The last time the Orlando Magic sent a dominant center to the Los Angeles Lakers, it resulted in three rings.
After only four years with the young Magic franchise, Shaquille O'Neal bolted for Los Angeles during the summer of 1996. He signed a free-agent contract during the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics and spent eight years with the Lakers.
Sixteen years later, Dwight Howard leaves the same franchise, the same town and the same fans for the same nemesis.
While a handful of draft picks and role players do not equal a superstar, at least this time, Orlando got something in return.
While the Magic are once again left to pick up the pieces and condemned to the bottom of the NBA, the trade mercifully ends almost two years of distractions, trade rumors and speculation surrounding the league's most dominant big man.
But before we get ahead of ourselves or jump to conclusions, let's compare the two moves and superstars.
Dwight Howard, summer 2012
Age: 26
NBA experience: 8 seasons
Finals experience: lost in 2009 to Lakers
All-NBA First Teams: 5
NBA All-Defensive Teams: 4
Defensive POY: 3
All-Star Games: 6
Gold medals: 2008
Dunk Contest: 2008, runner up 2009
ROY: 0
Scoring Titles: 0
Free Throw %: .588
Shaquille O'Neal, summer 1996
Age: 24
NBA experience: 4 seasons
Finals experience: lost in 1995 to Rockets
All-NBA First Teams: 0
Defensive POY: 0
NBA All-Defensive Teams: 0
All-Star Games: 4
Gold medals: 0
Dunk Contest: 0
ROY: 1993
Scoring Titles: 1995
Free Throw %: .546
How the situations are similar:
In 1996, Shaq joined a solid Laker lineup tha...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
