Lakers Rumors: Los Angeles Has Early Talks, but No Progress on Dwight Howard

In the Dwight Howard Sweepstakes, the Lakers are still making a play to get the coveted big man. Yesterday they initiated talks with the Orlando Magic for a trade, but the results were not promising. According to the LA Times, 

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The Lakers spoke briefly with Orlando on Tuesday about the availability of center Dwight Howard, the Times has learned, a conversation described as "cursory" by a league official with knowledge of the situation.

Translation: The discussion was unproductive.

In fact, no trade proposals were even exchanged.

Howard and New Orleans guard Chris Paul can become free agents after the season, and the Lakers have now had brief talks with both teams regarding the perennial All-Stars. The Lakers were "not even close" to striking a deal with New Orleans, according to a person familiar with the Lakers' thinking who was not authorized to speak publicly.

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The Lakers will have to hang their hopes on obtaining both stars on the pet that they will insist on playing together in LA and turn down trades to anyone else. 

While that's an unlikely scenario it's not entirely impossible. 

For now the reality is that the Lakers apparently were putting a lot more stock in what they felt the value of Bynum and Odom for Howard and Gasol for Paul does not have the appeal they thought it would. 

The injury prone Bynum is a difficult player to build a team around simply because there's no assurance that he will survive a season. He has failed to play a complete season all but one time in his six-year career. There is also the fact that his contract expires in two years and thus could leave the Magic in the same situation they are in right now. 

It's hard to see what the Lakers can add to their offer to be more appealing to the Magic. They simply don't have young players to build around, and that appears to be what the Hornets and Magic are looking for.