The Terrible Towel

I must be bored... I can't believe I'm even commenting on this story.

Dwight Howard has thrown in the towel. He no longer wants to be on the Magic. He's had enough of Orlando. I don't really blame him. They haven't been able to put much of a team around him. Even with a great location in Florida and no state income tax, all they've gotten is an old Jason Richardson, overrated Glen Davis, Chris Duhon, and a beat-up Hedo Turkoglu. They also acquired Gilbert Arenas...that didn't work out well. They couldn't even keep hometown-hero Vince Carter, although he was past his prime.

In an age where big three's and four's are becoming more and more prevalent, the Magic have failed to put together a big two. Jameer Nelson was a nice point guard but amount the same level as Mo Williams was to LeBron. Boston has done it...a big 4. Miami has, the Lakers have, the Clippers, Nets, Knicks, Mavs, Bulls, Hawks, Spurs, Thunder, Grizzlies, and T-Wolves have all done it.

Want to hear about some teams who couldn't? At the top of that list sits the Cavaliers....couldn't keep their hometown-hero in his prime. That is a different discussion for a different day, but the fact remains that LeBron didn't stay in Cleveland in part because he didn't have much talent around him. The Nuggets are on that list...couldn't keep Melo. The Jazz couldn't keep D-Will. New Orleans...Chris Paul. The Suns...Nash and Amare left. Soon to be added to that list: the Magic.

Orlando has a chance to do what Denver did, though: rebuild. Cleveland got nothing for LeBron. The Suns didn't get anything for Nash or Amare. Orlando can actually get something for Howard.

If they don't make a trade for him before the season starts, they'll take a hit for having waited so long. The same teams will be in play for Howard come January: Nets, Mavs, Rockets, Lakers. Other teams simply don't have the firepower. But since the new team would either get Howard for a very short period of time or demand he sign an extension as part of the trade, teams will not be willing to offer as much as the Nets did. This means not only will Orlando not get much in return, they're basically throwing away this season.

I get it. As a Cleveland fan, I had to watch LeBron humiliate the city of Cleveland on national tv. But with LeBron, he gave no indication that he wanted to leave Cleveland; just that he wanted to explore other options. Melo came out and said he wanted to leave. Same with Chris Paul. And you know who else has verbally expressed his desire to leave? Dwight Howard.
If he's not going to stay in Orlando, why not take the best package available? That package won't be there in January. And if the Magic don't trade him at all, they lost out on getting some valuable pieces back. Take it from a Cleveland fan: make a trade, get something in return.