NBA Trade Speculation: Could the Golden State Warriors Land Dwight Howard?

With the NBA trade deadline fast approaching, there is no bigger target for teams than Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, who is arguably the best center in the league. 

Howard has already requested a trade from the Magic, and on his shortlist are the New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers. 

However, all of the above teams have salary cap issues, and would have trouble convincing Orlando Magic GM Otis Smith to make a deal. 

So, with that being said, what team does have the talent and money that is sufficient enough to land Dwight Howard from the Magic?

The Golden State Warriors.

Yep, I said it. 

Now, I'll have to admit—it is highly unlikely that Howard will end up on the Warriors. However, I'll intrigue Warriors' fans a bit, with some help from ESPN's fabulous NBA Trade Machine.

After toying around with the trade machine, I've come up with several deals that would make sense for both teams.

Option #1

Warriors trade: Monta Ellis ($11 million), David Lee ($11.6 million)

Magic trade: Dwight Howard ($18 million)

This is the trade that makes the most sense to me. Ellis' name has been mentioned in trade rumors for the past few seasons. He is averaging 22.0 points per game, good enough for seventh in the NBA. David Lee is averaging 19.0 points per game as well as 10.1 rebounds, good enough for 11th and ninth in the NBA, respectively. 

So, in exchange for Dwight, the Magic would be receiving two of the top 15 scorers in the league, and long-term stability (Ellis has three more years in his contract, Lee has five years).

Option #2

Warriors trade: David Lee ($11.6 million), Stephon Curry ($3.1 million), Klay Thompson ($2.1 million)

Magic trade: Dwight Howard ($18 million)

Or, if Otis Smith wants to rebuild using young talent with tons of potential, he could go this route. In addition to Lee, the Warriors give young phenoms Stephon Curry and Klay Thompson (Monta Ellis stays). 

Curry's name was mentioned in trade rumors this offseason, particularly about one Chris Paul, who the Warriors could have landed had they been willing to give up Curry. 

Then there's Klay Thompson, the rookie who was snubbed off the roster for the Rookie-Sophomore game at the All-Star weekend. The 11th pick in the 2012 draft, Thompson has grown better and better with each game he has played. He has tremendous upside, and I can even dare to compare him to Ray Allen. 

Now, just as a disclaimer, this is purely speculation. In no way am I implying that Dwight Howard will come to the Warriors. Even if he was traded to Golden State, it would not be likely that he would resign with the Warriors for long term. 

But, as one of my favorite sayings goes, "99 percent of rumors are fake, but 99 percent of rumors are fun to talk about."