Additional Teams the Los Angeles Lakers Can Involve in a Dwight Howard Deal

While the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets have long been rumored as the third team in a Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers deal, there are other teams out there who could swoop in.

With the Magic seemingly wanting just draft picks and cap flexibility in return for hypothetical Andrew Bynum, any team that has multiple big expiring contracts or lottery picks should be involved in discussions.

However, it's Bynum's willingness to extend with these teams that's the key. Who does that leave left vying for that third team spot? Here are some top choices for the Lakers and Magic to get involved in Howard/Bynum talks.  

Minnesota Timberwolves

Kevin Love wants winners. Kevin Love wants people who want to win.  

And if the star power forward doesn't get those type of players, Love made it clear to Yahoo!'s Marc J. Spears that it may be time to move on.

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"At this point, I’m not afraid to go on the record," Love said. "Being around these [USA] guys, they know the situation I’m in and how competitive I am. I want to win. All the players on the Timberwolves feel the same way, as well. The coaching staff is awesome. They want to win and win now. Hopefully, we can make some stuff happen.

"I would say it's coming down to it for sure [next season]. It's no secret I was willing to commit to Minnesota for five years. I'm very happy with my contract. I'd love to be in Minnesota. But like anybody else, I want to win."

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With former top-three picks Derrick Williams and Wesley Johnson dangling as trade bait, the Timberwolves have two potential young superstars that could be enticing for Orlando. The team also has enough cap space to take back Hedo Turkoglu or two of the Magic's smaller bad contracts back in a trade.

The keys here are Orlando's interest in Williams and Johnson and Bynum's willingness to stay in Minnesota long-term. If Bynum could handle the frigid Minnesota winters, the Timberwolves would rival the Lakers frontcourt for the best in basketball.  

Atlanta Hawks

If Orlando's overarching goal of any Howard deal is cap flexibility, there is no better trading partner than the Atlanta Hawks.

As it stands, the team has eight expiring contracts totaling a massive $42.36 million. These expiring contracts are led by star power forward Josh Smith, who recently recanted his repeated trade requests (per Sports Illustrated).

With the Hawks preferring to keep Smith long-term, the Magic most likely acquire center Al Horford in any deal with Atlanta. Even if that turns out to be the case, Horford's $12 million salary is paltry for a player of his caliber. For a team on the rebuild, a deal with the Hawks could open up a second bidding war for the Magic to reap the rewards from.

Houston Rockets

All things being equal, the Rockets are easily the most ideal facilitator for any Howard-to-Los Angeles deal.

Houston general manager Daryl Morey has spent the past 18 months accumulating an abundance of young talent, draft choices and expiring contracts in a voracious attempt to acquire the Rockets' first superstar since the Ming-McGrady era.

On the table are all three of Morey's first-round picks in 2012, a future lottery pick from the Toronto Raptors and the expiring contract of guard Kevin Martin. The team even has the necessary cap space to take back more bad contracts than any other team in the league.  

So what's holding this seemingly perfect deal up? Two things: Morey settling on taking the consolation prize and Bynum's full-fledged willingness to commit long-term in Houston.

At this point, the latter seems more likely. According to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski, Houston was already on Bynum's "short list" for free agency. The center also seemingly wants a superstar's responsibility with his next team (per Fox Sports' Sam Amico), something the Rockets can certainly provide.  

If Morey takes his loss and plays ball, we could have a rare win-win-win trade here.  

Cleveland Cavaliers

Long rumored to be a possible third team, the Cavaliers have seemingly emerged as the overwhelming favorite in the Andrew Bynum sweepstakes. Most rumored proposals have Cleveland sending forward Anderson Varejao, draft picks and a compilation of expiring contracts for Bynum's services. 

While the proposed deal will certainly give Orlando some of the draft picks and cap flexibility the team desires, the key to the deal is Varejao's value as a trade chip. Varejao's $8.4 million salary for 2012-13 makes him a steal by NBA standards, and he's coming off a season where he averaged a double-double for the first time in his career.

Depending on how much teams value the 29-year-old big man, the Magic could come out with a better haul than the Rockets deal while not forcing the Lakers to take back Turkoglu's contract.