Dwight Howard's Trade Demand Displays How Far NBA Has Fallen

On Friday, Orlando Magic general manager Otis Smith gave the camp of his superstar center, Dwight Howard, permission to talk with three teams: the Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets, and Dallas Mavericks, an ominous sign for Orlando.

Then, on Saturday afternoon, Smith told the Orlando Sentinel that Howard has in fact requested a trade.

Howard is a free agent at the end of this season, so Smith is obviously in a very precarious position. He essentially has to trade his 6'11" star sometime between now and the March 15 trade deadline, or he will lose the 26-year-old big man for nothing in the offseason when he likely signs elsewhere.

Now, let's look at the specifics. I completely understand that Howard is frustrated. He is one of the most outstanding physical specimens that this league has ever seen, and yet, his team is coming off a first-round playoff exit. The year before that, his squad was thoroughly outclassed by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Dwight obviously feels that he cannot win in Orlando, and he now wants to team up with someone like Kobe Bryant (and possibly Chris Paul) in Los Angeles or Deron Williams in New Jersey, much like LeBron James decided to join forces with Dwyane Wade in Miami, and much like Carmelo Anthony did with Amare Stoudemire in New York.

Sense a pattern here?

Now this is not Howard's fault, as he is merely becoming a product of what is developing into a watered-down league. Whatever happened to the days where players remained with the teams that drafted them?

Kevin Garnett suffered in Minnesota for 12 years, and never did he ask for a trade. It took the Timberwolves to actually tell him they were shipping him out for him to finally leave. How many years has Dwight been in Orlando, you ask? Seven, and now he is already looking for the escape hatch.

Remember the reactions from NBA legends such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Charles Barkley when LeBron bolted Cleveland for South Beach? They said they were too competitive to do what James did; too competitive to take the "easy way out."

Don't get me wrong; players such as Howard and James are grown men and they undoubtedly have the freedom to make their own decisions. There is nothing wrong with that. However, it is not good for the NBA when you have guys like Carmelo forcing his way to New York and Paul forcing his way to L.A. and Howard demanding a trade.

If Howard was an older player, if he had spent 12 years in Orlando like Garnett did in Minnesota and still had no rings to show for it, then okay, I could see him asking to be traded to a team that has a shot at winning a title, but that isn't the case here. Again, Dwight is only 26. There is still plenty of time for him to win championships, so give the organization that drafted you a chance.

You can call me old school, but I appreciate competition. I enjoy seeing parity in the league, where almost every team has a star player instead of a few teams having a starting lineup full of them. I also appreciate loyalty. No, Howard does not owe the Magic anything, but it would be nice to see him give the franchise another opportunity, and if not for the organization, then for the fans that have embraced him since day one.

Seriously; can you imagine M.J. conspiring to team up with Isiah Thomas back in the day? How about Garnett asking out of Minnesota after seven consecutive first-round playoff exits? Of course not. The NBA was different back then. It wasn't full of the prima donnas that the league is so unfortunately well-known for today. You didn't have guys whining and complaining and demanding trades. You had individuals laying it all out on the floor for the name on the front of their jersey; not the back.

Take from this what you will, but I am not at all happy with the direction that the NBA is going, and I can assure you that I am not alone in that regard.