Knicks Trade Rumors: New York Should Not Give Up Landing Dwight Howard

The New York Knicks cannot give up on improving the team, even after finding a diamond in the rough Jeremy Lin on their roster.

That’s why they need to stay in discussions to acquire Dwight Howard before the March 15 NBA trade deadline.

According to Peter Vecsey of The New York Post, they are definitely still interested. An Easter Conference GM commented:

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I’m positive the Knicks have called just in case Dwight changes up. I’m sure they’ve offered a combination of everybody, excluding Jeremy Lin, of course. Otis deserves a lot of credit for not putting it out on the street which teams have offered what.

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The “changes up” part of the quote refers to the fact that the superstar center has said he will only sign a long-term extension with the Nets, Lakers and Mavericks.

It’s unclear why he would be averse to extending with the Knickerbockers, as they play in the biggest market and have a number of pieces in place to compete for a championship as early as this season.

However, if the Magic and Knicks can agree on an acceptable swap in the next two weeks or so, it shouldn’t be hard to pitch DH12 on sticking around the Big Apple for the long run.

For example, if New York were to offer Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler for Howard plus throw-in contracts, the “Big Three” of Lin, Carmelo Anthony and Howard would be nearly unstoppable in the East.

The reigning three-time Defensive Player of the Year could not ask for a better situation.

This works for the Magic as well, considering they would be getting two big men with multiple years left under contract in return for a player who is leaving town as soon as the season is over anyway.

There are a number of other hypothetical deals that could take place between these two franchises, and almost all of them are better for Orlando than what they would be getting elsewhere.

New York needs to stay persistent and keep in constant contact with Magic GM Otis Smith, as doing so could result in a blockbuster trade getting done in the next few weeks.