Dwight Howard Rumors: What Experts Are Saying About D12's Future

Dwight Howard, you may have heard, wants to be traded. He also wants the team around him to commit to him. However, he appreciates that the fans in New Jersey want him there. 

Howard is loving the love, according to this tweet from John Denton of OrlandoMatic.com:

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#Magic star @DwightHoward said part of what appeals to him about being an unrestricted free agent is being recruited by various NBA teams.

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The whole way that Howard is flirting with every team in the NBA while committing to none has some people talking about him, his future and how he should be handling the whole thing. 

Oscar Robertson

OpenMike.com reports that Oscar Robertson had some strong words:

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Keep your mouth shut and play basketball. If he wants to be traded, he’s going to be traded. Go and talk to the owners and say, ‘I want to be traded’ and keep it a secret. In a situation like this, he can’t win...Anytime they (Magic) stumble and fall and every time they get beat, they’re going to blame Dwight Howard and it’s totally unfair because it’s not all his fault. I don’t think management has done a great job in keeping certain players on the team. They had a nucleus of players that got them to the Finals and then, all of the sudden, it’s gone downhill.

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In other words, if you're going to try to change your future, don't do it so publicly. Robertson is right that the front office bears some of the blame here, but so does Howard. 

Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O'Neal thinks it would be a "travesty" if he left, saying, "You know hopefully he stays, because that arena there is one of the best arenas in the country. If he leaves, it'll be a travesty."

At times like this, I really wish there were a laugh track. Do I need to expand?

The hypocrisy is overwhelming here. This would be akin to LeBron James telling Kyrie Irving it would be a travesty if he leaves Cleveland. 

Mitch Lawrence

Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News believes that Howard is going to be a Laker:

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(Orlando Magic owner Rich) DeVos came out and said he’s not going to trade him. I think what he’s going to find is, once he knows for sure that Dwight Howard is going to leave, he’s going to have to make a deal. Then, he’s going to go to his basketball guys and say, ‘OK, I really don’t want to do this, but I don’t want a repeat of what happened with the other guy, Shaquille O’Neal, in 1996. What’s my best trade out there? Who is the best player I can get for this guy?’ What are they going to tell him? Brooke Lopez? No, they’re going to tell him Andrew Bynum is the best player you can get for him. Go ahead, make the deal. He’s going to be a Laker.

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