Man, at first glance this looks like a steal for Orlando. And to speculate, I assume this means that Howard probably told Alex Martins that he'll stay in Orlando if they land Ellis.
I wouldn't assume that. The Magic are doing everything they can to convince him to stay. I don't think he is promising anyone anything right now though.
According to reports, Howard wants to play with a star. So if Ellis comes in a trade, I think he'll stay in Orlando and keep many people, including his mother happy. Plus, his relationship with Martins seems very positive. In fact, as time passes I hear more about Martins than I do about Otis Smith.
Well, I think they would have a heck of a lot better chance of keeping him if they made a deal like that. But I don't think he has any idea what he is going to do this summer, so I don't think he will guarantee anything at this point.
I think he would wait to see how the chemistry works out the rest of the year before deciding anything.
But by making a deal like this, I think they are changing it from maybe a 20% chance Howard would stay to perhaps a 51% chance. He is still going to be very tempted by other offers, and if things don't gel this season, then it could blow up quickly. But the Magic can at least go to bed thinking they did everything they could (kind of like the Cavs did).
what's the incentive for Golden State? Ryan Anderson??
Well, we need to see what the actual deal is, but I think it would be partly Anderson, and partly getting Biedrins off the books. They also would have a ton of cap space this summer to build around Curry and Lee.