Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: 10 Reasons He's Staying With the Orlando Magic
The summer of LeBron has entrenched the idea in the minds of sports fans that superstar players in their prime will leave their franchises to chase a championship.
But rumours of trading Dwight Howard have been greatly exaggerated.
Howard is the most explosive and innovative center since Shaquille O'Neal (another Magic center, though one who skipped Orlando for the bright lights of Los Angeles).
This slideshow looks at the top 10 reasons Dwight Howard will stay in Orlando and not be traded to New York or Los Angeles.
10. Orlando Isn't Stupid
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This one is insanely simple: If Orlando decides it needs to trade its franchise player to get maximum value for him, they aren't going to do it a season and a half before they have to.
In the current NBA, there is no replacement for Howard. He is easily the best player in his position since another former Magic center in Shaquille O'Neal.
No matter who Orlando could get in return for Howard, it will be impossible to not feel his loss.
When he comes up for free agency, it may become a necessity to trade Howard. But why would the team want to hurt its championship chances at this point?
It just doesn't make sense, particularly in return for Andrew Bynum, the player most frequently mentioned in these trade rumours.
9. He Isn't LeBron, Bosh or Carmelo
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Dwight Howard always has a smile on his face and thrives on having the fans in Orlando behind him. He isn't the kind of player who could embrace the villain.
Just because the summer of LeBron has entrenched the idea in our minds that superstars playing in playoff grade teams in their prime could jump ship doesn't mean that every player is interested in chasing a title in someone else's team.
Wherever he goes, Howard is likely to be the man, just due to his dominating physical presence.
But he is more than just physically dominating, and he knows very well that he is the heart and soul of the Orlando team.
His mocking of LeBron's antics before the recent Orlando-Cleveland game doesn't show a player looking to go into the wilderness and leave his home—he looks pretty content.
8. He Hasn't Quit
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What this heading is referring to is probably the most well-publicised piece of speculation in sports today: that LeBron James quit on the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Boston Celtics in the playoffs.
Whether it is true or not, it is easy to see watching the game again that James felt the full weight of carrying his team in that game.
Howard has yet to show signs of cracking.
The signs were all there with LeBron. He basically had the Cavaliers on notice: Win a championship, or lose your franchise player.
Howard is a blue-collar player—he doesn't expect to be given a championship. He will work for it, and he won't quit for somewhere easier.
Just like the "real" Superman never quit on Earth!
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7. Contending Teams Are Hard to Build
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The Miami Heat have been the finest example of this in recent times, though look through the history books and we see it time and time again: Putting two 5-star players together does not make a championship team.
While the Boston Celtics had instant success when they brought Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen together, that is more because they were players heading toward the end of their careers who wanted to unselfishly win a championship.
Adding Howard to a team with another star would mean Howard would have to learn a while new system of play.
Also, the rest of the team would have to learn to play around an explosive force like Howard.
He would be much smarter to keep chipping away at Orlando, rather than jumping ship in his prime.
6. Talks Have Annoyed Him
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All we really need to do when wondering about the future of Dwight Howard is listen to the man himself.
Howard isn't hyping free agency like LeBron James did (he has been mentioned before, he will be mentioned again). He has, in fact done the exact opposite of hyping his free agency.
Howard was forced to use his Twitter page to express his displeasure about trade rumours, and to tell followers he was interested in winning with Orlando, not thinking about Los Angeles or New York.
He didn't use any of the rhetoric we have seen from Carmelo Anthony—he was just completely honest.
On top of that, he hasn't come out in the media and expressed his displeasure. He just wants to play.
5. Orlando Isn't Cleveland
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Look at the roster without Howard: Ryan Anderson, Gilbert Arenas, Brandon Bass, Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick, Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu.
There is some major talent there.
While Howard may be the only 5-star player on the Magic's roster, he is surrounded by 3- or 4-star talent. When LeBron shocked the world and left Cleveland it was, in essence, because he knew that he was the first, second, third and fourth option on that team.
Howard is the No. 1 guy, but he is not as desperately relied upon as LeBron was, and the Magic are much more likely to be championship contenders than the Cavaliers were.
If Howard were not to play, they wouldn't be the team they are, but they also wouldn't completely fall apart like Jamison and co.
4. Howard Can't Re-Sign Yet
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Even if Dwight Howard wanted to completely silence all speculation around his future and sign a contract extension, but he can't yet.
He told a fan urging him to "be different" and stay in Orlando, following the example of franchise players Tim Duncan and Michael Jordan before him.
He replied that he still has another year before he can even sign.
That means that while he could use an early termination clause at the end of next season, it is much more likely he will sit down with officials at the Magic and work out a new contract.
Otherwise, this comment makes very little sense.
3. He Is Interested in Championships
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What sparked all of these trade rumours is that Dwight Howard had said all he is interested in is winning a championship.
Look at the two main teams popping up in trade talk: the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks.
With Howard the Knicks rise a bit—as adding a bonafide superstar will do—but don't become championship contenders above the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat.
The Knicks would still lack a good defence.
The Lakers, on the other hand, would certainly be propelled to the top of the Western Conference—this is, of course, if Kobe and Dwight could get along, unlike Kobe and another former Magic center.
But the problem is, the Lakers are a declining team.
He would be joint a team at the end of its run and inject maybe a couple more seasons with energy, but beyond that he is in a worse position with the Magic.
As mentioned earlier, in the next few seasons the Magic will emerge, along with the Chicago Bulls, as one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.
2. Orlando Are Making Moves
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Orlando has just recently made a few high-profile moves to not only keep Howard happy, but make the team outside championship contenders.
Despite some big Magic wins—including beating the Boston Celtics—the trades haven't made that much of a difference in the short term.
This doesn't mean Howard is going to cut his loses and run.
The current Magic lineup has only been a unit for just over a month and are still gelling.
It took the Heat half a season to really learn to play together, and it might take the new look Magic just as long.
Also, the Magic didn't pick up a player like Gilbert Arenas looking for consistent production; rather, for a guy who can pull out a big game when necessary.
1. He Is Still a Couple of Years Away
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This is the most obvious reason as to why Dwight Howard will be staying with the Orlando Magic, at least for now.
It is unlikely that teams will be able to even work out a satisfactory deal in time for the fast-approaching deadline.
But more than that, this is likely the first time Howard has really even thought about his free agency.
The man has over a season until he will be a free agent and it is the middle of the season.
Howard is thinking about playing basketball and winning an NBA championship. Jumping ship isn't even an option for him at the moment, so it is unlikely he will even be thinking about it.
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