Lakers Trade Rumors: Andrew Bynum Throwing a Wrench in L.A.'s Future Plans

With it appearing more and more likely that Dwight Howard will end up being traded to the Brooklyn Nets, the Los Angeles Lakers will have good reason to blame Andrew Bynum for the team's failure to land the superstar center.

And he might not be done throwing a wrench in the Lakers' future plans.

For starters, his unwillingness to sign an extension with Orlando (according to Adrian Wojnarowski ‏of Yahoo! Sports) is likely the biggest impediment between a Lakers-Magic swap of star centers.

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Bynum has shown no inclination to agree to an immediate extension if sent to Orlando as part of a Dwight Howard package, sources tell Y!

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 8, 2012"

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The Lakers are far more confident Howard would have reasons to re-sign with them, than Magic have that Bynum would in a rebuild in Orlando.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 8, 2012"

In all fairness, if Dwight Howard gets to dictate a trade to Brooklyn by refusing to sign an extension with any other team, Bynum has the right to say, "I have no desire to play in Orlando." It would be a hard sell going from a Lakers team that is a championship contender to a Magic squad in a rebuilding mode.

And unfortunately for the Lake Show, it appears that Bynum already has other teams lined up if he doesn't sign a long-term extension with his current team. We return to the tweets of Wojnarowski:

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Without an extension with Lakers, Andrew Bynum has a short list of teams he will consider in 2013 free agency, league sources tell Y!

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 8, 2012"

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Among Bynum's short list of potential free agent landing spots in 2013, Houston is prominent with Dallas and Cleveland, sources tell Y!

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 8, 2012"

So now, Lakers fans, you could be looking at a team devoid of any star centers in 2013. Now, I would guess the most likely scenario remains that Bynum will remain with the Lakers, but that is certainly not guaranteed.

And Bynum has proven he can be a bit unpredictable (see: immature) up to this point in his career. What if he decides that he doesn't like playing under Mike Brown any longer? What if he decides that he's tired playing second fiddle to Kobe Bryant?

What if he decides that he's done with the Lakers, tells them he won't re-sign with them, demands a trade this season and loafs around until he gets it? 

There are doomsday scenarios, but Bynum has likely already kept Howard out of town and now apparently has started to make contingency plans should he decide to leave Los Angeles. Whether he realizes it or not, he holds a lot of power in his hands.

That includes the power to thwart the Lakers' future plans.