Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers have emerged as the frontrunner to trade for Dwight Howard this summer. But the Orlando Magic are in no rush to deal the All-Star center, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard.

The Magic have stood their ground on trading Howard. They aren’t going to give him up for nothing and now maybe won’t give him up at all.

Sources told Broussard that the Magic may be willing to wait until after the season starts and all the way until the trading deadline in February before trading Howard. They are waiting for the best possible deal and their recent trade talks with the Lakers may be to try and get other teams to jump in with a better offer.

The potential trade between Orlando and the Lakers would also include the Cleveland Cavaliers as the third wheel. Howard would go to L.A., Andrew Bynum would go to Cleveland and the Magic would receive a slew of picks and some young prospects.

The most recent news surrounding that potential trade was Howard saying he does not plan on signing an extension no matter where he is next season. He wants to test free agency at least somewhat next summer but whichever team he ends up on will be able to offer him the longest contract worth the most money.

On paper, this deal still seems not quite as good as the potential package the Houston Rockets would be willing to send Orlando. Houston GM Daryl Morey has been going “all-in” to try and acquire Howard by stockpiling picks and first round draft picks from this year’s draft to try and entice the Magic to pull the trigger on a deal.

Houston is confident too that they would be able to convince Howard to stay with the team beyond next season.

The Rockets have signed this offseason two restricted free agents in Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik. They are paying each quite a bit of money but the signings of both shouldn’t impede their attempts to trade for Howard.

The fact of the matter is that the Magic still have plenty of time before deciding what they want to do with Howard and they intend to take that time. It’s a smart move as the landscape of the NBA and potential trade partners can change on a daily basis.

The Brooklyn Nets who first appeared to be the frontrunners for Howard this summer and were the team that Howard said he wanted to be traded to, would be back in the hunt if Howard is still on the Magic by Jan. 15, 2013.

When the Nets extended center Brook Lopez, who would have been an integral piece in a Howard trade, it meant they couldn’t trade Lopez until Jan. 15 of next season. Brooklyn had essentially moved on from trying to trade for Howard or maybe they knew Howard wasn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

Orlando dragging out the Howard saga may seem like a bad idea and many people would like to see the Magic trade him and rid themselves of his drama but it may be smarter for them to hold out for the best possible deal, even if that means waiting until next February.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Oklahoma City Thunder free agent Nazr Mohammed will sign with the Chicago Bulls, according to a report by Peter Vecsey.

Mohammed was reportedly meeting with the Bulls and Brooklyn Nets and will now choose the Bulls.

The Thunder filled out their roster shortly after free agency officially started. They are letting go of Mohammed, Derek Fisher and Royal Ivey and replacing them with rookies Perry Jones and Hollis Thompson and also Hasheem Thabeet.

The Bulls signing Mohammed all but assures they will not match the Houston Rockets’ offer sheet they agreed to with Omer Asik for three years, $25.1 million.

The Rockets will not have signed restricted free agents Jeremy Lin and Asik this offseason to pretty heft contracts.

The No. 1 priority for Houston still is to trade for Dwight Howard. Having Lin and Asik on the books will give them less cap room but it shouldn’t impede their attempts to go after Howard. Lin and Asik at least will be something of a consolation if they do not get Howard.

The Los Angeles Lakers are still considered the frontrunner to trade for Howard. The rumored deal that could go down right now will include a third team in the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Andrew Bynum would be dealt to Cleveland although he has not been notified of this possibility and the Cavaliers would want Bynum to agree to extending with them beyond next season if they were to trade for him.

Howard will unlikely extend with anyone next season and instead plans to test free agency next summer. Whichever team he ends up with will be able to offer him the best contract to try and keep him however.

Thunder free agents Mohammed and Ivey have found new homes now this summer leaving just Fisher who is still in search of a new team. Fisher has also been rumored to have met with the Bulls and Nets as well as Dallas.

Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

The Orlando Magic have stopped making progress on a potential Dwight Howard trade for the time being. The Brooklyn Nets are now out of the picture and no deal elsewhere seems imminent for Howard.

Orlando was close to a deal with the Nets. They would have received three future first round picks and Brook Lopez and would have given up Howard and one of their bad contracts. The deal never looked great for the Magic and that’s why it wasn’t much of a surprise when it fell through.

The Lakers appear to have possibly the best package to send Orlando’s way with Andrew Bynum. But Bynum hasn’t agreed to re-sign with the Magic past next season leaving Orlando holding out for more.

The Magic and GM Rob Hennigan seem more interested in acquiring picks and young players than a replacement for Howard in Bynum that would leave the team in a similar situation trying to keep him.

The Houston Rockets have emerged as the team with the best possible offer for Howard. It is a deal that the Magic should take advantage of and get done as soon as possible.

Houston is doing everything possible to get a chance at Howard most recently cutting cap room so that they will be able to absorb a few bad contracts from the Magic. The Rockets have amnestied Luis Scola which means they would be able to take on Glen Davis, Jason Richardson and Chris Duhon along with Howard.

The Rockets can put together a package involving multiple future first round picks, Kevin Martin, Patrick Patterson, Marcus Morris, Chandler Parsons and the rights to their three first round picks this year, Jeremy Lamb, Royce White and Terrence Jones.

The Magic can do exactly what they wanted to all along if they make a deal with the Rockets. Orlando gets to part ways with Howard and clear a ton of cap essentially allowing them to start over from scratch with a bunch of young talented players as well.

Howard has yet to agree to re-sign with the Rockets after next season if he is traded there but Houston and GM Daryl Morey remain optimistic they would be able to convince Howard to stay after a season with the team.

While the Rockets are going all in to acquire Howard, they have also made a few offer sheets to restricted free agents Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik. If Lin and Asik’s offers are matched by the Knicks and Bulls then the Rockets will have more cap space to go after Howard. The Rockets don’t want to pull out of any of the promised offer sheets either.

The Knicks are expected to match Lin’s offer sheet despite the Rockets increasing the amount in the deal. It was first reported that Houston offered Lin a 3-year, $19 million deal but has since increased to a 3-year, $25 million deal.

The Knicks could incur upwards of $45 million in luxury tax penalties by the third year of Lin’s contract if they match. All indications are that the Knicks aren’t too concerned about entering the luxury tax penalties over the next three seasons.

They’ve become the most athletic team in the league and flex their prowess embarrassing opponents by throwing down on them.

They’re led in this and in everything on the basketball court by their big three of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. They each cover a different dimension of highlight-making facials.

Here are my five best dunks in Thunder history.

5. Russell Westbrook on Omer Asik

Westbrook has turned into one of the best players in the league off the ball. This is interesting of course because he has the ball so much and shoots so often while being the primary ball-handler on a possession. But Westbrook is better than anyone at catching a pass and immediately attacking a defense with the drive.

On this play the Bulls are playing zone against the Thunder and Westbrook shows why he is so great against the zone. After swinging the ball around the perimeter a few times the ball gets to Westbrook and he springs into action.

Westbrook tries for a dunk like this once a game by the way.

4. James Harden on J.J. Hickson

Harden is one of the most graceful players in the NBA with the ball. He has a great handle and moves so efficiently and effortlessly covering the ground he wants. This dunk on Hickson is a perfect example of a Beard facial.

In transition he is picking up speed maybe even faster than he knows at the time. Concentrating on beating defenders with the dribble, he finds himself unexpectedly in perfect position to take off. As so often happen, Harden is a split-second ahead of Hickson who thinks he can get the block. One of the biggest secrets in the NBA is that Harden is a super athlete (I think his beard hides this some). He surprises Hickson with the flush that of course goes through the net perfectly.

3. Russell Westbrook alley-oop from Kevin Durant

The best part about this dunk is how perfectly it represents this Thunder team this season. From the moment Durant gets the ball your eyes immediately try and find Westbrook. I saw this one coming but thought it might not happen when Durant stumbles.

The pass was a little off but when does that not help a huge dunk? Westbrook cleanly makes the catch and is in perfect position to extend and take out his hate on the rim. Notice how high the ball bounces after it goes through and then the best part is Thunder play-by-play announcer Brian Davis reacting again about five seconds after the dunk.

2. Kevin Durant on Brendan Haywood

The Mavericks got the best of the Thunder last season in the playoffs but the Thunder had their moments. This was maybe the best in Game 2.

Durant has Peja Stojakovic on him (bad idea) and easily gets by him to his strong hand, which Durant will always do if he can choose. His takeoff is from so far away that Haywood has no chance of reaching the height Durant does. Throw in Durant’s length and any shove he got from Haywood doesn’t matter and improves the dunk as Durant extends and throws down with big time force.

The “jaw face” by Durant after the dunk makes it awesome.

1. Russell Westbrook destroys Shane Battier

You know how Battier looks like he’s lost a step this season? Well, I think this play might be exactly when Battier lost that step.

Like I said before, Westbrook tries for a dunk like this it seems every night. That’s why I always say he has the best chance of topping Blake Griffin for the Dunk of the Year crown.

Here Westbrook again shows how good he is at attacking after the catch. There’s no defender with him right away so he can gather perfectly. Battier is late getting there and may have wanted to take a charge but Westbrook soars around him in the air.

With one hand Westbrook hangs on the rim like he just conquered a city and provides one of his better celebratory roars.

The Oklahoma City Thunder lead the Chicago Bulls 80-51 through three quarters thanks to some great play from their stars Kevin Durant and especially Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook leads the Thunder with 27 points and five assists while his jump shot has looked just as nice as it has during the Thunder’s five-game winning streak. While he was lighting the Bulls up with his jumper he decided to take out some anger on the rim as well with the highlight above.

Durant has scored 26 points to go with 10 rebounds.

The Thunder defense has been most impressive holding the Bulls around 30 percent shooting and sucking away any life they had going into this game. The Bulls are playing without Derrick Rose of course and the Thunder are taking advantage of this.

The matchup is a potential NBA Finals preview minus Rose of course and the Thunder are looking like the best team in the NBA today.