Dwight Howards Trade Rumors Have Doomed His Future with Orlando

Dwight Howard’s time with the Orlando Magic has run its course. The center needs to go before the trade deadline, and this broken marriage between franchise and star must finally come to a merciful end.

There is no way to remedy this damaged relationship and Howard’s trade request has evolved from a problem to deal with down the road into a caustic situation that will destroy this franchise if not promptly handled.

After Orlando lost to the then-3-15 New Orleans Hornets this past Friday, the superstar big man publicly trashed his teammates.

"

“I look at guys and they don’t look like they want to play,” Howard said following the lopsided loss. “I told them at halftime, ‘If you don’t want to play, just stay in the locker room, because it don’t make sense for a team who we should beat to just demolish us.’ ”

"

The irony is so thick in his statement, you could cut it with a knife.

Howard is the only player on the Magic that has made it well known he does not want to be there.

It’s showing up in his play too.

In a loss against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, he shot an abysmal 6-of-17 from the field and went 5-of-13 from the line.

Dwight’s uninspired performance was highlighted by awful crunch-time play during a bench-led comeback.

In the final moments, he missed a layup, had a shot blocked by Elton Brand and, to add insult to injury, 35-year-old Tony Battie kept him contained for most of the night.

Maybe he should have stayed in the locker room. 

It’s obvious the rest of the team has followed suit and stopped caring as well.

When shooting guard J.J. Reddick was asked by Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski if the trade demand is affecting the locker room, he responded,

"

It is. Yeah, it is. I’ve said since the beginning: As long as he’s here, it will be a distraction because it’s all anybody talks about when they talk about our team. We don’t hear it? Of course we do.

"

He continued,

"

Chemistry is a very fragile thing, the team dynamic of how guys rely on each other, how guys trust each other. All that stuff is very fragile.

"

Since he arrived in Orlando back in 2004, Howard has been the centerpiece of the organization and locker room. If he is playing well and happy, the team can do great things, as evidenced by their 2009 Finals run.

By the same token, a despondent Howard trying to force his way out of town will crush the spirits and chances for this franchise to accomplish anything of note.

Eleven days ago, the Magic were 11-4 and near the top of the Eastern Conference. However, Howard kept talking about possible trades and let them become a distraction, which is why the team is in the midst of a free fall.

They are currently sitting at 12-9 heading into a winnable game against the Washington Wizards tomorrow.

It’s quite possible Orlando drops that game, leading to another incident where Howard calls out his teammates during a postgame interview.

At this point, there would be nothing shocking about those events transpiring.

It’s high time the Magic realize this season is done, Howard’s time is finished and they move on without him for whatever they can get in return for a disgruntled superstar.