Has Dwight Howard been setting up an exit to the New Jersey Nets this whole time? According to Yahoo! Sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski, he has. All the talk that he could be swayed to stay in Orlando if the Magic get a stronger cast around him is what Wojnarowski calls a "misdirection play on his eventual signing with the Brooklyn-bound New Jersey Nets, according to league sources."
This is the first time we've heard with any sort of confidence on what team Howard desires to go to. Also whats interesting in this article is what is written about Magic GM Otis Smith and head coach Stan Van Gundy.
Magic general manager Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy have known Howard the longest. They know he will leave them and they want a deal done prior to Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline. The gulf between Martins and his basketball operations staff has become vast, full of mistrust and animosity. "Otis and Stan want the circus to end," one source close to them said. "They want a deal."
Whether a deal is made before the trade deadline remains to be seen. But with this news coming from league sources, the logic here should be to trade Howard for whatever you can get for him.
For more news on NBA Trade Rumors leading up to the deadline, keep it to this StoryStream. For more on the Magic, check out the SB Nation blog Orlando Pinstripe Post.