Details of proposed Dwight Howard-to-Nets trade that never was

A trade between the Nets and Magic that would have sent Dwight Howard to New Jersey was in the works before Howard made official his commitment to opt-in to the final year of his contract and remain in Orlando for at least one more season.

While that’s not surprising—everyone around the NBA knew the Nets were the most likely trading partner for the Magic had Orlando decided to move Howard—The New York Post has details of the Nets’ final offer for Howard, and reports that three hours before last Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, Magic GM Otis Smith and Nets GM Billy King were “real close to firming up a trade.”

Under the deal, the Nets would have sent Brook Lopez, MarShon Brooks, Mehmet Okur’s expiring contract and two or three No. 1 picks (at least one being unprotected) for Howard. The Nets no longer had the salary cap flexibility to take on the two years and $23.8 million remaining on Hedo Turkoglu’s contract, and a third team was not involved.