Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops told Joe and Evan of WFAN 660 today that he believes there is a 50-50 chance that Dwight Howard winds up with the Nets by the trade deadline. Despite the Lakers' reassurances that they wouldn't be willing to deal their prized center, Sheridan thinks that they soon have to realize that this season cannot be salvaged and suggests that a deal involving MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries, Tyshawn Taylor, Mirza Teletovic, Tornike Shengelia, the draft rights to some of their overseas prospects, and a few first round picks could be enough to get something done. Here's what else we're hearing this afternoon:
- In contrast to Sheridan's thoughts, Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets about Mitch Kupchak's insistence that Howard won't be traded and the unlikelihood that the Lakers acquire a talent upgrade anytime soon. Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times relayed Kupchak's thoughts explicitly: "I don’t anticipate anything dramatic talking place in the next two days" (Twitter link).
- Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News notes that coach Mike D'Antoni remains convinced the Lakers don't have to make any moves before the deadline and that Pau Gasol is hopeful he can return before the end of the regular season. Gasol, who suffered a foot injury two weeks ago, expects to be off crutches soon (All Twitter links).
- As we heard last week, Warriors ownership hasn't required the front office to make deals for the sake of avoiding the luxury tax and would be willing to make a deal if the right one came along. With that being said, team co-owner Joe Lacob told Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News that he likes how the current group has been performing and needs to see them continue to perform together for an extended period of time.
- Bobcats head Coach Mike Dunlap said that he's met with some of his players to talk about the trade deadline, adding that he feels "uncomfortable communication" is necessary too. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer thinks that the latter was likely a reference to Ben Gordon, who has been notably unhappy with Dunlap this season (Twitter links).
The Lakers appear to be in a no-win situation with Dwight: if they trade him, they’re effectively waving the white flag on the season and wasting one of Kobe’s two remaining years to get him his sixth ring. If they keep Howard, he could bolt for greener pastures after June and leave L.A. at a standstill, or resign and possibly never fully recover from his back injury, leading to a bloated payroll for a player who looks to be a shell of his former self (thus far). Time will tell…I’m remaining optimistic that he’ll resign with the Lakers and become 100% healthy next season.