into the fold — all moves that could start being finalized at 12:01 a.m. this morning.
So there is not that desperation. The Nets, instead of squirming to figure a way to land Howard, are working on incumbent center Brook Lopez’s contract. If he stays, he’ll get a five-year max contract, but the initial work was on a 4-year, $58 million deal in case a sign-and-trade were necessary.
The Magic were not eager to rush into anything. New general manager Rob Hennigan is going to use caution, diligence and a little more caution before trading one of the world’s five best players. Howard, by all accounts, has made his stance perfectly clear: Brooklyn or bust.
Maybe there is a team willing to take him on as a rental, feeling it can convince him to stay despite his free agency looming next summer. So Hennigan will examine and then review every offer under a microscope.
The most compelling other offers likely will come from the Rockets, who have stockpiled trade assets, and the Lakers, who have the most desirable commodity on the block in center Andrew Bynum. However, the Magic likely would need assurances Bynum would re-sign long-term, which he has yet to provide.
“This is his first deal,” an opposing exec said. “He has to be certain he gets it right.”
Orlando needs resolution to the saga that truly has been a nightmare. On Monday, there were reports of a deal involving four teams and as many as 14 players, but one of the teams — the Cavaliers — were among several teams contacted and never really signed on, sources said. The Magic want draft picks, salary dumps, cap flexibility and talent and are examining all outlets.
The Nets felt they could offer all that: picks, Lopez, absorbing a bad contract with another team’s help. But even if the grandiose scenario collapsed completely, the Nets did not feel like they again were left at the altar.
They retain a strong starting lineup plus other assets including sixth-man type MarShon Brooks, envisioned as an offensive provider off the bench, the draft picks that would have lined the Magic’s wallet and $3 million cash the Nets earmarked for the trade, money known to Prokhorov as “cab fare.”
The Nets and Magic have swapped medical histories on the two premier pieces. Howard underwent back surgery, and Lopez was limited to five games last season with a broken foot and subsequent ankle injury. Sources said the Nets have no reservations at all about Lopez’s health. The center’s brother and advisor, Chris Lopez, said the three-year vet is working out and showing no ill effects.
Reports out of Orlando yesterday said the Magic want resolution by week’s end and will take the best deal. The Magic once seemed determined to avoid ceding to Howard’s wishes.
Now, whether they do or they don’t, the Nets will still enjoy their position.