After eight years, six playoff appearances, and a berth in the NBA Finals in 2009, the Dwight Howard era in Orlando has come to a close.

The star center was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a four-team deal. The Magic sent out Chris Duhon, Jason Richardson, and Earl Clark as a part of the deal; they received Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic, Maurice Harkless, Josh McRoberts, Christian Eyenga, and several draft picks.

The trade marked the end of a two year period of uncertainty, as Howard had become disgruntled with his situation in Orlando. He had been linked with trades to the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets this offseason, before finally being sent to Los Angeles.

Sophomore Josh Sacks is glad that Howard has been traded. “The [Magic] can finally move on instead of revolving around a player who doesn’t want to be here,” he commented.

Coming into the season, Howard was prepared to opt-out of his contract and become a free agent this summer, threatening to leave the Magic without any compensation for losing their best player. As the trade deadline passed, Howard agreed to waive his opt-out clause and play through 2013, leading many to believe he would commit to staying in Orlando.

Instead, he was traded to Los Angeles, where he will team up with stars Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Steve Nash to form a formidable squad out West.

New Magic general manager Rob Hennigan rejected rumored deals for Lakers center Andrew Bynum for Howard, preferring a deal which sent out some of Orlando’s large contracts and brought in several cheap, young players and draft picks to rebuild with. Bynum was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers as a part of this deal.

To some, the legacy that Dwight Howard leaves behind in Orlando is tarnished by the way his time here ended.

“Fans will hate him [Howard] for years until he can finally prove himself,” said one anonymous junior. However, he feels that the superstar has a shot at redemption: “If he can win a ring, many people will view his decision as justifiable, much like LeBron James’s decision to leave Cleveland,” he added.

To others, the ending doesn’t overshadow the great heights which the Magic reached during Howard’s stay.

“Even though he [Howard] left, he still has a great history with Orlando from the time he was here,” said junior Kristine Purdy. “He’s the main reason we became a great team again after a really long time of being terrible.”

Many Magic fans hope that the wait for the next great Orlando team won’t be as long this time around.