The Dwight Howard saga took another wild turn late Friday.
Chris Mannix, Ric Bucher and Adrian Wojnarowski all reported that agent Dan Fegan told them the Magic have given Howard permission to speak with three teams, the Nets, Lakers and Mavericks, about a possible trade.
A fourth writer, Sam Amick, quoted Magic CEO Alex Martins as denying that Orlando has given such permission. Then early Saturday morning, a Magic spokesman clarified that Fegan, but not Howard, has permission, "going forward," to talk to the three teams..
This all comes just 12 hours after reports that the Magic might file a tampering complaint against the Nets for an alleged meeting with Howard on Thursday in Miami,. Martins later pulled back from that threat. Both Howard and Billy King denied such a meeting took place.
Fegan tells Wojnarowski that Howard "did not attend a meeting with Nets officials" and tells Mannix that "reports of possible tampering are undeniably false." He does admit to Bucher that there was a phone conversation involving the Nets and Howard. Fegan says that he has already had permission to talk to teams.
Bucher writes that "the Nets, for the moment, appear to be the favorite." On SportsCenter, he said he believed a deal could happen quickly, just as his colleague Chris Broussard predicted 24 hours earlier. Not so, tweets Mannix. "Howard is not locked into playing for the Nets. They are one of three teams he’s interested in. No deal imminent, or close really."
- Howard has permission to seek trade - Adrian Wojnarowski - Yahoo!
- Otis Smith gave permission for Dwight Howard's agent to speak to Nets - Ric Bucher - ESPN
- Magic officials investigating alleged meeting between Dwight Howard, Nets - Sam Amick - Sports Illustrated
- Magic give Dwight Howard's camp permission to speak with three teams - Josh Robbins - Orlando Sentinel
- Magic considering tampering charge vs. Nets - Ken Berger - CBS Sports
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Breaking down the Nets' chances for Dwight Howard - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
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Nets dream of a Dwight Christmas - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Nets’ Howard saga: The Plot Thickens!!! - Andy Vasquez - NJ Nets Nation
- Kindly Ignore the Electric Sheep - Rob Mahoney - The Two-Man Game