Dwight Howard's trade would be Maurice Harkless' gain

Dwight Howard, the disgruntled center for the Orlando Magic, has been rumored to be going to the Nets, the Mavericks, the Lakers, the Rockets, and probably the moon this offseason. Following the rumors is like following Brett Favre's retirements - noisy, barely sourced, and mostly annoying.

But the recent rumor is one St. John's fans who want to actually see Maurice Harkless rocking the red/ white/ blue in the City of Brotherly Love should keep an eye on.

Per Yahoo! Sports, the Sixers are involved in a four-team trade involving the Magic, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Denver Nuggets. Most importantly, the Nuggets would receive small forward Andre Iguodala, the player between the 15th pick of the NBA Draft Moe Harkless and serious playing time.

The Sixers would receive center Andrew Bynum.

If on the Sixers, Iguodala, currently injured but with Team USA in the Olympics, would return to a starting spot. But his playing time would cut into Harkless' time at the small forward position. The Sixers may feel that Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner are too similar to co-exist on the same court for a productive team. Iguodala's strengths are getting to the basket and passing, but he can't shoot the way the Sixers hope Maurice Harkless will be able to. And paired with an even poorer shooter/ athletic passer, neither can flourish as they would next to a player with a different skill set.

Iguodala has asked for a trade in the past; he's spent eight seasons with the Sixers. Iguodala has averaged 15.3 points per game over his career, with 5.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.

That said, the Sixers could possibly trade Harkless to Orlando as part of a package; ESPN's Marc Stein listed that as a possibility.

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