It was the story of the season last year in the NBA, but new Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard admitted he wanted to be a member of the Brooklyn Nets.

"I did want to go to Brooklyn. That's a place where I told the Magic that I really wanted to go," Howard said to ESPN NewYork 98.7 FM in a report by Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com on Thursday. "[But] I was traded to the Lakers, and I think it was a blessing in disguise.

" ... I think there's a reason why everything happened the way it happened. So far it's been an unbelievable experience for me. ... It's like a dream come true."

Trade talks swirled for most of last season between the Howard, the Orlando Magic and the Nets before fizzling out. The four-team trade that landed the center in Los Angeles joins him with the star-studded likes of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Steve Nash.