Dwight Howard Won’t Waive His ETO

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

Plans have changed again. Turns out Dwight Howard won’t waive his Early Termination Option per Marc Stein of ESPN.com:

After numerous reports earlier Wednesday indicating that Howard had agreed to waive his early termination option and lock himself into the final season of his current contract with the Magic, sources said that Howard and agent Dan Fegan clarified their position in the conference call with Magic CEO Alex Martins, owner Rich De Vos and other members of the De Vos’ family.

During the call, sources said, Howard told the Magic that staying in Orlando is his first choice. But he also made it clear that he was not prepared to relinquish the ETO in his contract that allows him to become a free agent.

Ken Berger confirmed the story here.

On the Sun Sports broadcast, Paul Kennedy and the crew believed the Magic would likely trade Howard if he refused to waive his ETO.

Update: Brian has more on Howard:

I spoke with a source that was intimately familiar with the conference call this evening and they confirmed to me that Dwight Howard’s agent Dan Fegan -who was also on the conference call- has made Dwight’s “position” very clear to the franchise.

Dwight Howard has clearly shown today, via his words and actions to management and his teammates, what his desire is. His agent, who stands to make much more money if Dwight is in Brooklyn, obviously feels different.

A source very close to the decision making process on whether Dwight will be traded at the deadline or held on for one last run, has informed me that the team is still hopeful that Dwight will follow his own heart rather than the desires of his personal management.

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