On Sunday, Dwight Howard attempted to explain the reasoning behind his wish for a trade from the Magic. Howard referenced the deteriorating relationship he has with general manager Otis Smith.

"I'm pretty sure if you go down the line of teams, every GM has a pretty good relationship with not just the best player but all the players," Howard said. "If you don't have a good relationship with the people you work with, how are you going to get better?"

Howard requested a trade during multiple meetings last week and his agent has permission to speak to the Nets, Lakers and Mavericks about a trade. He went public with the request on Saturday.

While Smith has made several aggressive moves to improve Orlando's roster, Howard said he pushed for other acquisitions that were not made.

"The stuff that I have asked for, the stuff I felt our team needed to get better, none of it has happened," Howard said. "That's not me being cocky but I want to be involved with the organization. I've been here for a long time, I don't want to sit around."

Smith counters the notion and said he has consulted Howard on his personnel decisions.

"When it's your best player, you really do consult your best player on everything? You do," Smith said. "So you consult your best player on free agency. You consult your best players on trades. And that's not uncommon. And I have done that."

Howard and Smith have not spoken since Tuesday.

"There was a good relationship then we haven't talked, we should still talk," Howard said. "I've been here for seven years. No matter what happens, we still should be able to talk. I don't know why, I don't know what happened. ... We've had long talks throughout the summer, very long talks. That's all I can tell you."