NBA Rumors: Dwight Howard and Big Fish Who Will Be Reeled in by Trade Deadline

When teams become desperate, stars get shipped away.

In the next two weeks, rumors will be separated from reality.  When it’s all said and done, this trio of big-name players will be rocking brand new jerseys for the rest of the season after their current squads finally realize that they’re not in position to win it all.

3. Dwight Howard

The Orlando Magic can’t be stupid enough to keep Dwight...right? 

Howard isn’t sticking around. If the Magic fail to fly Superman out of town, he’ll sign with the New Jersey Nets or the Dallas Mavericks this summer without a second thought.  That would then result in the Magic competing for the worst record in the entire league next year. 

While they aren’t linked to many potential trading partners right now, Orlando will deal Dwight because they have to.  As soon as they fail in dealing for Steve Nash, reality will set in.  They simply aren’t talented enough to win a title this season.

2. Rajon Rondo

The Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy reported that, according to sources, the Boston Celtics are desperately attempting to rid themselves of Rondo.  Teams linked to the Celtics are the Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers.  When Boston is willing to cooperate with LA, you know they’re dead serious.

Danny Ainge is craving to make a trade, and let’s get real—no one is going to sacrifice young talent to acquire an ancient Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen.

1. Pau Gasol

With a pitiful 6-12 road record this season, the Lakers aren’t in position to steal an NBA title from the Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder or Chicago Bulls.  For crying out loud, Derek Fisher and Metta World Peace are in the same starting lineup and are averaging a combined 10.9 points per game.

Now that Andrew Bynum has solidified himself as LA’s second-best player, Gasol is the odd man out.  The Los Angeles Times Mark Bresnahan and ESPN’s Chris Broussard each reported this past week that the Lakers turned down offers of Michael Beasley and Ramon Sessions for a first-round pick.

What does that mean?  That LA isn’t interested in minnows—they’re looking to catch a shark and Pau’s the bait.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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