NBA Trade Rumors: Orlando Magic Cannot Afford to Be Patient with Dwight Howard

The Orlando Magic have been patiently seeking the perfect deal for their superstar center, Dwight Howard. Unfortunately, this cautious approach to trading DH12 has closed plenty of doors already and will only hinder the franchise’s efforts to move the big man.

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported on Sunday that the trade talk surrounding Howard was once again slowing down and the Magic were listless in their attempts to flip the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.

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Trade talks "slow" and there is "nothing aggressive" going on in regards to Dwight Howard, source tells Y! Magic patient for right deal.

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) July 15, 2012"

This “wait-and-waffle” strategy of fielding offers from desperate organization willing to take the center off the Magic roster for a high cost, then making them sweat it out for far too long is just poor decision-making by new Orlando GM Rob Hennigan.

It’s not a good plan, and it’s certainly not one that has resulted in anything magical being sent Orlando’s way.

Because the teams that actually need Howard are contenders—such as the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers—they generally do not have the exact combination of draft picks, young prospects and cap relief that the Magic reportedly desire.

CBS Sports’ Ken Berger has more:

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In the ideal scenario for Orlando, the Magic would get multiple first-round and possibly second-round picks, "perhaps a player or two," a source said, and cap relief from moving the onerous contracts of Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson.

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Ideal and realistic are not the same thing, and Hennigan needs to make sure his goals align with the latter rather than the former if he’s ever going to deal the petulant big man.

Howard will walk away as an unrestricted free agent next summer, and the clock is ticking for the Magic to get a deal done. If they do not lower their expectations and start showing more urgency, they will lose DH12 for absolutely nothing.