NBA Trade Rumors: 5 Teams with the Best Chance of Landing Dwight Howard

Next year's offseason will be a lot different, so it's best that teams begin planning ahead when preparing to possibly make the biggest splash of the summer.

Drawing comparisons to the legendary 2010 free agency class, the 2012 class features a number of All-Stars and superstars alike with the New Orleans Hornets' Chris Paul and the Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard being the cream of the crop. Both players have been with their franchises since being drafted and have yet to see the success that they've been waiting for.

Paul's frustrated with the direction of the Hornets, but it seems as if Howard has been more vocal about his feelings towards staying with the Magic organization and it doesn't always sound positive for the franchise that drafted him with the first pick in 2004.

Howard has made it to the postseason the past five seasons with only one NBA Finals appearance to show for it, which came in 2009 when the Magic lost in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Howard hasn't exactly announced it to the world, but leaving for a new opportunity could be a high possibility.

The Magic are just coming off of their first opening round exit since 2007, don't have the funds to sign an All-Star caliber second option and are too busy running an offensive and defensive system that hasn't worked before and won't work later.

After watching his team average 30 three-point attempts during their 2011 postseason series against the Atlanta Hawks, Howard may be jetting and these five locations just may be the spots that he ends up in either by the midpoint of this season or at least by the start of next season.

Los Angeles Lakers

You usually don't find current contenders in the market for a big name player like Dwight Howard, but you have to make an exception for the Los Angeles Lakers when given the circumstances.

The fact that Kobe Bryant isn't getting any younger and Pau Gasol is coming off of one of the worst postseasons of his career is reason enough for the Lakers to begin pursuing Howard and that might begin as soon as this year.

The Lakers might just have the best shot at obtaining Howard as well. Not only do they contain the glitz and glamor of Hollywood (Dwight's been in a few commercials and movies already), but they possess the pieces to possibly entice the Magic into a trade.

With the chance that Howard's leaving, the Magic just might attempt to trade Dwight midseason just to get something in return which means the likes of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum could be joining the Magic in return.

New Jersey Nets

Showcasing a great deal of promise with Deron Williams running the point and the high possibility that he brings in free agents of his own, the New Jersey Nets may attempt to entice Howard by giving him arguably the league's top point guard to run alongside as well as playing in an offense that goes through him and not the perimeter.  

Unlike the Lakers who have a plethora of All-Stars to possibly give up, the Nets are lacking in the star department and don't have any players of Howard's caliber aside from Williams.

The only name worth mentioning is Brook Lopez and even he and a myriad of role players won't be enough for the Magic to trade away their superstar center to a conference rival.

If this is going to happen, it's going to come by way of free agency. The Nets have the money after not making a splash in 2010 and they have the pieces with strong ownership as well as one of the league's top floor generals.

Chicago Bulls

Much like the Lakers, the Chicago Bulls have the pieces to make a trade midseason if things aren't going as planned.

After a disappointing Conference Finals exit where they bowed out in five games to the Miami Heat, the Bulls came to the sudden realization that they need more than just Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng on offense to help support Derrick Rose and it might have cost them an NBA Finals visit.

With the talent outside of Rose lacking, the Bulls could possibly go for a trade that includes sending out the likes of Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Taj Gibson in return for the Magic's big man.

Acquiring Howard via trade will be an extremely difficult task to complete for any organization, but it is a high possibility for the Bulls when considering all the pieces that they could offer in return.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder have pieces and many of those pieces would fit in very nicely with the Magic, including the likes of three-point specialist in James Harden and the modern day Dikembe Mutombo in Serge Ibaka.

Oklahoma City may have just acquired Kendrick Perkins via trade last season, but it's tough to doubt that this team would rather have Dwight Howard manning the middle with Kevin Durant dominating from the perimeter.

Combining Howard and Durant would be a scary ordeal for the other 29 teams and it is a high possibility when weighing the options.

The Thunder have a number of pieces that they could send over, including players like Perkins, Ibaka, Harden or even Russell Westbrook, and they can entice Howard with the prospect of possibly winning a title in his first season with the team when considering just how well they have played as of late.

Golden State Warriors

The Bay Area's favorite basketball team has been adamant about their desire to trade away Monta Ellis. Despite the 6'3" shooting guard averaging over 25 points per game over the past two seasons, the Warriors do consider him expendable as his name has already been brought up in trade conversations involving Andre Iguodala and Chris Kaman.

Apparently, it's no secret that the Warriors want to possibly send out Ellis for Dwight Howard either as the team has already offered up a few players for the possibility of bringing in the star center.

It's going to take more than Ellis, an oft-injured center and an unproven forward/center to reel in Howard which means that the Warriors might have to either include a rising star in Dorell Wright as well as their latest draft pick in Klay Thompson.

With the majority of the Western Conference's elite on the decline, the Warriors have quietly begun to emerge as a possible playoff contender and having Howard on the team playing alongside Stephen Curry just may put the team over the top.

The team has run a game similar to that of the Magic in terms of three-point shooting and not playing defense, but that philosophy could soon change depending on what rookie coach Mark Jackson plans on doing with this team.