Lakers Rumors: Dwight Howard Distraction Will Doom LA, If Trade Isn't Made Soon

Trade or no trade, Dwight Howard or no Dwight Howard, the Los Angeles Lakers—heck, the NBA as a whole—need something definitive to happen soon, lest the 2011 season devolve into a 66-game circus.

The loss of Lamar Odom was damaging enough on its own. Just about every Laker questioned at media day about the team trading Odom to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, most notably Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, expressed frustration with the departure of their "glue guy," the one player who tied the two-time champions together as a team.

What's worse, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, the two towers remaining from what was once a terrific Purple-and-Gold trio, were bombarded with speculation about possibly being moved in a deal for Dwight Howard. 

Meanwhile, GM Mitch Kupchak was holed up in his office, likely planning his next move while avoiding the inevitable crush of reporters at the Toyota Sports Center, the Lakers' training facility in El Segundo.

Drama and insanity are hardly unusual in Lakerland, though distractions of this sort and degree threaten to derail what might otherwise be a championship season.

The San Antonio Spurs are leaning uneasily on the aging (and, in some cases, injury-prone) legs of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. The Mavs will enjoy Odom's services, but will miss those of Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler and JJ Barea.

The Oklahoma City Thunder look like the only Western Conference contender from last season that still has what it takes, though youth, the perceived plateau of the team under head coach Scott Brooks and emerging tensions between Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook could drag it all asunder.

The Clippers, the Lakers' Staples Center co-tenants, could be more than a dark horse out West now that they'll have Chris Paul pulling the strings alongside Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon, Caron Butler and DeAndre Jordan.

That being said, the Lakers had more than enough pieces in place to come out on top in the conference before Odom asked out and still have plenty of talent on tap to get the job done as currently constituted.

They could use another forward to fill the void left behind by Odom, but more than anything, the Lakers need some closure and the calm that comes with it.

Superman or no.

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