Dwight Howard picks Thunder to win NBA Finals

Dwight Howard has spoken, and it should be noted how polite he was to the paparazzo from TMZ.com who caught up with him in Beverly Hills.

To surmise, Howard says he was sorry to see Stan Van Gundy and Otis Smith lose their jobs, he warned that ESPN has an interview in the can is now outdated — ” A lot of stuff has changed since then” — and made a prediction on who will win the NBA championship.

He likes the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Here is the clip from TMZ.com. More from me blow the video.

In other Dwight Howard news, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel had this to say about my report yesterday that the Orlando Magic have already decided that they will trade Dwight Howard, and they are waiting to learn the results of the draft lottery before taking their next step.

“Two sources familiar with the Magic’s thinking said a report Thursday by the website SheridanHoops.com that the team has decided to trade Howard is not true. However, (team CEO Alex) Martins already has stated publicly that the franchise will not go into the 2012-13 season with uncertainty about Howard’s future, meaning that the team will trade Howard if he doesn’t sign an extension or provides no clarity on his plans this offseason. Rumors continue to swirl that Howard wants to be traded — that he cannot be swayed to stay long-term by any new hire the Magic make.

For the record, I respect Josh and his colleagues at the Sentinel, who do a fantastic job. Josh has his sources, and I have mine. I guarantee you they are not the same sources.

So I stand behind yesterday’s report 100 percent, just as I stand by my report from earlier this week that Howard has already made up his mind that he wants to be traded sooner rather than later. If you want to speculate on how the Brooklyn Nets or New York Knicks can trade for him, we’ve got you covered there, too.

For even more on Howard, check out yesterday’s live chat, and give a listen to an interview I did on that subject and plenty of others on XTRA-910 radio in Phoenix yesterday with longtime colleague and Olympic coverage comrade Dan Bickley.