If we have learned anything from the daily trade rumors and saga surrounding Dwight Howard it is that no team is really ever completely out of the running. The Hawks have checked in with Orlando on Howard and while they haven't been one of the most prominent teams mentioned they don't believe that they are completely out of the running either.
Hawks, I'm told, still think they're alive in Dwight trade chase. With plenty of pieces to offer and Josh Smith to lobby Howard to stay
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 11, 2012
Its really not that far fetched when you think about it. Atlanta has Al Horford who it could offer as the centerpiece of a trade for Howard that would reunite him with his childhood friend in Josh Smith. Atlanta has the room to sign both Smith and Howard to new deals and make them the faces of their hometown franchise.
However, the Hawks are unlikely to include Horford in any trade for Howard without some kind of assurance that Howard would re-sign in Atlanta. Howard has indicated that Brooklyn is the only team that he will re-sign with if traded but if no trade happens it could bring other teams into the mix.
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