Lakers Trade Rumors: Why Kobe Bryant-Dwight Howard Egos Could Clash Like Shaq

Many will argue that a deal involving Dwight Howard and Chris Paul both possibly going to the Los Angeles Lakers to play alongside Kobe Bryant impossible.

However, as a fan of the Miami Heat, I have found out that impossible is nothing and that any player has a chance to join any team if the conditions are right. In this particular case, it's highly unlikely that the Lakers do end up picking up both players, but we still have to carry some sentiment that the Lakers do have a chance of grabbing Paul and Howard.

They won't have any money to spend afterwards, but they'll have Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul on the same team, and that's what the fans come to see. 

The conditions are right for both players as well, since many expect both players to depart from their current franchises in order to heavily pursue a championship with a team that's strong enough to make it to that point. Dwight and the Magic have made it to the Finals once in his time there, but have regressed since then, while Chris and the Hornets haven't made it past the second round of the playoffs.

Both are set to become free agents in the summer of 2012, but both could also be on the move as soon as the start of the 2011-'12 season. The teams are pondering the thought of moving their superstars because of the high risk that they have of allowing the players to test free agency and weigh out their options. Instead of just letting the players walk, the organizations might trade them before they become free agents so that they can get something out of them.

The Lakers are one of the only teams to discuss obtaining Paul and Howard, and there is the appeal of playing on a prestigious organization like the L.A. Lakers, as well as playing alongside one of the greatest basketball players to ever live in Kobe Bryant. As I stated before, this is highly unlikely, but please at least consider it possible.

So let's just say for speculation purposes that the Lakers manage to obtain Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic while getting rid of Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Luke Walton in the process. In what is eerily similar to what happened in 1995, Dwight Howard pulls a Shaquille O'Neal by jetting from Orlando and then joining the L.A. Lakers.

The Lakers would see their fair share of success as they had seen in their days with the duo of O'Neal and Bryant. A championship or two could be in the future, but there's no doubt that this team would cause some serious damage in the Western Conference. Rather than having the inconsistent Gasol and the oft-injured Bynum, the Lakers thrive with the most domineering post presence in the league in Howard and the most lethal player in the game in Bryant.

Seems like a match made in a dream, right? But what would happen if these two players with these two incredibly large egos do team up and it doesn't work out the way that it was meant to be? Say, for instance, that Bryant has trouble letting go of the reins of this Laker team when his career begins its decline while Howard's only beginning to enter his prime.

Bryant constantly pursued being regarded as a first option on the Lakers, and he finally got his wish with the departure of Shaquille O'Neal. After a few mediocre years and the acquisition of Pau Gasol, Bryant became a two-time champion and won his first Finals MVPs after the first three MVPs went to O'Neal. With a big time player in Howard joining the team, Bryant might begin to feel that his power over the franchise is being usurped by one of the NBA's most likable figures.

Not to mention that both players have short fuses, with Bryant known to go off on his teammates and Howard getting frustrated easily which you can clearly tell on account of the immaturity he shows on the court when picking up costly technical fouls. Howard led the league in techs last year with an absurd 18 and will be the only player to possibly challenge Rasheed Wallace in the amount of technical fouls they receive.

Howard being immature and Bryant wanting his players to play near-perfect basketball is an extremely deadly combination that the Lakers may not want to mix. Kobe is a player that strives for greatness, and he won't have his superstar teammate erase points off the board while giving the opponent points because he got angry over a missed foul call. It takes a lot of restraint and patience to be on a team with the likes of Bryant, and Howard may not have that in him.

You also have to consider if Howard is actually ready to become a second scoring option. Kobe Bryant is going to be the first option on the team, no matter who joins him, and Howard may not be accustomed and keen to the idea of playing the role of sidekick to Bryant. He's been a first option since he joined the league, and I find it difficult to believe that Howard would be willing to take a pay cut, leave the adoration and love of the Magic fanbase and become a second option.

Perhaps the largest reason why these two could clash and what troubles me is what could transpire in a few years when Bryant is nearing retirement while Howard is attempting to usurp the role as No. 1 scoring option. Bryant isn't the type of player who will admit that his play is declining, as he will continue to give the same effort and drive that he's given into every game since playing his first game as an 18-year-old in 1996.

If the coaching staff feels that Howard is ready to take over and that Bryant is no longer fit to be the primary scoring option, it could mean bad news for all involved, as Kobe will not be looking forward to becoming a second option on any team after having to endure living in Shaquille O'Neal's shadow for the first eight years of his career.

With both players fighting for the role of primary scorer and the possible clashing of two tremendously large egos, this far-fetched idea by the Los Angeles Lakers may be dead before it even gets off the ground.