Any team that decided to trade for a guy like Dwight Howard or Chris Paul would have to be fairly certain they will get the player they acquired to sign an extension. With Howard and Paul becoming free agents after this year, no team wants to give up a huge package just to rent their services for a year. One team that should have no problem signing either to an extension would be the Lakers, for obvious reasons. However, at this point it does not appear that L.A. has offered any type of package that would overwhelm the Magic into dealing Howard.
Amico is an NBA writer for FOX Sports, so his sources are likely trustworthy. With that in mind, we would have to assume the Lakers have not offered Andrew Bynum in exchange for Howard. Perhaps they are intending to use Bynum as the center piece of a deal with New Orleans, and someone like Pau Gasol qualifies as an “old guy” at age 31.
With rumors swirling that the Lakers are interested in adding both Paul and Howard, it is fair to raise the question of whether or not they have enough to offer to acquire both. Neither New Orleans nor Orlando is going to give their franchise superstar up without receiving a truckload in return, and how many first-round draft picks can the Lakers offer? If L.A. does anything, the more likely scenario would be that they acquire one of the two via trade and the other via free agency next year, assuming he is not traded to another team. At this point, however, it doesn’t appear that it would be reasonable to assume that about either player.
