What to make of this big baby?

Dwight Howard is in the news once more. And again, it is for all the wrong reasons.

The much-awaited free agency season in the NBA has begun, with teams scouring the list for possible additions, hoping to get the right player as they take their next step to contention.

Teams like the Miami Heat, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs, the Boston Celtics, the Chicago Bulls, the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers are looking for pieces that would make them occupy the upper echelon of their respective conferences once more, while squads like the Toronto Raptors, the Houston Rockets, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Portland Trail Blazers attempt to sign a cager or two to bring them back to NBA relevance.

But if there's one player who's stolen headlines over the past 48 hours or so, it's Dwight Howard. And mind you, he is not even a free agent.

The six-foot-11 mammoth opted in for the final year of his contract last March, waiving the opt-out clause after a two-day whirlwind that saw him flip and flop through franchise-altering and life-changing decisions.

Back then, Howard dared the Magic brass to "roll the dice," in a way prodding then-Orlando GM Otis Smith to trade him. He backtracked the following day after supposedly getting back to his senses after talking to Orlando officials and teammates, and reiterated his "loyalty" to Central Florida by choosing to stay with the team that drafted him in 2004.

An ESPN report now shows that Howard thought of his talk with Magic officials then as "blackmailing," only to deny it in an interview with Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.

"I never used the world ‘blackmail’ in reference to any of my dealings with the Magic," Howard told Wojnarowski. "I never said that. It's defamatory and it's inaccurate. I know what ‘blackmail’ means and any report that I used the term incorrectly is inaccurate."

For the NBA fan, however, the once-positive perception of Howard has been tarnished forever. His constant change of heart has been an issue, but the bigger problem with this big man is that he seems not to care about what happens to his team, as seen in his "quitting" in the latter part of last season.

Drama surrounding his trade demands and immaturity permeated the Magic all throughout their campaign in 2011-12, one that resulted in a first-round loss against a determined Indiana Pacers side. Instead of playing through the pain and helping his team go over the playoff hump, Howard chose to undergo surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back, thereby eliminating any chance of Orlando going past the East quarterfinals.

And here he is again, in the news, for demanding a trade to Brooklyn.

With a new front office, the Magic are taking careful, calculated steps, obviously still looking for the best deal they can get in return for their spoiled franchise superstar.

Here's hoping Rob Hennigan throws Howard into basketball oblivion, wherever that is. Orlando fans – or any supporter of an NBA team – do not deserve what he is doing, holding hostage a team that supported and nurtured him ever since he stepped on the hardwood.

Howard might be the best center in the NBA today, but he, definitely, is not number one when it comes to character, attitude and fortitude.