The trade was finally consummated on Friday. The Los Angeles Lakers continued to be the most relevant organization in all of sports by acquiring the mercurial and loquacious Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic in a 4-team trade that exported players to different parts of the country and left NBA fans in a tizzy.
How do I think the Oklahoma City Thunder players reacted when they heard the news?
I bet they let out a collective yawn and went on about their business.
Kevin Durant's immediate response when asked if he had any thoughts about the trade?
"Nah," he said. "I really don't care."
Well played KD, well played.
What about Beard Harden's thoughts on the impact of the trade?
"It doesn't change much. Was I surprised? No. Big market. Lakers always do a great job of getting great players. Doesn't take away from us at all." -- James Harden
Interesting. That's exactly how I feel about it.
More confidence from KD, it oozes out of him.
"We'll see once the season starts, but we still feel confident in ourselves. We can't let that (trade) make us feel like we aren't one of the best teams in the West. We've just got to focus on us from Day One." - KD
Realistically, this is the exact reason why Kendrick Perkins was put on the Oklahoma City Thunder squad. Perk stepped up mightily to defend Howard back on the Boston Celtics, and he's always done yeoman's work on the former Laker Andrew Bynum. Perk was built for this, and its the edge he brings in slowing down Howard which should give Thunder fans room for optimism.
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