NBA Trade Rumors: Andrew Bynum's Play Complicates Dwight Howard Trade for Lakers

If you had the opportunity to swap Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard, you'd pull the trigger every time, wouldn't you?

Thing is, the Los Angeles Lakers might not and the Orlando Magic wouldn't necessarily be all too eager to oblige.

Howard's trade request still stands, though he doesn't expect to move anytime soon, so long as the Magic keep winning.

Meanwhile, the Lakers are 6-4, 4-2 since Bynum's return, and would probably be lucky to nab home-court advantage of any sort in the Western Conference playoffs with the team as currently constituted and Kobe Bryant's wrist as mangled as it is.

Not that the Lakers' middling play is necessarily any fault of Bynum's. The young-but-oft-injured big man has been stellar thus far, averaging 18.8 points on 14 shots with 15.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks through his first six games.

And, frankly, his numbers should be even better. He's missed his fair share of "gimmes" and has been drastically underutilized amidst Kobe's usual spate of shot hoarding and his own adjustment to Mike Brown's offensive scheme.

All told, Bynum has played like the second-best center in the NBA and, at times, has looked like the best pivot the league has to offer.

Not often, but at times. Bynum is a bit more refined offensively than Howard is, but can't quite measure up to Howard's All-World defensive prowess or Superman's clean bill of health. 

Still, Bynum appears to be more than ready to take that long-awaited next step into the upper echelon if he hasn't already. For the first time in years, Bynum spent the offseason resting his body and working on his game rather than recuperating from surgery, and the difference has shown so far.

If Bynum keeps playing at his current pace, or even improves, you can bet there will be some whispers around Staples Center about hanging onto him, even if the Magic come calling.

And by whispers, I'm referring, of course, to the mullet of Jim Buss, the son of Lakers owner Jerry Buss and Bynum's No. 1 fan. Buss is the man who pushed for GM Mitch Kupchak to select Bynum in the 2005 NBA Draft and, as the owner-in-waiting, wants to shape the franchise to his liking. Buss had seemingly softened his stance on Bynum as untouchable in trade talks in recent months, though seeing his star play this well could ostensibly lead Buss to retreat back to his previous stance.

Even so, if Orlando GM Otis Smith is willing to move Howard for Bynum and doesn't insist on Pau Gasol's inclusion, then the Lakers would seemingly have no choice but to go through with it, regardless of how well Bynum plays or how distracted Howard appears to be in Orlando.

Because, in the end, Dwight Howard is the best big man in basketball, a franchise-caliber superstar at center capable of carrying on the Lakers' long line of Hall of Fame pivots and smoothing the transition into the post-Kobe era.

Bynum, on the other hand, has plenty of upside, but is injury-prone, immature and not nearly as affable as Superman himself.

The decision appears to be an easy one, at least for everyone who doesn't work in the Lakers' front office. Fans of the Purple and Gold can only hope the folks in charge will make the right call when the time comes.

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