(Image source: Orlando Sentinel)

BY BRAD GALBREATH

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

You're watching multisource sports news analysis from Newsy.

He wants to stay in Orlando. He wants out of Orlando. The Magic had him on the trade block, and now he’s off it. Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowksi tells NBC Sports the latest on Dwight Howard soap opera.

“Orlando has pulled him off the trading block. They have been talking with teams. They had gotten pretty far along in talks with New Jersey over the last three or four days…Orlando thought about it. Ownership even discussed it, and decided they didn’t want to do it.” 

So it appears the Magic will start the season with their premier center. It’s a move that one Fox Sports writer says is a smart one.

“Goodness knows there isn’t a team in the world that doesn’t want Howard, so the Magic could very well use that knowledge to leverage other teams — be it the Nets, Lakers and Mavs, or the Bulls, Clippers and Rockets — against each other.”

CBS Sports’ Ken Berger points out it’s not just about leverage, but also about making sure the Magic gets the best deal to avoid past mistakes.

“The Magic are determined to avoid another Shaq scenario -- when Shaquille O’Neal left Orlando as a free agent in 1996 and the team got nothing in return. If the only option is to trade Howard, sources said the team will... take its time to find the right deal.”

But multiple reports still say it’s not a matter of if Howard goes, but when. ESPN’s J.A. Adande thinks the Chris Paul-Clippers deal could have an affect on the other L.A. team.

“The Magic have stated their intention is to keep him in Orlando for as long as possible. Will he be wearing one by the time the trade deadline rolls around, or by the end of the season, or by next summer? That could be a different story. One of the things that could change this is now is the elimination of Chris Paul from the marketplace. The Lakers had been dedicating more and more for going after Chris Paul. Perhaps now they can turn their attention to the Orlando Magic.”

TNT’s David Aldridge says the lesson to learn from the Howard drama is to not get caught up in trade buzz.

“This is why I always say I don’t do rumors. I don’t like dealing with rumors. It’s not that they didn’t talk about that, they did, but, as you know Rick and as you guys know, every team every day talks about 10 to 15 trades that are out there, that are possible for them. This was one.”

Barring a trade, Howard and the Magic tip off the shortened season on Christmas Day against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Transcript by Newsy.