When the "Dwightmare" was in full swing, perhaps no division in the NBA seemed a more likely landing spot for Dwight Howard than the Southwest. The Rockets made no secret about their relentless pursuit of the former Defensive Player of the Year, a position that general manager Daryl Morey has continued to embrace even with Howard now in purple and gold. The Mavericks were in the same boat, clearing out cap space last offseason in preparation of their pursuit of multiple free agent superstars. Both teams struck out and for now, the only team in the division that appears to have significantly improved is the Hornets. Lets take a look at some other links from the Southwest division:
- Last week we took a look at some of the issues holding up the Grizzlies' ownership transition from current owner Michael Heisley to tech industry billionaire Robert Pera. Matt Moore hits on many of the same points in a post today, pulling out several quotes from a piece in the Sporting News. It looks like there may be more than just stock price obstacles in this deal for Pera.
- Jeff Caplan from ESPN Dallas analyzes how Brandan Wright will fit in with the Mavericks this season in what is a contract year for the center. Caplan said that Wright's athleticism was an asset on offense for Dallas, but that wiry 7-footer was a liability on the defensive end. With a salary less than $1MM, the Mavericks will live with his ups and downs, but Wright is only 24 and it will be interesting to see how he performs approaching free agency and with veteran Chris Kaman eating up most of the minutes in the middle in Dallas.
- After being shipped from New York to Houston in the Marcus Camby deal, Jerome Jordan was promptly cut by the Rockets. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld caught up with Jordan, now an unrestricted free agent, in Los Angeles where the Tulsa product is working out in hopes of landing a back-up role.