NBA Trade Rumors: Dwight Howard Not Worth Risk for Lakers

Any hopes that the Lakers and their fans had of acquiring Dwight Howard are now non-existent. There is nothing, not even an NBA Championship, that would be worth what they would have to risk by bringing Howard to Los Angeles. 

This stems from a report by Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk, who said that a trade would still leave Howard as a free agent after the season.

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Lakers radio play-by-play man (and long-time Los Angeles sports personality) John Ireland reported on Tuesday that Dwight Howard’s agent Donald Fegan told the Lakers his client will not sign an extension if traded to the Lakers.

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To give you a rough idea of what Howard would cost the Lakers, take a look at what Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel had to say on Sunday:

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The scuttlebutt is that the Magic would send Howard,Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson to the Lakers and the Magic would receive Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. 

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In other words, if you don't bring Howard back, you've lost your second- and third-best players for two role players and a superstar rental. 

I'll tell you this right now. If the Lakers go through with this deal, don't lose another game for the rest of the year, win the title, but don't get Howard back, then they got taken. This is a franchise that needs to begin thinking about the future. Kobe Bryant does not have a long time left in the NBA and if the Lakers made that deal but couldn't manage to lock Dwight up, they will be in for years of futility. 

If Howard doesn't want to sign an extension, it logically means that he wants to test the waters to see what kind of money he can get and what teams might be interested in him. That is the last thing that the Lakers or any team making a trade wants. 

Los Angeles is better off staying put. Yes, it probably means that they're not going to be real title contenders this year, but keeping the core together gives them something to build on for the immediate future. 

You have to gamble in the NBA to win. That is an acquired risk that needs to be understood. However, if you're being asked to gamble your entire future for a player that's making no bones about wanting to test the free agent waters, no payoff is worth it. 

The Lakers would have to move way too much, while getting nothing meaningful guaranteed in return. Going through with that move would defy all logic. 

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