Lakers Rumors: Dwight Howard Won't Wear Purple and Gold Until Jim Buss Gets Real

Dwight Howard won't be a member of the Los Angeles Lakers unless Andrew Bynum is sent back to join the Orlando Magic, and Bynum won't join the Magic until Jim Buss gets over himself and understands that acting in the best interest of the organization is more important than making his mark on the team.

Buss, the son of Jerry Buss and the heir to the Lakers franchise, has spent the last several years exerting his influence on the day-to-day operations around the Staples Center, much to the detriment of the Purple and Gold.

Jim was the one who pushed for Mike Brown to replace Phil Jackson as the head coach, thereby overlooking longtime assistant and former Laker Brian Shaw as well as future Hall of Famer Rick Adelman, who reluctantly signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves over the summer.

More importantly, Buss, whose official title at the moment is that of Executive Vice President of Player Personnel, is the one most responsible for the selection of Andrew Bynum with the 10th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. Admittedly, he did well to recognize a 17-year-old Bynum's tremendous talent and potential and to push general manager Mitch Kupchak to bring him aboard.

However, Buss' affection for Bynum, his twisted paternalistic desire to see Bynum succeed so as to validate his own basketball acumen, has since become a hindrance to the team's ability to win now and into the foreseeable future.

Bynum is far and away the Lakers' most attractive bargaining chip. He's a legitimate seven-footer, he's young (he turned 24 in October), he's strong (285 pounds) and, when he's healthy and he's focused, he's one of the best true centers in the NBA today, if not one of the only true centers in the NBA today.

Of course, longevity and maturity are big ifs that have dogged and will continue to dog Bynum until he proves otherwise. Drew hasn't played a full slate since the 2006-07 season, having been victimized by freak in-game injuries to each of his knees and the subsequent toll that such setbacks tend to take on an athlete's body, particularly one as big as Bynum's.

He'll also miss the first five games of the truncated 2011-12 season on account of a league suspension handed down after Bynum decked JJ Barea in Game 4 of the Lakers' pitiful performance against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 playoffs.

The Lakers are well aware of all this, as are most teams, yet Kupchak has appeared either unwilling or unable to send away Bynum in a deal for a bona fide superstar like Dwight Howard, even though other teams are still somewhat eager to take a chance on him.

So who or what is holding him back? All signs point to Buss, who, shadowy as he's been, still appears to be more interested in using the team to boost his own ego and prove that he can make and has made solid decisions than in building a roster capable of winning championships through the twilight of Kobe Bryant's career and beyond.

Because, realistically, this Lakers team is getting old, with most of the principles (Kobe, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Metta World Peace, Derek Fisher) already into their 30s, and is without a true heir-apparent to the Black Mamba.

In the meantime, Buss seems content to allow time to tick on by while he waits for Bynum to be that guy, even though it's become abundantly clear to anyone who follows the Lakers that he isn't. What Jim Buss doesn't understand, at this point, is that his legacy as a basketball executive would be much better served by the Lakers continuing to win titles, of which they've captured 10 on his father's watch.

And that, from a personnel standpoint, swapping out Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard gives the team a much better chance to do just that. Howard is everything the Lakers need for their front court—a big man who's tough, tremendously athletic, can defend and rebound like no one at any position, has a burgeoning offensive repertoire and, most importantly, will turn 26 next month.

But don't bother Jim Buss with that sort of "nonsense". He apparently lives in a world where torn ligaments heal completely, never to be heard from again. He's more interested in feeding his own ego than building a champion.

Until someone, be it Jerry Buss, his sister Jeanie Buss, Mitch Kupchak or even Kobe, is able to give him a dose of reality, the Lakers will continue to lose ground to the Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

And—dare I say it?—the Los Angeles Clippers.