Right now, the Dwight Howard soap opera is on hiatus.

The Magic have stopped all trade talk and are focusing on this season and convincing Howard to stay in Orlando. I’m pretty sure opening day did not help their cause. In the least.

Eventually Orlando is going to have to trade Howard. His demand is still on the table and he is not likely to re-sign there — they have to get something for him. But that something is not young players because the Magic are not looking to strip down and rebuild just yet, reports Marc Stein at ESPN.com.

Sources familiar with Orlando’s thinking say that a picture of what the Magic will ultimately expect in return for their anchor has indeed begun to emerge, telling ESPN.com this week that Orlando would not hold out for youth and draft picks as the league-owned New Orleans Hornets were ordered to do in the Chris Paul sweepstakes. The Magic, sources say, would instead prefer to bring back multiple established veterans who can keep the team competitive. Reason being: Orlando has moved into a new arena last season and has an 85-year-old owner in Rich De Vos. Sources say De Vos has little interest in starting over/rebuilding, as evidenced by the recent decisions to trade for Glen “Big Baby” Davis and re-sign Jason Richardson even though Howard’s future is so murky.

The Magic will not get equal value in trading Howard away. You never do when you trade a superstar. But to demand veterans so you can be competitive means the Magic are likely headed for mediocrity — the dangerous NBA middle ground. Teams that are good enough to make the playoffs but not be contenders; teams that are not bad enough to go up in the draft and get a superstar that way. They get stuck in that middle with no easy way out.

The one deal that seemed closest to happening was a three team trade where the Magic got Brook Lopez from the Nets and Gerald Wallace out of Portland, with Howard going to New Jersey. That is what I’m taking about — the Magic would be good, a playoff team, but nowhere near the Heat or Bulls. Or even the Knicks.

I like better what Utah did, what New Orleans did trading their stars. They got good young players and picks that jump-start the rebuilding process.

But that may not be Orlando’s plan. It’s something to watch for. This trade may be different than most superstar trades.