According to multiple reports, the Magic have agreed to trade Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a four-team deal.
Finally, the Howard saga is over in Orlando.
As part of this blockbuster trade, Howard will go to the Lakers, the Denver Nuggets will receive Andre Iguodala, the Philadelphia 76ers will acquire Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson, while the Magic will get Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic and one protected future first-round pick from each of the three teams.
While much of the speculation over the last few months has been Howard going to the Brooklyn Nets to pair up with point guard Deron Williams, the Lakers proved to be the team that emerged as the top dog in the Howard sweepstakes in the end.
Howard, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, will be the second superstar center to bolt Orlando for the Lakers, following Shaquille O’Neal’s departure from the Magic in 1996.
The Lakers will get Howard without a guarantee that he will sign a long-term deal in LA, with a possibility that he still tests the free agent market when his contract ends at the end of the 2013 season.
As for the Magic, they now enter full rebuilding mode, having shed a bad contract in Richardson and losing their franchise centerpiece in Howard.
Orlando will try to follow the Oklahoma City Thunder model by going young and building around multiple first-round draft picks, which they received in this deal.
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