Dwight Howard not signing a contract extension with any team – NBA News
Dwight Howard is not signing a contract extension, no matter where he goes. His agent has denied rumours that Howard will agree to a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, if he is indeed traded to them.
“Dwight's position has remained unchanged since the end of this past season. He fully intends to explore free agency at the end of next season, regardless of what team trades for him, including Brooklyn,” said
Dan Fegan.
Howard’s refusal to sign a contract extension is one of the reasons the Orlando Magic are finding it difficult to find a new home for him in a trade. Howard could have opted out of the final year of his contract
with the Magic and be a free agent this summer. But he decided to opt in, and later asked the Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan to trade him, with the Brooklyn Nets at the top of his wish list. It was earlier reported that the Nets were the only team Howard
was ready to sign a contract extension with.
The Nets made several attempts to trade for Howard, giving Orlando a variety of trade options. However, the Magic were not happy with any of them. Threatened that their centre Brook Lopez would sign elsewhere
after the Charlotte Bobcats gave him an offer, the Nets ended their pursuit of Howard and re-signed Lopez and power forward Kris Humphries. Lopez and Humphries were initially being offered to the Magic in a trade scenario.
With the Nets out of the picture, the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers became the frontrunner to land the all star centre. Houston were willing to act as a third team in a Lakers – Magic trade and land
Andrew Bynum while giving away future draft picks to Orlando. However, after amnestying Luis Scola and creating necessary cap space, they began negotiating with Orlando for a direct trade for Howard.
The Lakers have recently involved the Cleveland Cavaliers as the third team in a possible trade scenario that will see Andrew Bynum going to Cleveland and Dwight Howard moving to Los Angeles. The Magic are interested
in young players and a package of future draft picks with which new GM Hennigan can rebuild the team.
Howard can sign a two year extension with the Magic before being traded, or a three year contract with any other team after he is traded. If he plays the year out, he will become a free agent next summer, where
he can sign a five year max deal.
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