The NBA landscape seems to be shifting seismically with the Nets doing most of the shaking. At one point, after landing Joe Johnson, the Nets appeared to be out of the Dwight Howard sweepstakes. Now rumors speculate that they are looking to put together another offer. So where do the Lakers stand in all of this? We take a look at their possibilities.
First, the Lakers still have the simplest deal if the Magic are looking for a straight up player for player swap. Andrew Bynum for Howard passes the cap rules and makes sense talent wise.
There are several holdups to a Bynum for Howard deal.
First, both will have expiring contracts after this year, and in order for a deal to happen both teams would have to know that the players would sign an extension. The teams don't want to make the trade only to see both players leave in free agency.
In addition, there seems to be some hesitancy on the side of the Lakers. Bynum is younger and more talented offensively than Howard, and Howard is coming off back surgery. The Lakers front office could easily decide that keeping Bynum is the safer choice.
If the Lakers really wanted to shake things up, a three team trade involving Pau Gasol could come into play. The Rockets and others have expressed interest in Gasol, and this scenario would help give the Lakers some cap relief.
But slow down. All of these options are only rumors and speculation as of right now. The Lakers and Magic have yet to begin serious trade talks.
If the Lakers choose not to get involved in the Howard fiasco, shipping Pau Gasol elsewhere is still a very possible option. But just because the Lakers are not currently involved in Howard trade talks doesn't mean you should count them out. As we have seen, the Howard situation can drastically change very quickly.