ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith (via CBS) is reporting a tip from someone in Dwight Howard’s camp that he will be demanding a trade as soon as Orlando is eliminated from the playoffs. Howard apparently is fed up with the organization and how they have treated him. Pay special attention to the end of the quote where Smith talks about how the Magic wanted to fly Dwight to his back surgery on the cheap with a budget airline ‘Air Tran’.
“The minute this season is over, according to what I am hearing from his camp, you can expect Dwight Howard to tell Orlando. ‘Get me out of here. I don’t want to be here any longer.’ You’ve got Stan Van Gundy annoyed with the organization. You’ve got Dwight Howard disgusted with the organization. The way he’s been treated, along with the way his teammates have been AWOL on him as far as he’s concerned. You’ve got a problem.
Not to mention the fact, there’s one other little Cliff Note that you might find interesting. When he had his back surgery, they were talking about giving him a flight on AirTran or something like that. This is the kind of stuff that I’ve been told in the last 24 hours in terms of how they’ve treated him. He feels as a superstar, he’s been treated as a scrub.”
At this point the Magic have no choice but to move Howard and try and get anything decent in return as they have completely alienated themselves from their star player. According to reports they have also alienated themselves from head coach Stan Van Gundy beyond repair. We may see a new look Orlando Magic next season, as it should be a busy offseason for the organization.
