Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: Orlando Magic Must Ship out D12 as Soon as Possible

In an era when franchise players no longer look to remain with one team, instead looking for dream situations in New York, Miami and Los Angeles, it has become increasingly difficult for mid-market teams to build lasting dynasties and increasingly important to make the correct managerial decisions.

The Orlando Magic’s decision to keep Dwight Howard for the 2011-12 season is a huge gamble and a bad managerial decision.

From the Magic’s point of view, keeping Howard does make some sense. He brings in revenue as the face of the franchise, gives the team a shot to compete and continues to be one of the best players in the entire league.

In the same breath, however, Howard has made it increasingly clear that he wants to be traded, has given out a four-team wish list and has shown little active interest in bringing in more talent.

The trade packages are not going to get better—trading D12 needs to happen now.

Orlando has been here before.

Back in 1996, after leading the Magic to the playoffs three straight seasons, including an NBA Finals appearance, former first overall pick Shaquille O’Neal left for the bright lights of Los Angeles. Since then, the Magic have made it back to the NBA Finals just once, winning one game. O’Neal added three rings with the Lakers.

When O’Neal left, the Magic received zero compensation, and it sent them into a no-man’s state for almost a decade.

They tried to make a splash in the 2000 free-agent market, signing Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady. Later on it was Gordon Giricek and Drew Gordon, followed by Stevie Francis and Hedo Turkoglu.

The Magic competed but were never good enough to compete in the playoffs and never bad enough to rebuild through the draft.

It took eight years, until the 2004 NBA draft when they selected Dwight Howard with the top overall selection, to get a building block to build around for the future.

I believe in the ability of GM Otis Smith to run the Magic, but after failing to acquire anyone this offseason beyond Glen "Big Baby" Davis, it’s clear that Howard’s ship has already begun to set sail.

Failing to receive compensation will be detrimental to the future of the Orlando Magic organization. Despite losing Chris Paul earlier this month, the New Orleans Hornets received building pieces that will allow them to be a perennial contender in a few years.

Last season, the Jazz shipped franchise face Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets but received the highly regarded Derrick Favors and two first-round draft choices—one of which turned into Enes Kanter, giving the Jazz a formidable frontcourt to build around for the future.

On the other hand, we already know what happened in Cleveland after LeBron James skipped town. The Cavaliers still seem to have no direction in sight.

The deals are out there, and the Magic would be smart to make one. Failing to trade Howard would be a damaging decision and would haunt the franchise for the next decade.

The Magic need to ship out D12 now.