Dwight Howard trade worked out for Magic after all

Most of the free world panned the Magic for what it got out of the Dwight Howard trade. The package isn’t looking so bad now, all things considered.

by Tom Ziller

Mar 12, 2013, 2:00 PM UTC

Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

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If there's one indisputable lesson from the Dwight Howard trade, it's that nothing is indisputable.

When the Magic sent Howard to the Lakers and Jason Richardson to the 76ers, while the Nuggets picked up Andre Iguodala and Philly landed Andrew Bynum, it sure looked like Orlando was on the short end. The Magic ended up with Nikola Vucevic, Maurice Harkless, Arron Afflalo and three future (as in 2014 and beyond) first-round picks. So the Magic traded away the best player in the deal and ended up with what looked like the worst package ... without losing any truly onerous contracts. (J-Rich's deal wasn't exactly good, but it wasn't Hedo Turkoglu's.)

More: Orlando Pinstriped Post on Dwight's return to Orlando

Folks like me believed in Rob Hennigan, the GM who pulled the deal, because we believed in his pedigree. He learned the trade under Sam Presti, the genius who built the Thunder into a powerhouse. But the trade looked positively un-Prestian. Orlando didn't grab any immediate picks, didn't shed much salary (thanks to taking on Al Harrington) and didn't pick up a single elite player on a rookie deal. This looked more like a deal the pre-Prokhorov Nets would do. (It reminded me of the Vince Carter deal that the Magic had participated in.)

DEEP CUTS

I was stunned to check in to Twitter on Monday and find out NBA Twitter had been scolded for being excited about DeAndre Jordan's dunk on Brandon Knight. Standard disclaimer: I love Adrian Wojnarowski. I can't imagine the NBA without him. But his column on the grave injustices heaved on Knight and the deterioration of our basketball value system due to excessive fan celebration is overwrought. We can all agree Kevin Hart is a dolt without sitting on our hands when Jordan pulls off such a fantastic physical feat.

The argument that the #RIPBrandonKnight hashtag and Simba photoshops will cast a chill over defensive effort is absurd. Knight seems to be taking it all with a measure of indifference, and Knight is hardly the first player to be jammed on to the point of widespread glee. Timofey Mozgov didn't cause the end of defense. Neither did Frederic Weis. Or Shawn Bradley. Or Yao Ming. I mean, when Scottie Pippen did this to PATRICK EWING no one decided to stop stepping into the lane. You have to give players more credit. They have big enough hearts to take the heat and play another day.

I remember the first time I got dunked on. It was in high school. I was a freshman, and we were running a game in P.E. Ali Cepeda, the son of baseball legend Orlando Cepeda, basically Frederic Weis'd me on a fast break. It wasn't national TV, but when you're a 13-year-old, P.E. class -- with everyone oohing and aahing -- sure feels like the silver screen. I heard all the expected catcalls, and the commentary lasted a couple days. (It was quite a bit more blue than anything Hart tweeted, for what it's worth.) It didn't cause me to stop stepping into the lane. It didn't turn me into a lily-livered coward. It just made me more aware of Ali's crazy athleticism. He dunked on a couple other kids that year. I cheered. It's sports. Someone wins, someone loses and almost everyone does both frequently. Let's not overthink it.

Meanwhile, the Sixers picked up the pivot they desperately needed and the Lakers became a juggernaut again. Welp. Things have worked out for Denver, but Philadelphia is hanging its head and L.A. is fighting for a playoff spot. Meanwhile, at least one of the pieces the Magic picked up -- Vucevic -- looks something like a fine young player on a rookie deal.

The 22-year-old Montenegrin is shooting 52 percent from the floor while averaging 14 points and 13 rebounds per 36 minutes. He’s not and may never be a plus scorer, but that rebounding is excellent and his defense seems promising. You could do a whole heck of a lot worse than Vucevic as a center to build around. And he’ll be cheap for the Magic for the next couple of years as the team leverages assets for prospects and picks.

Harkless, a rookie, hasn’t looked as promising, but he needs time to find himself. And the spacing out of picks acquired in the Howard deal could pay dividends if Orlando improves over the next couple of years. With a very high pick this year and probably next, the Magic could find itself receiving timely infusions of cheap young talent as those picks come due in 2015 and 2017.

When Howard was last in Orlando, as he’ll be tonight as the Lakers visit, it looked like the Magic had peddled him for a pittance. Now it’s not so clear. It might be time to stop doubting the House of Presti and all those who pass through.