NBA Trade Rumors: Orlando Magic Should End Drama by Trading Dwight Howard

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard has been the center of trade talks since the lockout ended. The team hasn't been able to find an acceptable deal, however, so he remains in Orlando with the season underway. Instead of dragging this process out until the deadline, the Magic should just trade Howard now.

Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel passed along some thoughts from former teammate Courtney Lee, who shed some light on the Howard situation:

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“I’m not surprised (Dwight requested a trade),” said Lee, who came off the bench to score 15 points in the Rockets’ 104-95 loss to the Magic in the home opener at Amway Center. ”When they broke up the team in 2009, you could just see the frustration in Dwight’s face. We talked about it a couple of times and you could tell he was upset about it.”

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Howard has a player option for next season, which limits Orlando's bargaining power. He could opt out and leave the Magic out to dry should he continue to be disappointed in the team's direction. Losing their star player for nothing would be crippling.

Teams who are interested in the All-Star center understand those facts. That means as the trade deadline nears and the Magic become more desperate to move Howard, the offers are likely to get worse, not better.

It's a situation that will only become a bigger distraction with each passing day. Howard's teammates will eventually grow tired of answering questions about his future but, since he means so much to the franchise, the story won't be going away any time soon.

That is unless the Magic trade him.

He's been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers and New Jersey Nets most frequently as both teams are looking to add some extra star power for different reasons. The Lakers need to make a big splash to avoid being overshadowed by the Clippers while the Nets are preparing for a move to Brooklyn.

Unlike the Chris Paul hoopla from a couple weeks ago where everybody had a pretty good idea of the players involved, the Howard talks have been a lot more secretive. But whatever package the teams are offering is surely better than watching the defensive wizard walk away at season's end.

It's never easy for a team to move its marquee attraction, but the Magic need to realize how far they'd be set back without Howard or any immediate replacements. It's not a pretty picture.

So now's the time to move Howard before Orlando's options become even more limited.