NBA Rumors: Dwight Howard's Interest in Clippers Will Force Magic into Trade

The Orlando Magic would be fools to continue to think they can re-sign Dwight Howard. They can't let their desire cloud their judgment, and they can't let Howard fool them into thinking he would re-sign there.

Even if Howard truly believes he is open to returning to Orlando, once he hits the open market and suitors start wooing him, he will drop the Magic for greener pastures. If this wasn't clear prior to Monday, it is abundantly clear now. 

The Rumor 

Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com has reported that it has come to his attention that Dwight Howard has added the Los Angeles Clippers to list of teams he would like to be traded to. 

Check out his tweet:

This brings Howard's reported list of desired teams to four: the Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks and now Clippers. And it also ensures that Howard will not be returning. 

Forcing the Magic's Hand

Howard can say he wants to be traded to the Clippers all he wants, but it is not going to happen. The Clippers simply don't have the pieces left to trade to make it worth the Magic's while. They aren't going to part with Blake Griffin or Chris Paul and the rest of the roster does not a Dwight Howard make. 

What this does do, though, is prove that Howard is interested in the Clippers, and that is one Los Angeles team that is in a position to be a player in next year's free-agent class. 

The Clippers can easily position themselves to add a max contract this offseason. And if the Magic allow it to get to that point, there is no way that Howard is going to pass up on playing in Hollywood with CP3 and Griffin to return to the Magic. 

UPDATE: Howard has refuted the Sheridan report in this tweet.