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In a Wednesday meeting with Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan, center Dwight Howard reiterated his desire for a trade out of Orlando, according to Jarrod Rudolph of Real GM, citing "sources." Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that Magic assistant GM Scott Perry also attended the meeting, as did Dan Fegan, Howard's agent.
What Howard hoped to gain from the meeting is an understanding of Hennigan's plan for improving the team, which has failed to advance out of the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. Instead, Rudolph says, Hennigan pitched Howard on building their relationship and "working with him to improve the team." That approach "frustrated" Howard, Alex Kennedy of HOOPSWORLD says.
Howard will leave the Magic in free agency on July 1st, 2013, if they do not trade him this season. He will neither sign an extension with the team or re-sign with it as a free agent. He is hoping for a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers or the Brooklyn Nets, though Brooklyn cannot execute a trade for him until January at the earliest due to restrictions on how quickly teams can deal free agents after signing them.
Howard could have been a free agent on July 1st, but in March he bizarrely chose to waive that right, keeping him under contract with the Magic through the end of the 2012/13 season.
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