Could Dwight Howard Return to Orlando?

On Friday, it was reported by Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher that Dwight Howard could look to return to the Orlando Magic should he opt out of his current contract with the Rockets. Bucher made it clear that Howard’s first option is to stay in Houston and make it work, despite concerns playing alongside Rockets teammate, James Harden. However, if a deal cannot be reached, Howard has entertained the possibility of returning to the City Beautiful. Howard’s best days were in Orlando, which makes sense as to why he would look to make amends and a LeBron-style return to the team that drafted him first overall in 2004. The problem with that is Dwight Howard is no LeBron and he shouldn’t expect Magic fans to welcome him back with open arms.

In fact, most Magic fans that heard the report probably weren’t all that surprised of Howard’s intent to return to the team that made him a star. In Orlando, Howard was clearly the star and the Magic attempted to build around the big man. Orlando reached the NBA Finals in 2009 but lost to the Lakers in five games. The following season looked to be the Magic’s year but they fell short again, losing to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. After LeBron James announced he was taking his talents to South Beach that off-season, it was clear that Howard was growing frustrated with the Magic’s inability to build on what they already had. Howard was also likely frustrated that because of LeBron’s arrival in Miami, along with former Toronto Raptor star, Chris Bosh, he knew that his Magic team was no longer the team to beat in the East. The Magic looked at ways to help please their disgruntled star but nothing worked. It only got messier in Orlando from there. It was reported that Howard had his issues with coach Stan Van Gundy and was looking to get the head coach fired. Van Gundy later confirmed those reports in an interview. In that same interview, and unbeknownst to Howard as to what his coach had just said, Howard came up to Van Gundy during the interview and hugged his coach (awkward!). It was during that time, Howard had been requesting that he be traded to the then New Jersey Nets or Dallas Mavericks as his preferred options. It became a long and dramatic process as neither of the teams had what the Magic were looking for in potential trades and the Magic still had hopes of convincing Howard to stay.

Surprisingly, Howard elected to opt-in on the final year of his contract in March 2012, giving the Magic more time to help build a championship team around him. However, shortly after waiving his opt-out clause Howard developed issues with his back and was forced to miss the remainder of the season. Without Howard, the Magic were no match come playoff time and lost in the first round to the Indiana Pacers. In May 2012, still believing there was hope that they could convince Howard to stay on long-term, the Magic fired Van Gundy and agreed to part ways with General Manager Otis Smith. However, it was not enough and shortly before the free agency period began, Howard had made his mind up that he wanted out.

Finally, in August 2012 the Magic traded Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers in a four-team deal. Although it was considered a poor deal for the Magic at the time, they received a lot of young pieces and draft picks to help with the rebuilding process that was to come with losing a player of Howard’s caliber. Just a year after the trade it was apparent that the Magic had won the trade between the four teams involved. Howard left L.A. for Houston in free agency and none of the other big stars involved in the trade panned out for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Denver Nuggets, the other teams involved in the deal. The 76ers received center Andrew Bynum in the trade but never touched the floor in Philly because of injuries and they have been in rebuilding/tanking mode ever since. Former Sixer, Andre Iguodala, was shipped off to Denver in the trade but he would be a one-year rental for the Nuggets team, electing to sign with the Golden State Warriors the following year.

Meanwhile, the Magic still had all the pieces they received from the trade, including Arron Afflalo, Nikola Vucevic, and Maurice Harkless. Not a playoff team, obviously, but the Magic had something to go on from their fallout with Howard. Unfortunately, to this day, the Magic still have not been able to capitalize on those assets. They’ve done a nice job of developing young talent but it hasn’t produced into wins and the frustrations are beginning to show. With other teams like the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat showing signs of tremendous progress and are now playoff teams since their rebuilding days, Magic fans and the organization are getting impatient.

Since his departure from Orlando, Howard’s experience hasn’t been a glamorous one either. The Lakers were swept out of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs in his lone season with the team. Howard and Lakers star, Kobe Bryant, never saw eye to eye and Howard elected to sign with Houston in 2013 to team with James Harden. Kobe felt Howard was too immature and didn’t take winning serious enough. In his first year with Houston, the Rockets were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the Portland Trail Blazers. You may remember that classic buzzer beater from Portland guard Damian Lillard to clinch the series in game 6. In the 2014-2015 campaign, the Rockets reached all the way to the Western Conference Finals but were no match for the eventual champion Warriors, losing in five games. This season, the Rockets have underperformed thus far and are currently fighting for their playoff lives. Should they succeed, they will likely play the Warriors or Spurs in the first round and barring a miracle, will be eliminated. Howard hasn’t gotten along well with Harden either in Houston but, in fairness, the majority of the Rockets have gotten tired of Harden’s selfishness.

It makes sense from both sides to see the possibility of a reunion between Howard and the Magic. Both have been irrelevant in their time away from each other. The Magic are desperately looking for a star to bring to Orlando and will have money to spend to do it. They’ve struggled, mightily, this year on defense, protecting the rim and rebounding. Even though there’s a lot left to be desired with his offensive game, rebounding and defense have always been what Howard excels at. I’ve seen more offensive rebounds and kick-outs for 3 pointers from opposing teams against the Magic this year than I’d like to see in a decade. Watching the Magic continue to make the same mistakes over and over is like watching your laundry in the washing machine. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Like it or not, he’s exactly the type of player the Magic need in order to get back to their winning ways. However, this doesn’t mean that the Magic need to rush out and beg for Howard to come back. Just because you miss your ex-girlfriend doesn’t mean you should get back together with her. Howard’s going to be looking for that last big contract but he is far from the player that he was in Orlando and the Magic should not be dishing out money to him like he is. It’s hard to say at this point what the market for Howard will look like come free agency but he’s dreaming if he thinks he’s going to get max money from any team. Teams knew that Howard would elect to opt-out of his current contract at the end of the season and had no interest in trading for him at the trade deadline.

I do see Howard and the Magic having some mutual interest in a reunion this summer but my instincts tell me that a deal will not get done. He wants to get paid first and will likely choose the highest bidder, which should not be the Magic if they’re smart. Also, he would not receive the same praise from Magic fans for returning that LeBron James saw when he returned to Cleveland. As mentioned, Howard is no LeBron, and he managed to somehow make his departure much worse. Bringing the eight time All Star back could be very risky for the Magic and their fanbase. If they did, and Howard did not live up to expectations, Magic fans that haven’t already turned their back on the franchise could start to do so. Howard could attempt to find a team closer to his home in Atlanta, possibly with the Hawks, who are almost certain to lose center Al Horford to free agency. Orlando, of course, and Miami could be potential landing spots for Howard if being closer to home is what he desires. Magic fans know from experience that even Dwight Howard doesn’t know what he really wants. July may only be a few months away but that gives Howard enough time to change his mind about a thousand times. It’s certain that the Magic will be in talks with a lot of free agents, but it will be curious to see if the once big kid with the big grin could actually end up back in O-town.

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