As a growing trend in the NBA, the way teams continue to compete at a high level in the league as potential title contenders is to assemble a trio of superstars. The perfect example of this is the success of the Miami Heat over the last two seasons. Once the Heat brought in Chris Bosh and LeBron James to play alongside Dwyane Wade, Miami became the most talented team in the NBA.
As a result of the ‘Big 3’ in South Beach, the Heat have appeared in two consecutive NBA Finals, and won an NBA title at the expense of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The consensus as of now is that Miami will be headed to the Finals many more times with plenty of chances to win more titles with the same team intact.
With all the discussion of a potential blockbuster trade centered on Dwight Howard, the Brooklyn Nets or possibly the Los Angeles Lakers may become the next ‘Big 3’ to send shock waves throughout the league. The Nets appear to be the frontrunners to land Howard at this point in time, but the Lakers remain a possible trade partner.
In response to all the attempts to form ‘Big 3s’ in the NBA, Kobe Bryant acknowledged that is what the NBA has developed into via Chris Palmer of ESPN.com via Twitter:
Kobe on Big 3s: “That’s the way the league is evolving. To be competitive you gotta have three guys.”
— chris palmer (@ESPNChrisPalmer) July 10, 2012
Even if the Lakers can’t find a way to bring in Howard in exchange for Andrew Bynum via trade, Los Angeles will be a serious force to be reckoned with next season and potentially over the next few years.
With the addition of perennial All-Star point guard Steve Nash, the Lakers might have found the missing piece to the puzzle. Nash paired up with Kobe, Bynum and Pau Gasol may turn out to be the league’s best starting lineup along with Metta World Peace. Whether or not they can contend with the likes of the Heat or the revamped Nets remains to be seen.
