Miami Heat should trade LeBron James for Howard, Love, Stoudemire

The Miami Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in crushing fashion, dropping the final 3 games of the series after leading the series 2-1. The Mavericks were able to expose The Big Three, in particular LeBron James, with great defenses that the star couldn't handle.

James was -36 in the +/- statistic, which was a series low and meant that the Heat were scoring more efficiently when James was sitting on the bench.

James has also proven that he is not the leader of the Heat and that Dwyane Wade remains the leader since winning the NBA Title in 2006.

After Game 4, the Mavericks' DeShawn Stevenson claimed that James had checked out.

Not only has James' play been suspect on the court, James has been a problem off the court as well.

He has received heated criticism since joining the Heat in an infamous ESPN broadcast dubbed The Decision.

After the NBA Finals ended, he lashed out at critics in his 'get a life' press conference.

With all these factors in mind, James is still one of the best players in the league and perhaps one of the most talented basketball players ever.

Throughout the NBA Finals, the most uncomfortable scene was seeing James and Wade try to interact together. Both appeared to be want to be and also want to let the other be the man.

Chris Bosh showed he can do his part for the Heat, but Mavericks exposed the Heat's lack of additional interior presence.

The Heat might be better served looking towards another model for The Big Three.

The San Antonio Spurs dominated with Tim Duncan in his prime winning four championships. Their most effective season was in 2003 when Tim Duncan and David Robinson combined to form the Twin Towers.

With Wade as the scorer and Bosh already in place, the Miami Heat might look towards complementing Bosh with another big man inside.

In fact, the best center in the league is right in their own state of Florida in Dwight Howard.

ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy proposed a Howard-James swap shortly after Game 6.

The combination of Wade, Howard, and Bosh would be unstoppable.

Since the Orlando Magic haven't won in the playoffs with Howard anyways, Orlando would jump all over this deal since they might lose Howard next year.

Howard has already stated his intention to become a free agent after the season is over.

I want to win a championship, Howard told nba.com. I think the owners have to really know that. That's been my goal and my mission since I've been in the NBA - to win a championship.

If the Miami Heat can't complete a deal for Howard, other great big man options to target include Kevin Love and Amare Stoudemire.

Love was the NBA's Most Improved Player leading the NBA in rebounding at 15.2 per game including a 53 game double-double streak. The Minnesota Timberwolves would jump all over this deal, though James probably wouldn't want to go to the city.

James would like New York, where the Knicks' Amare Stoudemire signed last year as a free agent. Stoudemire had a dominate season last year averaging 25.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

The Knicks were known to covet James last year during free agency and James was reportedly very interested in New York.

Either way, the Heat should look towards the future, and that future may include trading LeBron James.

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Correction: Tim Duncan won four championships.