Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: Are the Chicago Bulls Now on His Wish List?

Which team will be lucky enough to add Superman to its roster?

Dwight Howard trade rumors have been swirling for months now, and so far no one seems anywhere close to a deal.

In fact, according to Orlando's GM Otis Smith, the Magic aren't planning to sign away their superstar anytime soon. Smith spoke out prior to Monday night's game against the 76ers, which marked the team's fourth consecutive loss:

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If a string of losses causes you to change your plans, then I'm in the wrong job [...] I think you look at your team as a whole and understand that we have to fight through whatever we have to fight through and you continue to evaluate everything top to bottom. That's what you do. When it's time to make a change, you make a change.

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Although Orlando officials continue to indicate they desire to keep Howard, he's still vying for a trade. And now, rumors of a new team catching Howard's radar have surfaced.

Apparently, Howard hinted to the Chicago Tribune that he would be open to joining Derrick Rose on the Chicago Bulls roster.

"If I could play with Derrick right now and God wanted that to happen, it will happen," Howard said. "It has nothing to do with me not wanting to play with Derrick Rose. I love him. That’s my brother."

And what does Rose have to say about this? Per his usual reaction toward toward gaining a championship-caliber teammate, the Chicago guard seems fairly indifferent. As CBS Sports points out, Rose maintains the attitude that he will play hard, focus and succeed with "his guys"—whomever those may be.

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“Me and Dwight definitely have a relationship, especially because of adidas. I know our market and the city speaks for itself, if someone was interested to come to the Chicago Bulls,” Rose said of the Magic’s All-Star center. “Dwight, he’s a great player. Who wouldn’t want to play with him, but you never know what’s going to happen.”

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People can speculate all they want, but according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, Chicago fans have nothing to rejoice about yet. At least not officially. 

Smith claims Howard has yet to add another team to his list of prospects, and at this point his original three choices remain the same: the New Jersey Nets, the Dallas Mavericks or the LA Lakers.

Robins doesn't view the Chicago/Orlando trade as a probable transaction. "Why would Bulls officials mortgage their team’s future for a player who might not be interested in remaining with their franchise long-term?"

The 2011-2012 NBA Trade Deadline is marked for March 15. Until then, anything could happen...