Warming Up to Vince Carter

My Magic-crazy fiance just put a lot into perspective for me regarding the Vince Carter for Alston, Lee, and Battie trade.

I have been mourning the loss of Lee, a player that I thought would be a promising long-time player for the Magic.

He might have been, but listen to what the big man of my house just told me: "If Vince Carter would have been in Courtney Lee's position during Game Two of the Lakers-Magic series, he would have made that alley-oop. He would have dunked the %^*% out of it."

And you know what? He's exactly right.

There's no denying that Lee will improve next year, but as I've been saying since the end of the Magic's season, experience is crucial for the Orlando playoff run next year.

A lot of what went wrong in the late-game blown leads that the Magic endured had to do with lack of experience under pressure and lack of stamina in a stressful Finals situation. I kept saying that if we found experienced players for a good price, it was necessary to acquire them.

So I guess that's what's happening here with Vince Carter, and why I'm warming up to the whole situation. However, one question still lingers in my mind.

Does this mean we're letting go of Hedo Turkoglu? Depending on what we pay Carter (and I'm sure he's not cutting us some kind of deal), could we even afford him?

I'm a proponent of keeping Turkoglu, but maybe there is some kind of dream team in the works I can't see yet. I'm a little bit nervous about cracking apart the core that worked pretty darn well last year, but doing pretty darn well isn't good enough.

We want a championship in Orlando, and it looks like the Magic front office wants it just as bad as the fans do. We are making some drastic moves, but I'm starting to believe it's for the best.

No Draft Pick, What Is Next?

The Orlando Magic don't have a single pick in this year's NBA Draft.

At least they can't mess it up, right? But what does this mean for the team going forward? Here I break down some areas of interest as we essentially skip the draft this Thursday and wait for Turkoglu to receive offers.

2008—2009 Record: 59-23; Won Eastern Conference Finals

Offensive: 111.0 (9th)

Defensive: 103.6 (1st)

Under Contract:

• G: Rafer Alston
• C-F: Tony Battie
• C: Dwight Howard
• G: Courtney Lee
• F: Rashard Lewis
• G: Jameer Nelson
• G-F: Mickael Pietrus
• G: J.J. Redick

Free Agents:

• C: Adonal Foyle (Unrestricted)
• F-C: Marcin Gortat (Restricted)
• G: Tyronn Lue (Unrestricted)
• G-F: Jeremy Richardson (Restricted)

Options:

• G: Anthony Johnson (Player Option)
• F: Hedo Turkoglu (Early Termination)

It all looks good on paper: only 23 losses, 9th in offense in the league (a rank in which I believe should improve a lot next season, with the right moves), and thanks to Kevin Garnett's absence in Boston in the last two months, a No. 1 defense in the entire NBA.

As for the players under contract, in my opinion, C-F Tony Battie should be let go. With only 4.8 points per game and 3.6 rebounds per game, I should hope no one in Orlando wants to pay him $6.3 million next year. Trade him? Straight-up cut him? I don't make those decisions, but I hope the Magic front office makes one of them. Marcin Gortat put up similar numbers, and he made $5 million less. Sometimes I wonder who is making personnel decisions in Orlando.

The rest of the players currently under contract are likely to be kept. The core of the team is strong, and if the price is right for Hedo Turkoglu, that core will be complete for 2009—2010.

As far as free agents go, I vote to let go all of them except Gortat. Free up some cap space and pay Gortat more. He deserves it.

We already spoke about Hedo Turkoglu, who is a player option (and a keeper), and my feeling is that Anthony Johnson will stay. A seasoned veteran, Johnson harbors experience that the Magic will covet next year for another Finals run.

What Needs Work

We all know the Magic lack instinct, the likes of which killed them in the playoffs. It's hard to acquire late-game toughness and strong leadership, especially if the Magic only have cap space for a small salary for that experienced player. The best thing the Magic can do on this front, at this time, is keep their highly skilled core and develop them with fervor.

A Possible End Result

The Magic could entice Hedo Turkoglu to stay if they cut the fat. Jameer Nelson will be back, and will hone his skills again in the offseason.

Orlando could use Rafer Alston's expiring contract to acquire a much-needed big man to help Dwight Howard on the boards and allow Rashard Lewis to play more minutes at the small forward position (so he can also earn his inflated salary).

Tony Battie probably will stay, although I'm against it.

Hope you enjoyed my analysis, look forward to your comments!

Tyronn Lue—Who Are You Again?

Tyronn Lue—yeah, he's that guy sitting on the Magic sidelines, as usual.

The bench is the first location that comes to mind when thinking of Lue this year with the Magic, but when he arrived back in February from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Keith Bogans and cash considerations, Otis Smith sure hyped him up.

“Tyronn is a veteran point guard who fits in well with our style of play,” said Smith. “He shoots well from three-point range and adds needed depth at that position."

Yes, he is a veteran—he's played in 554 NBA games, but he only played 44 this year with a measly average of 4.2 PPG. Yes, he's experienced—he's played for eight teams in his eleven-year career. Then the red flags go up. Eight teams in eleven years? And a little newsflash for you, Otis—Lue's career three-point percentage sits at a bleak 39.1 percent.

Other sub-par stats that Lue has put up: 11.8 minutes per game, a 43.8 field goal percentage. His salary this year: $2,250,000 million.

We've been talking about Rashard not being worth his salary. I agree with that, too, but is anyone realizing that this guy was way overpaid this year?

In comparison, Marcin Gortat made only a little over $711,000 this year. What kind of numbers did he put up? 63 games, a 57 percent field goal percentage, and a 43.5 three-point percentage. Not amazing by any means, but I think you're getting my drift.

In short, we need to cut the guy loose. We have no more room for dead weight, and I'm sick of seeing a player who makes that much doing absolutely nothing.

Others that we definitely need to say goodbye to: Tony Battie and Adonal Foyle.

If Otis Smith can make some good decisions and get these aforementioned guys out of our hair, we will have an additional $8.8 million to work with. That gives us money to keep Marcin Gortat and Hedo Turkoglu, which I believe are two strong pieces of the Magic's 2009/2010 puzzle.

Cutting the fat is essential to making the Finals again next year and finally capturing the title. This summer should be very busy for the Magic's front office staff.

Good luck to Tyronn Lue, but he doesn't belong here in Orlando.

The Top Six Issues Facing the Magic This Offseason

It's been on every Orlando Magic fan's mind since the 2009 NBA Finals went in the Lakers' favor. What can the organization do this offseason to make sure that what happened against Kobe and L.A. doesn't happen again?

It's clear from Otis Smith in the front office to Dwight Howard down on the court—bringing an NBA Championship to O-Town is the goal; we're not interested in merely making it to the playoffs. So, how can the Magic make it over the hill in 2010?

I know six is a weird number for a countdown, but hey, I believe there are seven things the Magic need to work on. They're not in any order of significance, they're all important for Orlando's growth. As the hype of the NBA Finals ends and the offseason plays out, I'm sure we'll know a lot more about what needs to be done to get the Magic a championship win.

Let me know what you think, and if you think there are any other issues that need to be raised, I would be interested to hear them.

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No. 6- Re-sign Hedo

Almost immediately after the Lakers won the 2009 NBA Championship, Hedo Turkoglu let the sports world know that he wanted to stay with the Magic only if the price is right.
On Tuesday, June 16, Hedo Turkoglu confirmed that he would opt out of his contract to become a free agent in two weeks, and hopes "everything will work out for both sides and I can stay here (Orlando) because I became Turkoglu here."

He's opting out of the last year of his six-year, $36 million deal.

Turkoglu said multiple times that this decision was made in order to secure himself and his family.

The problem with Turkoglu demanding more money is that the Magic don't exactly have a lot of cap space left for 2009-2010. In fact, if the Magic want to keep the much-needed Hedo, they might have to exceed their soft cap this year and deliver a luxury tax to the NBA.
Really, if the team hadn't offered Rashard Lewis such a lucrative contract, the Magic's money situation might not be so dire right now. The more I take a look at Lewis' $18,876,000 million salary for 2008, the more I understand Hedo's position. If you're not up to speed, Lewis is making more money in the next four seasons than Dwight Howard.

Who will be on the chopping block first in order to secure Hedo Turkoglu? Probably Tony Battie. Next year, Battie is set to make $6,292,000 million.

In the next couple weeks, we will know a lot more about the Turkoglu situation. When asked if he might take less to re-sign with the Magic, Turkoglu smiled and said, "Depends on how much less it is. Look, I have good stuff going on here. I'm not stupid."

No. 5- Re-sign Marcin Gortat

I really think it's in the Magic's best interest for Marcin Gortat to stay put. He is, after all, the "Polish Hammer". All joking aside, though, there aren't a lot of "big men" out there available for the $711,517 salary that Gortat played for this past year.

The game is all about brawn these days; finesse is out as the premier way to win an NBA game. Gortat's skill continues to increase, and he's sure to be a solid investment for the Magic this offseason.

No. 4- Develop Courtney Lee

Unfortunately, right now, Courtney Lee is most famous for his legendary miss in this year's NBA Finals.

If you live under a rock, Lee is the rookie that botched Hedo Turkoglu's nearly perfect pass with only 0.6 seconds to go in Game Two.

The first thing came into my mind after Lee's missed alley-oop layup is his lack of experience, especially in a Finals situation.

How would you feel if you were fresh out of college, guarding Kobe Bryant?
I guess I can't blame the guy for choking—it is, after all, the coaching staff's job to decide who is ready to make it happen in game play. However, Courtney Lee is an investment, and should improve a lot in the offseason if he works hard and the coaching staff spends some quality time with him.

No. 3- Step it Up, Rashard Lewis

In the 2008-09 season, Magic SF Rashard Lewis made a team-high $17,238,000 million. Next season, he's slated to make over $18,000,000 million.

I think it's safe to say that Rashard Lewis hasn't played up to his superstar salary.
He's being paid to be the man, and Magic fans graciously have not reminded him of that with any malice. We continue to be polite, but we also keep waiting.

If Rashard plays like the $18,000,000 million superstar he is supposed to be in the 2009-10 season, the Magic will be very strong.

No. 2- Keep Developing Dwight

Diligently developing Dwight—it can only help.

Probably the most physically gifted player in the NBA, and only 23 years old, Dwight Howard has a lot of time left in the league. His frustration got him into a little bit of trouble this year in game play (see Dwight elbowing Samuel Dalembert in Game 5 of the Magic-76ers series), but I honestly wasn't surprised about it. I'm two years younger than Superman, and can only imagine just how mentally and physically taxing it is to be a young player in the NBA.

As Howard continues to grow more experienced as an NBA powerhouse, the overall quality of Magic game play will obviously improve. Patrick "Chewing" will continue to mentor Dwight, and good things can only come from that.

No. 1- Get Jameer Nelson Back to All-Star Status

In very early February 2009, Jameer Nelson suffered a torn labrum, devastating Magic fans who wondered what kind of impact the injury would have on the rest of the season.
Nelson sat on the sidelines at the 2009 NBA All-Star Game due to his injury, despite being chosen. Look, we know Nelson is an All-Star, and it was a lot to ask him to return during the 2009 Playoffs and be at that star-caliber status.

However, there's no limit on Nelson's potential for the 2009-2010 season. If the Magic continue to heal and re-develop Jameer after his long hiatus from regular play, the Magic should be that much better.

Magic Look to Tie Series in Game Four vs. Lakers

The Orlando Magic shot 63 percent Tuesday night in Game Three, setting an NBA Finals record, and defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, 108-104.

Despite the record, the Magic were only able to win by four points, making it obvious that the Lakers can and will hang with the blue and white throughout every game. There's no margin for error, and no time to let up.

If the Magic can play hard (preferably even harder, and smarter) tonight, they have a chance to even the series up 2-2. It won't be an easy task, especially back in Los Angeles, but Orlando can find solace in the fact that it is possible, and it has been done before (most recently by another Florida team, the Miami Heat).

Unfortunately for the Lakers, despite their commanding presence in all three games so far, they cannot play up to par without their star, Kobe Bryant. In Game Three, Bryant seemed to be fatigued by the rigors of the playoffs, shooting just fourteen points in the final three quarters.

No. 8 has denied that he is fatigued, saying instead that he is more concerned with Orlando's shooting.

"They're in this position because they shoot the ball well," said Bryant. "It's not something that is just a fluke or one game where they got hot. They can get hot and stay hot. When that happens, you're dealing with a monster."

Indeed they have become, at the very least, a little warmer. In Game One, the Magic made only 29.9 percent of their shots.

Dwight Howard told reporters that the Magic have not let the first two games get in the way of their confidence and determination.

"We've worked extremely hard to get to where we're at, so we weren't just happy with making it to the finals and handing the Lakers an easy championship. We believe that if we play our game and play our style of basketball, this will be our year to win it. But we have to go out there and take it."

Trying to take the championship from the Lakers is like trying to take cookies from an overweight food-addicted baby—they will never go down without a menacing fight. To everyone in Orlando's corner, tonight is a must win at home at Amway Arena. The Magic also have a good opportunity to take Game Five as well at home.

However, Game Six goes back to L.A., where Dwight and the crew have had quite a hard time this series. Putting two W's up in the next couple of days is imperative.

Game Four is tonight, Thursday, June 11th, at 9:00 PM on ABC.

Mickael Pietrus Ditching Kobe's Shoes

Guard Mickael Pietrus needs to change shoes.

During games this season, Pietrus wore a pair of basketball sneakers endorsed by Kobe Bryant. Now that the Magic are trying to defeat the Black Mamba, Pietrus will not advertise him any longer.

"I'm going to play with Michael Jordan shoes," Pietrus told reporters.

Will these new shoes help No. 20 minimize Kobe's touches? Pietrus himself is not sure.

"Maybe I can say 'Hey, stop, Kobe! Yo! Stop! Maybe that's the only way I can stop him," Pietrus said.

The Magic Starts Thursday

It's amazing. So amazing.

I still can't believe my eyes when I see the NBA Finals commercial featuring the Magic vs. Lakers. I'm excited, I'm confident, and I'm ready.

The team has had their ups and downs this year—losing Jameer Nelson, tense moments between Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy, and four last-second playoff losses. However, the Magic have shown their tenacity and durability as a team as they're now taking on Kobe and L.A. in the big show.

"We've been through everything you could possibly go through in the playoffs in one season," Van Gundy said.

Even so, the blue and white are still not satisfied.

"You can look at everybody in the locker room's eyes as well as the coach and tell that we are happy about getting to the Finals, but we are not tremendously happy enough yet," forward Rashard Lewis said.

And rightfully so. The Magic have only made it to the NBA Finals one other time, in 1995. Orlando was swept by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets.

Soon after, Shaquille O'Neal bolted for L.A., and the Magic franchise took a major blow.

I haven't seen Orlando like this since 1995, and I tell you, it's great.

"I felt like we were a laughingstock around the league. Everybody played the Magic, they thought about Disney World. So I just wanted to change that," Dwight Howard said.

And he did.

The Magic are no longer a laughing matter, even though it seemed that the media and NBA have tried to keep it that way. Is it really that bad to see the underdog win? Is it really not that exciting?

Nevertheless, it doesn't matter what the fans or the league wants anymore. Dwight and the gang are ready to take on the Lakers on Thursday night, and so is the city of Orlando.

Here's to Orlando getting put on the map again. Here's to a championship win. Blue and white Ignite! Go Magic!