NBA superstar Dwight Howard had been vocal about trade demands in the recent past, but now the Orlando Magic are pulling the impact center off the market, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The most recent talks had centered around a three-team deal with the Portland Trail Blazers and New Jersey Nets that would have sent Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace to the Magic and Howard to the Nets, but apparently that wasn't enough for Otis Smith and the Magic. Now they will presumably try to win now with Howard and hope to entice him to resign with the team during the summer. Then again, talks could always re-open near the deadline if things don't go too well for Orlando.
This news shouldn't exactly break the hearts of Bulls fans, because Dwight Howard has said he would only consider signing long-term contracts with four teams -- the Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets, and Los Angeles Lakers. For now, Howard will stay in the Eastern Conference as an obstacle to Rose and the Bulls on the road back to the conference finals.
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