Dwight Howard to L.A. Lakers: Are He and Kobe Bryant Enought to Win NBA Title?

The Lakers find themselves, for the first time in a long time, struggling to find an identity.

While many believe that as constructed they can still compete for an NBA title, their abysmal playoffs series against that Mavericks would prove otherwise.

Los Angeles is no longer generating the type of respect or instilling the type of fear into teams that they once did. At this point, you would be hard-pressed to even consider the Lakers a dominant team.

This is no disrespect toward Kobe Bryant and company. They have done a spectacular job contending for championships year in and year out.

However, given their recent struggles, it is no wonder they are considered one of the teams to be serious about trading for Dwight Howard.

Howard would be quite an addition to the Lakers. Last season, he averaged 22.9 points, 14.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, single-handedly leading the Magic to the playoffs.

Pair him along side Kobe’s 25.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game, and you have a center-guard duo that rivals the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe pairing from nearly a decade ago.

Acquisition of Howard instantly puts the Lakers back into relevancy, and revives what seems to be a diminishing team morale and concept.

However, along with a Howard acquisition comes a posing question: Are Kobe and Howard enough?

Forget about whether or not obtaining Howard is realistic for Los Angeles, and focus on the impact he and Kobe would have together.

This seems like a dumb question, with an obvious answer, especially given the success Kobe and Shaq had together. Truthfully though, the answer is not so obvious.

The landscape of the NBA is changing. It is not what it was a couple of years ago.

Miami has formed a super-team, and New York is in the process of trying to form one of their own.

Dallas proved this past year that multiple superstars are not necessary for winning a title, though.  However, such a summation came with a caveat. 

The Mavericks may have beaten the Heat, proving super-teams can be defeated, but they also proved you need team depth to do this.

Los Angeles would arguably have a super-team of their own with Kobe and Howard, but it would be an unsteady one at best.

Kobe is aging, and will not play at a high level forever. And Howard cannot do it by himself. The Lakers will need to rely on their role players to push them over the championship plateau.

And the current lockout aside, here lies the problem.

Orlando will most certainly be reluctant to deal Howard, which means any hypothetical trade would more than likely decimate the Lakers roster.

Obtaining Howard would cost Los Angeles Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom at the very least, and both were an integral part of the Lakers system last year.

Acquiring Howard will mean sacrificing immediate depth, and the Lakers need to decide if this is in fact, a risk they are willing to take.

Los Angeles could always deal now and worry about finding a supporting cast later, but after any Howard deal, they will be restricted in both assets and cap room.

Additionally, the Lakers cannot count on a third star accepting less money to come play for them 

Can Kobe and Howard bring a title back to Los Angeles?

Probably.

But they cannot do it alone.