Magic may trade Dwight Howard before trade deadline ; Nets in the lead

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The Orlando Magic are coming to grips with the reality that they will have to trade Dwight Howard before Thursday's 3 p.m. ET deadline, and Howard's preferred team -- the Nets -- are emerging as the most likely trade partner, league sources told CBSSports.com.

 

Magic GM Otis Smith was taking calls Tuesday and trying to gage what the best offer will be in a potential Howard deal. No final decision has been made, and potential trade partners have not been apprised of what the Magic ultimately will do, sources said.

 

Golden State and Houston remained the most serious so-called "rental" teams pursuing Howard and hoping to persuade him to commit to them, although numerous teams were circling with offers and making their due diligence calls about the premier center in the NBA. Given the risk of Howard leaving as a free agent after a trade, it would be even more risky for a new team to give up assets for Howard than it would be for Orlando to dare him to walk this summer.

 

Nonetheless, Warriors owner Joe Lacob shot down a potential trade that would've sent Andrew Bogut from Milwaukee to Golden State and Monta Ellis to Orlando, sources told CBSSports.com Tuesday. The scenario was part of the Magic's efforts to acquire a top-flight talent in the hopes that Howard would stay, but Lacob wanted to preserve his own slim chances of getting Howard rather than help Orlando keep him.

 

All signs continue to point to Howard, 26, wanting to land in Brooklyn next season with Deron Williams. "I think he wants that big market," said a person apprised of Howard's plans. Teams inquiring about Howard in recent days have been told, yet again, that his No. 1 choice is the Nets, who will open a new arena in Brooklyn next season.

 

In terms of global marketing and exposure, Howard is said to have been convinced by his representation that "there's no place in the world he can do it like New York," according to a person briefed on his strategy. Part of the end game would be a contract renewal with Adidas -- a deal that, if Howard were in the New York market, is expected to exceed the approximately $200 million arrangement Derrick Rose recently signed with the shoe company.

 

Howard's desire to land in Brooklyn defies the logic of several rival general managers and at least one prominent agent who continue to believe that the Dallas Mavericks should not be ruled out as a landing spot for both Howard and Williams after July 1. The Mavs would have to slash their payroll to the bone, ridding themselves of Brendan Haywood, Shawn Marion, Lamar Odom and Vince Carter in order to come close to enough room to sign two max players. But as one prominent agent said of Mavs owner Mark Cuban: "He's a smart guy. He'll figure it out."

 

The Lakers were the third team that Howard's agent, Dan Fegan of Lagadere Unlimited, was given permission to speak with about a trade before the season. They remain on the periphery and shouldn't be ruled out from re-entering the fray over the next 48 hours, sources said.

Still, it appears that the only thing Howard wants more than Brooklyn is the chance to go there as a free agent without the team giving up assets to acquire him. The Nets likely would surrender a package centered around 7-footer Brook Lopez, promising rookie MarShon Brooks and some filler to account for taking on the contract of Magic swingman Hedo Turkoglu, who is guaranteed $18 million over the next two seasons. The Nets have two first-round picks to offer -- their own, and Houston's, which is top-14 protected in each of the next five drafts.

 

Meanwhile, the Nets are aggressively exploring potential payroll-shedding deals in the event the Magic hang onto Howard and New Jersey can get him as a free agent in July. A fairly minor deal for an expiring contract would free up enough room to pair Howard with Williams and re-sign Lopez, who is set to become a restricted free agent July 1.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/ken-berger/17771692/magic-getting-close-to-dwight-decision-nets-in-lead