NBA Trade Speculation: 4 Ways Dwight Howard Could Exit Orlando

The ever-growing Dwight Howard saga has somewhat been postponed because of the lockout. 

Nevertheless, Orlando Magic fans and management aren't resting on this situation in which they very well could lose their All-Star center.

Things seemingly continue to show that the Magic will have to eventually trade Howard. He has backed off his comments that he wants to sign an extension and now wants to wait until after the season to evaluate his situation. 

While no one can blame him, past history shows that an high-caliber player like Howard will most likely jump ship to another promising team in a big market like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

There are a lot of factors that go into a decision like this for Howard and the Magic management, but I believe that he will have to be traded at some point in the future.

Here are four ways that will contribute to the Dwight Howard leaving the Orlando Magic.

1. Dwight Will Force a Trade

While Dwight Howard still has one year left before he can opt out of his contract, his future plans hinge solely on how the Orlando Magic perform this season.

Since the Magic's 2009 NBA Finals appearance, they have descended from the pinnacle of the Eastern Conference, losing to the Boston Celtics in the Conference finals in 2010 and losing to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round this past season.

And with the current Magic roster not performing well, the team does not possess the talent to overtake the Eastern Conference again, especially with the LeBron James in Miami and the Chicago Bulls on the rise, too.

If Howard senses that the team will continue to fall in the playoffs or that management won't make the necessary moves to put the team in position to win, he could force a trade to a playoff contender like Oklahoma City or Chicago.

2. Orlando Receives an Offer It Can't Refuse

Already several teams have been in the middle of trade speculation with the Orlando Magic in hopes of acquiring Dwight Howard.

Teams are throwing young and promising talent at the Magic for Howard's services.

The most intriguing possibility seems to be from Oklahoma City.

The Thunder will have to send over Russell Westbrook and several other young players like James Harden, Serge Ibaka and maybe some draft picks as well.

Trading Howard allows the Magic to entertain the possibility of essentially starting over and building the franchise off rising stars in Westbrook and Harden.

Acquiring young stars from Oklahoma City will help heal the wounds of Howard leaving, and they will be players that the fanbase can rally behind, too.

Also, the Magic would only have to see Howard twice a year since Oklahoma City is in the Western Conference. 

3. Dwight Howard Follows the Crowd

Dwight Howard comes off as a guy that seems different from other big-time stars like LeBron James and Amar'e Stoudemire.

During the prior offseason and regular season, stars like James, Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams all left their original teams and were either traded or signed as free agents to various big-market teams.

So far, Howard has said all the right things concerning the fans and city of Orlando, but we all heard that same talk from other stars that ended up moving teams.

But with the media seemingly pushing him towards the bigger markets, the talks of only being able to win championships with teams like the Lakers or Knicks could be hard for Howard to ignore.

4. The Magic Can't Dump Salary Cap

While trading Dwight Howard seems like the inevitable option for the Orlando Magic, their current team salary could hinder any deal from happening.

In the past trade deadline, the Magic acquired both Gilbert Arenas and Hedo Turkoglu. 

Unfortunately, they acquired their overwhelming contracts as well.

Arenas is owed $19 million next year, and Turkoglu will be paid roughly $10 million. This makes them the highest and third-highest paid player on the Magic roster.

If the Magic are to make any sort of trade, they will have to find a team to take on the salary of either Arenas or Turkoglu.

But asking a team to take on this big of a salary with the lack of production these two players have been putting up will be a difficult task.

If no teams bite, the Magic could be forced to remain idle during the offseason or at the trade deadline.

Consequently, they might not be able to receive anything in return for Dwight Howard, especially if he leaves via free agency.

And if the Magic simply lost Howard through free agency, that would be the absolute worst situation for the Magic in terms of rebuilding their team.