Dwight Howard: Analyzing His Remaining Options

And the saga continues.

Dwight Howard is still a member of the Orlando Magic while continuing to make it clear he wants out of Orlando.

After a potential deal with the Brooklyn Nets that would have teamed Howard with Deron Williams and Joe Johnson fell through, it was back to the drawing board for Magic management.

The following are three options Howard has moving forward.

Possible Trade

Despite being the most dominant big man in the game right now, the market for Howard seems to be shrinking--likely a result of how dragged out this situation has become.

The Houston Rockets made their attempt in acquiring Howard clear when they used the amnesty provision on power forward Luis Scola. Now, the task now becomes assembling a package desirable enough for Orlando to make the move.

The other team in the mix are the Los Angeles Lakers, who've been hanging Andrew Bynum like a well-marinated piece of meat in front of Orlando's eyes. The reluctance of both Howard and Bynum to sign extensions has been the obstacle in this potential deal for months with little evidence of that changing anytime soon.

As of now, a trade seems bleak.

Stay in Orlando

While Howard has adamantly said he wants out of Orlando, the chance of him starting the season there seems slightly possible.

With trade talks heating up only to fall apart, it's clear this situation still has many hurdles to overcome. The Magic know they have the most dominant center in the league, and are reluctant to trade him for cheap. Howard, on the other hand, isn't making the situation any easier by demanding a trade to only select teams.

Personally, I want Howard in Orlando for at least one game just to allow the Magic fans an opportunity to "tell" Dwight what they think of his off-season antics.

2013 Free Agency

The biggest x-factor in this whole situation is whether Howard will hit the free agent market next summer after his current one-year contract is up.

Why Howard signed the one-year contract and didn't just solve this whole dilemma through free agency this summer speaks volumes to his indecision.

No team wants to sell the farm for one year of Dwight Howard and then subsequently lose him next summer. Therefore, no trade will occur until Howard signs an extension.

Needless to say, this situation still appears to have many twists and turns in store as nothing with Dwight Howard comes easy.