Posted On Lakers Ground:
I had posted some stuff I had heard from a relative who works within AEG not too long ago. The info was verified legitimate, so I got a few more nuggets last night. Believe or not believe, I'm still willing to share.
-Lakers were THIS close to acquiring Howard a week and a half ago, until Orlando changed the terms and tried pushing Hedo onto LA at the very last minute. It really irked Jim Buss, who proceeded to give call Hennigan and give him a "verbal assault", from what I was told. Supposedly there's pretty much an unsaid "code" that goes along with trades and more importantly, "trade protocol" that teams stick to, and the fact that Orlando's newly minted GM had the audacity to bypass the "manners system" really infuriated Buss. Word is he handed Henn his lunch, much to Kupchak's chagrin.
-After that blow up, Orlando then changed their "wants" yet again, now focusing on wanting to get cheap expirings, rather than a proven player, along with multiple picks & cap relief. But the rumor was, they still indeed wanted the all star, AND the picks, cap relief, salary dumps, etc. That scared away EVERYONE, including Atlanta, and even Dallas(as if they could even muster a package to begin with), leaving the Lakers still there...and Houston. Word is, without the Rockets in the picture LA would've already had this trade completed, but now they're being leveraged against the Lakers.
-Howard vehemently does NOT want to play in Houston, period. Regardless of contract length incentives by staying with them, Dwight WILL get outta there after the lone season he'd have to play for the team. Morey knows this, and although nobody really knows what he's doing( some GMs and front office people around the league joke that it'd take a "rocket scientist" to understand the guy), his play might be to just muck things up..and maybe get either Howard with the inherit risk attached...or Bynum. One thing I know for certain, is he will NOT gut the entire team for either player.
-Cleveland really, really wants Andrew Bynum. They've been very proactive in trade talks, not resisting being the catalyst for LA to get Howard. They see it as a means to an end in order to pair up Drew along with Irving. They're absolutely in love with that prospect.
-Bynum is receptive to signing long term with either Houston or Cleveland, leaning more toward the Cavaliers. The rumors bug him, but he's certainly used to them and it doesn't make him very upset. He likes that he's wanted.
-Buss has definitely wanted to walk away from talks on numerous occasions, but Mitch has stepped in to calm the situation down.
-One last thing, I hear the Lakers will stay over the cap and will actually add if necessary these next couple seasons, to maximize Kobe's final opportunities to get more rings.
And the beat goes on...
it seems like you guy are interested in the same players as us. 
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