Dwight Howard Reportedly Turned Down Orlando’s Plea to Drop Trade Request

Rob Hennigan, the new, fresh-faced general manager of the Orlando Magic attempted to sweet-talk Dwight Howard into sticking around town, and dropping his trade request. No dice, kiddo, according to ESPN: “After several months of trying to trade Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan called the All-Star center Wednesday night to see if he’d reconsider giving Hennigan and the Magic’s new regime a chance to keep Howard in Orlando, a source close to Howard said. Hennigan’s call came several hours after the Brooklyn Nets, the team to which Howard asked Hennigan to trade him, made a futile last-gasp attempt to deal for him before the Charlotte Bobcats could sign one of the Nets’ key trade chips, center Brook Lopez, to an offer sheet. Lopez agreed to a new contract with the Nets on Wednesday night. […] Hennigan, the source said, based his plea on the fact that he was new to the organization and had not been party to the issues that drove Howard to make his trade request. Team president Alex Martins, who also was on the call, the source said, made a similar plea to Howard last winter when Martins took control of basketball decisions over GM Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy. Howard was not willing to change his stance, the source said. ‘I already heard that from the other guy on the phone,’ said Howard, according to the source.”