Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: Lakers Look to Erase Failures of Chris Paul Trade

The Los Angeles Lakers had a chance to land one of the best players in the NBA in Chris Paul.

If it weren’t for the league owners and commissioner David Stern, they would have succeeded in their conquest for the All-Star point guard. After the Paul failure, they have to make up for it by doing whatever they can to get Dwight Howard.  

Howard has let the Orlando Magic know that he would like to be traded to a team like the Lakers. For that trade to go through, it looks like the Lakers would have to send to Orlando Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. 

However, it seems like the Lakers have been hesitant to move these two key pieces of their starting lineup. 

The Orlando Magic basketball blog on the Orlando Sentinel brings up a great point that the Lakers could be forced into making this deal because of Kobe Bryant being unhappy with the current state of the Lakers. 

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Kobe Bryant is not only peeved that the Lakers have regressed since last season and then dealt Lamar Odom. But he’s livid after seeing the Clippers land Chris Paul and steal some Lakers limelight following David Stern’s blockade of the Paul-to-Lakers trade.

So the question that might be felt in Orlando is this: Could Paul’s move coupled with Kobe’s unhappiness force the Lakers to give up Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard?

The Lakers can trump the Paul acquisition and fully reclaim L.A. by dealing for Dwight. Now.

The Gasol-Bynum is the best deal the Magic can possibly land given that Howard is holding them hostage, saying he’ll only sign with the Lakers or the Nets or the Mavs if Orlando moves him.

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Adding Howard would give the Lakers a deadly one-two punch that they haven’t seen since the days of Kobe and Shaq. Now, the roles would be reversed, with Kobe as the seasoned veteran to the younger superstar. 

The move would recapture the headlines in Los Angeles, making the Lakers the “it” team again. It would give the Lakers the best center in the Western Conference and make them a favorite to get back to the NBA Finals. 

In Kobe’s thirst for championships, he would welcome the addition of Howard to the Lakers, since he did win three of his five titles when he played with the best center in the game in Shaq. 

The Lakers are quickly becoming an afterthought to the Clippers in Los Angeles. If they want to regain their dominance in their city and the Western Conference, then they have  to do whatever they can to make this trade. 

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