Only one day after I stated that we probably don't have to deal with paying attention to Dwight Howard's nonsense until mid-January, the Orlando Magic just went and traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers in a four team deal involving the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers. Just one day! Shows how much I know, I guess. So what does this mean to me and the Washington Wizards? Five things, I think.
One: The 76ers sent away Andre Igoudala, one of the 85 small forwards on their roster, and got back Andrew Bynum. This instantly makes the Sixers a more complete team and a real contender in the Atlantic Division. I was hoping the Sixers had slipped backwards a little. There's no way that's the case now.
Two: The Nuggets acquiring Igoudala means JaVale McGee is no longer the highest paid player on their team. That seems right, especially since JaVale doesn't even start.
Three: The Magic losing Howard for three players, two of whom are on their rookie deals including one who hasn't played in an NBA game yet, means the Wizards now finally have a real shot at finishing second in the Southeast Division this year. Yep, that's right, I'm probably setting my own expectations waaaaaaay to high here (note I'm skipping over the Hawks here too). Don't worry, as a New York Jets fan the last 34 seasons and a Wizards season ticket holder the last 12, I have a lot to rely on to remain grounded on this issue.
Four: Lakers-Wizards games at Verizon Center are going to have even more Lakers fans-who-have-never-set-foot-in-California-let-alone-been-to-Los-Angeles in attendance. We'll have more people around us in section 402 offering lame excuses for their Laker fan-dom like claiming they have either always been a Lakers fan "for some reason" or that they admire Kobe Bryant. Memo to all Lakers fans who show up to VC who aren't from LA: you like the Lakers because they win, and you'd rather root for a sure winner than show some backbone and actually follow a team you have some actual connection to for years. I might be bitter on this one, but it sure is sweet to watch the Wiz come back from a 20 point deficit in the third quarter to take the game while the Lakers "fans" around sit in stunned silence and mutter to themselves about still being a better team.
Five: If it comes down to a Lakers-Miami Heat NBA Finals, I'm actually going to have to root for Dwight Howard to win. Ugh! I'm not a fan of either Howard or LeBron James for the way they turned their backs on the fans of their former teams. I think both guys are completely disingenuous. But Howard hasn't scorched my team in the playoffs even once, let alone three times, so I can't root for LeBron's team ever. If it comes to that, I'll focus on rooting for former Wizard Antawn Jamison and tell myself that Jamison's classiness sort of counterbalances Howard. Looks like AJ will probably have some very real hope in pasting the picture of the Larry O'Brien trophy in his locker this year. I hope it doesn't come to this, but I fear it might.
After being so wrong yesterday, maybe I should write about other things I am sure won't happen just to see if they do. In closing then, I guess we'll never see Kevin Durant in a Wizards uniform any time soon. Hopefully I'll be up early Saturday morning retracting that statement as well. I won't set my alarm.
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