It had been about a week since any Dwight Howard rumors had surfaced, so naturally it was time to shake things up again.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Orlando Magic are once again looking to deal their prized center, and the L.A. Lakers are reportedly involved. In fact, there are four teams rumored to be in on the latest chapter of the never-ending Dwight Howard saga.
Orlando and the L.A. Lakers are engaged in 4-way talks with Denver and Philadelphia on a Dwight Howard blockbuster, league sources tell Y!
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) August 9, 2012
The latest rumor has the Magic, Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers reportedly involved in a 4-team blockbuster trade that would most likely send Howard to Los Angeles in exchange for Andrew Bynum. There would be plenty of other moving pieces as well, as both Denver and Philadelphia would be looking to improve their roster.
Orlando has made it clear over the last few weeks that they’re more interested in draft picks than established players right now, which is likely where Philadelphia and Denver would come into play.
According to Wojnarowski’s article the moving pieces would be more than just Bynum – who would go to Philadelphia. The Magic would also obtain Lakers forward Pau Gasol and Denver’s Arron Afflalo.
In exchange for losing both their big men, the Lakers would bring in Howard and Al Harrington, who could provide some outside shooting help, most likely off the bench.
Obviously this is all just speculation at this point, but there are some pieces here that could make sense if the team’s involved are serious about the trade. Still, whenever you have four teams trying to agree to one deal things can get incredibly hairy. The likelihood of a 4-team mega-deal is unlikely at best, but there’s always the possibility they can make it happen.