With the Brooklyn Nets supposedly out of the trade scenario for Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic general manager, Rob Hennigan, thought it the right time to see if the all-star center would reconsider his position on being moved.
Nice try.
Hennigan called Howard Wednesday night, hoping for a change of heart to give the new regime a chance. But Howard was just as adamant, according to ESPN the magazine, indicating he wanted to be dealt. His call came several hours after the Brooklyn Nets, the team Howard asked Hennigan to trade him to, made a futile last-gasp attempt to deal for him before the Charlotte Bobcats could sign one of the Nets’ key trade chips, center Brook Lopez, to an offer sheet.
Lopez agreed to a new contract with the Nets on Wednesday night. Terms of the contract have not been disclosed, but a league source ESPNNewYork.com that Lopez, a restricted free agent, agreed to a four-year, $60 million max deal.
Hennigan, the source said, based his plea on the fact that he was new to the organization and had not been party to the issues that drove Howard to make his trade request.
Team president Alex Martins, who also was on the call, the source said, made a similar plea to Howard last winter when Martins took control of basketball decisions over GM Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy.
Howard was not willing to change his stance, the source said.
“I already heard that from the other guy on the phone,” said Howard, according to the source.
