Dwight Howard intends to sign with the Nets regardless of whether he is traded by the Orlando Magic, and regardless of where he is sent if he is traded somewhere other than to New Jersey, according to a Yahoo! Sports report.

The report says Howard gave the Magic the impression he might re-sign with them if they acquired an All-Star caliber player and improved the talent around him in order to convince the Magic not to trade him. That way he could sign with the Nets July 1 as a free agent and the Nets would not have to give up any assets to acquire him. Howard would join a Nets team featuring Deron Williams (who would re-sign with the team with the assurance Howard was coming aboard), Brook Lopez and MarShon Brooks and all its first round draft picks.

“Dwight’s gone, and (Magic CEO) Alex Martins is the only person who doesn’t believe that,” the report quoted an unidentified league source as saying.

Howard, the six-time All-Star center, told the Magic before the season he did not intend to re-sign with the team when he opts to become a free agent this summer. And Howard informed the Magic if he was traded, there were only three teams — the Nets, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Dallas Mavericks — he would commit to re-signing with when he becomes a free agent.

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With the Mavericks unable to put together the assets in a package to trade for Howard, and with the Lakers apparently unwilling to give up center Andrew Bynum in a potential trade for Howard, that left the Nets as the most likely landing spot for Howard. Before the season, New Jersey had been willing to give up Lopez and two first round picks, plus taking on the Magic's Hedo Turkoglu, which has two years left on his contract after this season.

But that may have changed, as Orlando's options have narrowed. The past few weeks, new names have emerged as teams potentially willing to trade for Howard without the guarantee he would re-sign with them in the summer. Teams like the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets were said to be considering trading for Howard and hoping they could convince Howard to stay with them after the season. One recent report had the Magic negotiating a trade with Golden State that would have brought Monta Ellis to Orlando to play with Howard. Golden State has said it will not trade Ellis unless it is part of a deal to get Howard to Golden State.

But if it's true that Howard intends to sign with the Nets no matter what, then that would severely devalue Howard on the trade market. And even the Nets now would not have to give up that much to get him, if his reported desire is accurate. They can wait until the summer and simply sign Howard, or, if they want to make a run at the playoffs this season, perhaps they can low-ball the Magic and force them to take a discount price for Howard before the 3 p.m. Thursday trade deadline.

ESPN reported today that the Magic are willing to let Howard make the call on whether Orlando GM Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy are retained by the team if Howard agrees to re-sign with the Magic. Martins, the Magic CEO, issued a statement today saying the team would not allow Howard or any player to determine who the GM or coach of the team will be.

Colin Stephenson: cstephenson@starledger.com; twitter.com/Ledger_Nets