Dwight Howard & Lakers: Jim Buss Will Look Bad If He Doesn't Land Magic Center

The reported trade of reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks shocked a lot of people.

Although it would set up the Los Angeles Lakers better to land Orlando Magic star center Dwight Howard, given they would have a trade exception, there is also a growing sentiment that the Lakers are in "cost-cutting mode," via Sam Amick of SI.com.

In short, some believe owner Jerry Buss' kids are in it for the money, and that executive Jim Buss is leading this movement.

Now, even if the Lakers are legitimately going after Howard, it's going to look really bad if they don't ultimately land him and another team, like the New Jersey Nets, wins the Dwight Howard Sweepstakes.

On Sunday, Kobe Bryant voiced his displeasure over the trade of Odom.

Said Bryant, via The Los Angeles Times:

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"I don't like it. I've known Lamar for a long time, and for the team itself, he's meant a lot in terms of his versatility, his personality. He's a big presence for us in the locker room, just from a team chemistry standpoint. He's great at bringing guys together and things of that nature.

"I trust management knows what they're doing. I let them do their jobs, I never get in the way but it's tough. You're talking about sixth man of the year last year. He played lights out."

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Bryant also expressed frustration that Odom was not only being traded, but that he was being traded to the defending champion Mavericks, who swept the Lakers in the playoffs last season.

Said Bryant, "Especially to them. We were supposed to come back and get them back, know what I mean?"

It does send a bad message. Very rarely do you see someone help out an opponent who could be trouble in the playoffs, particularly in the same conference.

The attempted trade for Chris Paul wasn't exactly unloading the bank, either. In fact, one of the NBA owners' main arguments against it was that the Lakers would actually be clearing more cap space in the proposed three-team deal.

If the Lakers really want to convince everybody that they still are focused on winning a title, they will do what is necessary to land Howard.

Otherwise, you can expect more drama in Hollywood this season.