And he can probably shoot midrange jumpers from the high post, which is what he mostly does nowadays, until he’s 40. This isn’t to say that he’ll maintain this level of play, but he’ll age fairly gracefully.

Why would the Lakers sacrifice their primary strength (their frontcourt) for Howard? And Gasol’s ability to switch between both frontcourt position is what makes that rotation work, so it’s a bit pointless to trade him when we haven’t had a good backup five and don’t project to have one barring the Lakers getting someone like Keith Benson in the draft. No doubt Howard is the best piece in that trade, but Gasol’s and Bynum’s combined impact far outweighs Howard’s.

Regardless, any scenario that involves Howard going to the Lakers will mean that he’ll be a free agent and he’ll ask for a sign-and-trade to the Lakers. Assuming that other teams will have cap space (which seems rather likely, as the summer of 2012 is being talked of in terms of the 2010 one), Orlando will have a lot less leverage than you’re presenting, as Howard can simply threaten to sign as a free agent with another team and leave with you nothing. This doesn’t preclude other scenarios — Howard can certainly sign an extension beforehand — but this is the only one in which the Lakers become involved.