DWIGHT HOWARD & TYSON CHANDLER
Centers of one trade idea. (AP)
The Knicks never called the Super Coach known as Phil Jackson. But they should call the Magic and inquire about the “Superman’’ known as Dwight Howard if they can’t land Steve Nash in a sign-and-trade with the Suns this week.
The Nets may be out of the picture for Howard, no longer owning cap space in 2013 and possibly without the trade pawns to lure him following their heist of Joe Johnson. It was bad timing for Howard, who let it be known Sunday he wants out of Orlando again and has a one-team wish list: the Nets.
But in the new landscape, it probably won’t be too hard for Howard to envision himself across the Williamsburg Bridge, playing in Manhattan at the Garden with Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin.
The Knicks still have a puncher’s chance for Nash, who can revive Amar’e Stoudemire and turn them into a legit threat to the Heat this season. If Toronto wins out on Nash, no amount of moves by general manager Glen Grunwald will make them a serious title contender — unless he places a phone call to the Magic’s new GM, Rob Hennigan.
If it takes center Tyson Chandler and Stoudemire in exchange for Howard and a shooting wing such as J.J. Redick or Jason Richardson to make it happen, so be it.
Is that the right offer for Orlando? Maybe not. But with Howard’s edict that he won’t re-sign with any other club trading for him, that could be the most talent the Magic can snare. Howard could withdraw his trade demand, too, now that his hometown Hawks will have cap space for him in 2013. But Howard seems ready for the bright lights.
Despite concerns regarding Stoudemire’s bulging disk, uninsured contract, age, and mental state following his recent NBA fine for using a slur on Twitter, he is from the Orlando area and would sell tickets for a franchise in chaos.
A move to add “Superman’’ for Chandler and Stoudemire is risky. But standing pat with Lin as the starting point guard is risky, too. Nash would change everything, and the Knicks are trying to add more salary to their sign-and-trade with the Suns to compete with the Raptors’ potential bid of more than $10 million per year.
Without Nash, the Knicks look no stronger than a first- or second-round playoff team, not on the same level of the champion Heat. They could become the newest version of the Hawks, with their former coach on the bench.
Howard, with his low-post game and monstrous defense, makes for a more traditional lineup and creates real possibilities of ending the Knicks’ 40-year championship drought, just like if the Zen Master had joined the program.
Jackson said the Knicks were “a clumsy team’’ with Anthony and Stoudemire an ill-fitted tandem. Without Chandler and Stoudemire, Anthony moves to power forward, where he excelled down the stretch and where coach Mike Woodson prefers him to play.
The Knicks could fill the small-forward slot with Richardson or Redick or Iman Shumpert, when he returns from knee surgery in January. They would have bench pieces in Steve Novak and J.R. Smith and possibly free agent Raymond Felton as a backup point guard.
The Chandler-Stoudemire-Anthony trio looked nice on paper but didn’t work on the court. The excuses of a short training camp and shortened lockout season sometimes sound like just that — excuses.
Scouts say the mix of Stoudemire and Anthony was not the only chemistry issue. Stoudemire and Chandler, both pick-and-roll players, never figured it out either.Both plan to work on their low-post moves with Hakeem Olajuwon in August. But most guys can’t transform their games this late in their careers.
Orlando may have other ideas, looking for a package of younger players and draft picks. Chandler, 29, beat out Howard for Defensive Player of the Year, but like Stoudemire, also 29, he has mileage. Together, it’s a lot of contract to take on.
“As I told Dwight, I said, ‘I don’t know [about a trade], I have to think about what you’re telling me,’ ’’ Hennigan said yesterday. “I want to take some time to process everything. And the answer is we want to map out what’s in the best interest of our team.’’
Maybe Howard takes back his trade demand after yesterday’s Nets trade.
“There’s only one team on my list and if I don’t get traded there, I’ll play the season out and explore my free agency after that,’’ Howard told Yahoo! Sports.
Howard was referring to Brooklyn, with its spanking-new Barclays Center. But who knows? Maybe the little old Garden will do.