D-12 is leaving Orlando

As easy as it would be to get angry and pissed off at the state of the NBA labor talks (thanks Kevin Garnett), I’d rather focus on the good news that the most dominant big man in the association let out in an Esquire interview that was released Monday. Whenever this season starts, it is likely to be Dwight Howard’s last in Orlando. This is not news, but Howard put it out there for the first time that he is seriously thinking about leaving the team that made him the #1 overall pick in the ’04 draft…

“There’s more you can do in a bigger place. I’m stuck in a tough position because I feel like right now, where I’m at, I’ve done so much. And I just don’t know what else I can do. I can’t live for everybody else.” I don’t know what decision I’m gonna make as of right now. … Everybody wants me to come here, come play here, come to our team, do this. It’s a great feeling, though, to be wanted,” Howard told Esquire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hMNF-SAe9qA

Howard is reaching a critical point in his career. Does he want to stay in Orlando and be stuck with that 2nd round out team, or does he want to make the jump to a team that has a chance to beat the Heat? It’s obvious to me what he should do, but Howard is a loyal guy…

“The toughest part for me is the city — the people,” Howard told Esquire. “They’ve got burgers named after me in Orlando, they’ve got a Web site saying, ‘Please stay.’ I love the people in the city. I’ve literally sat on the bench with a towel on my head crying, because I feel the passion in the stands.

“I just think about what’s going to be best for what I want to accomplish in my life. And I don’t want that door to close on me, wherever that door is.”

That’s pretty much a goodbye, no? You can tell that Howard has given this a ton of thought. I feel for him, because I know he does care about Orlando and doesn’t want to hurt people. This isn’t a guy who’s premeditated a move for two years like the dick-bags in Miami did. I think he’d like to stay in Orlando, but he knows he’ll never win a title there. One, they will always be too good with him to bottom out and get lucky in the lottery. Two, what free agents can Otis Smith chase with that capped out roster? Howard is stuck, and he needs to roll out if he wants to win rings.

So, will the Magic trade him? It’s pretty much a moot point until we learn the rules of the new CBA, but how can they not? There is talk that sign & trades will no longer be a part of the league (thankfully), so will Orlando let him out a shortened season and bounce? How did that work out for Bosh & LeBron in Toronto & Cleveland? If you know he’s going to leave, don’t you have to move him before free agency 2012? And that’s where the Bulls come in.

There has been talk of the Mavs making a play for him, but who are they giving up? They still have to re-sign Tyson Chandler, and that will make him un-tradeable once he signs. And what else do they have to offer that’s appealing to the Magic? You know Dirk isn’t going anywhere, so the answer is nothing.

Take a look at Kobe & Shaq 2.0. These two would run the league for the next 6-8 years.

The Lakers? I suppose that’s where the Magic would want to send him to get him out of the conference, but would you trust Andrew Bynum’s knees? And what does Lamar Odom do for them? They need to get young pieces that can ease their rebuilding phase.

The Bulls can offer any combo of Joakim Noah, Omer Asik, Taj Gibson & Luol Deng for Howard. If they want you take the Arenas or Turkoglu contracts back, so be it. The Bulls would be moving money if Noah & Deng were dealt,so they could absorb one of those albatrosses to facilitate a deal. Plus, an amnesty clause could allow the Bulls to whack one of those bums from their books the day a deal becomes official.

Dwight Howard’s is finally letting people know what we’ve all assumed, that he is dipping the scene in Disney World. And whenever he becomes available, the Bulls will be ready to team their franchise player with one of his best friends.

@Louie_Ruffolo8