In an eventful N.B.A. off-season, a curious thing happened: One of the greatest players to play the game — a sure Hall of Famer — was traded for spare parts in a salary dump. If that were not bad enough, the team that acquired him then bought out his contract and released him.
Weeks later, the same situation is playing out for another certain Hall of Famer.
We are, of course, talking about Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony, two players as polarizing as they are accomplished. For much of their careers, they were in the game’s highest tier, widely considered to be top 10 players, if not top five.