Lakers Rumors: Why Dwight Howard Should Be LA's Top Priority

The NBA rumor mill has been spinning at an amazing rate since the owners and players reached a tentative labor agreement. One of the more intriguing tidbits to emerge came courtesy of Mark Heisler, who reports the Los Angeles Lakers could pursue both Dwight Howard and Chris Paul.

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If Dwight Howard and Chris Paul wind up on the market — a safe assumption as far as I’m concerned — the Lakers could offer Andrew Bynum for Dwight and Pau Gasol for CP3, or vice versa. Nothing says that they will be enough to land either player, but it should put the Lakers in the running for both.

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While that would obviously be a dream scenario for the Lakers, it would be much more difficult to pull off than it's made to sound. Both Howard and Paul have numerous potential suitors, which would lead to inflated prices for both All-Stars.

That's why the Lakers should focus solely on Howard.

The three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year would bring some much-needed youthful exuberance to an aging roster. Even though it's a quality that doesn't sound like a major factor, the Lakers have seemingly become bored due to lineup stagnation.

Aside from energy, Howard is one of the best all-around big men in the league. He averaged 23 points, 14 rebounds and more than two blocks per game last season while shooting 59 percent from the field. His only easily recognizable flaw is free-throw shooting.

He'd be a sizable upgrade over Andrew Bynum, who could really benefit from a change of scenery to a place where the media scrutiny is far less prominent.

The former first-round pick has shown flashes of brilliance when healthy, but those moments haven't come often enough to be relied upon by a contender. When a player misses that much time due to injury, it frequently becomes a mental battle more than a physical one.

By contrast, Howard has never missed more than four games in any season and has a physical build that's less prone to breaking down.

Howard and Pau Gasol would be a matchup nightmare for opposing teams and their dominance in the paint would take a lot of pressure off Kobe Bryant. If they can surround those three players with a couple long-range shooters off the bench, the Lakers would be in tremendous shape.

If Paul happened to be available after Los Angeles made a deal for Howard, they could still pursue him. It just doesn't seem likely they'll be able to swing two blockbuster trades while working on them both at the same time.

After watching their championship window slowly close over the last few years, the Lakers could push it wide open again with a trade for Howard. And Paul would be a pretty awesome consolation prize.