Well, they did it again. They always pull it off.
The Los Angeles Lakers made a trade that netted them a top-10 NBA player for a few players. From their point of view, they get Dwight Howard in exchange for Andrew Bynum and a restricted draft pick.
The entire history of the NBA is of the smart franchises taking advantage of the dumb franchises. The Lakers have made trades for Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kobe Bryant, and Pau Gasol.
I'm not even mad at the Lakers and with the exception of the Miami Heat, there is no team I enjoy seeing lose more than the Lakers. If anything, I'm annoyed that the Cavaliers couldn't take advantage of the situation- they tried but couldn't swing the deal.
The Denver Nuggets made out well- losing salary but gaining a great defender in Inguodala. The 76ers are taking a risky move, trading a lot (and taking in salary) for Bynum without a guarantee, but it's a calculated risk.
The Magic, however, were out-and-out swindled. They were never going to get a great deal for Howard, but they didn't bring in any of the top players in the trade, all of the draft picks are restricted, and they only lost one of the three players that are killing their salary cap. They would have been much better off taking the deal with the Nets.
I don't cry that the Orlando Magic Front Office chose to be this dumb. But really, did they have to benefit the Lakers?
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