Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum Offer Up a Glimpse of the Future—In Reverse?

Imagine this if you will: It's 2014, and the Chicago Bulls are coming off a championship run in 2013 and are pushing for another.

The Heat of yesteryear (this year) are no more, with Chris Bosh having been traded to Sacramento for DeMarcus Cousins, a move which turns out to be a colossal bust.

The Boston Celtics are in the midst of a rebuilding effort, as core pieces such as Garnett and Allen have been golfing every day for the last year.

San Antonio has aged and is a middle-of-the-road club, while Dallas is still clinging to life with Dirk in his final years and Monta Ellis trying to learn to distribute like Jason Kidd while still scoring like Allen Iverson.

Meanwhile, the last two contenders of musty, old 2011, the Lakers and Orlando, are facing off with their two giants, No. 12 and No. 17, ready to do battle. Only this time, No. 12 is in purple, with No. 17 in white with blue pinstripes.

Now, here we are back in the real world. Does this future between the Lakers and Orlando make sense? Could Orlando even fathom the thought of trading Dwight Howard for a package including Andrew Bynum?

The answer is a resounding "yes," and here's why.

While Howard is a superstar, and Bynum's injury woes have been well-documented, the Magic have to understand that Howard leaving Orlando is a foregone conclusion.

His dreams of acting and his personal magnetism are going to push him toward Hollywood anyway, and because they are financially strapped and unable to upgrade around him, the Magic appear unlikely to woo him with the championship he so covets either this year or the next.

The days of losing one's superstar to free agency, though, are over. Just as in baseball, NBA teams are learning that trading your star before he bolts is the way to go, and that's what Orlando should do this offseason. And trading for Bynum would be the only way to get even close to fair value.

Big men control the game on both ends, and there isn't another big man like Howard in the game except for Bynum. The Lakers big man can put up 15 and 15 on any given night and is young enough to make a trade worth it.

The Magic would have to have another player in the deal, of course, such as a Lamar Odom in order to make the deal work, but a haul such as that would severely lessen the blow of Howard leaving.

Is this scenario likely to take place? Of course not.

But is it realistically the Magic's only option if Howard does not sign his extension this summer? Definitely.

Learn from the past, Orlando. Shaq left for nothing, and Bynum would look pretty good in pinstripes.