NBA trade rumors

With the NBA trade deadline looming, the Dwight Howard saga has taken an unexpected turn. The Los Angeles Lakers, once considered favorites to land the coveted Orlando Magic center, have apparently fallen out of favor with Howard and the Magic are scrambling to upgrade their roster in a last-ditch effort to keep D12.

Sports Illustrated's Sam Amick reports that "close friends of Howard say he was, in fact, informed that Bryant sees him as a second or third option on a championship-caliber team if he came to Los Angeles."

Evidently, come be our Chewbaca is not the ideal sales pitch for an alpha male.

Amick's report comes nearly a month after the New York Post's Peter Vescey looked into a rumor that
alleged that Kobe Bryant had recruited Howard by telling him he could be the Lakers' Tyson Chandler. Kobe denied the scuttlebutt in an e-mail to Vescey, but now, with SI reporting a similar story, it seems the original RealGM.com rumor may not have been completely unfounded.

Meanwhile, the Orlando Magic are doing everything in their power to retain the 26-year-old superstar.

According to Alex Kennedy of HOOPSWORLD, Howard has recently been included in the Magic's decision-making process, as the front office attempts to placate the disgruntled superstar.

GM Howard's wish number one? Two-time MVP Steve Nash.

Kennedy reports that "Howard has asked the front office to pursue Nash and sources close to Howard believe he won't exercise his early termination option if the team is able to acquire Nash and re-sign him this summer."

Despite his advanced age, the 38-year-old Nash still leads the NBA in assists (10.9), shoots an astronomical 54 percent from the field and converts at an elite 40 percent from behind the arc.

Similarly, league sources have told NBA insider Chris Broussard that the Magic are also pursuing Warriors' scorer Monta Ellis. Via ESPN.com:

"Howard has long mentioned Ellis, who is the seventh leading scorer in the league with a 22.2 points average, as someone he would love to play with. Golden State is willing to listen to the Magic about a potential trade for its shooting guard, but there is little on Orlando's roster that appeals to the Warriors, according to sources. Thus, the sides are not close to having the parameters of a deal in place. Instead, Orlando will begin looking for other clubs to get involved in a three-or four-team deal that would satisfy the Warriors and bring Ellis to Orlando."

Surprisingly, all of this seems to point to Howard either opting in on his one-year, $19 million player option with the Magic or testing free agency, instead of being shipped to L.A. or New Jersey in a blockbuster trade.