Magic Trade Rumors: Andrew Bynum Is Best-Case Scenario in Dwight Howard Trade

Considering the little leverage that the Orlando Magic have in trading Dwight Howard, netting Andrew Bynum in return would be the ultimate prize.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski for Yahoo! Sports, the Magic have talked to the Lakers about a deal involving Howard that would net the Magic Bynum in return. For a franchise that once saw Shaq leave town with nothing to show for it, the Magic front office would be claiming a huge victory by grabbing Bynum.

For starters, Bynum is only a slight downgrade from Howard. Sure, Howard is widely regarded as the best center in the league and has had proven success in the playoffs, but Bynum's 2012 season was nothing short of a breakthrough.

Bynum's 18.7 ppg was not only a career high, but it made him the second-highest scoring center in the league as well.

At one point in time, Bynum was considered a project player. Drafted straight out of high school, Bynum has taken a while to develop and still hasn't played a full season without injury, but he has one of the highest ceilings of any players in the game.

Bynum may never bring the game-altering defensive presence that Howard brings to the table, but he has the potential to be the type of big that you can run an offense around. By bringing in Bynum, the Magic can continue to build the roster the way that they have always done with Howard—by surrounding him with shooters and forcing the D to either allow him to dominate or double-team him and get burnt on outside shots.

With the near certainty that the Magic will be losing their franchise player, most teams will/can only offer myriad expiring contracts, role players and draft picks—most of which won't pan out to be of any significance for the Magic going forward.

However, if the Magic are able to turn Howard and one of their hefty contracts such as Hedo Turkoglu or Jason Richardson into a potential franchise player such as Bynum, they could manage to actually "win" a Dwight Howard trade.