Trade Dwight Howard for Tim Duncan?

[DynastySpurs210]

um what if we trade Tim Duncan to the Memphis Grizzlies for Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo!!

[41times]

Of course if we had no affiliation to the Spurs franchise, it would be easy to say, oh wow, Howard has many good years ahead of him and is a dominant defensive force. Who knows how long Duncan can still play, this trade would be good.

But first of all, there is the loyalty. As someone that's been a Spur his whole career, it would be slighting Tim Duncan, one of the greatest Power Forwards of all time, to trade him. Second of all, we just built a team around Duncan that has a shot to win it, I think everyone would prefer to see how it plays out next year. Finally, this hypothetical is about as likely to happen as trading Bonner for Pau Gasol, so of course your post is being treated lightly with homerism.

See this is where fans go wrong. Athletes don't give a crap about loyalty when the money is dangled in front of them....ala Steve C-Nash. So why should the fans be as loyal. Karl Malone leaving to try to win a le. Same for Shaq same for KG same for any player who wants to win a le. The teams have 1 goal. Win a championship

Don't let loyalty get in the way of winning Championships.If someone offered Dwight Howard to the Mavs for my fav player Dirk, I would hate to see Dirk go, i love his game, but Dwight Howard is many years younger and gives us a better chance to win a le and that is the name of the game. Winning.

[mazerrackham]

See this is where fans go wrong. Athletes don't give a crap about loyalty when the money is dangled in front of them....ala Steve C-Nash. So why should the fans be as loyal. Karl Malone leaving to try to win a le. Same for Shaq same for KG same for any player who wants to win a le. The teams have 1 goal. Win a championship

Don't let loyalty get in the way of winning Championships.If someone offered Dwight Howard to the Mavs for my fav player Dirk, I would hate to see Dirk go, i love his game, but Dwight Howard is many years younger and gives us a better chance to win a le and that is the name of the game. Winning.

Sure, athletes aren't as loyal as the fans that support them, but that's not the debate here. You do know this is a forum of fans, not NBA athletes, right? So that changes nothing. Secondly, the difference in trading duncan and trading any of the other examples you mentioned, is Duncan's already won 4 championships and is a part of the winningest franchise of the past decade (that was at least the case not including last season, dunno about including last season). Also, as most analysts realize, the Spurs have retooled and are considered a contendor. That is not the same situation as trading a star from a losing franchise to "try to win a le"

[SouthTexasRancher]

Hypothetical...based on talent and where they are in their careers right now (ie, ignore money)...

Would you be mad if the Spurs traded Duncan for Howard???

Lay off the water in DallASS. It is polluted in case you didn't know. It eats away what few brain cells Mavettes fans have.

[Admiral]

Some of the current Spurs fans were not around in 2000 when it was rumored that we were going to trade David Robinson to the Knicks for Latrell Sprewell and Kurt Thomas. Who knows how legitimate that rumor was or how close it came to happening, but most people here were against it (for loyalty if nothing else). There were certainly a few Spurs fans who wanted to do it, though. It was an interesting and hotly debated topic.

Purely from a business perspective, it makes perfect sense to trade Tim Duncan for Dwight Howard. Howard is much younger with a ton of upside, plus he's a classy guy. He would fit in well in San Antonio, and I'd love to have him. But Tim has been the cornerstone of our franchise for a while now, and is the major reason why we remained a contender after DRob retired. The fact that he's remained loyal to the franchise, despite some tempting offers from other teams, should be rewarded. It would just be wrong to trade Duncan now, just as it would've been wrong to trade DRob then.

[superbigtime]

You guys are homer knuckleheads.

Of course you'd trade Duncan for Howard. The Magic are le contenders because of Howard even if it isn't obvious to you. Do you honestly think a team featuring Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis would be a finals contender without Howard?

Howard is the best young center in the game and he'll be contending for championships for the next decade.

Duncan on the other hand, while still great, is struggling to stay healthy. He can't have many years left.

Typical response of someone who just doesn't get it. Howard might be a promising young player with garish numbers, but he'll never be half the player of say, Patrick Ewing.

[LEONARD]

um what if we trade Tim Duncan to the Memphis Grizzlies for Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo!!

That would be hard to pass up IMO...

[41times]

Would the fans approve? Yes
Would the Spurs FO do it? Yes
Would Orlando be stupid enough to do it?? No...

Here's a Spurs fan that gets it.

Dwight Howard > Today's Duncan

Spurs + Howard > Todays Spurs w/Duncan

Spurs + Howard > Future Spurs with Duncan

[HarlemHeat37]

Howard is better than Duncan by default due to age..there's no way we would be better with Howard though..he isn't nearly as versatile as Duncan, and Timmy's versatility is a huge part of this team..his passing creates a lot for his teammates, and so does his high-low game, both parts of Howard's game that don't exist..Howard also has limited ability to score against big defenders, because he has a limited game outside of 2-4 feet..

Orlando obviously wouldn't do the trade either..both teams would clearly get worse with the trade..

Duncan pre-injury was playing just as well as Howard though, which is saying a lot when you consider their ages..

[jack0fspeed]

If the hypothetical is: Who would you start a team with, right now? Then my answer is Dwight Howard obviously. But would I want Duncan traded form the spurs? no. I wouldnt trade Timmy for Lebron James. I want him to retire in a spurs jersey.

There's a fine line between loyalty and stupidity. You've just crossed it my friend.

[sammy]

Hypothetical...based on talent and where they are in their careers right now (ie, ignore money)...

Would you be mad if the Spurs traded Duncan for Howard???

No!

[mazerrackham]

There's a fine line between loyalty and stupidity. You've just crossed it my friend.

I didn't realize how dense you guys are. We've already explained it multiple times. It would be a smart move logistically, but it would never happen and the question, as directed to fans, is if we would want it to happen, not whether it would make sense. Are you sure he's the stupid one?

[poeticism707]

/common sense

Duncan is the only untouchable player on the roster.

Trade him, and you might as well trade everything he brought: 4 les, finals mvps, playoff battles, playing through injuries, beating Shaq and Kobe Lakers twice, 2 mvps, all defense and all nba selections, double doubles, rock sold defense for nearly 12 years, etc.

Without Duncan, this franchise would not have won 1 le, or even appeared in the Finals.

Even suggesting this is silly.

[z0sa]

Howard contending for ten years? Maybe. But it won't be because he's a better player or leader than Duncan. Howard doesn't have a killer instinct. Before this season, it seemed like every year Orlando was getting beatdown by some far superior squad come playoff time. Howard isn't truly a game changer yet.

Has Dwight improved substantially since he was drafted? Of course. So have the Orlando Magic. But in an NBA game, 5on5, Tim is still the best bigman in the game.

[nadie]

So now the mav fans' primordial aim for their team is to win a championship? So how come everytime the spurs and the mav square off for the playoffs and the issue of the number of rings the spurs have is raised, the mav fans are enraged?

[Strike]

I'll ing trade Ducks.

I don't think Orlando would be willing to give up Howard for Ducks. Howard's dirty underwear, maybe. But not Howard himself.

[poeticism707]

I don't think Orlando would be willing to give up Howard for Ducks. Howard's dirty underwear, maybe. But not Howard himself.

[Evan]

Duncan is the only untouchable player on the roster..

is he?

[Ace9]

Howard > Duncan and will be for the next decade. If your a cold, heartless SOB then you push that button; but all that Duncan has done for this organization, he at least deserves to go out as a Spur. Anyways, this hypothetical theory is stupid considering the Magic would not bite for that trade.

[ducks]

howard has to many holes
duncan>howard

[adrienne]

If you gave me the option of a career Howard or career Duncan, it'd be Duncan every time. At this point, though, I'd be all about Howard. Then again, I have no attachment to Duncan as he's been nothing but a thorn in my side for years.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Its never going to happen so its a moot point but we're talking about a 23 year old center who just put up 21/14/3 versus a 33 year old first ballot hall of famer that put up 19/11/2 and has a degenerative knee condition.

I love Duncan but from a pure utilitarian standpoint you have to take Howard in this one. You can argue all day long about what the two will do next season but you can reasonably expect similar production from Howard for the next 10 years. You cannot say the same thing about Tim.

[raspsa]

I wonder what Howard's game will be like when he is 34? Will he even be in the league at 34?

[SpurOutofTownFan]

No, will never happen. Mark my words.

I take you base your hypothesis solely on the fact that Howard is younger than Duncan.

That alone could never be the sole reason for a trade.

[Supreme_Being]

You guys are homer knuckleheads.

Of course you'd trade Duncan for Howard. The Magic are le contenders because of Howard even if it isn't obvious to you. Do you honestly think a team featuring Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis would be a finals contender without Howard?

Howard is the best young center in the game and he'll be contending for championships for the next decade.

Duncan on the other hand, while still great, is struggling to stay healthy. He can't have many years left.

I'm not surprised you said that. You're a Mav fan after all.