Though the long nightmare that was Dwight Howard Wanting Out finally came to a close with Friday’s trade to the Lakers, A New Era Of Sucking has begun for Magic fans, one that might’ve been avoided, writes the Orlando Sentinel’s Josh Robbins, had Orlando accepted C Andrew Bynum (above) in return. “Having Bynum for the 2012-13 season could have kept the Magic a playoff team,” claims Robbins, who probably knows by now that Bynum’s headed to Germany for the Orthokine/Regenokine procedure
Magic officials had a number of reasons for not insisting on Bynum. They were concerned about the long-term health of his knees, his immaturity and whether he would re-sign for the long-term.
If Bynum has injury troubles in the years ahead, the Magic will be vindicated for not acquiring him. If he turns into a superstar, the Magic will regret it.
The Magic never was going to receive equal value because Howard made it clear that he only was interested in playing long-term for two teams, the Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Obviously, there are immediate flash points for concern. The Magic didn’t acquire Bynum, didn’t generate additional long-term cap space and didn’t acquire lottery-level picks.