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Earlier this season, the Orlando Magic traded for Jason Richardson, Gilbert Arenas and Hedo Turkoglu in an attempt to help superstar center Dwight Howard collect an NBA championship ring.    

If the Magic fail to win it all or get bounced out of the playoffs early, Howard could become upset this summer and request a trade. 

Orlando would then be forced to accommodate Howard's request since he can get out of his contract and hit the free agent market in 2012.

Magic fans definitely wouldn't want to see their franchise player decide to leave town without compensation like Shaquille O'Neal did back in 1996.

Several players in NBA history have put pressure on the front office to trade them, whether they were tired of their coach, wanted more money or just needed a better opportunity to win a championship.

Here's a look at 10 players who have held their team's hostage.

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The Drexler-led Portland Trail Blazers were quite a dangerous team in the late 1980s and early 1990s, reaching the NBA Finals in both 1990 and 1992.

But by 1995, the team was no longer a title contender, which prompted Drexler to request a trade. Rumors began to swirl that he would be dealt to the Miami Heat for slam dunk champ Harold Miner or to the Seattle SuperSonics for Kendall Gill.    

Drexler would be traded to the Houston Rockets, where he was reunited with college teammate Hakeem Olajuwon. The dynamic duo then led the Rockets to a title in '95, Drexler's first and Olajuwon's second straight.     

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New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul never publicly demanded a trade. However, everyone was aware that he wanted to take his talents out of Louisiana. 

Rumor has it that he provided the Hornets with a list of teams that he preferred to get traded to such as the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic. 

Paul would stay put in New Orleans, though, as trade rumors came to a halt. But with him being able to become a free agent in 2012, don't be surprised to hear his name in trade talk once again in the future.

The Hornets don't want to lose their superstar point guard without receiving anything in return.  

Earl "The Pearl" Monroe played his first four-and-a-half seasons with the Baltimore Bullets. But after arguing with the team about his contract, he considered defecting to the ABA's Indiana Pacers.

The Bullets later traded Monroe to the New York Knicks, where he formed a "Rolls Royce" backcourt with Walt "Clyde" Frazier. 

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During the 1981-82 season, Johnson made it known that he wasn't a fan of Lakers head coach Paul Westhead, who Johnson claimed made the team too slow. Johnson then requested a trade.

Trying to keep his superstar happy, Lakers owner Jerry Buss would fire Westhead and replace him with some guy with slicked-back hair named Pat Riley.

Johnson loved having his new coach around and played the rest of his career in Los Angeles, happy to be a Laker.     

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Wanting salary increase, Kemp had a bone to pick with the Seattle SuperSonics front office. And the team's $35 million signing of reserve center Jim McIlvaine didn't help the matter much.

Kemp became furious and told the Sonics that he would sit out the next season if he didn't get his dough.

The disgruntled All-Star forward was eventually shipped to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team deal that involved Terrell Brandon and Vin Baker.

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Webber put together a nice rookie campaign with the Golden State Warriors. The top pick in the 1993 NBA Draft averaged 17 points and nine rebounds per game, winning Rookie of the Year and helping the Warriors reach the playoffs.

Golden State thought that they had found a superstar who would be with the team for many years to come. But, after just one season in the Bay Area, an unhappy Webber wanted to play elsewhere due to clashing with head coach Don Nelson. 

The Warriors ended up trading Webber to the Washington Bullets (now Wizards) for forward Tom Gugliotta and three future first-round draft picks.

With Webber out of the picture, the Warriors failed to make a postseason appearance for another 13 years. 

Barkley was frustrated with his Philadelphia 76ers, a team that wasn't going anywhere.

After demanding a trade out of Philly, the Dream Team power forward was dealt to the Phoenix Suns in the summer of 1992 for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry.  

Barkley was instantly a hit in Phoenix, leading the Suns to the league's best record in 1992-93 and a trip to the NBA Finals. Also, that season, he won the only regular-season MVP award of his Hall of Fame career.   

Wilt and Kareem appear on the same slide because they have a few things in common. They both are undoubtedly two of the top three greatest centers in NBA history and are both Laker legends.     

In addition, both players demanded trades so that they could live in glamorous Hollywood.  

The Philadelphia 76ers dealt Chamberlain to the Lakers in 1968 as he formed a memorable trio with fellow Hall of Famers Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.

And in 1975, Abdul-Jabbar was traded from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Lakers in one of the most lopsided deals ever.   

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In 2007, Bryant demanded a trade from the Lakers because management was failing to surround him with a championship caliber team. Nope, a supporting cast of Smush Parker, Kwame Brown and Brian Cook just didn't excite him very much for some reason.

The Chicago Bulls were considered the front-runner to land Bryant since their roster was filled with young talent to rebuild around.

Bryant came close to being shipped to the Detroit Pistons in a deal for Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, but he nixed the trade and remained in L.A.

A few months later, the Lakers acquired Memphis Grizzlies All-Star big man Paul Gasol, who later helped Kobe and co. win back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.

Bryant is currently happy to be sporting the purple-and-gold and will most likely retire as a Laker.       

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The Carmelo Anthony situation this season has been one of the weirdest situations in recent memory.   

After not signing a $65 million extension with the Denver Nuggets, 'Melo's name has been involved in trade talks all season.

One day he's headed to Chicago and the next, he's going to land in New York.

For a while, it appeared as if Anthony was going to become a New Jersey Net until their owner finally pulled out of the running. 

Will Anthony be traded by this month's deadline? Will he sign that extension with Denver? Or will he become a free agent this summer and sign somewhere else?

It will certainly be fun to see how this plays out.