With the four-team deal between the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic that would send Dwight Howard to the Big Apple looking like it's falling apart, speculation about Atlanta being in the mix for the biggest domino in the NBA has increased.
According to a report from CBS Sports Ken Berger, the Hawks are one of three teams who have been talking to the Magic in the wake of the Nets possibly bowing out:
With the Nets' longtime pursuit of Howard complicated by the withdrawal of Cleveland as a third team to facilitate the deal, the Magic's ongoing conversations with the Rockets, Lakers and Hawks gained momentum.
The presence of Josh Smith, Howard's AAU teammate on the legendary Atlanta Celtics squad, is presumably the main carrot Atlanta has in retaining Howard, so any deal with the Magic would likely be built around All-Star PF Al Horford.
Horford isn't on the level of Howard or Bynum as a franchise player, but he's locked into a long-term deal and could be a solid building block for an Orlando franchise that doesn't seem interested in a total rebuild.
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