Now that the Brooklyn Nets are completely out of the running to land center Dwight Howard, the Magic have rekindled relationships with front offices, mainly that of the L.A. Lakers.
Indeed, the Lakers are now heavily entrenched in the Dwight Howard sitcom (and it definitely fits the mold of a sitcom). Take this tweet from Alex Kennedy:
The Lakers, Magic & Cavaliers are discussing three-team deal that may send Dwight Howard to LA and Andrew Bynum to CLE: http://t.co/uyTb7Mxi
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) July 14, 2012
There were also some reports from a local Orlando news station that said the Lakers will “become the end game” for Howard.
These talks aren’t shocking. The Lakers have been entirely in the run for Howard’s services since last November and this summer has been filled with Orlando flirtation in the direction of El Segundo, CA.
The trade, as reported/rumored, would seem to be a straight-up trade from a Lakers perspective since the only asset L.A. would surrender is Bynum. If that’s the case, this deal is worth it, constant moaning and whining from yours truly be damned. There’s no question that Howard is better than Bynum is, even if we think that difference is marginal or negligible, and it could re-charge the Lakers’ motivation to compete for a title.
These are just rumors and tentative reports, though. If these were correct half of the time, Dwight Howard would’ve become a Brooklyn Net last week and the Lakers would’ve nabbed Chris Paul back in November.
Speaking of which, it’s important to note that the team facilitating our acquisition of Dwight is none other than the Cleveland Cavaliers, the same owner whose infamous — to Lakers fans — letter decried the Lakers’ acquisition of superstar point guard Chris Paul, which led to David Stern vetoing the trade, thus “basketball reasons.”
How fitting.