NBA Trade Rumors: Radio Host's Dwight Howard Prediction Must Be Taken Seriously

There have been a plethora of Dwight Howard trade rumors in the last month, and so far none of them have come to fruition.

That’s why people just rolled their eyes on Monday when a radio host boldly predicted that Howard would be traded “as early as Tuesday” to the New Jersey Nets.

John Ireland of 710 ESPN in Los Angeles made the prediction on his radio show Monday, and actually has a solid track record in this department.

The Lakers play-by-play announcer correctly forecasted that LeBron James and Chris Bosh were heading to the Miami Heat last summer.

This bold statement was heard from a “source” just like seemingly everything related to the NBA in the past month, but Ireland is a very credible media personality and you shouldn’t discount this.

Howard has not performed well for the Magic early on in the preseason, scoring a whopping five points in a 33-point loss to the Miami Heat. There were whispers that he looked completely disengaged throughout the game and had the look of a guy that didn’t want to be there.

Would this uninspired effort make the process speed up?

Howard doesn’t want to be the next Carmelo Anthony, but he can’t pull the trigger on a deal. It’s up to GM Otis Smith to decide if he wants to accept the Nets offer that’s centered around multiple first-round picks and Brook Lopez.

Is that better than Andrew Bynum and possibly Pau Gasol? No way, but I think cap relief is the No. 1 priority for a team that currently sports one of the highest payrolls in the league.

I think another telling sign is the Nets reluctance to re-sign power forward Kris Humphries. They are waiting until the last possible second to make a decision on Humphries as they cross their fingers the Magic give in with Howard.

With the NBA’s regular season less than a week away, the balance of power in the Eastern Conference may be experiencing a titanic shift right before tip-off.