Oh snap! Storm lets it slip. ESPN wants Lakers to win series.

While that doesn't show the League Office is biased, it does show the media is biased. It seems that most of them live in Los Angeles. As everyone knows, my favorite sport is to trash the Oregonian.

 

I don't think there's a snowballs chance in hell of orlando willingly helping the lakers acquire ANOTHER superstar center from them.

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I don't think anyone involved with Orlando in 1996 is still there. I kinda doubt Otis Smith is thinking "No way I trade you Howard after you STOLE Shaq from a guy who used to work for this team 15 years ago!"

 

Oh, so you think that the fanbase is going to be favorable of a trade that sends Dwight Howard to the Lakers after they watched Shaq net them three championships? Do you think the Magic FO wants to piss off the fans that much?

 

I think they would rather have a team like Denver then Cleveland.

 

Andrew Bynum does not make them Denver.. he makes them Milwaukee or some middle of the road team.

 

I think fans care more about success on the floor than some vague historical connection between trades. Therefore, the front office is going to do what they can to maximize the quality of their roster. Letting Howard depart for nothing, or for an offer worse than Bynum (a 23 year old center who has been consistently at 20 PER or above), would damage the front office far more.

 

They should trade Howard for Oden; his PER has also been consistently above 20, and he's only 23 too.

 

Bynum has played a lot more games. A lot, lot more.

Also, I'm not sure "consistently" can be applied to one season out of two.

 

Dude, who's team are you rooting for? I'm trying to get us Howard!

 

I was thinking of becoming a Lakers fan, because I'm committed to winning...but they're not looking so hot right now. Maybe after they trade for Howard.

 

If the story involved the Portland Trail Blazers instead, do you think the fanbase here would accept such circumstances?

 

If we had any chance to trade for Howard, without having to give up Aldridge; I would do it in a heart beat. Oden, Miller, who the fuck ever to make it work. I doubt it happens or is even a thought in Howard's mind.

 

I don't understand what you mean. You're saying if a team (say, the Celtics) had signed Shaq away from the Blazers in 1996 and now Portland had Howard, trading Howard to that team? I'm sure the fans would be pissed. But fans claimed to be annoyed by the "Jail Blazers" but they didn't start staying away in droves til the talent was gone and the team sucked.

You can argue fan psychology in any direction you want, but the universal is this: nothing matters if the team is winning and nothing matters if the team is losing. That's the bottom line, which is why GMs focus on acquiring talent above all else. Certain moves may have a negative PR hit at first, but losing will definitely cost the GM his job.