NBA Trade Rumors: Trading Dwight Howard May Be the Only Option

Magic fans have remained optimistic about Dwight Howard staying with the organization. All they have to do is bring in some key free agents that he has requested. Easy enough, right?

Unless the Magic start off the season hot, the current roster steps up and Howard changes his tune, sadly enough to say the Orlando Magic need to rebuild.

Like an individual who has pondered bankruptcy—mulling over the options to get out of their house with a short sale, getting on a payment plan with their credit card companies and giving up their car to the repo man so that they can ride the bus—the Magic need to start all over.

Filing through all the trade possibilities that could land the free agents that Howard has requested, there is not a deal that makes sense. He’s requested Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson and Josh Smith to play along with him.

Disgruntled Ellis’ $11 million salary in 2011 could be traded for Hedo Turkoglu’s $11 million, but that would be insane. The only GM that would consider a trade like that would be Otis Smith, and unfortunately for the Magic, he is not the GM of the Golden State Warriors.

Jackson has announced that he is not happy with his contract. His salary of $8.5 million in 2011 would work as long as the Bucks would be willing to take on J.J. Redick ($6.8 million) and Ryan Anderson ($2.2 million). Although this trade would work, it would leave the Magic seriously thin at power forward, and they would not be any better off than they are now.

Josh Smith has been friends with Howard since childhood. Smith’s $12.5 million salary just does not work with anything the Magic have outside of Turkoglu and Anderson.

Turkoglu is virtually untradeable with his bloated salary. Anderson has value and may flourish with more playing time.

Unfortunately, the Magic are not getting bailed out anytime soon with Turkoglu's contract. I don’t see anyone, especially a team from the same division as the Magic, bailing them out of their horrendous fiscal decisions.

The Magic have over $21 million tied up in Turkoglu, Redick and Chris Duhon. In the 2010–11 season, those players combined for an average of 23 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder averaged 22 points, five rebounds and eight assists and is set only to make $4 million in 2011.

Howard has seen first-hand what Otis Smith is capable of. The Magic are handcuffed by poor money management and awful talent evaluation.

If there isn't a miracle before the March 15 deadline, the Magic need to dismantle the team and take whatever they can in young talent and future draft picks for Howard. Unload the contracts of Turkoglu, Redick and Duhon in the process, and hire a new GM that is more prudent with the money that he is given.