NBA Trade Rumors: Los Angeles Lakers Should Give Up on Dealing for Dwight Howard

The Los Angeles Lakers need to face the fact that they aren't going to land Dwight Howard, so publicly disputing these many trade rumors is their best approach.

The Orlando Magic are going to do their best to keep Howard, and their stubborn ways will force them to not deal their best player before the March 15 trade deadline. Los Angeles would be giving up too much to get Howard anyway, so it's wise for the Lakers to just move on from trying to acquire the big center. 

This past All-Star weekend generated a ton of buzz in the rumor mill, and on Saturday it kicked off with Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel discussing a Howard trade rumor. 

"

It goes something like this: The Magic send Howard, SF Hedo Turkoglu and Nelson to the Lakers; the Magic receive Bynum and Gasol. The salaries are close to matching up, making the deal work.

A third team, the Toronto Raptors, could be part of the deal or in a separate trade with the Magic, sending PG José Calderon to Orlando.

"

On Sunday, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported a dispute of this rumor though. 

"

Magic CEO Alex Martins told the Sentinel the rumor is wrong.

"

If the Lakers are going to win big this season, the only trade they need to focus on is landing a solid point guard. Los Angeles needs better depth at the position, but trying to strike a deal for the NBA's best center will disrupt the team chemistry they've worked so hard on. 

Sure, Kobe Bryant and Howard together would be great, but that's still not enough to win it all. It's time for the Lakers to shoot down all Howard rumors and focus on doing what's necessary to get back to the NBA Finals. 

Currently in fifth place in the Western Conference and a game and a half out of first place in the Pacific Division, the Lakers have everything they need to earn a good seed in the playoffs. 

The talent is there to win big, but to solidify and greatly increase their chances, getting another point guard would be the smart move. 

In a perfect world, the Lakers would be able to get Howard and another point guard, but that's not the life we live. If it was, LeBron James never would have left Cleveland and Steve Bartman wouldn't have interfered with the foul ball. 

Drastically changing the team to land Howard is not the smart move. Andrew Bynum is coming into his own now, and the fact he's been healthy this whole season is a good sign for the future. 

The only games Bynum missed this year were the ones when the NBA suspended him for his hit on J.J. Barea in last year's playoffs. Bynum rivals Howard as the best center in the league, and he'll continue to get better throughout his career. 

Los Angeles is just fine as is, so making such a blockbuster trade for Howard needs to be forgotten. The only major shakeup the Lakers need to make to the team is when Kobe retires, then they can go out and trade for another superstar.

Right now, the current roster will compete at a high level, and the addition of a point guard will help propel the Lakers to the top.