Dwight Howard is not playing nice with the Magic.
(Jonathan Daniel/Getty images)
A few weeks ago it looked like the drama that is Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic was coming to an end, but here we are with Howard still on a team he no longer wants to be on. The Magic want Howard to give the new management a chance but he wants a trade and wants one now. There is one problem though, there are no teams that for one want to have Howard for one season only to see him leave or a team with assets worthy of him.
The Houston Rockets were pushing hard for Howard going into the draft. Howard’s management even warned the team that if he were traded to Houston he would leave as a free agent next summer. Still the Rockets pursued Howard feeling that their legacy and how they would perform as a team with him would sway his decision to leave in 2013. The Magic were not offered a package of players that fit what they wanted.
Then came along the Brooklyn Nets, the team which Howard wants to ultimately end up with. The Magic were offered a deal that would involve the Nets and 2 other teams that would send the Magic Center Brook Lopez and a handful of other players. That deal was never accepted by the Magic and the Nets spent big money on Daron Williams and Lopez signed a contract extension with the team. The extension makes Lopez untradable until January. So the Magic will have to wait if they do in fact want Lopez. Lopez would be the only star player the Nets could include in a trade that would be a good deal for the Magic.
The Lakers are the latest team to be in talks with the Magic for Howard. The Lakers already traded away 2 future 1st round draft picks so that is off the table in a possible deal. The star player that could be involved in a deal between the Magic and Lakers would be Andrew Bynum. The problem with that scenario is two fold. The first problem is that Bynum is a free agent in 2013 and would have to sign if the Magic would acquire him and he has shown strong interest in being a free agent next year. The second issue is the Magic also want to unload a lot of their team and clean out some cap space. The Lakers cannot help them there. So the Magic stand with a player that is not looking to be going anywhere soon.
The Magic have been getting the rough end of this Howard situation. They are not finding any great deals but at the same time can’t afford for him to leave as a free agent and get nothing for him. Howard is really being tough with the team. The team has new management and is wanting to work something out with Howard. Howard does need to go but for the right price. The Magic should wait this out a little longer until they get a deal they can live with. The team will be set back many years if they don’t get players of value for Howard. This is a bad situation and a bad summer for the team and things don’t look to be getting better anytime soon.
