LEAD: Dwight Howard requests trade

By Chris Bernucca Dec 11, 2011, 5:49 GMT

Los Angeles - Superstar centre Dwight Howard has asked the Orlando Magic to trade him.

'You get one chance at this,' Howard told reporters Saturday night. 'You can't press the reset button. It's not 'Call of Duty,' where when you die, you get back up. Once this is done, once I'm done playing, I can't turn back the hands of time and play again.'

Howard, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and cornerstone of the franchise, reportedly has told the Magic he would like to be traded to the New Jersey Nets. The Magic have given permission to Howard's agent, Dan Fegan, to speak to the Nets, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers about a potential deal.

The top overall pick in the 2004 draft, Howard led the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals. But Orlando has not been back since despite adding high-priced talent through risky trades.

Howard can become a free agent this summer and was reluctant to sign an extension with the Magic, who have been through this before. In 1996, superstar centre Shaquille O'Neal left Orlando for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Elsewhere, ESPN reported that the three-team blockbuster trade that would send All-Star point guard Chris Paul to the Lakers was resubmitted with modifications - two days after Commissioner David Stern vetoed it - before the Lakers pulled out of the deal.

Paul also is a free agent next summer and will not sign an extension with the Hornets. The original deal had the Lakers sending forward Lamar Odom to the New Orleans Hornets and Spanish star Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets, who would send Argentine forward Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Slovenia's Goran Dragic and a first-round pick to the Hornets.

The first two days of free agency have been somewhat slow as teams wait to see what happens with the potential trades of Howard and Paul. The defending champion Mavericks could be in the hunt for Howard after trading centre Tyson Chandler to the New York Knicks in a three-team deal.

Chandler was a free agent who said Friday he was signing with the Knicks. But the Mavs worked a sign-and-trade, signing Chandler to a reported four-year, 56-million-dollar deal and sending him to New York for Andy Rautins and a 12.5-million-dollar trade exception - which could be used in a deal for Howard or another centre.

The Knicks revamped their roster to acquire Chandler, trading Ronny Turiaf, 3 million dollars and a future draft pick to Washington and using the amnesty provision on point guard Chauncey Billups, who threatened to retire rather than join a losing team.

'I'm tired of being the good guy,' Billups told Yahoo! Sports. 'After a while, you just kind of get taken advantage of in these situations. ... This is about me, and teams should know that right now.'

The Knicks also reportedly signed veteran point guard Mike Bibby to a one-year deal.

Yahoo! Sports also reported that the Magic have re-signed free agent guard Jason Richardson to a four-year, 25-million-dollar contract.

The Miami Heat signed centre Eddy Curry to a one-year, 1-million-dollar deal. Curry, has battled injuries and weight issues for several years, told reporters he has lost 32 kilograms.

'These guys are at a whole other level here,' he said. 'So I've got some work to do, but I'm willing to do it.'

The Boston Celtics re-signed restricted free agent forward Jeff Green to a reported one-year, 9-million-dollar contract. They also are pursuing Hornets free agent forward David West.

The Milwaukee Bucks matched the four-year, 19-million-dollar offer sheet the Denver Nuggets gave forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute of Cameroon. They also may be signing free agent forward Mike Dunleavy.

The Los Angeles Clippers will have three days to match the four-year, 40-million-dollar offer sheet the Golden State Warriors reportedly gave centre DeAndre Jordan.

The Toronto Raptors signed Rasual Butler, who had been with the Chicago Bulls, and Gary Forbes, who had been with the Denver Nuggets. The Indiana Pacers re-signed centre Jeff Foster, bringing him back for a 13th season.

First-round picks signing contracts were Oklahoma City's Reggie Jackson and San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard.