NBA trade rumors

With the NBA trade deadline looming, the Dwight Howard saga has taken an unexpected turn. The Los Angeles Lakers, once considered favorites to land the coveted Orlando Magic center, have apparently fallen out of favor with Howard and the Magic are scrambling to upgrade their roster in a last-ditch effort to keep D12.

Sports Illustrated's Sam Amick reports that "close friends of Howard say he was, in fact, informed that Bryant sees him as a second or third option on a championship-caliber team if he came to Los Angeles."

Evidently, come be our Chewbaca is not the ideal sales pitch for an alpha male.

Amick's report comes nearly a month after the New York Post's Peter Vescey looked into a rumor that