[Local Orlando News] Dwight Howard trade could be imminent

Article from yesterday on RealGM:

The best possible deal for Orlando is with the Houston Rockets, a franchise that has been acquiring assets for years precisely for the chance to grab a superstar like Howard. Houston, if they are willing to gamble on picking up Howard without an extension, would give the Magic their best chance to accelerate the rebuilding process. The Rockets have a first-round pick from the Toronto Raptors, who are probably still at least one year away from playoff contention, the cap space to eat some of Orlando’s bad contracts as well as some extremely intriguing high-upside young players locked into rookie scale deals.

The Magic should want all three of Houston’s 2012 first-round picks -- Jeremy Lamb, Terrence Jones and Royce White. Lamb, a smooth 6’5 shooting guard with a 6’11 wingspan, has a chance to be an All-Star caliber SG; Jones, an athletic 6’9 240 combo forward with a 7’2 wingspan, is a Josh Smith clone and White, an athletic 6’8 270 point forward with a 7’0 wingspan, is a poor man’s LeBron.

There are some off-court concerns with all three, which is why they slipped out of the lottery, but they would combine to make less money than Lopez and their maturation process would keep Orlando firmly in the cellar in their first two years in the NBA. A deal centered around the three rookies and Toronto’s lottery pick would also give the Magic at least two more chances at a high lottery pick of their own (from their record in 2012 and 2013). It would be a clean slate after Howard’s departure.

If they play their cards right, Orlando could have a future as bright as New Orleans. The rumored deal with Brooklyn, on the other hand, would consign them to becoming one of the NBA’s backwaters for most of the next decade.

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/article/222188/The_Dwight_Trade_Orlando_Needs_To_Seek#ixzz20FpHOOm6



So...we have a future as bright as New Orleans!!

 

To sign with Brooklyn outright he'd have to sign a deal for the exception which is something like $3.5 million or so. So forget bird rights for a minute. He'd have to walk away from $15 million or so a A YEAR on a 4 year deal to sign outright. You are talking about $60 million before you even start thinking about the 5th year. The losses would keep piling up for him after that because by signing that MLE deal his max contract would reset so if he signed say a 3 year MLE deal with the intent to sign the Max after three years he'd be starting over below his current dollar amount.

None of that even considers whether the Nets are up against the hard cap by that point.

 

So that begs the question? Unless Orlando realistically just LOVES Brook Lopez enough to bother, why in the world wouldn't they just call his bluff now, and say ok.... we no longer wish to trade you. You are going to have to walk at the end of next year.

Yes, they also want to remove bad contracts, but there are other trades they could manifest in the future to get some of those guys off of their payroll. Plus in taking back a max contract Brook Lopez you are putting yourself in a way worse situation than a Jason Richardson making mid level money for the next couple of years.

Yes, if they do not trade Dwight it puts the team back in purgatory and in the media spotlight, but doesn't this put the power back into their hands of the front office?

I just dont understand the incompetence of this whole trade scenario. Truely baffling.

 

There are really bad feelings between Dwight and the Orlando Magic. There is a real chance he might walk away from the extra year to go sign with Atlanta, Dallas, heck, even Houston as a free agent to clear himself from the Orlando mess. The relationship is irreparable.

 

Will somebody photoshop a pic of Superman with Dwight as the head carting a big rocket into the sky with the Rockets logo on the rocket?

 

So why aren't so many other teams with younger/better players trying to trade for him? If he is not going to leave the money on the table, Sac should offer Cousins+, Minny should offer Love+, etc.

 

Because Orlando was never really interested in Brook Lopez and has been using their negotiations with New Jersey as leverage to get a better deal from other teams?

Dwight has been around Orlando long enough to develop a distaste for the place... a distaste worth 30+ million dollars.

They can't risk him walking. That's a franchise killer. Houston, however, likes their chances.

He doesn't have to love it here. He just has to not hate it enough to stay.

 

He can sign with a team that has cap space, and lose that extra year, roughly 30 mil. Orlando would then risk losing him for nothing.

 

Dwight has burned enough bridges where he wont resign...so yes, Orlando could let him walk...but then they'd be losing him for nothing. At this point, its in everyone's best interest if Howard gets traded.

 

I really dont think it's a matter of hating Houston and loving Brooklyn. Its more a matter of playing exactly where wants and with who he wants. He wants his own team of superfriends with dwil. To get him we will gut our lineup and hand over a good chunk of our promising young talent along with some mediocre draft picks. No way in hell does lesnlet him sit for a year, and if he's playing on this team as it is, with no pg, half of a shooting guard, question mark at the three unless we hold on to parsons, and scola, I dot see us being much better than average next year in the west. Not sure Not how thrilled dwght would be with that.

 

Those teams are small market teams and are notorious NBA backwaters. They probably really fear he would walk away.

Let's be clear, there is a chance he walks away from Houston and goes and signs with Dallas. There is NO chance he walks away from anyone and signs outright with Brooklyn on the exception.

Edit: Not to mention they likely feel they are building contending teams with those potential star players and don't want to dump them.

 

made this one back in april of 2011. Unfortunately there weren't any large pics to use.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoy_en_la_revolucion/5693266106/" title="dwighthoward by *The last son of krypton*, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5189/5693266106_ac66964b9a_b.jpg" width="765" height="510" alt="dwighthoward"></a>

 

Because Kevin Love is worth more than a possible rent-a-dwight and Sacramento doesn't have the assets?

 

Semantics. Why he loves or hates a team/place can be any number of reasons.

 

Some people feel like we will never have a chance to get another superstar unless we trade for this guy that doesn't want to be here.

I feel we will never have this much young talent and draft choices lined up to have quick rebuild. Why take the chance and give it all to Orlando and risk having this prima donna walking away from Houston, like he said he would.

 

He's never said he would walk away from the team that acquires him. He said he won't sign an extension when traded.

 

Risk-reward. That's why.

Dwight Howard > Magic Beans.

All day, every day.

Having his rights once he hits the free agent market is a HUGE negotiating ploy that is worth a ton.

Especially if he's unable to sign with his "dream" team in Brooklyn because of salary/contract constraints.

 

We should go all in for Love or Cousins then. Shouldn't take as much as a top 3 guy in Dwight.

 

I'm really not much of a capologist. Couldn't they not re-sign Lopez and jettison some of their assets(?) to get Dwight more? Maybe package up Wallace with the draft picks they were putting in the original deal to somebody wanting to stock up on draft picks and get a serviceable small forward for a couple of years? It just seems to me if we move all 3 of our rookies, all our draft picks, plus probably Martin and PPat it is way too big a gamble that Howard resigns for a 3-5 seed in the Western conference we could hope to be.