Lakers Trade Rumors: Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol Need to Be Moved

The Los Angeles Lakers have had a frustrating offseason.

From seeing the NBA veto a Chris Paul trade and seeing him go to the "other" Los Angeles team to dealing Lamar Odom for a draft pick, they have work to do if they want to get back to the finals. 

But there are a few moves that the Lakers have to at least consider if they want to do that. Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register wrote that the team is not going to move both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol for Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. 

Now, there has been no movement on the Howard-to-Los Angeles front in a while, and even he seems to prefer going to New Jersey to Los Angeles. I don't blame the Magic for not entertaining trade offers from the Lakers if they aren't going to package a deal around those two players.

Lakers legend and current ESPN NBA analyst Magic Johnson says that Gasol and Bynum have to dominate for the team to win a championship. 

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"Those two guys got to have banner years—Gasol and Bynum—because Kobe can't carry the load," Johnson said, noting Bryant was entering his 16th season. "You can't expect him to be carrying the load night-in and night-out. They're going to look to those two big men to control the paint, give Kobe a break."

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While I agree that those two have to be great for the Lakers to be contenders, they are not superstars. They are complementary pieces, and you win in the NBA with superstars. 

Dwight Howard is a superstar.

He is the best center in the league. He can dominate a game in the paint like no one else can, and the Lakers aren't going to package a deal around Gasol and Bynum to get him?

The Lakers are in desperation mode right now. They are an old team, and their window of opportunity is closing.

Kobe Bryant is 33 years old and has a lot of mileage on his legs. Gasol, Metta World Peace, Derek Fisher—all these key players are over the age of 30. 

Moving Gasol and Bynum would not just be a move about right now, it would be about the future. Bynum has great potential, but he has missed 119 games in the last four seasons. Gasol is not a player that you build a team around.  

The time for the Lakers to make a big move for someone like Howard is here. They are falling behind teams like the Clippers, Oklahoma City and Dallas in the Western Conference. 

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