See this, Lakers fans? This is what you could have, but what you threw away without a care. Thomas Bryant is looking pretty good, yeah? Seems like the perfect hard-nosed center to pair with Anthony Davis and LeBron James, I bet. Dwight Howard may be playing well now, but for how much longer? His back is made out of silly string, duct tape, and hope. There is no certainty as to when his body (or his attitude) will give out, taking the entire team with him. It could be tomorrow, or it could be game 7 of the Finals. But it is certain that it will happen.
A trade for Bryant sounds like a good deal, doesn’t it? Too bad! He’s the Wizards’ franchise cornerstone now. You missed your chance. You had it, and you decided that the foolhardy pursuit of mediocre free agents was more important than the development of a bona fide studbeast. Perhaps your season is going better than the Wizards’, validating the decision, but the respective teams’ records are a product of mere chance. If the teams were to meet in a high-stakes situation like, say, the Finals, we would see who the superior team is.
Hint: it’s the one with Thomas Bryant on it.