The NBA is Back…And So is the Offseason!

The NBA is set to start in a couple of weeks, and it sounds as if everybody wants to trade everybody before the 2012 season tips off on Christmas Day. Some reports have Dwight Howard moving, Chris Paul traded and there’s even a Greg Oden sighting.

So what are some of the more realistic scenarios out there?

I don’t know. But I do know what the interesting scenarios are. Here are a couple of trades, which if played out, would make for some interesting storylines during the 2012 NBA season.

Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers
If you thought Lakers-Heat was what you wanted to see last season, a Dwight Howard trade to Los Angeles would make this the matchup of the century. I feel as if there is no way the rest of the league would allow this trade to happen without some team offering the Orlando Magic more trade-bait, but if it did go down, we are talking about a “Big Three” in Los Angeles that is actually more talented than the Big Three in Miami. Just think about it; Gasol is better than Chris Bosh, Howard is just as talented as a Dwyane Wade, and Kobe Bryant, for a single game, can bring what LeBron James is bringing to the table, albeit, he’s not actually as good as LeBron at this point in his career. Needless to say, I can’t imagine a more watched NBA Finals matchup than this if Howard, all of a sudden is dawning the Purple and Gold.

Chris Paul to the Boston Celtics for 1-Year
As sad as I would be to see Chris Paul go anywhere other than my beloved New York Knicks, watching Paul play under a 1-year promise to the Celtics would be amazing. If he is indeed intending on opting out in order to exercise his free agency, he would essentially be auditioning for the next and biggest contract of his life. And for him to be playing for the edgy, trash-talking, chest-beating, Kevin-Garnett-electrified Boston Celtics—well, that could lead to some of the best show-boating we have ever seen on an NBA Basketball court. I can already see Paul Pierce buzzing around the court after Paul feeds him a dime for the game-winning lay-up. Ray Allen is holding his hand up in the air after hitting the three off a CP3 pass. Paul himself flashing that movie-star smile of his after an alley-oop pass. And of course, Kevin Garnett’s beady eyes are staring down yet another European player as he beats his chest with his abnormally sized right-hand—and all that for a mere 17-foot jumper that forced the other time to call a timeout.

Steve Nash to the New York Knicks
Talk of the town is that if the New York Knicks aren’t able to land Chris Paul this season, they will go after Nash as the second-place prize. While Nash isn’t what Chris Paul is at this point in his career, on any given night, Nash can get the better of CP3 and he is a much better shooter. But the reason Nash’s arrival in New York would be worth watching is because Nash has played in Mike D’Antoni’s system before. Are we going to see back-to-back MVP winner Nash when he reunites with D’Antoni? Of course not. But he still would be about as good as any other point guard in the league (offensively) could be in that offense. Nash automatically makes the Knicks one of the most efficient offensive teams in the NBA. The defense will probably suck, but we saw that whole Suns “no-defense” approach turn the Suns from jokes to legitimate threats—something Knicks fan (I among them) would certainly embrace.

Nene Hilario to the Miami Heat
I don’t even know how this ridiculous notion even gets brought up, as Hilario is said to be looking for max money in his next contract. While he probably won’t ever see that kind of money, it’s hard to imagine him coming so far off of that to the point where the Heat would be able to take him. The Heat can pursue Hilario via trade, but who do they give up to get him? Mike Miller isn’t good. Udonis Haslem is old. And trading Bosh would be a sign of panic the Heat just wouldn’t show. Realism aside, if Nene becomes a member of the Heat; look out the world! He is a great rebounder, tough defender and really just a man who knows how to do work in the paint. If Pat Riley can pull this one off and get Nene to come to South Beach, the Heat may have found the player with enough mental and physical fortitude to offset the mental issues we saw from LeBron in last year’s NBA Finals.

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