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Exclusive: Clippers now on Dwight Howard’s wish list – UPDATED

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NEW YORK — Dwight Howard now has a fourth team on his wish list: The Los Angeles Clippers.

SheridanHoops.com learned exclusively Monday that Howard recently expanded his list of preferred future destinations, adding the Clippers to a list that already included the Nets, the Mavericks and the Lakers.

“He’s been watching them a lot. He’s intrigued by the Clippers,” said the source, who is privy to the trade talks that have taken place between all of the aforementioned teams.

That source also said it now appears more likely that Howard will play out the season with the Magic, who improved to 9-3 Monday afternoon by defeating the New York Knicks 102-93 while making 17 3-pointers and getting just 8 points and 10 rebounds from Howard on what was a busy day in the NBA.

Howard’s agent, Dan Fegan, already has been given permission to speak to the Nets, Mavericks and Lakers about possible trades. Magic general manager Otis Smith said Tuesday no permission has been granted in regards to trade talks with the Clippers.

But the source said the most likely scenario that would land Howard in Lob City would be an offseason sign-and-trade deal — something I discussed on the Petros and Money show in Los Angeles this afternoon. Click to listen.

Howard has soured on the idea of joining the Nets this season and missing the playoffs, especially since he could still join the Nets next summer prior to their move to Brooklyn and join a lineup that would include a re-signed Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, MarShon Brooks, Anthony Morrow and the Nets’ lottery pick, which will be a good pick in a well-stocked draft.

But that would require a commitment from Williams that he will stay with the Nets for the move to Brooklyn — and that is not a sure thing.

That’s because the Dallas Mavericks have a master plan of getting both Williams and Howard to join them in the offseason, when Mark Cuban will have more than $30 million in salary cap room if he is able to make a trade before then that would shed Shawn Marion and his $9 million salary off the Mavericks’ 2012-13 cap.

That would allow Howard and Williams to join with Dirk Nowitzki to form a superstar trio that would match or surpass what the Miami Heat already have on their roster.

A different league source said the Nets are now most concerned that Howard might get dealt to the Lakers before the trade deadline, which would impact their ability to convince Williams to remain with the franchise after he opts out of his contract following this season.

“The Nets are either going to end up with both of them or neither of them,” a third league source said, going so far as to predict that the Nets would trade Williams prior to the deadline if Howard gets dealt to a different team (Lakers, Mavericks, Clippers) that would be able to sign him for the long-term.

If Howard is traded to a team that would be willing to use him as a rental, the Nets would keep Williams and gamble that they would be able to entice Howard as a free agent. But to do that, the Nets would have to outcharm Cuban, who can offer Williams something the Nets cannot — a chance to play in his hometown.

Yet another option for Howard is remaining with the Magic for the 2012-13 season and collecting his $19.54 million salary, then making his big free agency move in the summer of 2013. But several sources cautioned that staying another year in Orlando is a long shot, given Howard’s hot-and-cold relationships with coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith.

The Magic have been doing everything within their powers to influence Howard to stay, and one source who believes there has been a recent rift between Howard and Fegan said Orlando’s decision to sign Jason Richardson ($25 million over four years) instead of Jamal Crawford (who got $10 million for two years from Portland) was influenced by the fact that Fegan is Richardson’s agent, and the Magic want to keep Fegan happy.

Fegan, one of the league’s most astute agents, also has a close relationship with Nets general manager Billy King. But many around the league are wondering if Fegan is as tight with King as he is with Cuban, and whether that might impact the recruiting process next summer when Howard can become a free agent.

A mid-season trade of Howard to the Lakers (for Andrew Bynum) could make all the Nets, Clippers and Mavericks possibilities moot, but the Magic are not as enamored of Bynum as many would be led to believe, and 85-year-old owner Rich DeVos might not sign off on a Bynum-Howard deal if he felt it hindered the chances of the Magic competing for a championship this season.

And ultimately, DeVos is the man who will make the final call on whether his franchise center goes anywhere this season or stays right where he is — in Orlando.

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Comments

  2. What a surprise!! Sheridan puts a rumor out there that is categorically denied from the source within minutes..
    Chris, we all know you are just trying to dredge up some hits to the site but why do constantly post patently false rumors. Your last few ounces of credibility ooze out every orifice each type you post.

    • Really couldn’t have said it better myself.

      And LOL @ the guy below who said Rich Devos has more $$ than Mikhail Prokhorov.

      Prokhorov could buy Devos 4x over. He IS the richest owner in professional sports.

      • @ Brett
        Devos did have more money personally-and still does technically, however in 2004 he disseminated his wealth to his 6 children, much like Sam Walton did for his children.

  3. hey what do you know? Dwight Howard shoots down everything Chris Sheridan reports. What a surprise. “Don’t believe everything you hear unless it is from the horse’s mouth”

  4. MAN!! forget the nets,mavericks,lakers& clippers kevin garnett & the boston celtics need help,the BIG3 (garnett,allen&pierce) are doing all they can in beantown rajon rondo (i dont wanna say) isnt enough.dwight howard needs to come play along side kevin garnett other NBA superstar needs to look into helping the celtics out.(i dont care whom reads this comment and laughs at this) dwight howard and kevin garnett together would/could be like david robinson and tim duncan back in san antonio,any thing to help out my man.KG5 dwight howard(center) kevin garnett back to (power forward) again, celtics twin towers

  5. DH is overrated. He is not good enough to build a team around, and he has proven that in Orlando. I dont understand how a guy like that wants Max $$ and thinks he can just pick what team he wants to play for. He cant make a free throw if his life depended on it, he constantly gets into foul trouble, he can easily be thrown off his game. He has NO offense unless he uses is power to get great position. Defensively he is a BEAST, he can rebound, he can set massive picks, but if you cant score or make your teammates better then you dont deserve a max contract. I like DH, he is a good person, but needs to realize his real Net Worth. He is making of fool of himself by adding and deleting teams he wants to play for. DH is a just a darker bigger, better looking Chris Dudley.

  6. Not surprised. The Clippers are gonna be an attractive destination since they have Griffin and Paul. I don’t think he’ll end up there, though.

    • The only way the magic trade Howard to the clips, is if they get Blake and Jordan in return… Clippers only have two players good enough to use as trade bait for Howard.. CP3 or Blake,,, and I don’t think CP3 is going anywhere.

      Why does everyone assume the Magic will accept everyone’s crumbs for Howard just because these idiot analyst namely Sheridan gets an orgasm every time two superstars sign together…. Just because the clips would be semi gods if they had D12, CP3 and Blake, doesn’t mean Orlando would trade their future hall of famer for some bench warmers just so the other team can have a trifecta of superstars…. Contrary to what gives Sheridan a woody, a team isn’t going to part with a caliber player just to help another team become a super team.

      If Howard goes to the clips, that’s because Blake Griffin is going to be apart if that deal.

      • Again you fail to understand Howard will decide where he goes. If he flat out says he will not sign with a team Magic are stuck. Even the Cavs did sign and trade to get something once they saw Lebron left for Miami. You might as well get something rather then nothing. DJ leads the league in block shots. Don’t go by names watch BASKETBALL. If you seen Eric Bledsoe play you would know he is a ton of potential. Mo Williams is a starting PG on a title team. He went to the finals with Lebron. And first can get them a good player also even a late 1 if the draft is deep. Scouting smart will get you a good player even in the 2nd round. Arenas, and plenty of 2nd round picks turned into great players.

  7. This source should know there is no way Clips can sigh and trade for Howard. If Howard tests the waters in the Summer Phoenix Suns would have to be the most attractive since it will have the space for him and Deron and still have a functional roster in place plus another nice top draft pick.. Nash would be icing.

    • Jessie forget about the Clippers giving up Blake it just WILL NOT happen. If they are willing to do DJ ++++ is the only way Clippers talk to them about a trade. Also I am pretty sure just like Dallas can make enough cap to sign 2 max guys Clippers can make enough cap to sign 1 max guy. CP3 and Blake won’t be extended until AFTER and should still be possible with how I mentioned below. Mo Williams for expiring/first. Amnesty Ryan Gomes. That is if they have a little cap before making those moves. If not it will take a lot of work, but still possible to make enough cap room.

      • Yeah it would make no sense to give up Blake……really the Clippers still have cap room after getting Chris Paul and extending D.J.?

        • I don’t know if your being sarcastic about Blake, but yes it would make no sense to give up Blake. The offense of end not even close Blake is better. Rebounding Dwight is a beast, and the best in the league. But 4 rebound difference, and a few blocks is not a huge enough difference to trade Blake for Dwight. Blake has a outside shot he has been working on. And is younger, and will only keep getting better. The best the Magic will get is Bynum. And he is so injury prone no one will trade them anyone close to Blake.

          As for cap space……..They won’t have as much as they would have had DJ got what they expected. He got more money. BUT as far as CP3. Look at the contract we traded. Chris Kaman was making 14 million, Eric Gordon close to 4 million, Aminu 2.7 million. We have close to 50 million next year we are paying. I don’t remember what the cap number is I think 58 million. That means we have 8 million with out making any moves, and letting all those guys expiring to become free agents and giving up our rights to them. Even if the cap is lowered to around 55 million still we would have 5 million in cap space. Mo Williams is making 8.5 million next season he is a starting type of player. You telling me we can’t get a late first/expiring for him? Then you clear his 8.5 million. Then Ryan Gomes who is making 4 million next year you can amnesty. So you can easily clear another 12.5 million in cap space. Here is the salaries link on hoopshype: http://hoopshype.com/salaries/la_clippers.htm

        • And if the clips can’t give up Blake, they don’t have pieces attractive enough to convince the magic to give up Howard… It’s absurd to think the Magic will part with Howard for a bunch of no name bench warmers… It just wont happen.

          When the magic trade him, they will get a superstar in return.

          • Your insane if you think they can get = value. Best player they can get in a deal is Bynum period. And Bynum is my fav player, but he is NOT a super star. All star, but I would not call him super star until he can show he can stay healthy. Dwight can always leave as a free agent. Clippers can make enough cap. There cap for next year now is at 50 mill. Again they can trade Mo Williams 8.5 mill for expiring. And then amnesty Ryan Gomes 4 mill. Heck if that still does not make them enough cap space and Dwight really says he is going there they can trade DJ to a team with cap space. You never get full value for a star leaving. Forget about getting a superstar unless you consider Bynum 1.

  10. Even though Clippers signed Butler, and paid Jordon more then they expected they still will have some cap space in the of season. Not close to enough for a max guy. BUT you trade Mo Williams 8.5 million he will make of season to a team with cap space or a trade exception for a first and clear his money you got 8.5 million more for the of season. Kinda like the Odom trade for a first Lakers did with Dallas. (I am sure you can get a late first for him in the next draft. But I would take a future 1 just to not have a first round pick under contract when you can use that cap. You then use your amnesty on Ryan Gomes that is 4 million more. So you clear 12.5 million on top of the few million they should have anyway.

    DJ BTW leads the league in rebounds. He is a beast on the boards just had a bad start. Eric Bledsoe is a very nice young talented PG with TONS of potential. They can also do 2 future first round picks. The Magic could do a lot worse. Trade Mo to them who is a nice starting PG on a very good team. (Or flip him for a first sending Magic another first 3 first with DJ + Bledsoe)

    • Of course they keep CP3, that is the whole point of the clippers trading for Howard….think man think!! Griffin would be gone for sure though

  13. Hi mr sheridan, you know, there is a strange resemblance to you and that reporter from season 5 in the wire.

  14. If Dwight is going Clippers… You can bet Magic will ask for Griffin in return. Outside of CP3 and Griffin, there isn’t enough pieces to bring in Dwight.

    • They can ask for Griffin, but the Clippers will hang the phone on them. They’ll call back ask for CP3, they’ll hang the phone. Moral of the story, the Magic have no leverage.

      • Which simply means that it will be virtually impossible for Howard to end up in a Clippers uniform unless he’s signing there as a free agent. Teams like the Bulls and the Nets (and even the Lakers) have way more to give up (and are more willing to give up more) now that the Clips emptied the cupboards for Paul. Eric Maynor and DJ are not going to cut it.

  15. Chris: this is exhibit #1 as to why your prior analysis regarding the Chris Paul trade was beneath your skills as a journalist. The Clippers are a good team now but have positioned themselves to be a great team in the future.

  16. DonutBoy, the clippers would be taking on 9 extra million in salary, so that trade does not work. The magic won’t take out Turkoglu to make salary match in that trade because its not enough coming back to Orlando.

    • Can the Clippers give anyone else additionally to make it match or who would you offer in terms of an expiring salary to make it work?

  17. “If Howard is traded to a team that would be willing to use him as a rental, the Nets would keep Williams and gamble that they would be able to entice Howard as a free agent. But to do that, the Nets would have to outcharm Cuban, who can offer Williams something the Nets cannot — a chance to play in his hometown.”

    And the Nets can offer , what is it, 27 million more? Add that to New York City, brand new arena, richest owner in sports. I think I’d go with that one.

    • D12 can’t take the (MINIMAL) criticism from the non-existent media in Orlando, so I still don’t understand how in the world he could take being in NYC.

    • Steven, the richest owner in sports is certainly not the Nets’ MP. Rich Devos of the Magic is actually one of the wealthiest…and Orlando can offer more than anyone as it is…NJ can only offer the same as any other team under the cap. Brook Lopez and picks is a horrible trade proposal. NY is overrated, but thats just my opinion. And do you know who else has a brand new arena? Orlando…you should check it out at the All Star game this year.

      If the Magic keep winning, I expect Dwight will play out the last year of his contract…because the Magic will then have the cap space to sign a max FA to help Dwight out when that time comes. Add in the emerging core of Anderson/Redick, and solid contributors like Turk, Nelson, Davis…I really don’t see a team out east that can present a better situation.

      Once Williams picks up his player option for next season the Clips will have less money available next year than this year….would dwight play for considerably less than max dollars? LAC doesnt have the players to trade for him.
      LAL is a longshot from all angles…Bynum is not all that, and there is little to no interest in him for Orlando.
      Dallas? Possible, lets see how that unfolds.
      OKC is the only other team that holds a candle to the Magic.

      Short story long, Orlando is in an incredible position, no one wants to believe it because they want their team to basically get dwight for pennies on the dollar-which isn’t happening.

      • FYI: @John:
        Prokhorov’s net worth is around $18B.
        Rich Devos’ is around $5B.
        Devos is the third wealthiest NBA owner (Paul Allen of the Blazers is second, with around $13.2B), and Prokhorov is on top by a considerable margin.

        • touche fats mcghee, forgot that Devos disseminated his wealth to his children…the point still stands that Orlando can give by far the most money though.

      • I think you may be over-valuing the “emerging core” that Orlando has. Redick and Anderson are good role players, but no team in the last 25 years (probably more) has won with just one star. That’s what Howard recognizes, and so he wants the Magic to get him some help or trade him. I, for one, would hate to see him join a super team, but unless they can magically produce a superstar point/wing from nothing, it’s going to be tough convincing him that what they have now is enough. I admit that all bets are off if they end up winning the championship (i.e., his team shows him that he has enough help to win), but at this point that remains a very long shot.

        • what about the Mavs last season? Spurs for their most recent two? The rockets from the mid 90’s only had Akeem, Clyde was a shadow of his former self….did you even think about what you typed before you posted comment?

          • Just to add on in response to Vince’s insanity, just because an owner has money to spend in lux tax doesnt mean he wants to hamper himself to a large bad contract that negates flexibility…Orlando will have enough money for 2 max players when Dwights contract ends, to go with their solid core. Thats much better than taking on middling players like bledsoe and deandre.

  18. DeAndre, Mo Williams, Eric Bledsoe and 2+ draft picks, and they take on Hedo’s contract as a sweetener.

    • That doesnt match under collective bargaining agreement rules. And…hell no from Orlando. Deandre is a horrible contract, Mo and Orlando don’t get along (do you remember the CAVS vs. MAGIC playoff series’ at all???) and 2 draft picks are far from interesting to a team who is win now mode…Owner is 85 and ‘money aint a thing’ to him.

      Try again.

      • DeAndre, Mo, Gomes/Foye, Bledsoe. 1 1st round pick, 1 2nd round pick. That’s a windfall of players. Arguably better than getting Bynum back am I wrong? DeAndre is a horrible contract? Why did the Warriors give him an offer sheet? And if the owner is 85, and money is no object, why would he care what DJ is earning? Last but not least, there will be a back and forth on what they want, they might want Bynum or they might want other teams to get involved. Likely what teams have been offering, or what they would offer, is what they’ll end up offering. The last team to entirely gut their roster for a franchise caliber player were the Knicks, but that’s because they had less leverage since the Nets and others were active, this time around, you can count on a handful of teams who have a shot, the Clippers being one of them.

        • Better than Bynum? Hardly. Orlando does not need additional depth, although they will have to settle for that if they want at least partial value for Howard. Bynum represents a stud big man that has both an offensive and defensive game. If Howard is in his own stratosphere as a big man in today’s NBA (and I would say he is … maybe along with Disco Dirk), then Bynum is in that second tier along with a few others who represent the best of the rest. That is about as good a value as you can get for a superstar. A young stud who, health permitting, is a sure thing to be very good for a very long time. Assuming the Lakers are willing to start with AB and get a third team involved with some sweeteners, nobody else has an offer that’s close. Late 1st rounders (Minnesota pick is gone), an injured Bledsoe and a project big man (DJ) are not going to cut it.

          The paperclips have already traded their best assets (and rightfully so) to the Hornets, so unfortunately, they’ve blown their load and a trade for Howard seems highly unlikely at this point.

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