Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: Orlando Magic Kill Talks, but Deal Is Inevitable

The Orlando Magic have ended all trade discussions for Dwight Howard.

At least, for the time being.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Orlando has decided to begin the 2011-12 season with Howard in the starting lineup.

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The Magic’s decision came Wednesday as the Nets tried to assemble a potential four-team trade for Howard that could have included the Magic receiving Nets center Brook Lopez, Portland Trail Blazers forward Gerald Wallace and draft picks.

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Orlando, clearly unsatisfied with the potential return centered around Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace, wisely pulled out of any trade negotiations until the talks progressed any further.

Let's get one thing clear: the Magic have broken off talks "for now."

That does not mean that the club can't revisit the talks in the future, but it's eminently clear that the club is not pleased with what New Jersey has had to offer throughout the process.

ESPN's Chad Ford reports that despite being rebuffed on the Howard trade front, it wasn't because of a lack of effort on New Jersey's part.

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Nets offered everything they could for Howard: Brook Lopez + FIVE 1st Rd picks. Theirs in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 + Rockets 2012 pick.

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That still wasn't a big enough price to pay for Howard, who is truly a once in a generation type of player.

He has the ability to alter the outlook of a franchise by himself (that's how talented and dominant he is on the court), and future draft picks, despite all of them being in the first round, in addition to Lopez, is not enough in exchange for Howard.

While the future picks might look good on paper, a pairing of Howard with Deron Williams for the Nets would mean that the majority of those picks (if not all of them) would wind up outside of the lottery.

What value does that have to a Magic team that would need to rebuild from the ground up following a trade of its most popular star? It's minimal, and that's why it shouldn't be a surprise.

The comparison between Howard and Lopez is not one that should be made, and some fans don't realize just how stark the difference is between the two players.

Here are statistics from the 2010-11 season:

B. Lopez: 20.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 blocks, 0.6 steals, 49.2 FG %, 80.1 FT %

D. Howard: 22.9 points, 14.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2.4 blocks, 1.4 steals, 59.3 FG %, 59.6 FT %

Some might focus on Howard's free-throw efficiency as a problem, but there is really no comparison here between the two players.

The goal remains to build around Howard rather than to deal him elsewhere, and the front office is sending a message that the club will not be low-balled into taking a poor offer.

It doesn't send a good message to the faithful Magic fanbase if the team were to send him elsewhere and not get an overwhelming return.

There's also no reason for the Magic to rush into a deal considering that there will be plenty of interest in acquiring Howard as the season progresses.

Orlando is showing some great restraint in this scenario despite Howard's formal request to be dealt, and GM Otis Smith has an immense amount of pressure upon his shoulders with the season less than two weeks away.

Given the limited financial wiggle room the team has to potentially be flexible in any given trade, it's going to be tough for the Magic to bring in additional talent.

Unless Smith can work some magic to acquire another star player to pair alongside Howard, the chances of seeing the big man in an Orlando uniform long term remain extremely slim.