Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: How a Last-Minute Deal with the Lakers Would Work
Now that talks with the Chicago Bulls have broken down, the Orlando Magic are looking to the Los Angeles Lakers once again as a trading partner for dealing Dwight Howard before the deadline.
According to Sporting News, the Magic are holding out for a resurgence of talks with the Lakers. Orlando apparently feels now that they won’t get a better player in any trade than Andrew Bynum from the Lakers.
Originally, trade talks between the two teams over Howard had basically shut down after the Lakers made it clear that there was no way they’d trade both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum for Howard.
Rumors persisted, but little of substance remained apparently. Now, the Magic are hoping to re-open those talks in hopes of getting Bynum and maybe a little more.
According to an ESPN report from before the start of the season, Bynum is fine with wherever he goes and seems to understand why the Lakers would want Howard.
And while the Lakers did seem prepared to deal Bynum before the season for Howard, they may not be so eager to do so now. Bynum is averaging 17 points and 12 rebounds this season and is proving that he can go through an entire season injury-free (knock on wood).
Right now, he looks like he could be as good as Howard is in a few short years, maybe even right now if he didn’t have to share shots with Gasol and Kobe Bryant.
A Magic-Lakers trade involving Howard would be an interesting one, especially if the Lakers decide they won’t do it straight up.
The salaries of Bynum and Howard don’t match up evenly, as Howard makes about four million more per year. However, the Lakers have a trade exception from the Lamar Odom trade that they could use, and if they did, they’d have to get something back from the Magic to cover that.
The Magic also have a trade exception from trading Brandon Bass that would cover pretty close to the amount that would be needed in that case.
If we leave trade exceptions out of it, the Lakers would have to include another player with a small salary. Some guys who could be involved are Luke Walton, Steve Blake, Derek Fisher or Josh McRoberts.
No matter what, though, it appears that this basic trade would be Bynum straight up for Howard. Whether the Lakers are willing to do that remains to be seen.
The Magic have wanted to unload Hedo Turkoglu’s massive contract in such a trade, but they probably wouldn’t be able to swing that with the Lakers.
If this trade does happen, it won’t happen before noon EST on Thursday. The Magic will use every last second they have to find the best deal possible for their team.
