[Woj] Magic have decided to begin engaging in trade discussions for Dwight Howard

daldridgetnt And--can't believe there's any confusion on this--the "Williams" in the deal going to Atlanta is Jordan, not Deron.

looks like deal is done and they are targeting nash

 

Marcus Thompson ‏<s>@</s>gswscribe Oh, forgot to tweet this earlier. I'm told the Warriors are NOT interested in trading for Dwight Howard unless he signs extension

 

This kills a Scola to NJ deal, doesn't it?

 

A Dwight Howard to Houston deal seems as likely as ever now.

 

The New CBA will give us a better chance of keeping him here in Houston

 

The only thing that scares me a bit is whether the Johnson deal changes Dwight's entire outlook. This doesn't just take the Nets out of the Howard picture this summer - it takes them out of the running, period. They won't have cap room next year, either, and no one's going to want Joe Johnson or Gerald Wallace in a deal for Dwight.

That said, I think and hope Dwight has burned too many bridges in Orlando to "rescind" everything and sign a five-year extension.

PS: I wonder if Atlanta might emerge as the new "preferred" destination for Dwight. I know, I know - it's the Hawks. But they're Dwight's hometown team, they have his best buddy in Josh Smith, and after the Johnson trade, they have 2013 cap flexibility for Dwight's camp to use as "leverage", the way they wanted to in New Jersey. I still think the Rockets have better assets (for Orlando) than Atlanta, but could be worth monitoring.

 

Now that Nets are out of the running. We have Rockets and Lakers among the teams wanting Dwight (perhaps the only realistically). Chances are Lakers don't give up Bynum unless Dwight agrees to stay. Chances also are that, faced with a choice of being traded to HOU or LAL, Dwight will agree to sign an extension with LAL to avoid a HOU trade.

 

So if every team besides the Rockets is out of the running, the Magic lose even more leverage. Do they wait until mid-season to trade Howard, after some teams will undoubtedly change their mind?

 

Adrian Wojnarowski: League source tells Y! that Joe Johnson deal now likely "happens with or without Deron." Nets officials are meeting with Williams right now. 1 minute ago

Read more: http://hoopshype.com/twitter/media.html#ixzz1zVG6kLJf

 

There is also the chance of Howard not liking to be the 2nd face of the LA franchise?!

 

Chris Broussard: Source on Nets moving on from possibility of getting Dwight: "Dwight blew it in March'' when he waived opt-out clause.

Read more: http://hoopshype.com/twitter/media.html#ixzz1zVGuOKHx

 

Even if that happens, would Orlando be interested in a Bynum-centered trade given the high probability that they'd be in the same situation with Bynum that they are with Dwight? Feels like the Rockets are in great position to get one of these two, no matter what.

 

what about D Will DH12 and Nowitzki in Dallas?

 

Dallas has no quality assets to trade and also wouldn't have cap room to sign Howard to a max contract next summer. That said, the writing seems to be on the wall that Deron is staying with the Nets.

 

This is an excellent point. Now that basically every team has backed out of the DH12 sweepstakes (outside of Houston of course), are the Magic even in a rush to trade him now? His trade value is at an all-time low right now if all the reports are true, and the Rockets would be in a position to use the Joe Johnson news as leverage against the Magic. It would just be a matter of whether or not the Magic brass would be ok with running him out there only to be heckled and booed by Orlando fans.

 

Ken Berger: Pairing D-Will and Johnson at nearly $37 million all but eliminates Nets from Dwight Howard sweepstakes

Read more: http://hoopshype.com/twitter/media.html#ixzz1zVIAPgfM

 

Its got to be us. I dont see the lakers making Bynum available.

 

LMAO, who do you want to play for now Dwight??? NJ can't pay you nothing (if this actually goes through!)

 

Updating a previous report, the Nets and Hawks have agreed to a trade sending Joe Johnson to the Nets, and the deal is not contingent upon Deron Williams signing with Brooklyn.
Yahoo! Sports and CBSSports.com are both reporting that the deal will go through with or without D-Will, but Nets officials were meeting with Williams and told him about the trade as it was completed. The Nets will give up the expiring contracts of Jordan Williams, Johan Petro, Jordan Farmar and Anthony Morrow, a signed-and-traded DeShawn Stevenson, and a protected 2013 first-round pick. The Hawks were desperate to unload Johnson's contract (four years, about $90 million left) and the Nets did well to keep MarShon Brooks and Gerald Green, while still having their mid-level exception to use on coveted prospect Mirza Teletovic. Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution Jul 2 - 5:27 PM

hopefully this still leaves the door open on a potential Scola trade.