Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: Magic Star Demands Move to New Jersey Nets

To the surprise of almost no one in the NBA, Dwight Howard has requested a trade out of Orlando.

According to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, Howard informed Magic GM Otis Smith of his desire to move. Howard had long been considered a good bet to move to the City of Angels. Aside from the opportunity to win championships with Kobe Bryant, such a trade would allow Howard to be the next in a long line of fantastic centers to don the Purple and Gold, from George Mikan and Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal.

However, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Howard has another destination in mind: New Jersey.

Howard's desire is understandable, at least from a personal branding standpoint. He would instantly become the face of the franchise, ahead of even Deron Williams, as team owner and former Bond villain Mikhail Prohkorov prepares it for its much-anticipated move to Brooklyn in time for the 2012-13 season. What's more, the Nets have the assets to send back to Orlando, namely Brook Lopez and draft picks, to make this deal satisfactory to Otis Smith and the Magic.

That being said, don't count out the Lakers just yet. At present, GM Mitch Kupchak is busy cobbling together a new deal that would land Chris Paul in LA and Pau Gasol in Houston, among a number of other moving parts. If Lamar Odom doesn't end up with the Hornets in that deal, he could potentially be repackaged with Andrew Bynum and sent to central Florida in a deal for Superman and the hefty salary of Hedo Turkoglu. Such a trade would allow Orlando to remain competitive in the Eastern Conference with two championship-caliber pieces to toss in with Jameer Nelson and newly acquired forward Glen Davis.

Lopez, on the other hand, while a solid young player, is hardly the rebounder and defensive presence that Bynum and Odom are in tandem. New Jersey's draft picks also figure to lose quite a bit of value assuming the duo of Howard and D-Will vaults the Nets into the East's elite, unless the selections are merely those rerouted from failing franchises.

And, as we've learned from the situation with CP3, a star requesting a trade to one team in particular hardly guarantees that he'll end up there. While Howard may prefer to be the Big Man on Campus, so to speak, it's tough to imagine him turning down the opportunity to win rings and become a part of Lakers lore, even if it means following so closely in Shaq's footsteps.

Either way, Howard figures to end up in a situation that will grow his persona and improve his chances of loading up his jewelry drawer. It's up to Otis Smith to decide where that will be and what the Magic will get in return.

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