L.A. Lakers Land Dwight Howard by Jeff Little

In a blockbuster four-team trade, the L.A. Lakers acquired center Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic, ending what became a national nightmare for Howard, the Magic and their fans. In addition to the center, the Lakers will receive point guard Chris Duhon and forward Earl Clark from Orlando.

Los Angeles will be sending power forward Josh McRoberts, small forward Christian Eyenga and a future protected first-round draft pick and 2015 projected second-round draft pick to Orlando. Center Andrew Bynum will be sent to the Philadelphia 76ers.

It is no surprise that the trade has brought about two distinctly different responses globally: 1) Lakers fans are extremely excite, and; 2) those that dislike the Lakers are highly upset and already predicting that this team will fail. Shockingly, some folks who are firmly in the “dislike” category are the same ones that were elated when NBA commissioner David Stern nixed the Chris Paul trade (from the league-owned New Orleans Hornets’ to the Lakers) for basketball reasons, at the start of the truncated 2011-2012 season.

The trade allows Dwight Howard to move on from what became a contentious relationship between him and the Magic, but also provides him a much needed fresh start. L.A. has a long, storied history of having some of the NBA’s best centers, starting with the late George Mikan who led the team to five championships while still in Minneapolis.

The Lakers have made four trades since 1973 for players who played in the post and averaged 20–points, 10-rebounds and two blocked shots. They were:

Wilt Chamberlain in July 1968 at the age of 32, resulting in one championship; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in June 1975 at the age of 28, resulting in five championships, Shaquille O’Neal in July 1996 at the age of 24, producing three championships and Pau Gasol – the only non-center in the group – in February 2008 at the age 27, helping the purple and gold win two championships.

Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar are legendary Hall of Fame players whose jersey numbers have been retired and are hanging from the rafters at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. History tells us that within the next ten years, there will be even more quality players to follow. The acquisition of Howard, a six-time NBA All-Star, five-time All-NBA First Team and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, ushers in a new era of Lakers basketball as well as a guy that can be the franchise player when All-Star guard Kobe Bryant retires.