A day after Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy claimed that star centre Dwight Howard had asked that he be fired, reports surfaced that the Magic came very close to dealing the 26-year-old to the Los Angeles Lakers at the trade deadline.
The New York Post reported on Friday that team officials threatened to trade the indecisive Howard to the Lakers, not his desired destination, if he did not opt in for an extra season in Orlando.
The Magic allowed Howard’s representatives to talk to three teams about a potential trade — the Lakers, New Jersey Nets and the Dallas Mavericks — but a source told the New York paper he was only interested in being dealt to New Jersey.
“He was adamant: New Jersey, New Jersey, New Jersey,” a source told the paper.
The Magic remain likely to deal Howard next summer if he does not agree to an extension before training camp.
“[The Magic] do not want to go through it all again,” one source told the New York Post. “[The Magic] are determined to avoid another year of that.”
