One is immature, the other indecisive. One is a seven-footer with a history of knee problems. The other is a big man with a bad back. The term damaged goods comes to mind when thinking of trading Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard. Perhaps the more appropriate way to describe a Howard for Bynum swap would be lateral move.
At this point it doesn’t look like either the Lakers or Magic would improve their prospects by trading big men.
For the Lakers they would only inherit the headache of dealing with the game’s most two-faced superstar. So eager to save face in public is Howard that he spent more of the past season working his way in and out of lies than he did double-teams.
For the Magic they’d have to take on the game’s most promising yet problematic big man. Bynum’s ego is growing at rate that has the CDC on pandemic watch. His breakout season saw Drew in all his Baby Bynum glory.
Beyond the baggage that comes with these two dominant divas there is also a practical problem. Neither team would be greatly improved by the trade.
The Lakers weren’t a Dwight Howard away from contending. They need more depth, a perimeter shooter and another big to bang on the block in order to start thinking title. The Bynum for Howard approach would only change the rug while ignoring the leak in the roof.
Orlando has all kinds of problems that Bynum alone cannot salvage. Perhaps no franchise has sabotaged itself quite like Orlando. About all you need to know is the Hedo Turkoglu saga. Orlando refused to pay him even though Hedo was a huge part of their run to the Finals back in ’09. Eventually the Magic came to their senses and reacquired Hedo at his suddenly affordable rate.
There really isn’t a silver lining in this deal any longer. At this point the two teams would be trading for the sake of trading. Orlando can rid itself of selfish and unsure superstar while the Lakers can move on from babysitting the biggest kid in sports.
Going forward both franchises would still be in the same boat if they swapped bigs. The Lakers would have to convince Howard that signing a long-term deal is in his best interests while Orlando would have to show Bynum the money after only one season.
Now you could argue the addition by subtraction adage for both teams. Even then it’s still a lateral move. There is nothing to be gained by a deal that was once attractive. Like every other aspect of life, in NBA trades timing is everything .The time has come and gone to make this move so it could just be time to cut the losses and move on. Andrew Bynum will still be a Laker and Dwight Howard will still be…well…he’ll still be unsure of what he wants.