Dwight Howard Lakers: Magic Star Obvious Next Step for Lakers

After the Los Angeles Lakers were blocked by the league in their attempt to trade for New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul, they reportedly pulled out of Paul trade talks on Saturday and are set to trade forward Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks.

The ironic thing about all of this is that because of the way things happened, the Lakers are now in prime position to land Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.

Now, there is some speculation that the Lakers are purely dumping salary at this point, and just because they are in a good position to land Howard, they may not even give him a phone call.

Tweeted Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times on Saturday:

But the reality is, the Lakers would actually be better off trading for Howard than Paul.

Paul is a superstar in the league, there's no questioning that. And adding him alongside Kobe Bryant would undoubtedly add more talent to the Lakers' roster.

But it's worth noting that it would have been hard for Paul and Bryant to coexist with one another. They both like the ball in their hands often, and Bryant isn't the pick-and-pop player that Paul flourishes with.

In that sense, Howard is the better move. You have a star shooting guard combined with a star center and, well, how do you think the Lakers won the title three years in a row with Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal?

The next logical step for the Lakers must be to go after Howard, even if they are hesitant in adding a hefty contract. Bryant isn't going to be around for much longer, and Howard would give them a last-ditch opportunity to win their sixth title in 13 years.

In the end, the league may have actually pointed the Lakers in the right direction by nixing the CP3 deal.