NBA Free Agency Rumors: Kobe, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul the New Big Three?

Los Angeles Lakers fans must be loving all this right about now. Not only is the NBA lockout over as the season is set to begin on Dec. 25, but the forthcoming period of player movement is gifting the Lakers with two high-profile rumors. As everything unravels and unwraps, Christmas couldn't come earlier for the Lake Show.

Sure, all these Dwight Howard leaving the Magic rumors have been spelling the Lakers all throughout the longest offseason in years. But now, Chris Paul's name has joined the party like it was New York.

Barring CP3 joining Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire in the new Knicks Mecca at Madison Square Garden for the second coming of the big three, Paul looks primed for Showtime.

If Kobe really was joined by some new "superfriends," this really would be the new big three—a true super-team that would be the makings of dreams coming true. These really would be some heroes to marvel at.

The Lakers would seem destined for the ring like the Green Lantern. As they look to rebound from last year's loss to a champion Dallas Mavericks team, you might as well call them "The Avengers" coming to NBA theatres soon.

Right now, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are the biggest three in the league, but Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul would be something else. There's little difference between Kobe and LeBron and Paul and Wade. However, Dwight is bigger, stronger and, ultimately, better than Bosh.

What an NBA finals and lockout-soured ratings rebound this would make for the league. Who would win is almost anyone's guess. It's all down to a matter of opinion. Who would you take?

The Lakers' supporting cast in Hollywood would be the deciding factor. Sure, Miami has a decent talent pool behind 'Bron in South Beach, but the Lakers have more stars that already give them their own big three without Dwight and CP3.

How about a big five? Even if the Lakers would have to give up the talents of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol to get their one, two, big three, ring, they still have plenty in reserve. Reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lamar Odom and former Defensive Player of the Year Metta World Peace are still stars that go beyond their names or the celebrity names they are associated with.

Still, even if this wild fantasy becomes an incredible reality, should the Lakers give up Bynum for Howard and Gasol for Paul? Obviously, there are pros and cons for each argument.

Bynum's knees are a threat, but his promise to be one of the last great centres in this league is a potential that already proved Kobe and a Jason Kidd trade wrong. Shipping him out may not be the answer.

Howard may be big and strong and one of the best blockers in the NBA, but does 'Drew fit in better? Gasol is skilled to the max and one of the world's best, but Chris Paul is one of the best point guards ever. The Lakers have needed a true PG for years, and with some inconsistencies in Gasol an issue, the Lakers have other forwards to think about.

It all depends on Lamar Odom, as the sixth man looks to come off the bench for an All-Star year. If L.O. can fill the empty space left by Gasol, then the Lakers really have a team to be reckoned with, but if the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Hornets demand Odom in a package deal, then it's over.

A lineup of Howard, Odom, Artest, Bryant and Paul with the clutch of Derek Fisher coming off the bench as a sixth man sounds like a championship. Losing Bynum, Gasol and Odom sounds like a poor deal.

Even if the Lakers make this blockbuster deal, losing key players like Gasol and Bynum still sounds like a twist to this happy ending. These guys are good and proven enough to win on the biggest stage. Still, nobody gets to where they want to be without sacrifice.

The idea of Howard and Paul joining Kobe and the Lakers is reminiscent of when Shaq and Kobe were joined by legends Karl Malone and Gary Payton in pursuit for a championship. Sure, the plan didn't work, but it still was a great year and a great team.

Malone and Payton may go down in NBA history as better players, but there is still a difference. When "The Glove" and "The Mailman" came to the Lakers, they we're on the downside of their careers. Howard and Paul are in their legacy-making prime. It doesn't get much better than this.

Still, everything right now is just talk, and Dwight and Chris' silence may speak louder than our words. If this is Howard's end in Orlando, and if the rumors buzzing about Paul leaving the Hornets is true, then the Lakers could very well find their purple and gold again.

In the future, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul will have the lasting legacies of raising their jerseys to the rafters. Right now, they have the legendary makings of a championship. The rings are almost guaranteed, but are the changes?