If a team were going to jump in as the facilitator in a Dwight Howard to the Nets trade, you would bet that team would be from the West. They would have motivation to keep Howard in the Eastern Conference and away from the Lakers (or Mavericks).
Enter the Portland Trail Blazers.
At least that is what Marc Stein and Chad Ford report at ESPN.
Sources told ESPN.com that the most active proposal discussed by the teams would send Portland Trail Blazers swingman Gerald Wallace to the Magic along with Nets center Brook Lopez as two of the main pieces Orlando would receive in exchange for Howard.
As part of such a trade, which could be expanded to include a fourth team, sources say Orlando would also shed the long-term contracts of Hedo Turkoglu and Chris Duhon -- both absorbed by New Jersey -- while also potentially receiving future draft considerations.
The salary cap math does not work on this as described, so other players or a fourth team need to be in the mix to make it work.
But Portland is clearly serious about this trade as Gerald Wallace is a quality player to be sending out. However, that move would free up cap room for the Blazers offer to bring Jamal Crawford to Portland.
The ultimate hold up here remains the Magic — are they willing to trade Dwight Howard yet? They seem to be trying to convince him to stay still (and he is still leaving that door ajar, they are on his list of four teams where he would sign an extension). They may drag this process out closer to the deadline to show him that the team can win and try to make a move that would keep him in house.
That said, the Nets have clearly picked up their efforts to get Howard, which makes sense after Nene re-signed in Denver. The Nets have to get someone to come play with Williams or they risk losing him at the end of the season.
The Nets want to move fast. Because if the trade deadline nears and they haven’t landed someone to go with Deron Williams, they are going to have to gauge his mood and see if they need to trade him to get some value back.