Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: ESPN Insider Predicts Nets Get Magic Center Today

The Dwight Howard trade rumors have been hot and cold all offseason long.

First it looks like he’s going to the Lakers, then he’s going to New Jersey, then he’s staying in Orlando because Magic GM Otis Smith won’t trade him.

Today?

Well according to ESPN 710 Radio Host and NBA insider John Ireland, Howard will be joining the Nets and the deal will get done today.

It would be in a similar vein to the offer that the Nets put on the table immediately after the lockout ended, with Brook Lopez and first-round draft picks being the centerpiece. They more than likely would be taking back Hedo Turkoglu’s disgusting contract.

Will this alleged trade actually come to fruition today?

Probably not.

While Ireland does have credibility for correctly reporting that LeBron James would join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat last summer, he’s not known for breaking trades.

Even the most veteran of NBA insiders will report from “multiple sources” that a deal is close to done or that there are heavy talks going on, but a majority of these never actually happen.

There was also a better deal on the table less than a week ago via a multi-team trade.

It would have involved Portland’s Gerald Wallace, the Nets' Brook Lopez and future picks, with Orlando shedding Turkoglu and Chris Duhon’s awful contracts.

The Magic are going to roll with Howard for now, despite the fact he has been sulking through the preseason and looks like a player who would rather be somewhere else right now.

He’s either going to get moved at the deadline or walk away at the end of the year, because Otis Smith isn’t getting any help to surround his star center. He’s also not helping himself by failing to move Howard before the season tips off.