Lakers Rumors: Why Dwight Howard to Los Angeles Is Still Possible

A few days ago, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard was sure to be the next starting center for the New Jersey Nets, which would no doubt make them a championship contender as he'd be playing alongside Deron Williams.

That trade demand that Howard posed? About that, it now seems he big man is backing off the trade rumors and is actually giving the Magic organization a chance to come through and make the signings to keep him in his present location—much like when Kobe Bryant was demanding a trade to the Chicago Bulls a few years back.

"I love this city, there is no place I'd rather be but Orlando. I just want to make sure we have the right things here so we can win a championship. I'm all about change. If you're willing to change and you're willing to do what it takes to win then, you know, you got me," Howard said.

A classy move by Howard to be straight up with the organization and not attempt to throw it for a loop like so many prior superstars have done to their franchises. He is letting it be known to the world his intention is to win games with Orlando, but if it can't give him the pieces to do so, he'll basically have no choice but to seek help elsewhere on a team that has championship aspirations and has made the right moves.

There's no "decision" here—Howard just wants to win games and he wants it to be in Orlando, where he has grown to love the fans that have taken him in as one of their own since he was drafted out of high school with the No. 1 pick in the 2004 draft. You can be listed at 7' and 250 pounds, but a 19-year-old being thrown into an NBA setting is hectic for anyone and it's obvious the Magic fanbase helped ease that settling period.

However, just how sure are we that the Magic are going to make the right moves? The organization has made some pretty questionable moves in the past (Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis contracts) and the most they have done this offseason thus far has been re-signing Jason Richardson and trading Brandon Bass for Boston Celtics sixth man Glen Davis to become the team's next starting power forward.

Bringing in Davis certainly is an upgrade, but it's not nearly enough to make the Magic championship contenders as well as possibly keeping Howard. The Magic are going to have to do far more, which either should be attempting to trade for Nene Hilario and making him the starting power forward and/or a sign-and-trade involving Jamal Crawford.

The fact the organization shows to Howard it's attempting to build a solid team around him would say a lot to Howard, who has no intention of playing elsewhere. If the team can't find those players, however, we can expect Howard to grow disgruntled with the organization and possibly find a way out.

The team with the best chance at landing him would be the Los Angeles Lakers, who have already expressed a great deal of interest in Howard's services. Unlike teams like the Nets or Clippers, the Lakers have a number of quality pieces that could lure the Magic into making a deal as to avoid having Howard possibly leave the team as a free agent next season.

The Lakers recently failed to obtain Chris Paul after the deal to acquire him was nullified. It might have been for the best, however, as the Lakers now keep a hold on all of their trade chips and will be going after the league's most dominant big man. Obtaining Paul would have been a vast improvement, but finding a quality center is a much more difficult task than obtaining a quality point guard, where there are too many names.

There aren't many quality centers out there that carry the same impact that Howard can. He's a complete game-changer and his influence in the post carries a lot more weight than having Chris Paul run the point and playing alongside a 33-year-old Kobe Bryant and the always-developing Andrew Bynum. Howard may take a few more pieces to acquire, but you at least have a solid center that can cause some serious damage.

The previous plan by the Lakers was to obtain both Paul and Howard. It seemed highly unlikely, however, as the most they could have offered for Howard would have been Bynum and possibly Metta World Peace. The Magic organization may have made some questionable moves in the past, but it's not that thick in the skull to pull off a deal that would have brought in an oft-injured center and possibly a small forward that averaged nine points per last season.

Common sense would have prevailed on that one.

Missing out on CP3 also had its consequences as an overall disdain for the Lakers organization resulted in Lamar Odom demanding a trade and being sent to the Dallas Mavericks for only a few draft picks. After playing with the Lakers since 2004 and being a member of two championship teams, Odom was obviously scorned that the team was ready to give him up so easily, which led to the eventual demand.

Pau Gasol, another part of that deal, also weighed in on the trade and how shocked he was to find out he could have possibly been a Houston Rocket next season. A frustrated Bryant and point guard Derek Fisher also offered their view on Odom leaving with both players not showing too much pride in their organization's willingness to move its best players.

Yeah, it got ugly in what we believe to be one of sports' most prestigious franchises. We understand what the Lakers were attempting to accomplish when going for Paul, but this is a close-knit team that has been through two championship runs. Bryant and Odom especially share much more in common as they were the two lone bright spots during the dark ages of the Lakers franchise post-Shaquille O'Neal and pre-Gasol.

The players may not be happy with these moves, but they have to recognize the organization is planning for the future. Bryant believes he can play until his legs eventually give up, and even then he'll believe it, and he's not willing to allow these young superstars to come in and take over the jobs of the veterans he's been playing with for the past four seasons—or seven seasons, in Odom's case.

The Chris Paul trade created a rift between the front office and the players. The players may not express it, but they're obviously peeved of the way this situation was handled and now they feel betrayed by the team they've won a few championships for.

Bringing in Howard now will be considerably difficult. At least before the CP3 trade, the team could have sent away Bynum and Gasol and would at least have Odom to replace Gasol at the four. Now with Odom gone, it makes the situation seemingly impossible as the team doesn't have much depth in the frontcourt aside from a second-year Derrick Caracter and rookie Ater Majok.

While bringing in Howard is still completely possible, the Lakers might need to weigh in on where they stand. We all assumed the Magic front office was the one that was in serious trouble, but it turns out the Lakers and their legendary front office may just be in a situation just as bewildering as the Magic's.