The Dwight Howard Thread

[Drewski]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

Seen a few different people dump this one out there, but not putting it in the "official" thread because it seems like both sides are just throwing darts at a wall

<small class="time"> </small> Chris BroussardOrl has reached out to G State bout trading for Monte Ellis. No deal imminent, but Orl hoping to add Ellis to appease D Howard, sources say

Jarrod N Rudolph <s>@</s>MisterRudolph Sources confirm the Magic and Warriors are discussing a trade that would send Monta Ellis to Orlando. Nothing is imminent but talks ongoing

[WTF]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

Is Monta really the answer?

[Dice]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

Is Monta really the answer?

Probably not, BUT right now he's might be the only viable option for the Magic.

[Boltman]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

Is Monta really the answer?

Not at all, he is really good though, but for a centerpiece like Dwight? Naw, not at all. Maybe they are going to end up trying to at least get something for him rather than try and call his bluff and let him walk, who knows.

At this point, I'll just reserve judgment till he actually ends up getting traded somewhere (if he does).

[TheBrothers24]

Do they plan to start Ellis at point? I don't see how a backcourt of Nelson & Ellis will match up with the premier east squads defensively. Maybe his offense will negate the points given up on the perimeter.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

Multiple team sources said Golden State is NOT interested in trading Monta Ellis toOrlando unless the trade would involve Dwight Howard.
Sources did confirm Orlando has expressed an interest in trying to acquire Ellis to pair with Howard, as ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported. Ellis was previously listed as someone Howard would like to play with. But the Warriors aren’t interested in any other player the Magic has to offer, especially not in exchange for Ellis.
Orlando could get a third team involved. But as one source said, “we’re not trading Monta unless we get something really good in return. It would probably have to be an All-Star or that caliber of a player.” The chances ofOrlandofinding a player from another team good enough for the Warriors to ship Ellis is extremely slim.
One of the sources said Orlando is simply doing its due diligence, weighing all its options. The teams are in on-going discussions and will be until the March 15 trade deadline. But the Warriors’ interest is purely to acquire Howard. The feasibility of a Ellis trade to Orlando is remote at best without Howard involved.

http://www.sulia.com/channel/golden-state-warriors/f/75e66e81-b050-4dc4-aae3-4d84d70a249c/?source=twitter

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

Woj was on WFAN earlier today and this is what he said about this whole situation:

• Magic goal still to keep Dwight
• Magic haven’t engaged with the Nets in any kind of talks
• Talked to Magic CEO, said he was still in “keep Dwight” mode
• Orlando still looking to improve team to pair with Dwight, problem is they don’t have assets that appeal to other teams, so hard to get anyone
• Might change course between now and March 15, but for now, adamant on holding onto him
• Woj thinks Orlando’s aging owner isn’t interested in a rebuild
• Dwight can be a pleaser and waffles on trade and free agency and staying, doesn’t like confrontation – giving impression of still having a chance
• Unless an offer bowls them over, good chance Orlando plays this season out and hope in the summer
• At the same time, he has his eyes on the big market and Brooklyn. Woj doesn’t think he has changed his mind, but he’s likely given the organization a bit of hope
• Woj has been told by Dwight’s camp that there would be a point where he wouldn’t want a trade anymore – where he’d have to gut the team
• Adding Dwight to Lopez & Deron would be incredible formidable. A deal now means picks, Lopez, etc. gone
• Predicts Magic will have Howard when they play the Nets after the deadline
• Dwight Howard’s agent has made it clear to Golden State, you will ONLY have him for the rest of this season
• Orlando will get whatever they can for Dwight, no matter where they trade him to.
• Red flag for the Nets, if Dallas trades Shawn Marion they can have cap space to go after both Howard and Williams

[Drewski]

Magic are crazy, they need to stop reaching for pieces (what they've been doing for the last few years), and start shopping around for the best deal possible for their franchise. Leverage I guess... But doubt any team buys into that stance.

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[da ThRONe]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

What makes Orlando think that Howard will stay? If he wanted to be in Orlando long term he would have signed by now. There's no FA that wants to go to Orlando that will keep him there, and I imagine if they could make a trade to bring in that caliber of player they would have done so by now.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

The fresh-faced CEO of the Orlando Magic tries to speak to Dwight Howard daily, pushing hard to accelerate a relationship with the franchise’s most important asset. He’s late to the job, to the recruitment and understands 7½ years are difficult to replicate in his personal window of 90 days. Outside, everyone else tells Alex Martins: Give in to the inevitable, find an acceptable package and trade Dwight Howard.
“It seems that way, doesn’t it?” Martins told Yahoo! Sports.
The March 15 trade deadline is approaching, and the Magic are still telling teams to spare them the trade calls unless they’re offering a player to join Howard. Martins is a businessman, and sources say he played a part in rejecting the deal that general manager Otis Smith would’ve done with the New Jersey Nets in January. Martins has a chance to be the hero who saves the franchise star in Orlando, a fast-coming executive fighting the clock on Howard’s opt-out.


“I’ve been at this for 90 days – not seven years – and if I’m going to have an influence on the process, I need to utilize as much as time as we possibly can before we make a decision,” Martins says. “And I’ve built a good relationship with him. We’ve had good conversations with him and some of his people.
“That gives me hope.”
An NBA franchise has to always sell one of two things: hope and winning. For the Magic to have traded Howard upon his demand in the preseason, it would’ve cost them so much more than their basketball future: tickets, sponsorships, arena concessions and, ultimately, possible playoff revenue. The Magic are winning games with the deadline approaching, creating a cushion to still make the playoffs should they move Howard at the deadline.
[ Also: A numerologist explains Linsanity and Tebowmania and offers predictions ]
Still, rival teams believe no one in the organization wants to tell the Magic’s 85-year-old owner, Rich DeVos, that they recommend trading him. Several sources who’ve known Howard for years believe his hesitancy with Orlando management has helped validate Martins’ hope of re-signing him. As one of those sources said, “Don’t underestimate how much it means to Dwight to be a pillar in that community. Everyone else wants to pull him out of there, but I’m not so sure that’s where his heart is.”
What makes it harder for Howard to be emphatic with Martins and his teammates that he absolutely wants out is that he disdains confrontation. He doesn’t want to be unpopular – not in that city, not in that locker room. “Dysfunctional” is the word one locker-room source uses to describe the Magic this season, and yet as Martins told Yahoo! Sports: “This team has competed incredibly well with that cloud hanging over it.”
The Magic are 25-14, third in the Eastern Conference and clearly can make a case for themselves as the best of the rest behind Miami and Chicago. Is that enough for the Magic? For Howard? In the end, probably not, but the Magic aren’t enamored with the trade options available to them.
Several teams believe the Magic won’t trade Howard, and that’s why those teams won’t bother getting involved in talks with them. The New York Knicks refuse to engage the Magic, if simply because they don’t want players like Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler affected by talks that organization officials privately believe would go nowhere anyway.
Yes, the Nets are still Howard’s desired destination, but GM Billy King still hasn’t had a substantive conversation with Smith lately. Orlando has made it clear to everyone that it’s a buyer to find help for Howard, not a seller. Yet, most teams believe the Magic will eventually realize they simply don’t have the assets to bring back a significant player to join Howard. Several executives insist forward Ryan Anderson has the most value to teams, and the Magic are determined to re-sign him to a long-term deal.


“They’re going to reach a dead end here,” one rival executive said. “It’s just a matter of time.”
The Nets believe they have a clear path to sign Howard in free agency this summer, and still hold onto Brook Lopez to play alongside him. Perhaps everything changes should Dallas a find a way to unload Shawn Marion and the $18 million owed him over the next two years, because that will clear the way to amnesty center Brendan Hayward and make significant free-agent offers to Howard and Deron Williams.
The Nets are counting on Williams staying with them and recruiting Howard on July 1, but Dallas does represent home to Williams. It is appealing to him. Still, the Nets can pay the most money for Williams and Howard and, ultimately, that counts for so much. Now, the Magic promise to make everyone keep waiting on them, on the recruitment of Howard, because Plan B and Plan C and Plan D are so unappealing in Orlando. The reason’s simple. “We have to use as much possible time as can we before making a final decision,” Martins said.
Perhaps that time is March 15, perhaps it’s the end of the season. Eventually, there’s a moment of truth coming for the Magic and Howard. For now, they’re still trying to be buyers. They’re desperately trying to hold onto him. For now, Dwight Howard still plays for the Magic.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-wojnarowski_dwight_howard_magic_nba_030612

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

McGrady on Howard''If I were him I would stay Where’s he going to go? Why do you want to go to New Jersey go to Brooklyn? Look at their team

Tracy McGrady on Dwight Howard: "The grass isn’t always greener on the other side... Why try to go somewhere that you just never know?"

Tracy McGrady on Dwight Howard: "I think it’s up to him to recruit guys who can come to Orlando,''

TMac and his opinion

[23]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

He has a point about Brooklyn but players arent going to come to ORL

Tmac himself wanted out when the Magic wanted to keep rebuilding and said they wasted his prime, which they did

That team has lost him, shaq, penny and now about to lose Dwight... that has to hurt

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

Blahhhh, these dudes have been fortunate to have 3-4 superstars play for them in 16 year span, while some franchises have barely had more than 1 in their entire history.

As for Mr. Howard, he needs to stop being a damn girl and speak his damn mind on what he wants to do.

[Dice]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

Why does Howard have to recruit guys? Because you know what's gonna happen. If he happens to get a star player to play with him, then you got owners and the league crying about collusion and then you start getting into 'lockout' stuff again. And let's say he doesn't get the right player, then his status of 'being a great player on a team that will never win a championship' will be even magnified more than ever. Why put that pressure on yourself.

This is why I like the way Derrick Rose handles his business. He's not on the Bulls to be a part time GM. He's on the Bulls to help them win games on the court. So whatever players you put on the court to play along with him, he'll work with that.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Could Dwight Be Playing Somewhere Else Next Season?

Why does Howard have to recruit guys? Because you know what's gonna happen. If he happens to get a star player to play with him, then you got owners and the league crying about collusion and then you start getting into 'lockout' stuff again.

Hard to recruit somebody if you're not going to be there, is it not? So therefore, they'd really have nothing to cry about at all.

Rose cares about winning games(as far as we know) and Duhwight cares about being a "global icon" or whatever and if he happens to win games then he'll take that as well. That's all it's basically been throughout this.