Fans and media? They're a bit less concerned, or at least were when news of the trade was announced. The ensuing celebration made it seem as though L.A. had traded Kwame Brown, not Andrew Bynum. For all his PR faults, Drew was still the second-best center in the league. Bynum is a shade bigger than Howard, and also two years younger. Complain all you will about Laker luck, but they made a fair, bold deal here.
Also, in the trade lead-up, Los Angeles was wary of Dwight Howard's back, according to an Eric Pincus HoopsWorld report:
The Lakers biggest concern is the status of Howard’s back, which the source indicates they believe has been healing "very slowly."
Los Angeles eventually shed enough of its concerns to make this deal happen, but I doubt that it instantly became carefree upon its completion. I doubt this because Dwight seemed so doubtful as to physical activity in his near future.
At the trade presser, Dwight let on that he had not started running since his season-ending back surgery. He also refused to give a future timetable on his return despite a few questions in that direction.
I found this to be a shocking revelation, considering the celebratory atmosphere surrounding the trade. If Dwight Howard had no clue when he'd ever play basketball again, then what exactly were we analyzing here? And how was this aspect of the story not covered in greater detail?
We still have no official Dwight return date. As recently as Aug. 27, Lakers.com refused to peg Howard's recovery to any kind of time sequence. Despite controlling its own message on its own website, Los Angeles is tentative to give any kind of insight as...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
