Dwight Howard – It has become anti-climatic at best, boring at the least. The constant speculation on where Orlando Magic center might be traded has just about desensitized anyone who once was interested in the situation. But the Magic’s resistance to countless reported offers and Howard’s embarrassing indecision has left the 7-foot center right where he was when all this talk began in earnest two months ago.
All that, and the latest report is that Orlando might not trade him after all, that they will shun any offers from the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets — the clubs making the most noise about acquiring him — and see if playing with the Magic and a new coach (presumably San Antonio assistant Jacque Vaughn) will influence him to stay.
Good luck with that.
In any case, ESPN reported that league executives have been told by Orlando honchos that it likely will hold on to Howard, who repeatedly has asked to be traded, until the February 2013 trade deadline. That’s, of course, if they do not receive an offer they just cannot refuse before then.
Yes, the carousel continues to go round and round. . .
There also is the possibility that the Magic are just posturing to siphon more from a suitor in way of compensation. Whatever the case, it appears Howard might not be traded for some time. The Lakers’ and Rockets’ leadership, according to ESPN, left trade discussions feeling the Magic did not have a real interest in trading Howard, who has been an all-star six times in his career.
When Howard first requested a trade to the Brooklyn Nets this past December, he explicably waive his opt-out clause, meaning he could have become a free agent at the end of this past season but elected to stay under contract for another year. For a player seeking to exit, it was not a smart move.
He could have avoided all this back and forth and signed with the team that he desired all along — Brooklyn. Instead, the rumor mill remains busy with Howard speculation. Most observers at this point are going: “Wake me up when he’s actually traded.”
