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The Los Angeles Lakers must officially remove themselves from Dwight Howard race this summer, and prepare for next season with the championship-caliber talent they already have.
According to ESPN's Chris Broussard, the Orlando Magic "have told rival executives that they might not trade Dwight Howard after all." Broussard reports that some executives believe that the Magic could potentially wait until next February's trade deadline to deal Superman:
While the angst between the Magic and Howard is real and sizable, the franchise also realizes that Howard is fickle, impressionable and prone to changing his mind.
If Broussard's report is accurate, then there is no action left to take by the Lakers' front office, other than hanging up the phone permanently on the Magic.
LA has more than enough talent to win basketball games in 2012-13, and Howard wouldn't exactly fill a need for them considering they already have an All-Star at center. Andrew Bynum's production for the Lakers last season was stellar. He averaged 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.
The bottom line is that the Magic and Lakers are two teams headed in different directions. While it's no secret that Orlando won't be competitive in the NBA for some time now, LA has made a couple of excellent free-agent signings to make a perennial contender that much better. Basically, Orlando needs Howard a lot more than LA does right now.
The Lakers have more than enough stars to sell the franchise, and one of the greatest players the game has ever seen in Kobe Bryant. In the age of super-teams, the Lakers aren't looking too shabby. With the acquisition of Steve Nash this summer, LA now boasts a backcourt duo and frontcourt duo that can match up and contend with any in the league.
The pickup of Antawn Jamison was another big offseason move that will have fans excited for the regular season to start on time this year.
LA must move forward with the solid pieces they have this coming season. They can compete with Oklahoma City now, and they have the plethora of size in the frontcourt to give the defending NBA champion Miami Heat nightmares down the road.
Give up the chase on Dwight Howard, LA—you're already set.
Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter.
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