The New Jersey Nets and Orlando Magic have put together the framework of a four-team trade that would bring All-Star Dwight Howard to Newark, according to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski.
Howard could stay in Orlando until the trade deadline as the Magic attempt to convince the center to sign a long-term extension. However, with the Nets losing out on another one of their free agent targets when Nene decided to return to the Denver Nuggets, Nets GM Billy King seems to have increased his effort to get a deal done for Howard sooner rather than later.
The main pieces sent to the Magic continues to be Brook Lopez and multiple draft picks while Hedo Turkoglu's bloated contract would come back to New Jersey with Howard.
Marc Stein and Chad Ford report one of the other teams involved is the Portland Trail Blazers. They would send SF Gerald Wallace to the Magic and in return would get back multiple draft picks. Their report also states the Nets would take back Chris Duhon and the three years, $11.06 million remaining on his contract.
While the Yahoo! report states the deal isn't imminent, it is "entering a crucial time" as King wants to get the "framework completed in the near future".
So far in this compact offseason the only free agent the Nets have signed is reserve forward/center Shelden Williams. New Jersey could be interested in bringing back Kris Humphries to start at power forward, but they want to resolve the Howard situation first.
King so far hasn't been able to live up to his promise when the lockout ended that the team wouldn't suffer through Melo-drama Part II.
"The circus-like atmosphere that was surrounding last season won’t happen this season, I promise you that," the GM said during his first press conference of the season.
As the Magic and Nets attempt to get this deal done again, all four rings currently reside in New Jersey and will until this situation is resolved one way or another.