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It’s a bird; it’s a plane! No, it’s Dwight Howard and he’s landing in Los Angeles after a 4-player trade completed Thursday night. The Lake Show’s franchise player, Kobe Bryant, is rumored to be thrilled that Howard is joining the squad without having to lose his wingman Pau Gasol.

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ESPN reports:

A four-team trade that would send Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers is complete, multiple sources told ESPN on Thursday night.

A source with direct knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein the Lakers will receive Howard, the Denver Nuggets will acquire Andre Iguodala, the 76ers will receive Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson, and the Magic will get Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic and one protected future first-round pick from each of the other three teams.

In addition, the Magic will be getting other pieces, including 76ers No. 1 draft pick Moe Harkless, a source told Stein.

Sources close to the process told Stein and ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne that a trade call with the league office has been scheduled for Friday to secure the necessary NBA approval to make the deal official.

Lakers forward Pau Gasol had been in and out of talks, sources told Shelburne, before ultimately being excluded.

One source briefed on Howard’s plans told Stein that the All-Star center will indeed stand firm on his intent to play out the 2012-13 season without extending his contract so he can become a free agent on July 1, 2013. Going that route will enable Howard to decide how comfortable he is in Los Angeles before deciding whether to re-sign with the Lakers or join the Dallas Mavericks, who will have the requisite salary-cap space to sign Howard and remain one of his preferred destinations from his original list of three teams (Brooklyn Nets, Lakers and Mavericks).

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Read more at ESPN.com.

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