Lakers Rumors: Andrew Bynum-for-Dwight Howard Move Way Too Risky for Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Lakers are just as much in the hunt to land Dwight Howard as anyone, but it would not bode well for their franchise and would leave consequences for years to come.

The Magic's asking price for Howard isn't surprising, but it sure is risky. Here's what Yahoo! Sports insider Adrian Wojnarowski said about a potential deal on Twitter. 

"

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"

Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM also tweeted that Metta World Peace would be in the offer. 

Andrew Bynum may not be the answer to the long-lost dynamic center to pair with Kobe Bryant, but it's almost a certainty that Howard isn't, either. 

For starters, Bynum is a taller player. Howard by no means is at a disadvantage with his size, but his high-hops style of play will fade quicker than Bynum's due to that very comparison. 

Howard has proven his worth quite well after being taken No. 1 overall by the Magic in 2004, but you'd have to be living under a rock not to know of the negative consequences D-12 has bestowed upon the organization which drafted him. 

To refresh your memory, he combined lazy play with outrageous demands that eventually cost head coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith their jobs. What looked like an effort to please their franchise player and sway him to stick around has seemingly turned into a string of head-scratching moves. 

Neither man did anything that would've come close to aggravating Howard. Instead, any mistakes made by Van Gundy and Smith were in protection of keeping Howard's lofty, flippy-floppy attitude happy and motivated.

That didn't turn out so well, and Howard certainly doesn't seem willing to enter into an organization where he'll be the No. 2 guy and will have to win a handful of rings to become legendary. In fact, the Nets are the only team he'd sign long term with if traded, according to Yahoo! Sports and GM Rob Hennigan.  

If that plays out the way Howard explained it, the Lakers will trade away a top-15 player and a key starter for a player who will, in all likelihood, come in just as unmotivated, with his sights set on 2013 free agency.

The Lakers are the last team that will let a selfish player with an attitude like Dwight's waltz in and take over the franchise, and Kobe will be the first to stop him. 

I understand that Bynum has had his fair share of attitude problems, but his ego pales in comparison to Dwight's. Bynum knows his worth to the organization, but he also knows his place in it, which has allowed him to be successful as a Laker. 

Howard might be one of the only players in the NBA that probably wouldn't defer to Bryant's leadership and skill. If this move takes place, we'll immediately be talking about Howard's next team. 

Mitch Kupchak, for all things good and holy, don't ruin your franchise with a deal like this.