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The biggest trade since...


Ok so I was reading this article and I was thinking that we could kill a few birds with one blockbuster stone. If it is true that the Lakers can't keep Pau, and the Laker management has made pretty clear they don't really want him anymore, then here is an idea to include 3 out of the 5 players in that article and make all the teams involved happy.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=cqdb6f7

Here is the genius. Houston wants Howard, desperately. Houston has 2 mid-to-late 1st round round picks and they've been trying to move Martin for years. Orlando is coming to the conclusion that a split with Howard is inevitable. The Lakers can't afford Pau and want to replace him with a PF with a smaller salary.

Enter the Pacers. They get a massive upgrade at PF, some insurance if Hibbert decides to move on and plenty of cap space to pay Gasol. Gasol and West are the same age but Pau has a superior skill set and will put the Pacers in the conversation of Eastern Conference elites.

Assuming most of you guys are Lakers fans you might want more for Pau than David West. Kupchak might be able to get a pick from Indiana or Houston, more likely Indiana, and knowing Bird it will be 2nd round. Both of Houston's picks will have to go to Orlando to get Howard. Martin/Scola won't be enough to persuade then to part with D12 but two good (very solid but aging) players and 2 mid-1st rounders should be.

The Lakers do not get better in this trade. Then again they didn't get better letting Odom go and they didn't get better bringing in McRoberts/Murphy. The goal here is to get cheaper and younger while staying competitive. Getting West and a late-1st rounder is doing both well.

Now here is the hitch. Houston might not be willing to sell the store unless Howard signs long term. So far Howard has only mentioned Dallas and New Jersey as legitimate destinations. The Magic are going to trade him, but he has a bit of leverage in deciding where he'll land long-term. Then again I read Houston was looking to rent Howard this season. So it's still possible.