Dwight Howard & Europe?

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After Brian Schmitz suggested Dwight Howard may consider playing in China, there are now rumors of the big man potentially heading to Europe.

Our friend Philip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily was kind enough to translate Howard’s quotes for us:

“Would Europe be an option if there is no agreement by January 7?” (translated by Google Translate): “I would have to think seriously about it. It is not a decision to be made in haste.”

Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel has more on this story:

“It would be fun to play at Unicaja, it sure would be a great experience for me,” Howard said, as translated by Slam’s Marcel Mutoni, in reference to the city of Malaga’s pro basketball team. “If the break does not stop I would come to Europe to continue to improve on a great team to end the lockout when ready.”

To add a bit more fuel to the fire, Howard said in a Tweet the the chances “pretty high” he’ll play overseas and he has “something up my sleeve.”

Now, it’s important to note that Howard was asked — by a reporter and by a fan on Twitter — if he’d consider playing in Europe, and his answer was hardly definitive. And Howard has a way of playing along and having fun with people’s questions (does anyone really think Howard plans to take up curling or cockfighting, as he said a couple weeks ago?).

Clearly there is nothing definite and this all could be done because Howard is being asked these questions while he’s in Europe on a promotional tour. Still, with Deron Williams headed to Turkey and a long lockout looming, it’s something to keep an eye on.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN 1080′s Magic Insider (http://espn1080.com) and is the co-host of the ESPN1080.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here).