Lakers Trade Rumors: LA Must Make Bynum-for-Howard Swap Before Another Team Acts

The Dwight Howard trade fiasco must come to an end eventually.

The Los Angeles Lakers must be the team to put an end to this circus before another team pulls the trigger on a deal to acquire Howard.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Lakers have discussed a deal with the Orlando Magic to bring the big guy to the West Coast:

"

Orlando officials are willing to discuss trades for Howard, and the Lakers have been one of the teams in touch with them over the weekend, sources said. The Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets have also talked to Magic officials, sources said.

"

Wojnarowski goes on to say that there is no way that the Lakers are going to bring Howard to Los Angeles without sending Andrew Bynum to the Magic.

The Lakers' brass had Bynum on the table earlier in the year, so there shouldn't be any problem now, right? Wrong. Apparently there is, as nothing has happened yet.

There's simply no reason why a deal to sacrifice Bynum for Howard shouldn't be carried out by the Lakers.

Sure, there must be reservations about Howard's back and the surgery that cost him 12 games at the end of last season, but Bynum has his own health issues. He's played just two full seasons out of the seven that he has been in the league. 

Before last season, Howard missed seven games in seven years. That's absolutely unheard of for a near seven-footer who puts up the numbers that Howard does.

If the Lakers don't step in and make a move, another team is going to.

The Brooklyn Nets have been in the conversation to get Howard for a long time, but they have so many things on their agenda that it's impossible to tell where they're going.

The Houston Rockets have plenty of assets to send to Orlando if they want to work a deal out. They draft Royce White, Jeremy Lamb and Terrence Jones. Kyle Lowry could also be a piece, as he is getting shopped.

Bynum isn't that far behind Howard offensively. Howard averaged two more points per game, but he was the center of the offense, while Bynum took a back seat to Kobe Bryant.

Where Howard does clearly surpass Bynum is in terms of defense and overall presence. Howard averaged 2.1 blocks per game last season and pulled down two more defensive rebounds a night than Bynum.

The thought of Howard in the paint on both ends scares opposing coaches more than the thought of Bynum does.

There's no way to defend how Howard has gone about his business over the last year, but Bynum has some issues of his own. He was chastised by fans and media alike for his immaturity issues. The only difference is that Howard is always able to perform at an elite level despite his off-court issues, while Bynum's play seems to suffer.

Nobody knows if Howard will veto a deal to the Lakers, because he's flip-flopped plenty of times during this saga, but the Lakers need to offer this swap to the Orlando front office.

If they don't, they'll regret it in the future.