Our long, national Dwightmare is over, but the ripple effects from his move to Houston will be felt for some time. Here's the latest news and fallout concerning the summer's biggest free agent move..
- Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com wonders aloud if Mark Cuban's grand plan is officially a failure. When MacMahon posed that question directly to Cuban in an email, the owner responded, “We haven't played a game yet. Look back at the big deal that won last summer and ask how it’s working for everyone now.” Still, it's hard to overlook the fact that Cuban struck out on Deron Williams last summer and was unable to land Dwight Howard or Chris Paul this summer.
- The Magic have officially won the Howard trade, opines Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. While the Lakers lost Howard, the Nuggets lost Andre Iguodala, and free agent Andrew Bynum didn't play a minute for the 76ers last season, the Magic ended up with a couple of nice, young building blocks in big man Nikola Vucevic and Maurice Harkless, a consummate pro in Arron Afflalo, and five future draft picks.
- Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter links) hears that Howard already made up his mind before boarding a plane for Aspen, Colorado, but wanted a little bit more time to think about things before shutting the door on the Lakers.