So with the Lakers struggling at 17-24 and going through yet another losing streak after that loss to Chicago, the drama continues on in Hollywood. We have Dwight Howard upset because of shot opportunities. Pau Gasol thinks a trade is a possibility now after he was taken out of the starting line-up. Mike D’Antoni seems to be running out of things to say.
But the rumor mill is definitely getting hotter by the minute. We have Jarrod Rudolph of Real GM talking about the Nets capitalizing on this. Here’s his Sulia:
The Brooklyn Nets are preparing to make another run at Dwight Howard, according to a source.
The feeling out of Brooklyn is that Howard can be had for the right price because of the Lakers’ struggles and long-term commitment to a collection of pieces that just don’t seem to fit or compliment Howard’s assortment of skills.
According to sources, (Nets General Manager Billy) King was planning to contact the Minnesota Timberwolves in order to gauge their interest in a three-team trade that would send Kevin Love to the Lakers, Brook Lopez to the Timberwolves and Dwight Howard to the Nets.
The problem, of course, is that Kevin Love is out until March and the Nets felt that the Lakers wouldn’t be interested in an injured Love. But the Nets had been pining for Dwight Howard since last year. It was also no secret that Howard preferred the Nets but Brooklyn didn’t have enough assets that satisfied Orlando. Orlando would end up getting a package that included Arron Afflalo from Denver, Nikola Vukevic from Philadelphia, Josh McRoberts from the Lakers, among other players as well as numerous picks in a four-way blockbuster deal.
According to Rudolph, Billy King is going to continue to search for a third team that would have an attractive asset for the Lakers but had also mentioned that Dwight Howard isn’t as big a priority as last season. But which executive wouldn’t want to watch the Lakers at this point, who seem to be in shambles right now? If they keep up this pace, the Lakers would win only 34 games, the same number of wins the 2004-05 team had. That team was suffering from the Shaq trade and had gone through two coaches in Rudy Tomjanovich and Frank Hamblen.
As for now, the Lakers continue to look for answers in this really baffling season. It could be a roster change but right now, the Lakers will have to keep pushing through.
Update #1 – We caught up with Jarrod Rudolph in an exclusive interview with our very own Serena Winters.
httpvhd://youtu.be/Eac84s6P_RQ
Update #2 – Our friends at SB Nation gave us the heads up on the rumors from the Nets front office’s point of view. Check out the story at NetsDaily.
