Dwight Howard and the Magic have won eight consecutive games including victories over the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs yet rumors continue to circulate that Howard has his sights set on joining Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles if the Magic don’t win a championship this season or next.
Really, Dwight? The Los Angeles Lakers?
Interesting…
Before Christmas ESPN analyst Ric Boucher posted the following message via Twitter:
DisneyWorld vs. Disneyland feud could go DefCon1: Sources say DHoward has eye on Lakers if Magic don’t win a title in next 2 years.
Could this really happen?
I have to admit that upon hearing this rumor I immediately dismissed the possibility of Kobe and Dwight joining forces. With the potential salary-limitations in a new CBA, Andrew Bynum’s potential and the Magic’s recent roster overhaul in an effort to please Howard as potential hazards I figured there would be no way the Lakers could acquire an in-his-prime big man of Dwight’s caliber.
Then I examined the Lakers payroll situation for the 2012-13 season. This could indeed happen and I wouldn’t be shocked in the least.
Howard has an early-termination clause in his current contract that would enable him to become an unrestricted free-agent in the summer of 2012. While the Lakers will have $53.8 million invested in Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Ron Artest alone they are in a more favorable position than you might think. Andrew Bynum might be one of the top young centers in the game when healthy but he’s no Howard and Orlando might be so afraid of losing Dwight for nothing they could agree on a sign-and-trade agreement between the two centers. Bynum will be scheduled to make $16 million (team option) in 2012-13 and I can’t imagine a scenario where the Lakers wouldn’t be willing to deal Bynum and, say, Ron Artest or Luke Walton to Orlando for Howard.
Plus, Lamar Odom’s final year of his current contract is in the 2012-13 season at $8.2 million and is unguaranteed.
If the Magic don’t want Bynum? Los Angeles could simply ship Bynum to another team for a bunch of young players with low salaries and sign Howard in the offseason.
Can you imagine Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard on the same team? Remember, Gasol will be just 32 at that point and the shelf-life of a top PF-C is longer than that of a swingman or PG.
We’d be looking at Tim Duncan/David Robinson version 2.0. Plus a still-elite Kobe for maybe 2-3 seasons. Yikes.
Of course, a “still-elite” Kobe might not exist by then. CHECK OUT THIS COLUMN for more information on the state of Kobe’s knees.
For those of you who don’t think this could happen I ask the following: Did you REALLY think Miami could land LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade?
I know this is probably a touchy subject with Magic fans as they’ve already lost a franchise center (Shaq) to Los Angeles before and I hope for their sake Dwight stays loyal unlike his counterparts LeBron James, Chris Bosh and more recently the perpetually-unsatisfied Carmelo Anthony.
Here are the only issues I see with this potentially dynamite scenario:
A) Kobe Bryant will be 34 years old and is already experiencing severe knee woes. Would Dwight sign on to play without an effective Kobe?
B) Who will be the Lakers coach by then? Will Howard want to play with a franchise without an identity and aging core?
C) Would Howard be satisfied with a semi-rebuilding project after Kobe retires? Does he yearn for the bright lights to that degree?
Personally? I don’t think it will be the right move for Howard. If we could rewind three years this would make a lot of sense for him as Kobe would still have six or seven elite years left and the coaching staff would still be intact.
Then again, they will still have Gasol. But how many playoff series did Gasol win as a franchise player with the Grizzlies?
That would be zero. But the Spurs didn’t win a championship until Tim Duncan joined forces with a declining David Robinson, so what do I know?
Unless Dwight Howard commits to the Orlando Magic by signing an extension this summer it looks like we’re in for another free-agent circus come the summer of 2012.
Did I ever mention how much I HATE free-agency?!
What do you think? Could the Lakers pull this off? Would it be the right move for Howard?
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