Dwight Howard: Why Howard Will Open the Season in a Magic Uniform

Despite Dwight Howard's constant calls for a trade, every passing day seems to bring Howard closer to staying with the Orlando Magic until at least the start of the season.

Though Howard has generated incredible interest, two key hurdles stand in the way of a deal getting done before the season.

Howard's Refusal to Sign an Extension

Getting a trade done is always difficult when the traded player is not satisfied with the result.

Usually, the players involved do not have enough sway to influence the trade. In this case, though, the centerpiece of the trade, Howard, is one of the best and most powerful players in the NBA.

What that means is that Howard will ultimately have some semblance of veto-power in the trade negotiations.

Unfortunately for both the Magic and Howard, that veto-power will limit the amount of possible trades to next to nothing.

The saga began with Howard claiming that the only team he would sign an extension with was the Brooklyn Nets, but too many roadblocks kept that trade from being done.

Since then, rumors have surfaced that Howard would sign an extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, but his agent has since refuted these rumors, according to an ESPN report.

Essentially, any team that ultimately trades for Howard would be taking a gamble that he would sign an extension at the end of the season.

Because trading for Howard would involve moving an enormous amount of resources, that gamble might not be worthwhile.

To this point, most teams have not even bothered to inquire about such a risky trade, but the Lakers and the Houston Rockets remain interested.

Ultimately, Howard's stubbornness has cut down the list of serious suitors to two, making a trade much more difficult.

Rob Hennigan's Reluctance to Deal Howard

Howard cannot be the only guilty party in the breakdown of trade talks, though, as GM Rob Hennigan has been reluctant to finalize any trade for the mercurial center.

Sport's Illustrated reports that Howard met with Magic staff, where Howard expressed frustration that the Magic turned down offers from the Nets and the Lakers.

Clearly, Hennigan is trying to get the maximum value from Howard, value that he did not feel was there in the proposals from the Nets and the Lakers.

Unfortunately, Hennigan very well could be overplaying his hand. He keeps changing his stance on Howard, and that instability is making trade talks very difficult.

Rumors from every direction continue to fly around, some saying the Magic are ready to part with Howard and others claiming that the Magic will hold on to Howard until the last possible moment.

Whether this instability is intentional or not remains to be seen, but it guarantees that trade talks will eat up most of the summer and could continue into the season.

This could be a shrewd calculated risk on Hennigan's part, as the Nets could become viable trade partners when Brook Lopez becomes available to be traded again.

On the other hand, it could be a disaster for the Magic, as Howard could just decide at that point, with just a few months left on his contract, that he will test free agency regardless of where he ends up in a trade.

Between these two hurdles, the probability that Howard gets traded soon is decreasing rapidly.

What was once a hot and exciting trade rumor is becoming an ugly stalemate, and this stalemate has no end in sight, virtually guaranteeing that Howard will still be in Orlando when the season begins.