Deron Williams vs Dwight Howard: What the Los Angeles Lakers Want and Truly Need

Whenever the NBA lockout ends, the final product that emerges from the chaos will no doubt change the financial landscape and structure of the league forever, but how much will those changes weigh on the coveted free-agent class of 2012?

Unless I am mistaken, in the summer of 2012 Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams and New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul will all become unrestricted free agents, and nothing that transpires in the lockout negotiations will change that.

Some people feel Williams may be the most likely of the trio to seek a change of address since the trade that brought him to the Nets was a preemptive move on the part of his former team the Utah Jazz, who did not want to find themselves left in the same place LeBron James left Cleveland.

Williams in New Jersey seems forced, and I'm not sure if Jay-Z and a move to Brooklyn, NY will be enough to convince Williams the Nets are serious when it comes to building a consistent playoff contender.

Paul has spent his entire career as a Hornet, but during a toast at Carmelo Anthony's wedding, he also expressed a desire of forming their own version of a super team, similar to James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

Then there were Howard's subtle comments made during the 2011 NBA All-Star weekend where he said that he would love to play with No. 24, Kobe Bryant. Sources also say that Howard wants to be a Laker. 

Of course, none of that is a sign that any of those players will leave their current teams or be traded by the 2012 deadline, but if recent history is any indication, there is a pretty good chance that at least one and maybe all of them will be playing somewhere else next season.

At any rate, there will be a number of teams who will openly and secretly begin vying for the services of Williams, Howard and Paul as soon as the lockout ends, but will the Los Angeles Lakers be one of those teams?

Lakers team president Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak have not indicated if the Lakers will make a run at any of the 2012 elite players, but if they do, it should be based on needs over wants.

If I were making a list, Howard and Paul would certainly fall on the wants side of the paper.

Paul is generally considered the league's top point guard, and that status may play some part in his free-agent value on the market.

While whoever wins the benefit of Paul's services will likely pay a hefty price, the cost for wooing and winning the rights to Howard will likely be astronomical.

Many Lakers fans, including myself, have fantasized about Howard in purple and gold, but in reality the price tag for Howard or Paul is likely too high.

But maybe not for Williams, because if the Lakers are really interested in testing the elite free-agency waters, Williams would fit the Lakers' greatest need almost perfectly.

The Lakers are in dire need of a legitimate starting point guard if you've been paying attention the past few years, and Williams' size and strength would make him an ideal complement to Kobe Bryant in the backcourt.

With Williams, the Lakers would potentially have the biggest starting five in the NBA, and they might not have to destroy their team in order to rebuild it.

Acquiring Howard would probably mean parting with some combination of Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol along with Lamar Odom and any number of the younger players on the Lakers' roster, as well as draft picks.

Howard is a great player, but is he really worth blowing up your entire roster?

To sign Williams, the Lakers would still have to make some difficult decisions, but they could probably field a team in 2012 that would be mostly familiar to fans.

Williams is not the franchise-building-block player that Howard and maybe Paul is, but he would immediately make the Lakers a strong title favorite, and he would also serve as a nice bridge between Bryant and the future.

I will not entirely give up on the idea of signing Howard until he either re-signs with Orlando or another team, because the Lakers have built their franchise by making the deals that no one ever sees coming.

But if Howard does prove to be an unrealistic target, then Williams is not a bad consolation prize, especially if you consider the Lakers actually need a point guard a little more than they need a center anyway.