Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: Power Ranking the Teams That Will Recruit D12

Dwight Howard's off season decision on where he'll play next year will certainly draw the same type of attention that LeBron James' notorious choice to leave Cleveland in 2010.

Any team that Howard elects to play for will almost certainly be a championship contender in 2012-2013.

Where he will go next season, however, has NBA fans debating.

Here are the teams that will attempt to entice Howard to abandon ship in Orlando.

New Orleans Hornets

The Hornets make this list only because of their ample cap room this summer.

Unless David Stern forces Dwight Howard to sign with the NBA owned Hornets by vetoing any other team acquiring him, there’s no way this is happening.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Maybe Dan Gilbert will send another email demanding that Howard has to play for a small market, or just Cleveland explicitly.

I wonder how Gilbert feels every time Howard and Lebron James embrace when they play each other?

Golden State Warriors

Oh they’ll try, and they’ll try hard.

But if the team can’t even convince the likes of Tyson Chandler and DeAndre Jordan to ink deals in the Bay Area, do they honestly think they have any realistic shot of signing Dwight?

Hey, The Warriors can always give Kwame Brown another shot.

Houston Rockets

Houston is the first team on this list with a legitimate shot at acquiring Howard in the summer.

An underdog? Absolutely.

But Howard could be enticed by playing with the electrifying scorer Kevin Martin and rising point guard Kyle Lowry.

The Rockets play in a large market and definitely have a solid winning tradition from the Hakeem Olajuwan and Clyde Drexler years in the '90s.

Howard could be intrigued by following in the Hall of Famer Olajuwan's footsteps (or Yao Ming's).

Portland Trailblazers

Portland has ample cap space this offseason as well with Raymond Felton and Marcus Camby in the final years of their deals, and a LeMarcus Aldridge/Howard combo has to spurn some interest in Howard’s decision.

However, Portland is a small market team, and Magic GM Otis Smith indicated that Howard motives could lead him exclusively to large market teams.

Boston Celtics

The Big Three are over the hill, and Celtics GM Danny Ainge will likely look to either deal the expiring contracts of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, or let them walk once the season is over.

The opportunity to play for the most success franchise in history of the NBA has to light up Howard's eyes at least a bit.

Alongside Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce, the team could theoretically form a new Big Three.

New Jersey Nets

With reports surfacing from Yahoo Sports indicating that Howard is determined to play for the Nets,  it’s only plausible to list them near the top of this list.

If the Nets are able to lock up Deron Williams and Howard long term, and keep young talent like Brook Lopez on the roster by waiting until the summer to acquire him, the Nets suddenly become a championship caliber team overnight.

The Nets would certainly open their first season in Brooklyn with a bang should they acquire Howard, but that leaves one team that could potentially court the coveted All-Pro...

Dallas Mavericks

Dallas is an interesting case.

They’re a perennial championship contender that always find themselves in the title mix come June.

The expiring contracts of Jason Terry and Jason Kidd give Dallas the cap flexibility to offer not just Howard, but impending free agent Deron Williams a deal as well.

Should the Mavericks sign both D-Will and Howard, paired alongside future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas instantly morphs into a team that can be compared with the Miami Heat.

Williams is a Dallas local, making the deal more realistic. He might even be willing to give his hometown a discount.

Howard, meanwhile, gets to play on a large-market team that will be nearly unstoppable.