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Well it has finally come to this. Dwight no longer believes in Magic



   With Dwight's disheartening comments about "being able to do more in a bigger market" and some very odd comments about his current coach, talked about him in past tense to me, it seems Dwight has two feet out the door. However he apparently does not want to be hated. Nothing will stop that from some fans, me I love the seven years he has given us and the memories will never be gone. Plus, because of him we have the true Basketball Mecca, the Amway Arena(MSG is old forget about it). So I am going to present a few options that make sense for those teams and for the Magic. In any trade scenario the Magic are going to get screwed. They are losing, in my eyes, the Most Valuable Player in the league and its' most dominating presence in the league. So without further adieu lets get to it.

1. Let him walk.

   Keeps season ticket holders happy and gives Orlando its' best shot at winning a championship. You could lose him for nothing, but he is so good he can a title by himself at this point. High risk, medium reward to me. He simply can not guard Miami's Heatles by himself. And unless Justin Harper is Danny Granger, Ryan Anderson becomes a 17 ppg and 8 rbs player Orlando will not do anything in the playoffs. But by some miracle Orlando does win, maybe he stays.

Trade Scenarios

I am just going to list teams that either want him or might be willing to have him for a rent a season.

Philadelphia-Trades Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, and Marreese Speights and a first round pick for Dwight Howard and Chris Duhon

Why Philly does this?

    They will not find a better player trading Iggy for than Dwight Howard. But isn't Iguodala their best player? Yes but they have been trying to ship him out numerous times already. Why not try a run with Dwight, Brand, Thad Young, Jrue Holiday, and Evan Turner? It is a big market. Doubt Dwight would stay but Philly could make a shock Finals run and if Dwight does leave, they still have their core young talent and finally get cap relief.

Why would Orlando do this?

  Iguodala is LeBron James minus 10 ppg, 2 rbs, and 2 assts. Elite defender. Still young. And you can market him. Slide him in perfectly at the 2. What SVG could do with him would be any Magic fan excited. Lou Williams gives some punch of the bench and his contract is over in two years. Speights is a head case, but is a body who can defend and rebound.

Houston-Trades Kevin Martin, Johnny Flynn, Patrick Patterson, Jordan Hill, Hasheem Thabeet and two first round picks for Dwight Howard, Chris Duhon and Brandon Bass

Why Houston does this?

  They are a fairly big sized market and still would have Scola and Kyle Lowry to put next to Dwight. Dwight gets weather and not state income tax. Plus the aforementioned Kyle Lowry is a budding star. Kevin McHale can also continue Dwight's development in the post, Kevin McHale is regarded as one of the best post players ever(maybe behind Hakeem only to some) They also get Brandon Bass to replace Patterson.

Why does Orlando do this?

  Very few players fit SVG's offensive gameplan better than Kevin Martin would. Shoots high % from the field and 3 and gets to the line. The most efficient player in the NBA according to some and many have argued the best scorer in terms of efficiency. Doesn't do anything else, but perhaps SVG is the coach he needs to unlock his full potential. Patrick Patterson is on a 3 year contract for a little bit less than $2 mil a year. Flynn had a decent rookie season but has struggled since then. Again SVG is better than any coach he has had and could help him back to the path that had him being a solid NBA player. Hill and Thabeet are bigs who are on cheap contracts and expire within the year.

Portland- Trades LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, Marcus Camby, and Luke Babbit for Dwight Howard, Gilbert Arenas, and Brandon Bass

This trade could only be possible if there is an amnesty clause. Even at this Portland is risking a lot. Portland is not a huge market. Although the fans are passionate, some thing Dwight would appreciate(sarcasm for taking shots at Orlando fans) and he would play with Gerald Wallace, Raymond Felton, Nicholas Batum, Wesley Matthews. Portland would also have to keep Oden as well. In the end I would see this as too much for Portland to do. LaMarcus Aldridge has quietly become a stud and to me is the 2nd best PF in the league right now behind Dirk. Yes better than Griffen. For now.

And LaMarcus is the reason you do this if you are Orlando. You could actually plug him into the center position. Shoots and is improving on defense and rebounding every year. Legit top 10 MVP candidate and represents the best player Orlando could hope for in a trade. Camby is an expiring contract, and you could amnesty Roy if he doesn't check out. Babbit is a filler plain and simple.

LA Clippers- Trade Eric Bledsoe, Chris Kaman and Blake Griffin for Dwight Howard, Chris Duhon, and Brandon Bass

  Why do Clips do this? One this would upstage the Lakers big, and I mean BIG, time. LA is the best market in the NBA. Dwight could build his legacy, would there be anything better than leading the freaking Clippers to a title, and he would have a great wing player in Eric Gordon to play with. Dwight would be in every commercial that Blake Griffin was getting last year.

  Why would Orlando do this? Blake. Griffin. Nothing else need be said.....ok seriously this might be the Mail Man HD. Yes he needs to learn defense, but SVG would fix that pretty quickly. Eric Bledsoe is a young PG and Kaman would be a stopgap to the next center Orlando gets. While I personally like Aldridge over Griffin, the "star power" that Griffin brings is undeniable. Magic would keep its title as a "must watch" team and Griffin keeps Orlando in the spotlight. This trade almost seems logical from every angle. Dwight gets LA, without being in Kobe's, and specifically Shaq's, shadow. Would he play for Donald Sterling though?? Tough, tough, tough question.

   Orlando would do this trade in heartbeat as Blake Griffin is better than anyone in any upcoming draft. Get a young PG and an expiring contract in Kaman. If there is an amnesty clause, or two, Orlando now has Blake Griffin, no state tax, cap space and the best arena in the game. Plus Disney, this means more to players than you think.

New Jersey-Trades Deron Williams and Brook Lopez for Dwight Howard

   Isn't New Jersey trying to get Dwight Howard to play with Deron?? Yes, but as I mentioned in another post, with this trade you would pretty much guarantee Dwight and you would still have the cap space to lure a certain Mr. Chris Paul to Brooklyn. By almost every account Paul is better than Williams. Williams also is not a sure thing to sign in Brooklyn. From all reports he prefers a quiet life with his family, good weather, and golf. Orlando does all three. Would we love to sign him here? Obviously, but that is contingent on TWO amnesty clauses in the new CBA.

  Orlando would do this because you get an elite Point guard and a scoring center. Plus you could create cap space with amnesty clause to bring in a wing player to go with Williams. Brooklyn would have to have stones to do this type of trade though.

These are my thoughts on the current situation for Orlando. I know it is wordy and if anyone reads in on sitting I appreciate it a lot. Didn't do any of the other names(Lakers or Dallas)

This FanPost was made by a member of the Orlando Pinstriped Post community, and is to be treated as the opinions and views of its author, not that of the blogger or blog community as a whole.

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