After the Chris Paul to the Lakers trade fell through, Dwight Howard seems to be in much more of a hurry to get out of Orlando. He reportedly will ask for a trade to the New Jersey Nets, as soon as Friday, according to our Orlando Magic blog, Orlando Pinstriped Post.
Dwight Howard will soon ask the Orlando Magic to trade him to the New Jersey Nets, Chris Broussard of ESPN reports, citing "sources close to the situation." Though Howard has yet to formally request the trade, his representatives have told the Nets he prefers to play there, and Howard could inform Orlando of his plans as soon as Friday. There's even a chance he won't be at Amway Center for the Magic's first practice of training camp, according to Broussard's report.
The good news from this for the Magic, if there is any, is that the Nets have already reportedly offered an attractive package: Brook Lopez and a couple first round picks. For more on Lopez, here is OPP.
Lopez, a seven-footer, has averaged 17.4 points and 7.6 rebounds in his three-year career to go wth 50.4 percent shooting and 1.7 blocks. He's also an uncommonly good free throw shooter for a big man, sinking 80.1 percent of his career free throw attempts. However, he struggled in 2010/11, averaging just six rebounds in 35.2 minutes per game and shooting 49.2 percent from the floor despite his size and strength. Still, he's just 23, plays a position where talent is scarce, and clearly has his best years ahead of him. He might be the best the Magic could hope to get in return for Howard.
Losing Howard will certainly hurt, but Lopez is the exact type of player that superstar trades should be built around. He is talented, has shown a little bit in the league, but is still young enough that he has the potential to become even better. If the Magic decide to trade Howard, they could do far worse than this potential deal.
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