Dwight Howard to the Lakers? Why Some NBA Trade Rumors Just Don't Make Sense

It seems like our favorite thing to do during an NBA offseason is to make up fake trades.  Heck, ESPN has developed a trade machine to help us imagine the possibilities.  We like making up fake trades in any offseason, but the rumors and speculation take on a life of their own with a lockout in progress.

Simply put, we don't have anything to talk about right now!

So let the fake trades begin.  My favorite fake trade of the offseason is "Dwight Howard to the Lakers."  When I hear this one, I just have to laugh out loud.  Seriously?  Are the Lakers trading Kobe?  Because if they aren't putting Kobe on the trade block, this trade is not going to happen.

Lakers fans throw out the possible Bynum for Howard trade all the time.  Is that a joke?  No offense to Andrew Bynum, who is a fine young player, but it doesn't make any sense. 

Bynum averages 11.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and two blocks per game.  He is only 23 years old, so keep in mind his best basketball is still ahead of him.  He makes a ton of money ($14.9 million), and his contract runs for another year.  Those numbers are pretty good, until you take a look at Dwight Howard's stat line.

Howard puts up 22.9 points per game to go along with 14.1 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.4 steals.  For good measure, Howard also shoots 59.3 percent from the field and dishes out 1.4 assists per game. 

Howard is only 25 years old, and he is putting up superior numbers while facing constant double teams.  Hey, Bynum plays with that Kobe fella, so his life is a little easier.  What if Howard played one-on-one all night?  It would be scary what he might do.

So I'll ask you this question.  If you are a Lakers fan, and the roles were reversed, would you trade Howard for Bynum?  I didn't think so.

So Lakers fans will say things like "throw in Luke Walton."  Again, are you serious?  How does this make the deal better for Orlando.  Walton hasn't played any meaningful minutes in two years.  He makes $5.6 million per year.  Why would Orlando ADD salary to any deal, especially when they are adding it for a guy that won't get quality minutes in their rotation?  Have you seen Orlando's roster? 

That roster is such a mess, and that is the source of all these trade rumors.  They know Howard is probably going to leave town in a year.  The reason?  Well, they have so many marginal players signed to mega contracts!  There is no way they can add a quality player to help Howard chase a title. 

Gilbert Arenas makes $19.2 million, Hedo Turkoglu makes $11 million, Jameer Nelson makes $8.6 million and JJ Reddick makes $6.7 million.  Throw in Howard's $18 million, and they are so far over the cap that they can't sign another good player.

So Howard is a free agent next year, and he is going to sign with a contender.  The Magic want to trade him instead of just letting him walk.  Ask Cleveland how that worked out when they just let LeBron walk. 

It won't be pretty for the Magic if Gilbert Arenas or Jameer Nelson is their best player.  No offense to those guys, but that is a good plan if the Magic want a lot of lottery balls in the hopper for that first pick in the draft.

So is there any deal that makes sense for the Lakers and Magic?  Maybe.

If the Lakers will take on a lot of salary, meaning they take on Arenas horrible contract, or if they took Turkoglu in any trade involving Howard, it might happen.  Because dumping salary will be a must in any trade involving Howard.  What good does it do to trade Howard but still have a jacked up roster?  If they are trading Howard, they are starting over.  If they are starting over, they have to clean up those books.

So Lakers fans, I've looked this over, and here is the trade I've come up with. 

The Lakers send Bynum, Lamar Odom and a first-round pick to the Magic.  In return, the Lakers get Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu.  Surely, the Magic will try to include Arenas in the deal, to dump his salary, but the Lakers will wisely refuse any deal that takes on that atrocious contract. 

So they'll take Turkoglu's contract instead.  The Lakers won't want to include Odom in any deal, because he is a valuable player, but you have to give value to get value. 

The Lakers new eight-man rotation consists of Fisher, Kobe, Artest, Pau and Howard in the starting five, with Hedo, Steve Blake and Matt Barnes as the primary subs.  This is a pretty good lineup, with the only weakness being point guard. 

Hedo could sub in at both SF and PF, which would give the Lakers some versatility.  They have three legit scorers on the floor in Kobe, Howard and Pau.  The Lakers would be a championship contender with this lineup.

The Magic now have cap relief with this trade.  If the new collective bargaining agreement includes an amnesty clause, they could waive Arenas and his contract.  They would still have to pay him, but that number would not count against their cap. 

Their new payroll would be about $57 million, and depending on the CBA, that could allow them to sign another player after this trade.  Their new eight-man rotation would be Jameer Nelson, JJ Reddick, Lamar Odom, Ryan Anderson and Bynum as a starting five, with Brandon Bass, Chris Duhon and Quentin Richardson being their top subs. 

All the Orlando Magic fans just read that last paragraph and threw up on their keyboard.

Are the Magic better after this trade?  Absolutely not!  And Lakers fans, that is why this trade won't happen.  Because no matter what kind of trade you make, when a superstar is involved, one team is always going to come out way ahead in the deal.  That's just the way it works. One team gets a whole lot better.  The other team gets screwed.  So this trade will NOT happen. 

Unless the Lakers want to throw in Kobe?