NBA Trade Rumors: Could Dwight Howard End Up with the New York Knicks?

With the resignation of head coach Mike D’Antoni, the New York Knicks appear to be going through some changes at every level. One of those changes could include a trade with the Orlando Magic for Dwight Howard.

According to Sam Amick from Sports Illustrated, the Knicks have been inquiring about a trade that would send the three-time Defensive Player of the Year to their squad.

Such a trade would require a fairly major roster shakeup for the Knicks, who have no cap room whatsoever to work with. In fact, Carmelo Anthony might even be included in such a trade.

Whether or not Howard would sign long-term in the Big Apple is anyone's guess, especially considering that Yahoo Sports has reported that Howard is determined to ultimately end up with the Knicks’ cross-town rival, the Nets.

A Howard trade to the Knicks is still very likely though, especially if the Knicks are willing to deal Anthony, Amare Stoudemire or Tyson Chander in some sort of combination.

According to ESPN, the Magic have been angered by Howard’s plea to stay in Orlando for the rest of the season, convinced that Howard and his agent, Dan Fegan, are trying to manipulate them for his own benefit.

That has pushed them closer than they’ve ever been to trading Howard.

A trade to the Knicks could potentially yield more star power than any other potential trade. If the Knicks are willing to part with both Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler, I think the Magic would pull the trigger in a heartbeat.

In that type of deal, the Magic would have the pieces to continue contending in the East and would not have to go through a lengthy rebuilding period.

The Knicks would be expected to take on the ridiculous contract of Hedo Turkoglu and would have to in order to make things work as far as the salary cap goes.

Another option would be for the Knicks to keep Anthony and send Stoudemire to Orlando with Chandler. That probably isn’t as attractive to the Magic as including Anthony, especially since Stoudemire hasn’t had a great year, but they’d still probably take it.

All of this depends on what the Knicks want this team to do in the future and the type of offensive system they would want to run.

Dealing Anthony would make more sense if D’Antoni was staying with the Knicks. Since he isn’t, I’d expect the Knicks to keep him and try and get Howard for Stoudemire and Chandler.

Stoudemire and Chandler would keep Orlando as a playoff team more than likely, but we might see the Magic do more wheeling and dealing even after such a trade.

This trade could happen, but I’d still count against it as I would most blockbuster trades like this. However, if the Knicks are willing to give the Magic an attractive deal for Howard—look out.