Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: Desire to Join Nets Proves Winning Isn't Everything

Some players really care about winning.

It’s what they obsess over as they lay in bed every night. It’s what fuels them to get better every day.

That’s not Dwight Howard.

The Orlando Magic’s center seems to be content with being a star player and getting as much exposure to the camera as humanly possible. That’s the only conclusion that can be drawn from the latest report from Sports Illustrated’s Sam Amick:

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Sources with knowledge of Howard's thinking say nothing has changed about his outlook. And while his wish-list of teams still includes the Nets, Lakers and Mavs, New Jersey is far and away the leader.

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Why the Nets? The other two teams are the favorites to win a title with Howard. New Jersey isn’t even close.

They have a Russian billionaire owner in Mikhail Prokhorov who has endless pockets to treat Howard like the pampered star he is. Jay-Z is right behind him.

Jay-Z is the icon of cool for NBA players, and hanging out with him regularly would surely keep a mammoth grin on Howard’s face. Plenty of magazine covers and feature stories would follow.

Then there is the whole moving to Brooklyn thing.

The Nets are ditching New Jersey for the big city, and Howard could be the poster boy for the new era. Endless marketing and film opportunities will follow. He can truly become the next Shaq.

But one glance of their roster is enough to wonder how many of those players should even be on an NBA roster. At 10-25, only the Wizards and Bobcats have a worse record in the Eastern Conference. If he were to be traded before the March 15th deadline, Howard would be leaving a team destined to make the postseason for another one that is playing out the string.

Deron Williams is the guy that many people think can convince Howard to sign a long-term deal, but what happens when the Texas native takes off for the Dallas Mavericks as a free agent this summer?

The Nets would have to gut their already toothpick-thin roster by surrendering Brook Lopez and future first-round picks. Aside from rookie MarShon Brooks, there is a serious lack of young talent on this team. You know there’s a problem when Anthony Morrow is your fourth leading scorer.

But that is all secondary to Howard.

In his world, if you have the opportunity to be the face of a franchise in the biggest market in the country, you do it. The endless piles of cash will soften the blow of another disappointing first-round exit while watching Kobe Bryant attempt to tie Michael Jordan’s championship total with two broken wrists and an ACL sprain.

The NBA, like every profession in the world, is filled with employees who have different agendas. Howard never signed some sort of binding contract when drafted that ensures he actually cares about the game he is so talented at.

But from a fan's perspective, there’s nothing worse than watching coddled mega-millionaires run the floor wondering what club he’s going to latter that night.

The Magic have to pull the trigger so they can at least get something in return for the best center in the league, and they also need to realize that getting rid of him isn’t the end of the world.

Maybe it’s Howard who has been the problem in Orlando this entire time.