Pepsi Pro Summer League Wrapup -- Free Marcin!

This year's Pepsi Pro Summer League has drawn to a close and awards have been passed out. Our very own Marcin Gortat, who finished third in blocked shots per game, and J.J. Redick, who lead the league in scoring, each received First Team All-Summer League honors. James Augustine made the Second Team, and Kevin Kruger was an honorable mention. Nice job to all involved. The league ended on a sour note, though, as the Magic were handed a 63-57 loss by the Miami Heat earlier today.

J.J. Redick fires a pass around the tough defense of the Miami Heat, who finished today's contest on a 12-0 run to win the game.
Photo by Fernando Medina, Getty Images

I apologize for not covering the league more in-depth. I was able to catch Monday's game because I had the day off, but my work schedule prevented me from taking in any other games. If you're interested, you can check out game recaps and box scores from this page on the Magic's website. A warning on the box scores - they are downloadable PDF files; that is, you can't just click on a page and see the box score. Unfortunate.

My summer-league game-ball goes to Marcin Gortat, whose performance this week has all but assured him a spot on the team's roster. The seven-footer posted per-game averages of 10 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 3.2 blocked shots. The loss of Darko left us with only one shot-blocker, Dwight Howard, and he can't play the whole game. If Gortat can play 10-15 minutes a night and protect the rim, I'll be happy.

Marcin Gortat attempts a layup against the Chicago Bulls during a summer-league game. Gortat's strong showing throughout the league has strengthened his case for inclusion on the Magic's roster.

Photo by Fernando Medina, Getty Images

Another player who turned heads was Kevin Kruger of UNLV. The departure of Travis Diener leaves the Magic in need of a third point guard. Kruger played competently and unselfishly, although his 2.6 assists per-game average doesn't show it. Like Diener, he's deadly from three-point territory, as he shot 10-of-22, or 46%, from that distance. Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo would absolutely get the nod over him, and Keyon Dooling figures to see time running the point as well, but the Magic could do worse than have Kevin Kruger as their last option at the point.

With whose summer-league performance are you most impressed? Vote in the sidebar on the right-hand side. If anything big happens this weekend, I'll chime in. If not, I'll enjoy a respite from the internet... by working at my "actual job" for 12 hours this weekend.

Redick Scores 30 in Summer-League Debut; Magic Beat Nets 85-74

NEWSFLASH: J.J. Redick can score.

Unable to compete in last year's Pepsi Pro Summer League due to injury, the Magic's second-year guard made up for lost time by scoring 30 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. His team came away with the victory, as the Orlando Magic held off the New Jersey Nets by a final margin of 85-74.

I'll say this about J.J.: I had him all wrong. I figured him to be fairly one-dimensional on offense. It's true that he relies upon the three-point shot, but he also drives to the basket quicker and harder than one might think. Most of his three-pointers tonight were set up by screens on the low-block, which J.J. would curl around before catching the pass and shooting. The skeptic in me points out that those shots are easier to make in summer-league play because they are not defended as well, but the realist in me counters that the basket is the same height in the regular-season and that the screens will be coming from Dwight Howard and Tony Battie rather than non-roster invitees. A promising offensive display from the Magic's two-guard of the future, to be sure.

But Redick was not the only Magic player who impressed: Marcin Gortat, a second-round draft choice in 2005 who has spent the past few seasons in Poland, posted 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists; James Augustine, the Magic's second-round draft choice in 2006, added 11 points and 5 rebounds; Kevin Kruger, an undrafted point guard out of UNLV, filled up the stat line with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal; and Steven Smith made a strong case for his inclusion on the Magic's 15-man roster with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

Marcin Gortat played well for the Magic in the first of five summer-league games. The seven-foot center lead all players with 6 assists to go along with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Photo by John Raoux, the Associated Press

There were some rough patches, however. The Magic's defense, and Marcin Gortat in particular, was sometimes late in rotating, leading to open Nets shots. The Magic also turned the ball over 22 times, which can be expected of a team composed of mostly strangers. The team should be worried, though, if its players are still committing turnovers at that rate as this week's games progress.

Of the non-roster players who made an impact tonight, I'd say Kevin Kruger was the strongest. We already have three point guards -- Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling, and Jameer Nelson -- under contract for next year, and that doesn't even include free-agent Travis Diener. However, Arroyo and Dooling are mentioned as pieces of a sign-and-trade deal that would send them and Pat Garrity to Seattle for Rashard Lewis and Earl Watson. Diener's potential departure would leave the Magic with only Nelson and Watson to bring the ball up. Kruger would fit in nicely as the third point guard. He had three assists tonight, and made plenty more great passes that didn't lead to buckets. He also has three-point range. The Magic should keep their eye on him, especially if they are still in discussions to make that trade with Seattle.

The Magic take the floor again tomorrow to face the Indiana Pacers. The game will start approximately 20 minutes after the completion of the Heat/Nets contest, which starts at 3:00 PM. Each game in this week's League is streamed live and free of charge on this page of the Magic's website.

Magic Release Summer Roster, Hope to Address Frontcourt Needs

It's been a slow news day, at least as far as free agency is concerned, but the Magic did make some news by releasing their roster for the Pepsi Pro Summer League, which runs at the RDV Sportsplex from July 9th to July 13th.

Headlining the Magic's roster is J.J. Redick, who was unable to compete in last summer's league due to injury. Redick will likely be the Magic's starting two-guard if Grant Hill does not re-sign with the team. More noteworthy, at least to me, is the presence of 6'10" power forward Milovan Rakovic on the roster. Rakovic was the last overall selection in last Thursday's draft, acquired from Dallas in exchange for the rights for Reyshawn Terry.

Like many, I certainly don't expect Rakovic to make the Magic's 15-man roster for the 2007/2008 season, but I also didn't expect that he'd even be in the United States at this point. It'll be nice to get a look at what he can do, but in all likelihood he won't play in the NBA for several seasons.

Rakovic won't be the only big-man battling for his NBA life for the Magic this summer. In fact, the Magic's summer roster is loaded with players who could see significant backup minutes at the power-forward and center positions during the regular season. Apart from Dwight Howard, Tony Battie, and Darko Milicic, the Magic have no NBA-caliber talent at power forward and center. The need for a backup is particularly apparent now, as Milicic might leave via free-agency. Former Magic second-round picks Marcin Gortat (7'0", 240 lbs) and James Augustine (6'10", 235 lbs) are on this summer's team, as is former D-League standout Anthony Fuqua (6'11", 225 lbs). And although he isn't on the summer team and hasn't played in the NBA since the 2005/2006 season, former Magic forward Mario Kasun received a qualifying offer from the team last Friday, making him a restricted free agent.

Marcin Gortat, whose favorite actor is Will Smith, may finally get the chance to prove that he belongs in the NBA.

If it seems like the Magic are scraping the bottom of the barrel for big-men, it's because they are. However, the Magic have to be happier with whichever stiff they sign from the summer team than they are with current backup power forward Pat Garrity, a veteran who saw limited minutes last season. Bo Outlaw also plays the position, but he is an unrestricted free-agent and his status with the Magic for next season is uncertain. The next-best option is Hedo Turkoglu, who is a natural small-forward and a sub-par rebounder, especially given his height of 6'10".

Hedo Turkoglu will have to improve his rebounding if he is to start at power forward, which he might be forced to do if Darko Milicic leaves via free agency.
Photo by Max Whittaker, the Associated Press

Rounding out next season's frontcourt would have been the Magic's highest priority this summer, but their dreadful offense last season made the need for perimeter scoring more pressing. Remember how freaked-out I was when Darko sprained his ankle at the end of last season and it looked like he might miss the start of the playoffs? Well, I'm well beyond that level now. Last season, the most Darko would have missed was two games. Given the way free agency is playing out, Darko might miss 82 games in 2007/2008.

The prospect of signing Rashard Lewis this summer is exciting; the prospect of watching Hedo Turkoglu trying to box out Emeka Okafor is not.