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Adrian Wojnarowki: Paul to Lakers for Gasol & Odom

For a bit of short-term Showtime, Lakers fall for the trap of landing an overpaid point guard--and at the expense of an aging but still-decent pair of frontcourt rotation guys to boot. (They are probably happy to get back their L.A. boy Ariza, though.) With whiny Chrissy, backcourt defense gets worse, and unless they somehow keep Metta, the wing production stays about the same.

Not since Magic Johnson (who really isn't a PG) has a max-salary PG been a cornerstone on a contender. Kidd was overpaid but he wasn't a cornerstone; even Mark Cuban refused to max out Steve Nash. Rondo and Mr. Longoria were both eight-figure guys but not max players. The list goes on and on.

After overpaying their elite and egotistical #3 pick general for 3 years, Utah got smart and traded him, setting the trend for New Orleans to be forced to unload Chrissy.

NOH overpaying for CPeeThree was the reason Utah had to max out DW8 in the first place.

Makes the Lakers' Staples Center debut vs. the Jazz even more intriguing (not that we needed it).
 
Before acquiring Pau Gasol, the Lakers couldn't get out of the first round, and that was when Kobe could score 81 pts in a game and when Derrick Fisher could play, sort of. Bynum isn't a guy who can play a compressed 66-game schedule, and I'm not sure Kobe and Chris Paul can either. This makes for good television, but I wouldn't put the Lakers ahead of OKC right now.

If Howard moves to LA for a package based around Bynum, that's going to smell bad.
 
I'd much rather it be CP3, than Howard.

Before acquiring Pau Gasol, the Lakers couldn't get out of the first round, and that was when Kobe could score 81 pts in a game and when Derrick Fisher could play, sort of. Bynum isn't a guy who can play a compressed 66-game schedule, and I'm not sure Kobe and Chris Paul can either. This makes for good television, but I wouldn't put the Lakers ahead of OKC right now.

If Howard moves to LA for a package based around Bynum, that's going to smell bad.

NO ONE should be surprised when something along these lines happens. No one.
 
Orlando fans would revolt. A third team would have to get involved and take a share of the abuse.

What have the packages offered for Howard looked like?

Oh lots of fans would be pissed (except Laker fans of course), and yeah they would need to get creative. But after the ******** they used to get Gasol I do not put it past them, or Stern, to figure out a way to make sure a Lakers Dynasty continues unbroken.
 
If the Lakers somehow land Dwight HOward I think i'm going to puke. Don't do it Orlando!!

Every team might as well go into full rebuilding mode, including the Heat, if they get Howard. No one would have a chance for the next 5 years.
 
So it doesn't look like Chris Paul has agreed to extend with the Lakers, although it's quite possible that he would. The free agency rumor mill is likely to continue.
 
The unbelievable part in this whole deal is that the Lakers hung on to Bynum. Gasol is obviously more durable and the better player but he's 32 and has 3yrs/$57 million left - while Bynum is 24 and has 2 yrs/$31 million with the final year being a team-option and is the most talked about piece the Lakers could build a superstar trade around.

The Nets supposed best offer to Orlando is Brooke Lopez, 2 1st-round picks - their own and the Rockets' 2012 pick (top 14 protected in 2012-2016, by 2017 defaults to a 2nd round pick) as well as taking back Hedo's contract.
Can the Lakers offer more than Andrew Bynum and 2012/2014 late-1st rnd picks? They obviously need to throw 1 more substantial piece in there - that they don't have - so hopefully no other team deals them any kind of asset in a trade they can turnaround and repackage for Dwight.
 
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