Cleveland Cavaliers enter Dwight Howard trade talks as the third team – NBA News
The Cleveland Cavaliers have suddenly become the third team for a possible trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic. The trade would send Dwight Howard to the Lakers, Andrew Bynum to the Cavaliers and the Magic
would receive a package of draft picks and power forward Anderson Varejao from the Cavaliers.
The Lakers have been involved in negotiations with Orlando for quite some time now, and recently added Cleveland into the mix after a deal with the Rockets as the third team did not work. The Lakers need a third team to facilitate
the trade, and Cleveland and Houston are two teams that are interested in Bynum and also have the cap space to absorb his contract.
Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant was in Las Vegas to attend the NBA summer league, but made a hurried trip back to Cleveland and is not expected to return, signalling that negotiations have taken a serious turn.
Howard was unwilling to sign a contract extension with any team apart from the Brooklyn Nets, who passed on the opportunity of landing him after numerous trade scenarios were unacceptable by the Magic and the Nets became frustrated.
Howard could have opted out of the final year of his contract with the Magic, which would have made him a free agent in the summer. However, he decided to opt into the final year and is now regretting that decision.
If the Lakers are unable to close a deal in the coming days, they are likely to begin negotiations with Bynum for a contract extension. After being in the trade loop, it remains to be seen if Bynum would agree to sign an extension.
He has the option of playing out the final year of his contract and become a free agent next summer. The Lakers would also then want to re-sign forward Jordan Hill.
The Rockets are also making moves in an attempt to trade directly with the Orlando Magic for Dwight Howard. He is at the top of the Rockets wish list, and their recent attempts to accumulate draft picks as well as their decision
to amnesty forward Luis Scola were all motivated by their desire to sign the Superman.
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