NBA Trade Rumors: Is Dwight Howard That Much Better Than Brook Lopez?
Photo Credit: Bridget Samuels, Flickr.com
Dwight Howard continues to be shopped around by the Orlando Magic and the on again/off again trade between the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets has reached another standstill.
The original rumored four-way trade looked like this:
Brooklyn receives Howard, Jason Richardson, Chris Duhon and Earl Clark.
Orlando receives Brook Lopez, Luke Walton, Damion James, Shelden Williams, Armon Johnson and three first-round picks.
Cleveland receives Kris Humphries, Quentin Richardson, Sundiata Gaines, a first-round pick and $3 million in cash.
Los Angeles receives MarShon Brooks.
My question among all this mess is would Dwight Howard be worth it? Is he that much better than Brook Lopez?
Looking at their per-36 minute averages in their careers through their last healthy season (2010-11) they are a lot closer than you’d think.
Dwight Howard 57.8 FG%, 59.8 FT%, 18.2 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 2.2 BPG
Brook Lopez 50.4 FG%, 80.1 FT%, 18.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.8 BPG
I’m not implying that Lopez is better than Howard by any stretch but is he so bad? Does he provide the Nets that much more of a chance to win the championship?
I don’t think he’s worth the drama and certainly not worth the asset drain that the Nets will incur to acquire him.
Michael Dunlap
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Brook Lopez is a lot better than people give him credit for, but he’s not nearly as good as Dwight Howard. Stats don’t lie, and there’s a big difference between 13 rebounds per game and 8 rebounds per game. Stats don’t capture all of a player’s defensive ability either. Lopez is a seven-footer who can score. Howard is the best defensive player in the NBA, and scores just as much.
Totally agree that Howard is definitely the better player on the defensive end BY FAR. But, at some point finances have to play a role. Is it that much of a drop-off having Lopez and keeping a chunk of their assets?