The most important development in the NBA’s Eastern Conference on Thursday, the NBA’s trade deadline day, was the move that didn’t happen.
Magic superstar Dwight Howard decided to opt-in with Orlando for the 2012-13 season instead of exercising his right to become a free agent this summer. Howard, a Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy product, did so after he changed his mind repeatedly about his intentions over a few days.
Howard’s decision means Orlando will remain a factor for the Hawks to contend with in the Eastern Conference. None of the other four teams currently leading the Hawks in the East made a major move by the end of what was a relatively quiet trade season among conference teams.
The Hawks did not acquire a player, instead receiving cash in exchange for one of their two second-round draft picks. That means they will try to make at least one more postseason run with the core group of players who have lost in the second round of the playoffs for three consecutive seasons.
The Hawks didn’t accommodate forward Josh Smith’s trade request. Smith, an Atlanta native and a long-time friend of Howard, wanted a fresh start with a new franchise but for now will remain with the team that drafted him as an 18-year-old in 2004.
Guard Kirk Hinrich also had been the subject of trade speculation because of his expiring contract and the Hawks’ deep pool of guards. Hinrich said he wanted to stay with the Hawks and ended up getting his wish.
Only two teams leading the Hawks in the East standings executed trades, and neither of them were 2011 conference champion Miami or runner-up Chicago. The Pacers traded a second-round pick to Toronto for guard Leandro Barbosa, and Philadelphia traded Ricky Sanchez to Memphis for wing player Sam Young.
For most of the week it appeared that Howard, the East’s best center by a wide margin, would be traded by Orlando. He made a trade request early in the season, and it stood as of early this week.
By Wednesday, Howard told the Magic not to trade him but balked when the team asked him to sign away his right to opt out of his contract after this season. So the Magic, not wanting to risk losing Howard after the season, re-engaged in trade talks — only to have Howard change his mind again late Wednesday.
Howard signed the waiver Thursday morning, assuring the Magic they will retain his rights for 2012-13. He can become a free agent in the summer of 2013.
“When you have a tough decision to make about your life, it takes a long time,” Howard told reporters Thursday during a news conference in Orlando. “It doesn’t just take one day. But like I said, my life was being put out to the world to see. So, all the flip-flopping and all that, everybody’s gonna have something to say about it.
“It’s a tough decision. It’s not something that’s simple. There’s a lot of factors that come into this.”
The Hawks received an undisclosed amount of cash from Golden State for its pick. They owned two second-round picks after acquiring one from the Suns last summer in the Josh Childress sign-and-trade.
The Warriors will receive the lesser of the Hawks’ two second-round picks. If the Suns finish with a worse record than the Hawks, which is likely, the Hawks would keep the pick it acquired from them.
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