Breaking News: A Brooklyn Nets Potential Trade for Dwight Howard Is Now 'Dead'

The circus that has involved both the Brooklyn Nets and the Orlando Magic has finally come to an end. According to ESPN's Ric Bucher, a potential deal that would send Dwight Howard to the Nets is officially "dead."

With teams now allowed to officially sign their free agents, Wednesday was the deadline for a potential deal to go through. It appears Nets general manager Billy King hoped to get a deal done today or he would complete negotiating a max contract for center Brook Lopez.

Unfortunately, time finally ran out on the Nets, as Bucher reported. 

In fact, it appears that the Howard trade discussions have stopped altogether. According to Jarrod N Rudolph of RealGM.com (via Twitter), the Magic are now focused on ending the head coaching search: "Sources: Orlando Magic have informed Dwight Howard that they are suspending trade talks in favor of finding next head coach."

ESPN's Ian O'Connor reported via Twitter that the Nets were tired of waiting for the Magic. One source told him, "'We've moved on. It just got to a point where we couldn't keep going back & forth w/ Orlando.'"

Meanwhile, a second source told O'Connor that they gave the Magic enough time to complete a deal: "'They had 14 days to do something & didn't. We just had to move on.'"

What is next for both teams? Clearly, the Nets are focused on locking up Lopez to likely a maximum contract, and move on from there. The organization is confident that this team can compete with the likes of the Heat in the Eastern Conference, and will use the cap space available to them to add depth to the roster.

Nets coach Avery Johnson told WFAN (660 AM) that he believes the Nets are now a top-three or -four team in the East. With the new pieces in place, it's hard not to be optimistic about this new group.

As for the Magic, they are allowing the Dwight Howard saga to continue. Clearly, the Magic were never enticed by the Nets' offer enough to pull the trigger on a deal. They had roughly 10 days to make a deal happen.

Where do they turn to now? The Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks appear to be the likely contenders to acquire Howard. The Rockets have the pieces in place to make a deal and are willing to take a chance on acquiring Howard or even Andrew Bynum in a potential three-team deal with the Lakers.

The Hawks have the cap space and more intriguing assets to complete a deal with the Magic. However, would they complete a deal within the division?

Ultimately, whether he likes it or not, Howard will now need to open his list of teams he is open to signing with next year.

Matt Miselis is a veteran Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com. Follow him on Twitter.