The Dwight Howard rumors never seem to slow down.
Regardless of what is going on in the NBA landscape, Howard's name continues to pop up in association with almost any club that could potentially use him in the middle.
And because he's the most dominant center in the league, that's just about every team.
Although his name has been linked most prominently in trade rumors with the Los Angeles Lakers, it's entirely possible that Howard remains with Orlando beyond the 2012 trade deadline and could potentially depart via free agency.
The summer of 2012 will have Howard as the most coveted asset on the open market, and it appears as if some teams may have already begun clearing cap space in an attempt to make a prominent run at him.
A. Sherrod Blakely of Comcast SportsNet New England covers the Boston Celtics, and he speculates that general manager Danny Ainge is already thinking about bringing the big man to New England.
With the way that the Boston roster is currently constructed, the team doesn't have any realistic trade assets in the pursuit of Howard.
Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are both in the final seasons of their current deals, but neither veteran is likely to be included in a package for Howard.
The club also isn't interested in dealing top-tier point guard Rajon Rondo in order to land Superman, and there's almost no circumstance that would have them ever considering a deal of Paul Pierce at this point in time.
Despite Jermaine O'Neal's contract expiring, his brittle nature makes him extraordinarily unattractive in a trade for a team that has no depth behind Howard in the middle.
The Celtics are hoping that Howard doesn't wind up with another club before his impending free agency, because that's the only way that he'll be wearing the white and green at any point in the near future.
Unless the C's sign another player to a multi-year deal in the offseason that extends beyond the 2011-12 campaign, the club will have just Pierce, Rondo and Avery Bradley under contract when Howard hits the open market.
Boston would present a unique opportunity for Howard should he decide to get aboard. The team could give him the maximum contract that he clearly deserves, and his arrival would allow the club to transition to an era of basketball after Pierce while still remaining extremely relevant with Rondo facilitating the offense.
While Celtics fans are salivating about the possibility of pairing the uber-athletic Howard with one of the best passers around in Rondo, there are still several hurdles to clear before the prospect of Dwight Howard heading to Beantown becomes one that's based in any sort of realism.
He'd be the biggest thing on the interior in Boston since Bill Russell.
If winning is the most important thing to the big man, he'd be wise to give one of the most storied franchises in league history an awfully long look.
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
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