Dwight Howard says he’s committed to Magic; report suggests otherwise

Dwight Howard might be giving the Magic false hope.

With the trade deadline looming, Howard has gone on record as saying he’s committed to his teammates and doesn’t want to be moved.

“I’ve been telling those guys [in the Magic front office], and I’ve been telling them for the past two or three weeks now, that I want to stay and finish the season,” Howard told the media after the Magic beat the Heat Tuesday. “I told ’em I feel we’ve got a great opportunity to win and I told ’em that I want to be here and I want to bring a championship here. And I told ’em they’ve got to give me that chance.”

But all that jibber-jabber might just be a passive Howard leading the Magic on, especially considering the report Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski dropped Tuesday saying that Howard’s true preferred endgame is playing with the Nets:

For everything Dwight Howard has told the Orlando Magic management about bringing him a stronger supporting cast, about the possibility that he could still sign an extension, it has turned into a complete ruse – a misdirection play on his eventual signing with the Brooklyn-bound New Jersey Nets, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

With the combination of Howard’s disdain for confrontation, desire to be liked and a pragmatic belief that a trade is no longer in his best long-term interests, Howard has created an illusion with the Magic that there are factors that could cause him to sign an extension with the team.

“Dwight’s gone, and [Magic CEO] Alex Martins is the only person who doesn’t believe that,” a league source with knowledge of Howard’s intentions told Yahoo! Sports.

Who does Howard think he’s fooling? It’s obvious he’s wanted out of Orlando all along. Why else does he have this “short list” of preferred destinations? One does not simply have a list that includes cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Dallas and expect Orlando to have a reasonable chance of coming out on top. That’d be like picking a Ford Focus when you could have instead had a BMW, a Mercedes or a Porsche (no offense, Orlando readers). That’s not to say his comments aren’t blatant lies. Just keep it mind he doesn’t say anything about beyond this season.

So, don’t worry. Our guess is you’ll probably be able to buy legitimate Dwight Howard Nets gear in no time.

Photo credit: Douglas Jones, US Presswire