It’s been no secret that top NBA point guard and free agent-to-be Deron Williams has long wanted to team up with the best big man in the game, Dwight Howard, on the Brooklyn Nets next season. Williams has gone so far as to hint that it’s Dwight Howard or bust if New York’s newest NBA franchise has any chance of re-signing the 3 time All Star this Summer.
But after Howard decided to opt into the final year of his current deal and remain in Orlando at least one final season, it was apparent that the only way D-Will and Superman were going to form the NBA’s next dynamic duo was through an elaborate multi-team trade this off-season.
Although Nets management would want nothing more than to bring Howard and his larger than life personality to Brooklyn, the details surrounding how Howard got his former coach Stan Van Gundy and former GM Otis Thorpe dismissed, in addition to how new Magic management have been tentative to make a deal, it appears that the Nets are moving forward without Howard as they have already been hard at work, formulating package deals for Hawks All Star guard Joe Johnson and Rockets forward Luis Scola, as well as making a push for Grizzlies free agent shooting guard OJ Mayo as a backup plan to keep Williams in a Nets uniform.
Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, a 6 time All Star, still has 4 years and nearly $90 million left on his max free agent deal from 2 off-seasons ago but would form quite the potent All Star caliber backcourt that could rival any in the Association. Acquiring the bruising power forward Luis Scola from Houston would create an imposing inside/outside combo, while many still think Memphis’ once highly touted guard OJ Mayo was underutilized in Memphis and still has starter potential.
It obviously doesn’t hurt that current Nets GM Billy King and new Hawks GM Danny Ferry were once collegiate teammates at Duke, but Atlanta must be willing to take on a collection of Nets role players like Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar, Johan Petro, as well as a sign-and-trade with one of the current Brooklyn free agents(Gerald Green and Gerald Wallace) in order to match Johnson’s rather humongous $19.8 million owed next season.
If the Nets are unable to make a deal for Johnson, they still could be able to resign their own free agents Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace, and still have more than $10 million available to land an additional free agent for the opening of their new state of the art arena, the Barclay’s Center, for next season.
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
