According to David Pingalore, who is the sports director for WKMG Local 6 news station in Orlando, his sources are reporting that the Lakers are the clear front runners for Howard's services and that all of the other rumored destinations have simply been "smokescreens" sent out by D12 and his camp.
This, of course, is an unsubstantiated rumor, as none of the supposed sources have been named, but Howard to the Lakers obviously makes a lot of sense. Los Angeles is loading up for a run at another championship after disappointing, second-round playoff losses the past two seasons. L.A. went out and got future-Hall-of-Fame point guard Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns in a sign-and-trade deal, and nabbing Howard could be the cherry on top of a very impressive offseason.
Howard has continually expressed his desire to be traded to the Nets, but since the Magic couldn't come to an agreement with Brooklyn, Howard's preferred team had to move on. The Nets were in danger of losing center Brook Lopez if the Charlotte Bobcats signed him to a lucrative offer sheet, so they decided to re-sign him and essentially kill any notion of a Howard deal since Lopez can't be traded until Jan. 15.
According to Pingalore, one source said "some crossing of T's and dotting of I's is only left" with regards to shipping Howard out west. If that is the case, then all parties involved have certainly done a nice job of keeping negotiations quiet.
Neither Pingalore nor his supposed sources speculated on what would be going back the other way in the potential trade, but it's safe to assume that center Andrew...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
