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Dwight Watch: As the Orlando Magic were eliminated last night in Atlanta, two seasons after making it to the NBA Finals, the 800 pound gorilla in the room is the future of Magic star Dwight Howard.

Howard has two years left on his contract and holds a player option for free agency in roughly 15 months. There has already been rampant speculation that Howard has his bags packed; however last night while trying to explain what happened with his team, Howard made is clear that his future was not a topic for discussion.

"That has nothing to do with right now," said a solemn Howard. "There is no need for me to comment on it. Let’s not even talk about it. There is no need to bring it up."

"Right now, I need to figure out how I can I get myself better for next season, not what team I want to play for. Right now I am with the Magic. So all the speculation can stop; there is no need to talk about it."

Howard has taken issue with reporters for weeks that while technically he could sign an extension, there has been no contract presented to him and that even if it were presented a two-year $42 million extension is not what he’s looking for.

Howard was asked what he would say to Magic fans that are reeling from the loss and looking for answers.

"It’s going to get better," explained Howard. "Keep believing. Keep making Orlando one of the best places to play."

"I am going to do whatever I can to lead my city, I love Orlando. I am going to do as much as I can. I have put in a lot of work in the offseason and I am going to continue to do that. Our fans deserve a championship and I am going to keep fighting. That’s all I can do is keep fighting."

The Magic enter the offseason with $76.2 million in salary commitments next season to eight players, including a team option on forward Ryan Anderson.

Fan favorite Earl Clark will be an unrestricted free agent and will seek the best financial deal available. Veteran guard Jason Richardson is also facing unrestricted free agency as his $14.4 million contract comes to an end.

The Magic have been talking about a contract extension with Richardson, hoping to retain him at a far friendlier cap number. The Magic have until June 30th to reach a deal, and sources close to the situation have said there is a real offer on the table, the question is does Richardson want to take it.

The Magic do not own a first round draft pick this year, as they included it in their mid-December trade with Phoenix that brought Hedo Turkoglu, Clark and Richardson to Orlando. Phoenix then traded that pick to Houston as part of their deal to land Aaron Brooks.

The Magic do hold the 54th pick in the second round.

Magic ownership has said that both head coach Stan Van Gundy and Team President Otis Smith would be retained, regardless of the outcome in the playoffs.

Both Van Gundy and Smith signed contract extensions last summer that secured them through the 2012-2013 season.

No More Testing The Water: The NCAA yesterday agreed to a new proposal that will move the final decision date for college basketball players considering the jump to the NBA back even further.

In 2009 the NCAA agreed to shorten the window in which players can "test the waters" to May 8th. The new proposal approved yesterday will reduce that window even more to a mid-April date, which will be tied to the start of the spring signing period, which is the third Wednesday in April.

The spring signing period date fluctuates from year to year with the start of spring signing this year set for April 13th. The date for next year is set for April 11th.

The NCAA’s decision was based on their coaches wanting firm commitments from players before the spring recruiting class so they have ample time to replace outgoing players or convince recruits that current players will be staying.

The decision also reduces the chance that a player, who does not sign with an agent, accepts improper benefits like airfare to NBA workouts and faces NCAA suspension.

The "testing the water" game is a sham, as most players have an agent "advising" their family and most players have someone helping them along in the process, whether that’s funding draft training or providing housing and advise.

The NCAA’s decision to shorten the window is not a surprise as it forces players who legitimately want to leave to make firm decisions, and with less time to hear draft hype, bubble guys might stay in school longer.

The NBA has its own separate set of Draft related dates which have nothing to do with the NCAA’s dates, so this is not something the NCAA consulted the NBA about.

The move becomes interesting in the big picture; because more than a few executives in the NBA believe that a 20-year age limit is coming in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, which would require a player to be two-years removed from their high school class in order to be draft eligible.

All of these NCAA changes are to take effect next season.

Upping The Ante: Orange County billionaire Henry Samueli, owner of the Anaheim Ducks NHL hockey team, has been trying for months to pry the Sacramento Kings away from Northern California.

{AUTHOR_BOX} Samueli has remained fairly quiet while Sacramento assembled a last ditch pledge of $10 million in new advertising and sponsorship business in efforts to sway the NBA into forcing the Kings to stay in Sacramento.

Samueli has finally responded.

According to Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee, Samueli is willing to increase the value of the relocation loan originally agreed between Samueli and the Kings that was to be underwritten by public bonds from $50 million to $75 million.

Samueli is also willing to purchase a minority share of the team for an undisclosed additional amount.

Samueli, who also manages the Honda Center in Anaheim, is willing to provide even more modernizations and upgrades to the Honda Center if the Kings relocate.

The Maloof family, which owns the Kings, has until May 2nd to file for relocation, and while the NBA was said to be thoroughly impressed with Sacramento’s response, the final decision still lies with the Maloof family.

The Maloof’s need a simple majority vote from their fellow owners, and while the NBA is said to be urging the Kings to give Sacramento one final year to deliver a new arena, they can still put this issue to a vote and see where they stand with their peers.

It is commonly believed that the Lakers and Clippers would vote against the move, the questions is how would the 27 other owners vote?

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NBA Chats: There are three NBA Chats today starting with Yannis Koutroupis’ weekly NBA chat at 10:30pm EST. Yannis covers the San Antonio Spurs and is the Senior College Basketball reporter for HOOPSWORLD. My weekly NBA Rumors Chat will drop at 1:00pm EST, and I will try and answer as many of your questions as possible. Alex Kennedy’s weekly chat will be held on Saturday due to some scheduling issues. Susan Bible will host her weekly NBA Chat tomorrow at 11am, if you want to get an early start. You can always find the next chat here: Upcoming NBA Chats.