Lakers Trade Rumors: LA Would Give Up Too Much in Newest Dwight Howard Scenario

After a few weeks of inactivity, trade talks between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic have heated up once again.

According to Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski, the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers could reportedly make up the second half of a four-team trade. Wojnarowski lays out the potential landing spots here: 

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"There are other players involved in these fluid talks, but a framework of the possible deal includes Howard and Denver forward Al Harrington going to the Lakers, Philadelphia guard Andre Iguodala going to the Nuggets, Los Angeles center Andrew Bynum moving to the 76ers, and Los Angeles forward Pau Gasol and Denver guard Arron Afflalo going to the Magic, sources told Yahoo! Sports."

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All other things aside, the Lakers would receive Dwight Howard and Al Harrington for Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. No matter how badly Mitch Kupchak and the rest of the Los Angeles front office want Howard to play for the Lakers, this reported deal has them giving up too much.

It is one thing to give up one All-Star center for another. Howard is clearly a better player than Bynum, so swapping one big man for another would have been a good deal for the Lakers.

This proposed deal would have them giving up Gasol for Harrington. The talent gap between Howard and Bynum isn't huge, but there is still a gap. The talent gap between Gasol and Harrington is bigger than the one that lies between the two centerpieces of the deal.

Even if you disagree, sending Gasol elsewhere would be bad news for the simple fact that Kobe Bryant would be absolutely infuriated. Gasol and Kobe have won championships together, and by all accounts are very fond of each other. If Gasol is shipped off, Kobe is not going to be very happy.

Before the Olympic Games began, Bryant had this to say regarding Gasol's status with the Lakers (per the AP's Brian Mahoney via Twitter):

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Kobe, answering a question from a Spanish reporter about Pau's status with the Lakers: "As long as I'm there, he's going to be there."

— Brian Mahoney (@briancmahoney) July 21, 2012"

There you have it. The Black Mamba is set on playing with Gasol for as long as he remains with the Lakers. If we've learned one thing since Bryant broke into the league in 1996, it's that if he is unhappy, everybody is unhappy.

Forget about what Kobe thinks for a second. If Gasol gets traded, the Lakers would be swapping one of the most versatile power forwards in the game for Harrington, a guy who can't do anything but shoot.

Gasol can score in the post, pass in the post, rebound, step back for a perimeter shot and find the open man on the outside. Harrington can literally do nothing but shoot the ball.

Gasol knows how to play with Bryant, who is a very fickle guy to work with. He's one of the best scorers the game has ever seen, but he can get pouty occasionally.

What is Kobe going to do if Al Harrington starts chucking up shots night after night? He's not going to be happy about it.

The Lakers would be trading two of the three players that helped them win back-to-back titles. Howard is one of the best players in the game today, but he's not worth gutting an already championship-caliber team.