Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: Magic Big Man May Be Dealt Before Start of Season

The Orlando Magic seem resolute they are not going to "Melo" this year. Marc Stein of ESPN tweets,

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A growing number of execs starting to believe that Magic will indeed give strong consideration to doing Dwight deal before season starts.

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It makes sense for Orlando to make a trade now, rather than later. They have a bidding war going on already with the Nets starting off with a nice offer of Brook Lopez and a pair of first-round draft picks.

The Lakers have entered the bidding with Andrew Bynum and others which was apparently not something the Magic would entertain. 

The Knicks would like to enter the bidding but they don't have anyone to offer. 

The Clippers have plenty to offer but what the specifics might be are still not known. Generally though, it's thought that the Clippers would have to be offering Chris Kaman, DeAndre Jordan and either Eric Gordon or Minnesota's first-round pick. 

Pairing Howard with Blake Griffin under the middle would certainly be enticing to the two key point guards on the market, Deron Williams and Chris Paul. 

The best thing about having a number of suitors is that there is a bidding war going on. And with the teams being under pressure to get things done before Christmas Day it only adds to the price. It's like the last 10 minutes on an Ebay auction right now. 

In essence the Magic can just effectively move up their own trade deadline. It's in the new team's best interest to try and get him earlier anyway. Why have Howard for half a season when you can have him for a whole season?

Why have him with no training camp when you can have him for a shortened training camp?

Don't be surprised if there is a Dwight Howard trade announced in mid-December.