Dwight Howard is considered to be one of the best players to play for the Magic since Shaquille O’Neal and is even considered to be the “franchise player” for the Orlando Magic. The playoff success and championship chances of the Orlando Magic are said to rest upon Dwight’s wide shoulders, and the Magic have spent the past few years trying to acquire a team that will play to the strengths of Howard.
But now, all of that effort may have been in naught, because he is trying to leave Orlando while many residents of Orlando have pushed for him to stay.
Howard himself believes that this is perhaps the only way to win a real NBA championship for himself. Freshman John Fernandez said, “I think Dwight would be alright to leave Orlando. We really haven’t done much for him in terms of getting him a team to let him win championships. He deserves at least one title.”
Dwight Howard hasn’t rescinded his trade request from the Orlando Magic, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported Sunday, but neither he nor Orlando has let the drama surrounding his situation become a distraction.
“The NBA’s preeminent big man [is] determined to share peace and pleasantries with his Magic teammates and coaches,” Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated writes, “despite the fact that his uncomfortable trade demand that was issued in early December still stands.”
The vibe is professional all around as Howard continues to play hard for the Orlando Magic since the lockout ended. In December, Howard asked Otis Smith, the Magic’s President of Basketball Operations, to trade him to either the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, or New Jersey Nets. The Magic granted Dan Fegan, Howard’s agent, permission to discuss trades regarding Howard with those teams.
Junior Angela Tyson said, “[A trade] will be horrible for the Magic! [Howard] is basically their best player and they are more or less throwing him away.”
Orlando is in no hurry to trade Howard and, as Amick notes, Howard’s top destinations may not have enough to offer Orlando to make trading him worthwhile from the Magic’s perspective. Dallas can offer neither salary relief nor young prospects, while the Lakers have refused to include both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in a deal for Howard. Further, Amick reports, Smith “is not a fan” of Nets center Brook Lopez, the 23-year-old prospect who would anchor any offer New Jersey made Orlando.
Other potential prospects for trade with Orlando include the Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors.
Although it remains to be seen whether Howard will stay in Orlando, he has put the Magic on the map as a serious contender for the NBA championship and has provided an infusion of enthusiasm by the people of Orlando for their basketball team. Sophomore Tyler Knowler said, “I think he feels as though he has to leave Orlando to win a title, but I don’t think its right for him to leave a city that gave him so much.”