Dwight Howard to Lakers: Superman Reportedly Heading to LA in 4-Team Trade

A blockbuster, four-team deal sending Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakersis reportedly complete.

ESPN.com news services had this to say about this earth-shattering situation:

A four-team trade that would send Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers is complete, multiple sources told ESPN on Thursday night.

Per the ESPN report, "A source with direct knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com's Marc Stein the Lakers will receive Howard, the Denver Nuggets will acquire Andre Iguodala, the 76ers will receive Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson, and the Magicwill get Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic and one protected future first-round pick from each of the other three teams."

On top of that, Orlando is supposed to receive 76ers first-round selection Moe Harkless.

This is a power move by the Lakers, who refuse to let Kobe Bryant live in frustration for the remainder of his career. With Dwight Howard manning the post, Bryant would see more open shots for the first time since Shaquille O'Neil was dominating the paint. Hanging on to All-Star power forward Pau Gasol only sweetens the pot.

With Howard, Bryant, Gasol and Steve Nash teaming up in LA, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder can kiss their dynastic dreams goodbye. Bryant is still a top-three talent in the game and Howard would only prolong the future Hall of Famer's career, essentially ensuring multiple trips to the NBA Finals for the next three to five years.

The Magic, who are essentially an afterthought in the NBA now, can finally rid themselves of the mind games and "Dwightmare" that has plagued the franchise for what feels like a damn millennium at this point.

Howard may have taken them to the NBA Finals against the Lakers a few years ago, but it has been an awful downfall ever since. The Magic Kingdom may have lost a superstar, but the franchise will be able to sleep easy knowing they received a viable asset in return.

Fans may resent Howard for how he handled his last remaining year in Orlando, but he'll have no regret about his waffling when he steps on the court with the Black Mamba. Now in one of the world's premier markets, playing for the NBA's premier franchise, Howard will truly feel like Superman.

Howard is a megastar that commands the bright lights with his sheer size and natural charisma. For the Lakers, this would be the second coming of Shaq. Now, it's Howard's turn to tear apart the NBA landscape in the Purple and Gold.

This deal rids the Magic of a major headache and makes Kobe Bryant a very happy player.

Are the Lakers the Favorites in the NBA with Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant?

Drive and Dish

I'm a huge sport fanatic and with most leagues like the EPL, NBA and NFL all on summer breaks, I'm left with watching the NBA summer league which can be a bore sometimes to be honest. This was the mindset I had about the summer league until I watched the Wizards at Grizzlies game yesterday and saw probably one of the smoothest moves I've ever seen. Jeremy Pargo made two incredible ball fakes and dished a pass to Mitchell Watt for the big slam. Dish so nice I had to share it on here.

Jeremy Lin joins Houston Rockets after New York Knicks decline to match contract offer

According to the New York Times, the New York Knicks have finally decided to let Jeremy Lin sign with the Houston Rockets.

Just a month ago the Knicks fought tooth and nail to win an arbitration case that granted the team “Early Bird” rights for Jeremy Lin, which would allow them to go over the cap and match other team’s offers for him. It would also allow them to use Mid-Level Exception to add further pieces to the roster.

Now the Knicks decide to not match the three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet. Lin was initially expected to sign a four-year deal worth close to $30 million, however Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey decided to tweak the offer-sheet so he had a better chance of getting Lin. The final year of the new deal at $14.9 million is designed to cost the Knicks at least $35 million or more in luxury-tax payments had they matched the deal.

It appears that James Dolan’s Knicks have decided to let him go for purely financial reasons, which is a little surprising considering that they are the second most valuable franchise in the league. This is the same franchise that had the highest operating income in the league.

If it weren’t for Jeremy Lin’s improbable breakout last season, the Knicks would be an afterthought and no one would be talking about them. He saved their season last season and became one of the most popular players in the league.

Now they go into next season with an inferior point guard in Raymond Felton, who like Lin, had success under Mike D’Antoni. He was terrible last season in Portland and was severely out of shape.  Backing him up are two over the hill point guards in Jason Kidd, who obviously didn’t take the Felton trade that well, and Pablo Prigioni, a 35 year old rookie from Argentina.

Keep in mind that this is also the same franchise that paid millions in luxury tax penalties after shelling out a combined $90 million to both Eddy Curry and Jerome James. Why they chose to decline this time is certainly perplexing, especially for someone like Lin that actually helps generate revenue and value to the franchise, but then again, it is the New York Knicks.

Toronto Raptors trade James Johnson to Sacramento Kings

According to multiple reports, the Toronto Raptors have agreed to send James Johnson to the Sacramento Kings for a 2014 second round pick. The 25 year old forward was acquired from the Chicago Bulls during the 2011 NBA trade deadline for the 28^thoverall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, which ended up being Norris Cole.

Moving Johnson, who is set to earn $2.8 million next season, for a second round pick would open up more cap flexibility. The Raptors have been looking to move Calderon in an effort to create cap room, presumably to acquire a game changing small forward like Andre Iguodala.

Johnson started the season on a high note, making several high light reel defensive plays, but earned a two-game suspension after clashing with head coach Dwane Casey. That led to his demotion and he wasn’t able to play his way back into the starting line-up.

At 25 years old, Johnson doesn’t have a lot of potential left and has yet to carve out a role for himself in the NBA. He still brings a unique skill set that intrigued Bryan Colangelo during the 2009 NBA draft, but had trouble putting it all together on the court on a consistent basis.

In 40 starts last season, Johnson averaged 10.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals in 27 minutes per game.