Cavs Need 'Assurance' Of Andrew Bynum Extension To Be Third Team In Dwight Howard Trade

The Dwight Howard three-team trade involving the Magic, Lakers and Cavaliers is a complex deal with several lynchpins and obstacles that could lead to the talks breaking down at any moment. The Cavs are a sought-after facilitator of a Howard trade because of their wealth of draft picks and cap space. It's why they initially surfaced in a rumored three-team deal involving the Nets, with Kris Humphries landing in Cleveland in that scenario.

The rumored deal with the Lakers, however, would send an extremely valuable asset to Cleveland in the form of franchise center Andrew Bynum. But he Los Angeles big man is in the final year of his deal, and the Cavs, as you would expect, need assurances that he would re-sign in Cleveland after the 2012-13 season. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Cavs are ready to be the third team but would need that guarantee of an extension:

The Cleveland Cavaliers are eager partners in the three-way blockbuster trade talks to send Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers, but won't proceed until the Lakers grant the them permission to talk to All-Star Andrew Bynum and his agent about the center's willingness to sign a contract extension, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

"Cleveland will only do the deal if Bynum extends," a league official directly involved in the talks told Yahoo! Sports.

Bynum's agent, David Lee, recently returned from an Alaskan vacation and reportedly has not had any contact with the Cavaliers.

Wojnarwoski also reports that the Lakers want the framework of the deal in place before they allow the Cavs to talk about an extension with Bynum. Los Angeles, on the other hand, is confident that they can sell Howard on the merits of re-signing and staying on past the 2012-13 season.

Orlando, the third and final team in the deal, has shown "indecisiveness" in the three-team talks.

Head over to Pinstriped Post, Silver Screen And Roll and Fear The Sword for more on the Magic, Lakers and Cavs, respectively. You can track all the Dwight Howard trade drama by visiting this StoryStream.