NBA Trade Rumors: Magic Targeting Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard Deal

With Dwight Howard making it fairly obvious that he wants out of Orlando this offseason, the Magic have been working the phones to come up with a reasonable trade.

They may have just found one.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweeted on Tuesday:

"

As Orlando works to unload Dwight Howard, Magic focusing on Lakers' Andrew Bynum as top target, sources tell Y! Sports. Story soon on site.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 3, 2012"

Update: Tuesday, July 3 at 2:12 p.m. ET

Apparently the player Magic general manager Rob Hennigan wants as part of the package is Metta World Peace, per Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com:

"

Source: Lakers are prepared to offer the Andrew Bynum and Metta World Peace to the Magic for Dwight Howard provided Howard signs extension

— Jarrod N Rudolph (@JRudolphSports) July 3, 2012"

Howard and Andrew Bynum are arguably the two best centers in the NBA. In eight seasons, Howard has averaged 18.4 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. He averaged 20.6 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks last season despite appearing unmotivated at times.

Bynum, on the other hand, came into his own last season. He averaged 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. There are questions about his commitment on defense, however, particularly after the playoffs last season.

This would be the ideal trade for the Magic.

They are at a point of no return with Howard, but landing the second-best center in the league for him isn't that bad a trade-off. Bynum is also two years younger than Howard, so he still has room to grow. He appears to be entering the prime of his career—if he can stay focused, that is.

The Lakers would be getting arguably the top talent in Howard. Combined with Kobe Bryant, it could bring back memories of Kobe and Shaquille O'Neal when they won three straight titles together.

If Howard is motivated to play in Los Angeles, it may just get the Lakers back to the promised land with some added pieces.

According to Wojnarowski, this wouldn't be a one-for-one swap.

Magic general manager Rob Hennigan reportedly desires another player from the Lakers. He also wants draft picks and wants the Lakers to take on some of the Magic's payroll moving forward.

The deal reportedly won't be made unless Bynum agrees to a contract extension (his contract runs out after the 2012-2013 season).   

Stay tuned. It's getting mighty interesting in the Magic Kingdom.