NBA Rumors: Orlando Magic Are Overrated, Must Gamble and Make Moves

Orlando Magic general manager Otis Smith is in a very tough spot.

He's between a rock and a hard place.

On one hand, he can hold onto his superstar Dwight Howard until the All-Star game. With the game in Orlando, there's little to no chance Howard is traded before then.

If that's the case, he must put up with the distraction of Howard's constant reminders that he wants traded and the weekly updates on the teams he will or won't play for—Howard now said he would like to play for the Chicago Bulls.

Then there is the fact that Howard looks more disinterested by the day.

It's not a good situation for anyone in Orlando right now, especially Howard's teammates.

On the other hand, though, Smith can roll the dice and try to make this team better.

The Magic are slumping. They've lost their past four games and have fallen to 12-9 on the season.

They currently are nothing more then a mediocre NBA team.

Smith can try to change all that.

Right now it looks like the teams that Howard wants to go to won't have the trade assets the Magic want.

So in the meantime, Smith should make one last attempt at trying to improve this team. Of course he did indicate to the Orlando Sentinel that he has no plans of doing so, but that could be the wrong move.

Who knows where he should begin, but the Magic need help for their struggling offense.

Phoenix point guard Steve Nash was linked to the Magic a couple weeks ago. Would a major splash like Nash fix the problems?

Probably, but it's not likely a deal could happen given the abundance of bad contracts the Magic currently have.

It doesn't have to be Nash, but Smith needs to gamble and tinker with the current roster.

Who knows? It might work.

In the process, he may actually get Howard to appear interested and reconsider his trade demands.

Even if Smith makes moves now, there's still time to deal Howard or whoever he would acquire as the trade deadline approaches.

Smith is almost in a no-win situation, but sometimes it's better to do something and fail instead of standing by and doing nothing while you watch your team implode.