NBA Trade Rumors: Magic Can't Afford to Stand Pat with Dwight Howard

It's now or never for the Orlando Magic. 

That may seem like too dire of an outlook, but when it comes down to it, superstar Dwight Howard has given his team an ultimatum. The Magic can either act on it or lose Howard to free agency in a year.

It's as simple as that.

And now, here comes the news that the Magic, inexplicably, have taken Howard off the trading block. According to Adrian Wojnarowski via Twitter yesterday:

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Magic decided to take Dwight Howard off market, ending talks with Nets and the rest of his NBA suitors for now, league sources tell Y!

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Well, that gives Orland one option left: improve the team around Howard. And that's not good. 

DH12 has said he's willing to sign an extension with the Magic. However, he's only going to do that if they bring him more help. It turns out that he doesn't want to be stuck with fourth-place finishes in the East for the rest of his career. 

So, trade him or watch him leave next July. Now that they are taking the trade option off the table, the Magic better seriously start working on some other trades. 

But here's the thing.

Is Orlando really going to bring in a piece as enticing as Deron Williams in New Jersey? Or Kobe Bryant in L.A? Or Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas?

If you were Dwight Howard and you wanted to both play for a championship and go somewhere that would highlight your off-the-court personality, would you really not choose Hollywood or Brooklyn with Jay-Z?

It's possible he stays in Orlando, but it's simply unlikely. Just because they bring in help for Howard doesn't mean he'll sign an extension. He'll certainly consider it, but nothing is 100 percent.

It just feels a little bit like playing Russian Roulette with your team. If you plan your future around Howard and then get nothing for him in a year, you're going to take a big, big step back. I can understand building around him in hopes that he signs next summer, but I just think that should be option No. 2. Option No. 1, which was apparently already taken off the table, should be to trade him. 

Howard is going to demand a big package in return, and it just seems a lot safer to try and build around something like that. If the Magic are smart, they'll at least reopen talks for Howard and listen to what they can get. They can't afford not to.