The Orlando Magic enter Thursday's NBA trade deadline knowing for certain that Dwight Howard plans to become a free agent July 1.

In a Wednesday night conference call with team officials before Orlando's game in San Antonio, after indications to the contrary earlier in the day, Howard firmly told the Magic he is not prepared to surrender the option in his contract that allows him to become a free agent at season's end.

Magic spokesman George Galante confirmed the conference call to the Associated Press on Wednesday night after ESPN.com, citing sources with knowledge of the call, reported that Howard and agent Dan Fegan clarified their position with Magic CEO Alex Martins, owner Rich DeVos and other members of the DeVos family on the line.

Howard's revised stance forces the Magic to decide before Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade buzzer whether they are prepared to "roll the dice," as Howard described it after Tuesday night's win over Miami. Orlando could keep him past the deadline in hopes that a successful playoff run and the 26-year-old's longstanding ties to the community ultimately will convince him to stay in Orlando beyond this season.

The rising expectation among rival teams, however, is the Magic have no choice and eventually will concede before the deadline they have to deal Howard to ensure they don't lose him without compensation in the summer, despite the elder DeVos' well-chronicled determination to keep him, no matter how many outsiders are urging him to make a move.

Sources told ESPN.com late Wednesday the New Jersey Nets have had the most serious discussions with the Magic this week. The teams were engaged in talks late Wednesday night, with the prospect of at least one more team being recruited into a trade seen as the most likely scenario.

"I believe that you will see Dwight traded to New Jersey tomorrow," said one source close to the process, referring to the team widely regarded as the No. 1 destination on Howard's wish list.

Although the Houston Rockets, sources said, remain willing to trade for Howard with no assurance he'll stay past the end of the season, Orlando's list of potential trade partners is believed to be far shorter than expected for a player of Howard's caliber. Sources say interested teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls are reluctant to part with any meaningful assets in a swap with Orlando because Howard has convinced so many executives around the league that he's determined to leave whoever trades for him and play for the Brooklyn-bound Nets next season.

Golden State was another team willing to gamble on Howard, like the Rockets, but the Warriors used their trade chips Tuesday to acquire center Andrew Bogut from the Milwaukee Bucks instead.