Everyone who follows NBA basketball, even casually, knows the name Dwight Howard and has been bombarded by trade rumors, even before the season started. NBA fans are all too aware of the on again/off again Howard trade talk. Will he or won't he? And if not Orlando, where will DH12 be playing after the trade deadline this season? Does Orlando keep him and risk letting him walk with no compensation? Today, we're gonna take a look at trading Dwight Howard in NBA 2K12. What does it take to trade for a franchise center in NBA 2K12?

Because of NBA2K's trade engine deficiencies, we are going to control all 30 teams within 2K12's franchise mode and try not to abuse the system. Instead of examining every possible trade, we're just gonna look at some of the rumored destinations for Howard. Also of note: we're using the player salaries and roster restrictions within NBA 2K12. Here we go, let's trade for Dwight Howard!

Howard to the Lakers

ORLANDO trades

C Dwight Howard - $17.15 mill
SF Hedo Turkoglu - $10.60 mill

LA LAKERS trades

C Andrew Bynum - $15.16 mill
PF Pau Gasol - $18.71 mill
LA Lakers 1st Rd Pick 2012

This is probably the fairest trade for both Orlando and the Lakers, should this trade go down. Obviously this trade immediately changes both teams. Orlando now has the 1-2 punch of Bynum and Gasol to go with Quentin Richardson, Jason Richardson and Jameer Nelson. Gasol's addition moves Ryan Anderson to the second unit, joining J.J. Redick and Glen Davis on a very potent Orlando bench. The loss of Howard's defense and rebounding can't be understated, nor can losing Turkoglu's passing and playmaking ability in the pick-and-roll. Orlando's future now rests on the questionable knees of Andrew Bynum, who is enjoying a career year in 2012.

The Lakers add a young franchise centerpiece to go with Kobe Bryant and a group of role players. The combination of Kobe's scoring ability and Howard's defense and rebounding make the Lakers a serious contender in the West again. Turkoglu can now fill a similar role to Lamar Odom on the 2011 Lakers team. Pair Howard up front with either Josh McRoberts or Troy Murphy (to stretch the floor), add Barnes/World Peace at SF, and Kobe and Fisher in the backcourt and you've got a pretty formidable roster. Gasol's departure leaves a huge hole at PF, one that no one on the Lakers can fill this season. What they add, besides Howard, is a versatile Turkoglu who can play either forward position and distribute the ball like no one on LA's current team can. Giving up the 2012 1st round draft pick is a no-brainer to acquire Howard.

Howard to the Lakers Take Two:

ORLANDO trades

C Dwight Howard - $17.15 mill
PG Jameer Nelson - $7.31 mill
SF Earl Clark - $1.20 mill

LA LAKERS trades

C Andrew Bynum - $15.16 mill
SF Metta World Peace - $6.79 mill
PG Steve Blake - $4.00 mill
LA Lakers 1st Rd Pick 2012

In this alternate version of the trade, Orlando is looking to move Howard and dump salary for next season and beyond. Orlando's team now consists of Bynum, Anderson, Turkoglu, Richardson, and a choice between Chris Duhon/Steve Blake/Ish Smith at point guard. Metta World Peace moves to the bench and gets half a season to prove that he's got something left. World Peace's deal expires after the 2012 season and Orlando no longer needs to look at re-signing Nelson and can move on to finding his replacement. The focus is now clearly on keeping Bynum, re-signing Ryan Anderson and finding a point guard for the future. Orlando also acquires the same 2012 1st round pick from LA.

This deal could easily been seen as a robbery for the Lakers though, no question about it. There's no way the real Otis Smith would accept this deal the way the virtual Smith did ... I don't think so anyway. Not only do the Lakers add Howard, but keep Gasol and Kobe and add a point guard to sure up a major area of concern for LA. They also get to dump Metta World Peace and his underachieving ways while adding a young player at the same position with upside in Earl Clark. (Clark had to be included to make the salaries work) If this trade went through, every NBA fan outside of Hollywood would be screaming "Pau Gasol part 2!". If you run with LAL in 2K12 though, you don't care! You've got your franchise big man to go with Kobe in the home stretch of his career!

Howard to the Nets

ORLANDO trades:

C Dwight Howard - $17.15 mill
SF Earl Clark - $1.20 mill
SG Von Wafer - $1.40 mill

NEW JERSEY trades:

C Brook Lopez - $3.08 mill
C Mehmet Okur - $10.8 mill
PF Kris Humphries - $8.0 mill
NJ Nets 2012 1st Round Pick

I don't like this trade from the perspective of Orlando's future, but if Dwight is intent on going to New Jersey, than this is the trade that gets him there. Orlando gets back 23-year-old big man Brook Lopez, the Nets' 1st round 2012 draft pick and a half-season rental of Kris Humphries. Mehmet Okur had to be thrown in to match the contracts. Okur could however provide yet another big who can shoot from the outside, while Humphries and Lopez do their work on the inside. With Okur on the bench with Humphries, the Magic have added a lot of front court depth. The departures of Clark and Wafer don't really hurt the Magic.

One very interesting lineup would be Okur, Anderson, Redick, Richardson and Nelson. A shooter at literally every position. A starting lineup of Lopez, Anderson, Turkoglu, Richardson and Nelson just doesn't look nearly as imposing. Orlando could always opt to start Humphries or "Big Baby" Davis over Anderson for better rebounding, but it still looks like a team fighting just to make the playoffs.

For New Jersey, this trade solidifies the Nets as one of the Top 5 teams in the Eastern Conference right away. Getting a star like Howard to pair with a truly special point guard in Deron Williams, gives New Jersey a deadly one-two combination. Joining Dwight and Deron as starters: Anthony Morrow at SG, Marshon Brooks/Damion James at SF and Sheldon Williams at PF. The reason I like starting Brooks over James (who hasn't played since Jan. 4 in real life) is that with Howard in the middle, you need to surround him with shooters; similar to what Orlando does. New Jersey obviously lacks the quality depth of shooters that Orlando has, but they will make due with Jordan Farmar, Shawne Williams, DeShawn Stevenson, Sundiata Gaines and the newly acquired Von Wafer spreading the floor. The trade does leave New Jersey paper-thin up front however. Johan Petro is the top backup along with rookie Jordan Williams. If you like to control New Jersey in NBA 2K12's Association Mode, than you now have your two franchise players and it's time to get creative to surround them with the talent to win it all.


Howard to the Bulls

ORLANDO trades:

C Dwight Howard - $17.15 mill
PG Chris Duhon - $3.46 mill
SG Von Wafer - $1.40 mill

CHICAGO trades:

C Joakim Noah - $10.00 mill
SF Luol Deng - $12.34 mill
PF Taj Gibson - $1.20 mill
CHI 2012 1st Rd Pick

Throw this one into the "what if" category. What if Chicago decided that if they could get Dwight Howard, it would put them over the top in the East. Consider that Orlando would actually be coming out of this pretty well off considering Howard seems to have one foot out the door anyway. The Magic get Joakim Noah for five years to replace Howard at Center; Luol Deng, who has been playing at an All-Star level this season; a young, coveted PF in Taj Gibson who could start right away. That's three starters and a 2012 1st Round Pick. Yes, Orlando takes back a lot of salary but, they also don't have to go into a rebuilding mode. Orlando could do a lot worse.

For Chicago, they now have reigning MVP Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard and Carlos Boozer as the "Big 3" in Chicago. Rip Hamilton keeps his role at SG and presumably Ronnie Brewer moves into the starting lineup at the SF position. Chicago has to take back Chris Duhon and his remaining three years and Von Wafer's one-year deal to make the trade work financially. The only concern now is depth behind Boozer. Omar Asik could fill the role for this year at least. This would obviously be an extremely bold move by the Bulls. Then again, how many Dwight Howard's will the NBA ever see? If you run with the Bulls in NBA 2K12, it has to be an awfully enticing proposition.


Howard to the Clippers

ORLANDO trades:

C Dwight Howard - $17.15 mill
PF Justin Harper - $490,000

LA CLIPPERS trades:

PF Blake Griffin - $5.73 mill
C DeAndre Jordan - $9.00 mil

The franchise is saved in Orlando! Bringing in two of the most exciting young players in the NBA, Orlando now has a franchise player in Griffin and a defensive force at center with Jordan. I'd imagine that if Orlando had their choice of trades, this would be the one they would jump on. You could even argue that this trade improves Orlando's chances to compete in the East. It's a king's ransom for the Magic but if the Clippers were willing to make the deal, wouldn't you do it?

Yes, Clippers fans you could conceivably pull off the trade to land Dwight Howard in Lob City. The problem is that you'd have to give up one franchise power forward and a potential franchise center to get him. This trade would give the Clippers the duo of Paul and Howard with Caron Butler and Randy Foye/Mo Williams holding down the SF and SG positions. Power forward is where the problem comes in. The answer long-term is uncertain, but for one season you could plug in either Kenyon Martin or Reggie Evans and make a run at an NBA Title. This trade may be as unlikely as MJ coming back to play for the Bobcats, but hey ... never say never. As a Clippers user in NBA 2K12, if you can get enough offense from your guards, then this deal could be the one that drapes the NBA's O'Brien Trophy in Clippers red, white and blue.

Howard to the Warriors

ORLANDO trades:

C Dwight Howard - $17.15 mill
PG Jameer Nelson - $7.31 mill
SG DeAndre Liggins - $490,000

GOLDEN STATE trades:

SG Monta Ellis - $11.00 mill
PG Stephen Curry - $3.12 mill
C Andres Biedrins - $9.00 mill
GSW 2012 1st Round Pick

In this deal, Orlando changes the entire look and style of the team by trading away not only Howard, but point guard Jameer Nelson. In the process, they bring in the dynamic scoring back-court of Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. Biedrins comes back as a big who makes the salaries work and they also get the 2012 1st Round Pick from Golden State in an absolutely stacked 2012 NBA Draft class. With this trade, Orlando would be best served to run out a lineup of Ellis and Curry in the back court, Jason Richardson at SF, Hedo Turkoglu at PF, and Biedrins at C. The bench now has sharpshooting big man Ryan Anderson, J.J, Redick, Glen "Baby" Davis, and Quentin Richardson. That's quite a bit of quality depth. An undersized run-and-gun Magic team? They'd be exciting to watch if nothing else.

Meanwhile in Oakland ... Golden State has pulled off a trade for something they haven't ever had since moving to the Sunshine state: a dominant franchise center. The search is over with Howard and David Lee in the front court, Dorrell Wright at SF, and PG Jameer Nelson running the point. The question is now at SG. Well if there's one thing that GS doesn't lack, it's guards. Either one of Klay Thompson or Brandon Rush could step in and start without crippling the bench. The Warriors still have Nate Robinson at backup PG, Thompson/Rush at SG, up and coming PF Epke Udoh, and rookie project Jeremy Tyler coming off the bench at backup center. Can you imagine a better teacher for Tyler than Dwight Howard? A trade like this would not be out of character for the new regime in Golden State. They were active in the Chris Paul talks, the pursuit of Tyson Chandler and DeAndre Jordan, and have been linked with interest in acquiring Howard as well. This would represent a fundamental change in the Warriors style of play too. Instead of the fun-and-gun style, you'd probably see a more structured offense with Howard in the post and all of the shooters spacing out for kick-outs. And as Warriors GM in NBA 2K12, you could feel good about grabbing the best center in the game today and not cheating Orlando in the process.


These are just some of the trades that allow you to bring Dwight Howard to your favorite team, while giving back fair compensation. I'm sure there are many more that could be made. One of Miami's Heatles for Howard? Does Dallas have the pieces to make a deal? Chime in OS, and post the deals that you think make for a realistic trade of Dwight Howard in NBA 2K12.