Why the Orlando Magic Need to Trade Dwight Howard Now

The Orlando Magic are the most inconsistent team in the NBA this year. Two games can be completely night and day from each other. In January, the Magic beat the Los Angeles Lakers by 12 points. Three days later, they are destroyed by the Celtics by 31.

Their inconsistency is the reason the Magic will go nowhere during the playoffs. In order to be consistent and to be an overall better team, the Orlando Magic must trade Dwight Howard.

The main reason as to why the Magic play with unbelievable inconsistency is because of all the drama that surrounds them. That drama, comes from Howard himself. He has requested being traded several times during the season and has said he wants to commit to the Magic just as many.

After a day of flip-flopping, Howard finally agreed to stay with Magic by waiving his early termination option. For a moment, it seemed that the Magic and the city of Orlando were finally at peace and could focus on playing basketball. Well, that lasted all about two seconds.

Not long after Howard committed to the Magic through the 2013 season, reports surfaced that Howard told Orlando's brass that he wanted head coach Stan Van Gundy to be fired. Howard has repeatedly denied this, but even Van Gundy said he was told by upper management that it was true. That night, the Magic lost to the Knicks by 16. Yet another loss caused by Howard's drama.

General Manager Otis Smith needs to get smart. He needs to realize that although Dwight Howard is the best center in the NBA, his off the court drama is affecting the Magic on the court. Rather than try to appease Howard by firing Van Gundy, Smith needs to ship him elsewhere and trade for players who aren't full of drama.

A day after reports surfaced that Howard would no longer play for Van Gundy, he announced he will have season-ending back surgery. The Magic will now be without their most prolific scorer and rebounder for the playoffs. This is the perfect time to trade Howard. Back injuries are always scary and could easily recur. This just adds to the reasons why Smith needs to send Howard on his way.

The 2012 season for the Orlando Magic will most likely end in a first-round exit in the playoffs. If Howard remains with the Magic, the off-court drama will get worse, as will the Magic. Trading Dwight Howard is the only way to kill the drama and inconsistency surrounding the Magic.

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