The San Francisco Bay Area might be the hottest scene in sports right now. With the 49ers representing the NFC in Super Bowl XLVII, the Giants winning their second World Series in three years, the Sharks a perennial fixture in the NHL playoffs, and the Warriors finally showing up as more than just a fun-to-watch loser, Bay Area fans are representing loudly and proudly. East Coast bias or not, the rest of the sports world is watching.

In terms of visibility, the Golden State Warriors demanded attention this season with their exciting brand of basketball and on the backs of some electric performances on big stages by budding superstar Steph Curry. He dropped 54 on New York, broke the NBA record for made three pointers in a season, and then was the NBA's hottest player for much of the first round of the playoffs. He showed the kind of game that only the league's elite possess, and his peers took notice.

Now it seems some of those peers might be more inclined to look the Warriors' way this coming offseason. Current Lakers center Dwight Howard, for one, is reported by Mark Medina of the Long Beach Press Telegram as being intrigued by Golden State. Howard is an unrestricted free agent in July, and has given no definitive word on where he will end up. In the case of Golden State, cap concerns prevent them from simply signing Howard, so any scenario in which he ends up with the team would have to involve a sign and trade with Los Angeles. Most speculation seems to focus on a package including the large expiring contract of Andrew Bogut and either Harrison Barnes or Klay Thompson.