Lakers acquire Dwight Howard

UPDATE: The Magic officially announced the trade in a press release.

After months of rumors, reports and demands, Dwight Howard is about to get his wish.

According to several reports, Howard will be dealt from the Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a monster four-team blockbuster deal. Adrian Wojnarowski reports the deal could be official as soon as Friday.

Wojnarowski reports the following details of the deal:

The Lakers will send All-Star center Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers, who also will receive shooting guard Jason Richardson from the Orlando Magic. The Sixers will send guard Andre Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets. The Magic will receive Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic, rookie swingman Moe Harkless, three first-round draft picks and a 2013 second-round pick from the Nuggets (by way of Golden State). In addition to Howard, the Lakers will also receive Earl Clark and Chris Duhon from the Magic.

According to Wojnarowski, the Lakers managed to hang on to power forward Pau Gasol in the trade. Thus, the Lakers' starting five figures to include Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard.

The Sixers also improved their roster with the acquisition of Bynum; they could run out Bynum, Lavoy Allen, Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday as a starting five.

Orlando, meanwhile, enters full-bore rebuilding mode. While Afflalo and Harrington are both serviceable scoring options, their production won't be in the same hemisphere as Howard's. Vucevic and Harkless, meanwhile, are works in progress.

Howard battled injuries during a tumultuous 2011-12 season with Orlando; the 26-year-old missed 12 regular season games and the entire postseason with back issues. He still managed to average 20.6 points and a league-leading 14.5 rebounds per game, earning spots on the All-NBA and All-Defensive 1st Teams.

Howard's contract is up at the end of the year. He isn't expected to re-sign with the Lakers during the season, but he will reportedly stay with Los Angeles beyond this season.

Earlier this summer, the Magic rejected a proposal of Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks and four first round picks from the Nets for Howard, Richardson, Duhon and Clark, according to Wojnarowski.