NBA Rumors: Would Brooklyn Nets Be Better Than Heat with Dwight Howard?

The Brooklyn Nets are already well on their way to becoming a much-improved club, and the only remaining question is just how much better they can be.

According to ESPN's Chris Broussard and Brian Windhorst, they could take one huge step forward in no time at all:

The Brooklyn Nets' persistent efforts to recruit the Cleveland Cavaliers as a third team to help them hammer home a trade for Dwight Howard are starting to pay off, according to sources close to the process.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Nets and Magic are cautiously optimistic that the Cavaliers will help them facilitate a three-way trade that lands Howard in Brooklyn.

Regardless of what all the sources are saying at the moment, one also has to wonder how the Orlando Magic will find a better deal than what the Nets are putting on the table. 

Chances are they won't. And that means one way or the other Dwight Howard looks like he's on his way to Brooklyn. The move would significantly alter the landscape of the NBA's elite title contenders.

But, would it displace the presumptive favorites to return to the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference?

Probably not.

The Miami Heat will remain the best team in the East, and not just because they finished on top last time around. This is also a club who has the game's best all-around player and a formula that's become borderline unstoppable.

At the very least, it would take Brooklyn some time to discover its chemistry and become an actual team.

That said, the inside-outside combination of Dwight Howard and Deron Williams would give Miami a run for its money.

The Nets' strengths could conveniently be the Heat's weaknesses. Miami has neither a point guard capable of making Williams work hard on the defensive end nor a center who could even begin to contain Howard.

Leaving Bosh at the 5 might work against a lot of teams, but it wouldn't work against the one Dwight's on.

More importantly, Brooklyn isn't just a two-man show.

Joe Johnson may not be on the same level as Dwyane Wade, and he could certainly struggle against the defense of Shane Battier. But, he's still pretty good. When paired with Gerald Wallace, the Nets' wing would have the ability to at least make Miami's defense work for its stops.

Wallace is also the kind of guy who can defend LeBron James, at least in theory. James may be unguardable, but Wallace has the size, quickness, strength and defensive work ethic to give LeBron some trouble.

At this level, it's not about shutting guys down. It's just about keeping them under some measure of control. Wallace would be a start.

Finally, adding Howard to this mix would also make Brooklyn a tough team to score on in the paint. That's all the more important against Miami given how many of their shots come at the rim. Howard's imposing size and athleticism would make it a lot harder for the likes of James and Wade to simply score at will.

Brooklyn's transformation may not make it the best team in the East, but it certainly gives them the chance to be.