The Lakers surely will make a play for Dwight

As expected, Magic star Dwight Howard’s name came up often after the Lakers were swept out of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks.

A Lakers’ revival could take place quickly if they could trade for Howard this summer or next season, according to some talking heads in the ABC/ESPN studio and some writers with the L.A. Times.

It’s not a revelation.

Magic fans have been fearing such a scenario for a while.

What’s worse than the Magic’s season going bust?

The Lakers’ season going bust.

It means the Lakers — 15 years after stealing Shaquille O’Neal from Orlando — are poised to try to swipe another superstar center from the Magic.

This what they do, historically speaking. (See Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain).

It’s only a matter of which big man the Lakers will offer the Magic for Howard — Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum. Most likely it is Bynum, considering Gasol is more of a power forward.

The only way they can get Howard, a 2012 free agent, is through a trade. Like the Magic, the Lakers are mortgaged to the hilt, unable to spend money because they are in salary-cap purgatory.

The Magic have no intention of trading Howard unless he asks out and asks to go to a specific team, a la Carmelo Anthony.

If Howard tells them he wants to move on to L.A., then the Magic have to consider a deal to receive compensation, and you could do worse than, say, Bynum.

The Magic could also call Howard’s bluff, challenging him to find a better situation.

Orlando Magic BasketBlog – Orlando Sentinel