NBA Rumors: Dwight Howard's Stubbornness Ends Any Chance of Being Moved

No team in its right mind would even consider making a trade for a player like Dwight Howard if they weren't guaranteed to see Howard long term. It is because of this and recent declarations from Howard that he will remain with the Magic for the rest of the season. 

Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk was blunt in talking about what Howard would do after a potential trade. 

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Howard is not signing an extension immediately wherever he is traded for financial reasons.

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In the same article, Helin also shared an e-mail from Larry Coon, which was sent to Pro Basketball Talk.

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An extension is a problem. An extend-and-trade only allows three years (including the current years on his contract) and 4.5% raises, and any extension that occurs within six months of a trade is treated like an extend-and-trade. If he was traded to the Lakers and subsequently extended, he could add on only one new year, with a 4.5% raise. If he was traded on, say, March 15, he could lock-in the additional year (on his existing deal), then sign an extension after September 15 that allowed for three new years and 7.5% raises.

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Justify with whatever financial jargon you want to use, this comes down to one cold, hard fact. No team in the NBA is going to trade what it would take to get a player like Howard if they were only guaranteed to get him through the season. 

It is hard to pinpoint exactly what would need to be given up to get Howard, but he is hands down the best center in the game. He will cost any team a great deal. Frankly, he should be expensive, no other center in the league comes anywhere near his numbers.

	MPG	PPG	RPG	BPG
2011-2012	38.3	20.2	15	2.2
Career	36.1	18.3	13	2.2

Weigh that against the fact that we're talking about a 26-year-old, and the asking price is going to be immense. 

The problem is that no team in the NBA is going to make that move unless they know he'll be opening next season in their uniform. 

As of right now, Howard is asking teams to take a gamble that not even a guaranteed NBA Championship would be worth. Conversely, the Magic won't be lowering their asking price, there's no reason to. Worst case scenario is that they lose him but save the money on his contract. 

A team trading for Howard needs to know that he's not going to test the waters for greener pastures. If Howard wants to be dealt, he's going to have to show some willingness to sign an extension. If not, get used to seeing him in an Orlando uniform, at least for the balance of this season. 

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