UPDATED: What NBA Preview Publications and Bloggers are Saying about the Magic

It started two weeks ago, when Deanna Gugel, writing for Brian Schmitz's Magic Basketblog, posted some preseason NBA rankings she gleaned from preview magazines. Athlon bore good news; Lindy's did not.

The same day, TSN Canada's Tim Chisholm wrote this fairly non-committal article about the Magic, in which he summarizes the offseason and predicts, "The last couple of playoffs spots in the East are going to be hard-won by whichever teams wind up with them," before writing that Dwight Howard is an "enviable presence" to have in a playoff race. He stops just short of saying the Magic will make the playoffs.

Not even a week later, ESPN's Marc Stein wrote that the Magic had the third-best offseason in the Eastern Conference, trailing only the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons.

Today, Gugel posted more predictions, this time from the NBA annual published by The Sporting News in conjunction with Street & Smith. That publication has the Magic finishing in seventh in the conference, based on a mathematical formula. Our playoff opponent, according to that formula, would be -- are you ready for this? -- the Detroit Pistons. Like we haven't seen enough of them in the playoffs already.

If The Sporting News is to be believed, the Jameer Nelson and the Magic will have to endure another playoff series with the Pistons next April.
Photo by Gary W. Green, the Orlando Sentinel

But bloggers are having their say as well. ShamSports.com, irreverent as ever, writes that "the most realistic expectation" for the Magic is "a low playoff seed once again." A grim prediction, but one well worth reading, as it will make you laugh... and possibly cry.

Finally, Tom Ziller posted the Southeast Edition of his NBA Festivus series, complete with The Airing of Grievances and Festivus Miracles. It's the most positive assessment of the Magic yet, as it has them winning the division and getting the 4th playoff seed. Like ShamSports, it's an amusing and informed look ahead to the NBA season.

UPDATE - not long after I posted this entry, Black and Blue registered his season preview, which is also Magic-positive.

I'll try to update this post with preseason predictions from various news sources and blogs as they become available. Stay tuned.

Poof! FSN Makes Magic Disappear

Hardy-har-har-har, I know. It's a Thursday, I have a ton of schoolwork, and I need to entertain myself. Please forgive the entry title.



Anyway, there's still no agreement between Bright House Networks and Fox Sports Net to make Magic games viewable on basic cable. Earlier this summer, the Magic dumped their in-house production team to cut costs and awarded 35 of their games to FSN. But Bright House, the only cable-provider in the Central Florida area, wants FSN to be part of a "sports-tier package," which costs extra. Unless an agreement is reached soon, the Magic will be the only team in the thirty-team NBA that doesn't have free broadcasts of all its games. 42 of the Magic's games will be available on Sun Sports, which is free. But it's still a crappy situation.

And it just got crappier, as Tim Povtak reports (in not such strong language, I should add). Magic fans wanting to see how well Rashard Lewis fits in with Orlando are going to have to wait a while, because 11 of their first 16 games will be broadcast on FSN.

This issue couldn't come up at a worse time for the team. As the Sentinel reported weeks ago, Harris Rosen, a tremendous fill-in-the-blank, is trying to block construction of the team's new arena via a signature drive. To recap: if he gets the signatures he needs, approval of any sporting venue costing over $25 million will have to go public vote. The Orange County Commission is retaining lawyers and will fight Rosen, who's probably just bitter because the money is going to benefit THE CITIZENS OF ORLANDO rather than the fat-cats who stay at his I-Drive hotels. Rosen has an army of dedicated nincompoops followers going door-to-door to collect the signatures, and he's avoiding Maitland and Winter Park, cities with an apparently high concentration of Magic fans. Thus, a majority of the people who will receive visits from the signature-gatherers are fringe Magic fans at best. If they're currently on-the-fence on the Magic, might this current TV flap sway them to sign the petition? After all, why would the average resident want to pay for a new arena for a team that they can't even watch on TV?

Stop me if you've heard this one before: the Magic have gotten themselves into a huge mess, and their fans are suffering as a result.

In other news, the Bucks inexplicably matched the Heat's offer sheet to Charlie Bell, which will keep the disgruntled guard in Milwaukee despite his insistence that he doesn't want to play there. As a result, you can completely disregard this post I wrote a few days ago. Additionally, the Heat won't be adding defensive-stopper (and perfect Pat Riley player) Mickael Pietrus from Golden State because they couldn't put together a good enough trade package; shockingly, the offer of Jason Williams and Michael Doleac (remember him?) wasn't enough to make Chris Mullin OK the deal (Via Fanhouse). Thus, the Heat have had a mediocre offseason at best, and are no longer locks to make the postseason.

Forthcoming for the Magic is the start of training camp (Sept. 29th, a week from Saturday); Forthcoming of us at 3QC is a post regarding the fantasy value of some Magic players and a post or two in the starting lineup series, which I've managed to stall for over a week now. Maybe they'd be finished if I didn't have The Canterbury Tales to slog through.

Rival Heat Make Offer to Charlie Bell

J.J. Redick has a broken hand.

That's the only Magic news that's come out since the death of Jameer Nelson's father two weeks ago. Given the dearth of Magic news, I'm forced to scan the internet for rumblings from the camps of our division rivals: the Hawks, Bobcats, Heat, and Wizards. Today, as Ira Winderman reports (thanks, TrueHoop), the Heat signed 28-year-old swingman Charlie Bell to a five-year, $18.5 million offer sheet. Because he is a restricted free-agent, the Milwaukee Bucks, the team for which he's played the last two seasons, have the right to match the Heat's offer and retain Bell.

The Bucks' Charlie Bell and the Magic's Hedo Turkoglu battle for a loose ball in a game from last season. Bell and Turkoglu will be seeing a lot of each other this season, as Bell will likely leave the Bucks to join Orlando's rival, the Miami Heat.
Photo by Darren Hauck, the Associated Press

It's hard to see why the Bucks would want to match the Heat's offer, given the contract's length Bell's explicit statement that he doesn't want to play in Milwaukee. So what does the Heat's acquisition of Bell mean for us? Charlie Bell is not a great player, but he's not a bad one, either. He'll exceed the departed Eddie Jones' scoring (9.5 points per game last season) and will probably soak up plenty of minutes at shooting guard. That means less playing time for Daequan Cook, the Heat's first-round draft choice this year; and for Penny Hardaway, whom we know well, the aging veteran with shaky knees attempting to make a comeback. I think it's safe to say that the Heat are better off when those two players aren't on the floor.

Will this move vault the Heat back into true title contention? Probably not, but it does bring them that much closer to catching Washington and -- ahem -- Orlando in the wide-open Southeast Division.

Trips Down Memory Lane: ESPN Remembers Two Magic/Bulls Playoff Games

I've come to accept that, even with Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard, the Magic aren't on most sports fans' radar, and haven't been for quite some time. That's why I was delighted to see these two items on ESPN.com recently.

First, and rather depressingly, is Kelly Dwyer's look back at Game 1 of the Magic's Eastern Conference Finals series against Chicago. The Bulls crushed us by 38 points, we went on to lose the series, Shaquille O'Neal left us that summer, and we still haven't fully recovered. Still, Magic fans can look forward to reading Dwyer's shots at Brian Hill. This one was my favorite:

3Q, 11:50: Things are about to fall apart for Orlando. Pippen grabs an offensive rebound after a Jordan miss, stops on the baseline (with a live dribble) some eight feet away from the hoop, and every Magic defender runs away from him. Pippen gets an uncontested layup. Hardaway throws it away on the next possession - the Magic were trying to post up Dennis Scott on Ron Harper. That's Brian Hill's answer. More post-ups for Dennis Scott.

But the Worldwide Leader did have some good news for Magic fans. The ever-loathsome Bill Simmons has selected the Magic's Game 6 victory over Chicago from 1995 as the last of seven games to replayed on ESPN Classic on Wednesday nights leading up to the 2007/2008 NBA season. The series starts this Wednesday with a Cavs/Celtics game from 1992 and runs through the Magic/Bulls game on October 24th. Get your DVRs ready!

But Simmons wouldn't be Simmons if he weren't disparaging cities for no real reason. In his NFL picks this week, he details why fans in Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, and Miami hate him before writing this nugget of joy about the City Beautiful:

(Next up: Orlando! If you ever wanted to know why the terrorists hate us, just spend a week there and it will all make sense. I've been there twice and there won't be a third time. No wonder Shaq fled for L.A.)

Feel free to send him a nasty email. I have better things to do than to personally respond to the musings of a hack writer with unwarranted grudges.

A final note of mild relevance: the Nuggets have agreed to trade Reggie Evans and the draft rights to Ricky Sanchez to Philadelphia for Steven Hunter (remember him?) and Bobby Jones. This move ensures the Magic won't be acquiring Evans, one of the league's premier rebounders, despite rumors that they had been talking to Denver about a possible trade.

Floyd Nelson's Body Likely Found

Rescue workers search the Delaware River for the body of Floyd Nelson on Friday. A body found in the river on Saturday is likely to be his.
Photo by Matt Rourke, the Associated Press

Several news outlets, including ESPN, are reporting that the body pulled from the Delaware River earlier today is likely that of Floyd Nelson, father of Magic guard Jameer Nelson:

Police in Delaware said a boater called 911 on Saturday after spotting the body of a black male floating in the river near Fox Point Park in Wilmington. The body was recovered around 2 p.m.

There was a "strong likelihood" that the body was Floyd Nelson's but police were unable to confirm it, said Delaware State Police spokesman Sgt. Joshua A. Bushweller.

Floyd Nelson was 57 years old and a Vietnam veteran. He worked as a tugboat repairman in Pennsylvania.

I'm saddened by this news and would like to extend my deepest sympathy to the Nelson family. If the Nelson family asks for donations to charitable organizations in Floyd's name, I'll be sure to post the names of those organizations here.

Carlos Arroyo Shows Masonry Skills as Mexico Upsets Puerto Rico

Carlos Arroyo, who played a key role on the Puerto Rico team that beat the U.S. in the 2004 Olympics, was not at his best tonight against Mexico.
Photo by the Associated Press

If the Magic want to have their new arena built on-schedule, they might consider asking Carlos Arroyo to lend a hand. His brick-laying skills might come in handy.

Playing for Puerto Rico in the FIBA Tournament of the Americas, the Magic's backup point guard shot 0-for-10 from the field and scored four points as Mexico pulled off the upset.

I graded Carlos highly at the end of last season, and he typically plays well in international competition, so I was surprised to see just how awful he was tonight. If the game is rebroadcast, I might have to watch it. And if this game is any indication of Carlos' skills deteriorating, he may join Pat Garrity and Keith Bogans as one of the Magic's designated Gatorade-holders.

Of course, he might have just had a bad game and it's just an anomaly. But when you're as starved for Magic-related news as I am, you have to play up everything.

The Tournament of the Americas serves as a qualifier for the 2008 Olympics. The U.S. team, which features Dwight Howard on its roster, tips off its first game at 11:00 PM against Venezuela. My DVR, however, says the game doesn't start until 1:00 AM. Go figure.

Whit Watson: Donaghy's Impact on the Magic Could Have Been Huge

Corrupt NBA referee Tim Donaghy's influence on the Magic and the Heat may have been greater than first imagined.
Photo by Haraz N. Ghanbari, the Associated Press

More information keeps coming out in the Tim Donaghy case, and Whit Watson of Sun Sports examined it with a focus on the two Florida teams: the Magic and the Heat. Watson's analysis puts into perspective just how much Donaghy could have altered the fate of a franchise. As he points out, if Donaghy affected the outcome just one of the Magic games he officiated, the Magic would be 41-41. The Washington Wizards and the New Jersey Nets had the same records, which means a series of tiebreakers would determine playoff seeding :

According to the NBA, the process for breaking a three-way tie is to first determine which team has the best regular-season record against the other two. Orlando and Washington were 2-2 against each other last season; Washington was 0-4 against the Nets, while the Magic were 2-2 against New Jersey. So it's Orlando and New Jersey atop the tiebreaker at 4-4, with the Wiz slipping behind them at 2-6.

The next tiebreaker is conference record. Since the Nets had the better Eastern Conference mark than the Magic, New Jersey keeps the 6 seed, but Orlando moves up to 7th. Again, all things being equal, that's a first-round matchup against the 2nd-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers instead of the top-seeded Detroit Pistons.

The Magic went 0-4 against Detroit in the regular season last year, and not surprisingly, got swept by the Pistons in the first round as well.

But the Cavs?

Orlando beat the eventual Eastern Conference champs in two out of three regular season meetings.

[....]

Point being, an Orlando-Cleveland series would have been competitive. A hell of a lot more competitive than the Orlando-Detroit series. The Magic would have had a shot.

What if Orlando wins that series?

[....]

There's much more at the link, and it's well worth reading. Kudos to Whit Watson for thinking all this through; it makes my take on it feeble by comparison.

For more on the Tim Donaghy scandal (Donaghygate?), I recommend these ESPN.com items:

• Stern: Donaghy only referee believed to have bet.
• Stern's Donaghy news conference transcript.

Tim Donaghy's Magic Connection

NBA official Tim Donaghy is facing serious allegations that he bet on games to cover mob debts in each of the past two seasons. Eight of the 74 games he officiated last season involved the Magic.
Photo by Getty Images

The news of NBA referee Tim Donaghy's alleged involvement in a mob-run points-shaving scheme is widespread by now, but there hadn't been much information regarding how specific teams were affected until Tim Povtak added this sidebar to his report on the story in this morning's Orlando Sentinel:

The Orlando Magic won just three of the eight games they played last season in which official Tim Donaghy worked, and at least two of them were out of the ordinary.
[....]
He also worked Game 2 of their playoff series against Detroit.

The Pistons were favored by eight points. They won 98-90.

I hope Povtak gets around to following-up on the effect Donaghy may have had on the Magic last season. And I hope that Commissioner Stern is able to restore integrity to the league, and soon.

UPDATED: Reaction to Lewis' Contract From Around the Web

Your smile would be just as wide if you just guaranteed yourself $118 million over the next six years.
Photo by Jacob Langston, the Orlando Sentinel

By now, you probably already know that Dwight Howard inked a five-year, $85.9 million extension with the Magic. In case you didn't, the gents at Orlando Magic Blog have it covered.

Moving on, the dollar amount of Rashard Lewis' contract has been a big topic of conversation around the interwebz. Serving suggestion: start with yesterday's Bill Simmons chat, which I CliffNoted here, and then move forward.

Nuss at SuperSonic Soul, who wrote this retrospective post about Rashard a little over a week ago when news of the signing leaked, followed up with this entry defending Lewis' massive contract. Here's a snippet:

And while it’s fashionable to say that the Magic overpaid Lewis, that Lewis is a one-dimensional player who isn’t even that good at the one dimension, that Orlando is going to be handicapped in the future by the combination of Lewis and Howard’s contracts, allow me to say one thing:

Rashard Lewis is not a limp-wristed, shoot-only player whose contract is the worst in the history of professional sports. Rashard Lewis is a solid player who rarely if ever gets hurt, who doesn’t complain about minutes, shots, or anything else, and who is the perfect fit alongside Dwight Howard.

Thanks for taking up the fight, Nuss.

(Via TrueHoop) - Basketbawful's Word of the Day is 'Koncak':

"A derisive term used to describe an exceptionally large free agent contract, usually signed for several years at the maximum allowable salary."

There's much more, and it's hilarious. Plus, Jon Koncak!

(Via FreeDarko) - Tom Ziller of AOL's Fanhouse with a post -- complete with nifty graphic! -- comparing Rashard to Gerald Wallace, who re-signed with the Charlotte Bobcats yesterday for about $9.5 million annually.

It's been a busy summer, but it's only just beginning.

UPDATE: ESPN.com's Chad Ford offers his take on the Lewis signing in this Insider column, which was available for free viewing earlier today, but has since become subscriber-only.

ESPN.com's NBA index page on Friday night. Gotta love the headline.

Essentially, Ford says that the Magic violated five guidelines that teams usually follow when they're signing free-agents. The most interesting part of the piece? One of Ford's sources close to the Magic/Sonics negotiations said the Magic hardly tried to work a cap-clearing sign-and-trade deal; instead, they were content to "get their guy" and move on. If that statement is true, it indicates Otis Smith erred gravely in making this deal. Had we taken on another salary via a sign-and-trade, we would be over the salary cap and able to use the $5.5 million mid-level exception. Because we didn't, we're under the cap, and can only sign free-agents to the veterans' minimum, which is worth substantially less. It's almost as though Otis didn't think the move through at all.

Ford's criticism of the Magic didn't start there. In the July 11th edition of his Daily Dish podcast (available for free on ESPN.com's PodCenter), he and Marc Stein discussed at length the Lewis signing and Darko's departure. Do yourself a favor and give it a listen. Ford and Stein dish dirt on Marc Cornstein and on why the Magic have royally screwed themselves by pissing him off.

Bill Simmons and his Fans take Shots at the Magic

Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons and his loyal readers torched the Magic at every available opportunity in a chat today. Some highlights:

Chris Maine: Simmons, you got an iPhone yet? I've heard disappointing reviews.

Bill Simmons: I didn't get one - the device seemed so complicated and ambitious that it scared me off, I wanted to wait until they worked out the kinks. I wish Orlando had done this with their cap space - instead, they spent $126 million on Rashard Lewis. Please send me 500,000 questions on that signing. I want to devote the whole chat to it.

------

JKL(Boston, MA): If you're Orlando aren't you better off saving that cap room used up on Rashard Lewis to see if you can grab someone better next season?

Bill Simmons: Wait, you think they would have been better off not paying a $50 million player $126 million? Are you sure?

-------

Kevin (Chicago, IL): Rashard Lewis' deal is awful, but it can't be the worst Max deal ever. Who is the worst player ever to get a max deal? Marbury?

Bill Simmons: No. it's the worst max deal ever. It's the worst sports contract in history. They gave a max contract to someone who has one skill (scoring), and he's not even that good at that skill. He's like a better Hedu Turkoglu. He plays 40 mins a game, scores 20 points and grabs you 5 boards. Congratulations.

-------

Dan (NY): Worst player to get a max deal? Wrong Knick. It has to be Allan Houston. I'm a Knicks fan, and this huge mess they call a franchise all started with him getting top 2 guard money. They even had to make a rule for his contract.

Bill Simmons: At least Allan Houston was the best guy on a team that made the Finals. What has Rashard Lewis ever done? Sonics fans thought he was soft and unreliable... even in their one playoff run two years ago, he was hurt half the time.

-------

Jens (Copenhagen) : Bill can u explain what the Magic were thinking when they gave Rashard "I'm a skinnier Antoine Walker" Lewis a deal worth $125 mill?!? Please take me trough their thought proces, because I have no idea what they were thinking!

Bill Simmons: It's inexplicable. I can't do it. There's no possible way to explain it or justify it.

------

Sam (Austin, TX): Basketball Reference shows Rashard Lewis has a .002 Hall of Fame probabilty, plus he scored 2 points in his one all star appearance. Of course he gets max money.

------

Doug, Toronto: Shouldn't an NBA player have to have a signature sneaker to receive max money? Or at least be the reason why people go to games? Rashard Lewis is a nobody.

Bill Simmons: You should either be able to A) sell tickets, B) call yourself one of the best 5-6 people at your position, or C) have two first-class NBA skills. You know who's kicking himself right now? Mike Miller. If Rashard is worth $126 million, he's worth at least $110.

-------

Bill (Chicago, IL): As I see it, Orlando dodged a close one. With Grant Hill's ankle finally off the books, they were legitimately at risk of fielding an '07-'08 team with *no* franchise-crippling long-term contracts. That's not Orlando Magic basketball. Glad they got back to basics with this Lewis deal.

Fairly or unfairly, we're officially the laughingstock of the sports world. Only a good showing in the coming season will reverse that.

UPDATED: Magic, Sonics Agree on Sign-and-Trade to Send Rashard Lewis to Orlando

ESPN reports in this item (scroll down to "Free-Agent Buzz") that the Orlando Magic and the Seattle SuperSonics have agreed on a sign-and-trade deal which will send Rashard Lewis to Orlando in exchange for as-yet-unrevealed players and a second-round draft selection. This agreement allows Lewis to get the biggest deal possible -- $126.4 million over six years -- while playing for his preferred team. The Magic could only offer him a five-year deal.

More on this story as it develops.

UPDATE - John Denton of Florida Today added the following information about the signing in this report:

The Magic will finalize a contract with Lewis, the most coveted small forward on the free-agent market, today. A news conference will be held this afternoon where the Magic will announce that Lewis has signed a six-year sign-and-trade deal worth a staggering $127.2 million. According to a source close to the negotiations who asked to remain anonymous, Orlando will send a second-round pick back to Seattle as compensation in the sign-and-trade deal.

Lewis, who turns 28 next month, will get a starting salary of $16.8 million next season -- the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement for a player with nine years of NBA experience. From there, he'll get 10.5 percent annual raises and the deal will be worth a whopping $25.6 million in the final season.

I'm no salary-cap expert, but I don't think a maximum-contract player can be traded straight-up for a future second-round draft pick. It'll be interesting to see which players, if any, are shipped out. Here's to hoping that Keyon Dooling isn't one of them.

*****

UPDATE AGAIN: John Denton writes the following via email:

I'm told the Rashard sign-and-trade will be done and the Magic will only be sending back a second-round pick. Apparently, Seattle didn't want the Magic's expiring contracts.

Perhaps this deal is the most lopsided one of all time, then.

ESPN: Grant Hill to Sign with Phoenix Suns

Just a day after withdrawing their offer to Darko Milicic, the Orlando Magic lost another free-agent on Thursday when Grant Hill agreed to a two-year deal with the Phoenix Suns. ESPN.com has the story, as does the Orlando Sentinel.

Grant Hill is leaving the Magic for Phoenix Suns, with whom he will attempt to rock 'n' sock the West's best teams next season.
Photo by Gary W. Green, Orlando Sentinel

I made the case for keeping Grant Hill a month ago, and I stand by all my statements. I would have loved to see Grant in a Magic uniform for another season, at least long enough to let J.J. Redick prove himself as a starter. Alas, that won't happen, and Grant's departure leaves a huge void at the two-guard.

With Grant Hill's departure, Keith Bogans, Keyon Dooling, and J.J. Redick all figure to play more minutes at shooting guard next season.
Bogans photo by Bill Koshroun, the Associated Press; Dooling photo by Jacob Langston, the Orlando Sentinel; Redick photo by Phelan M. Ebanhack, the Associated Press

That said, I'm happy for Grant. He made the decision that was best for him, and I can't fault him for it. Not only will he play for a title contender, but he may even get the chance to start for one; the ESPN article to which I linked mentions that either Hill or Boris Diaw will get the starting nod for Mike D'Antoni's team next season. Grant's choice speaks volumes about his character. He's not content with riding someone else's coattails on the way to a title, as Mitch Richmond did with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002; he wants to contribute and to earn his money, which will be $3 million over two seasons.

I'll close with some ammunition for those of you who do not share my admiration for Grant Hill. We paid Grant $93 M over the course of his contract, which translates into approximately:

• $455,882.35 per game, or
• $27,844.31 per point, or
• $14110.15 per minute.

Grant Hill may be a great basketball player, but if NBA-ers were rated in Consumer Reports, Hill would certainly not be a 'Best Buy'.

UPDATED: Magic Withdraw Offer to Darko Milicic, Who Refuses to Play for Orlando if Otis Smith is GM

This picture of Darko from the final game of last season's playoffs may depict the last time Darko wears a Magic uniform.
Photo by Gary W. Green, Orlando Sentinel

Continuing the flurry of news today, ESPN.com reports that the Magic have withdrawn their offer to their own restricted free-agent, Darko Milicic. The move makes Darko an unrestricted free agent, meaning the Magic do not have the right to match any offer another team makes. Marc Cornstein, Darko's agent, minced no words when discussing the withdrawal:

"I think it is unfortunate how dishonest and deceitful Otis Smith and the Orlando Magic have been in the process. However, I think it can be a good thing for Darko. I believe Darko is the most coveted free agent in the market now. We are excited to get a fresh start with a team that truly believes in him."

It looks like we've seen the last of Darko here in Orlando, at least if Cornstein has his way. But there aren't too many teams that can offer Darko the money he wants, meaning he still might return to the Magic:

Only three teams, the Bobcats, Grizzlies and Bucks, have the cap room available to offer more than the mid-level exception. A fourth team, the Chicago Bulls, might be able to clear enough room if they were to renounce their rights to free agent Andres Nocioni.

UPDATE: The Orlando Sentinel has late-breaking news on this story: Marc Cornstein told the Sentinel that Darko Milicic will not play for the Magic as long as Otis Smith is the team's GM. Barring a bold executive decision to fire Smith by team owner Rich DeVos, the Magic have indeed seen the last of Darko. My take? Otis Smith genuinely wants to keep Darko, but is pissed at the games Cornstein has played in the media trying to drive up Darko's value, which is why he's been slow to negotiate a new deal. What a mess this has become.

This move is puzzling to me, as it means the Magic traded away an expiring contract (Kelvin Cato) and a valuable first-round draft pick for a net of a backup point guard, Carlos Arroyo. The ESPN article to which I linked quotes an unidentified team's general manager as saying Otis Smith has not returned phone calls regarding trades for Darko. Complicating the matter, Otis remains on record as saying that re-signing Darko is a top priority. Whom do you believe?

The last time we let a 7-footer leave in free-agency, he went on to dominate the league and win three straight titles.

Photo by the Associated Press

While I'm not saying Darko will ever replicate that success, I am saying there is a bad precedent here. Ominous.

Reaction to the Rashard Lewis Signing from Around the Web

• There are two sides to every story, and dyed-in-the-wool Sonic fan Nuss of SuperSonicSoul offers his perspective on Rashard Lewis' time spent in Seattle in this eloquent post. Apparently, for all his talent, Lewis never really endeared himself to Sonics fans. It's a great read. Plus, where else in the sports blogosphere would you find an E.M. Forster quote?
• ESPN.com's John Hollinger offers his analysis of the Lewis signing in this Insider post, which is available for free at the moment. He concludes that although the deal doesn't make the Magic contenders instantly, it still works because it puts them on a reasonable timetable. He adds that, between the hiring of Stan the Man and the signing of Lewis, the Magic are off to the best offseason of any team in the NBA. After the Billy Donovan mess, who woulda thunk it?
  
• Henry Abbott of True Hoop points out in this post that the Sonics have, in the span of a week, lost their two best players and received "an oft-injured veteran [Wally Szczerbiak], the backup point guard from the second worst team in the league [Delonte West of the Celtics], and a draft pick [Jeff Green]." Despite all that, Abbott writes, the Sonics have a bright future. Something tells me the drafting of Kevin Durant has something to do with that.
• For more Magic-centered perspectives, I recommend reading the latest posts on OrlandoMagicFan and on Black and Blue, as well as the forums at MagicMadness.

It's Unofficially Official: ESPN Confirms Lewis Will Sign With Orlando

When ESPN reports something, I tend to believe it. And earlier this morning, ESPN confirmed the rumor that Rashard Lewis will leave the Seattle SuperSonics to sign with the Orlando Magic.

It also confirms that the team will have to let Darko Milicic become an unrestricted free agent if they can't find a taker on someone else's contract:

The price for Lewis' services could grow, though. Unless a sign-and-trade arrangement can be worked out with Lewis' old team or unless it can otherwise shed a contract or two to create more salary-cap space in the next week, Orlando will have to renounce the rights to restricted free agent Darko Milicic to create the cap room to fund such a lucrative deal, instantly making Milicic an unrestricted free agent.

I was a bit cranky last night when I heard that part of the story, but the more I think about it, the calmer I become. Lewis is a top-30 talent in this league. Pairing him with Dwight Howard, who is arguably the league's second- or third-best center, should make the Magic contenders in the East for the next several seasons. It'll be sad to see Darko leave, because he showed a ton of potential in last year's playoffs, but he had still yet to prove himself.

Of course, all of that talk is rendered moot of the Magic are able to dump the necessary salaries so they can retain Milicic and sign Lewis. Let's hope that becomes the case.

Vince Carter Sweepstakes Over: Vinsanity to re-sign with Nets

The Nets will keep their All-Star backcourt duo of Jason Kidd and Vince Carter together. Earlier today, Carter reached an agreement to re-sign with the Nets.
Photo by Al Bello, Getty Images

The Orlando Magic's chances to land Vince Carter ended this afternoon when he agreed to terms with the New Jersey Nets, the team for which he has played the past two-plus seasons. ESPN.com reports that Carter's deal is for four years and is worth $61.8 M. Per league rules, the signing can't be made official until July 11th.

It's just as well for the Magic. Carter's age and attitude would have made him a questionable choice had the Magic pursued him. Nonetheless, he would have drawn quite a crowd to the Orlando Arena.

Carter's signing narrows down the list of big-name free agents to All-Stars Chauncey Billups and Rashard Lewis, as well as the up-and-coming Mo Williams and Gerald Wallace.

UPDATED: Free Agency is Upon Us: Is Rashard Lewis Out of Reach?

Orlando Magic GM Otis Smith can't get down on himself if free-agent Rashard Lewis suddenly becomes unavailable.
Photo by Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel

At the stroke of midnight just moments ago, the period during which NBA teams may negotiate with free agents began. In all likelihood, Otis Smith is already on the phone with Rashard Lewis, hoping to set up a meeting in Orlando in hopes of signing this summer's top free-agent prize. But it might be a tougher sell than anticipated. If there is any truth to this report, kindly pointed out by CLos over at Magic Madness, Lewis is only using us to drive up his asking price with the SuperSonics in hopes of forcing a sign-and-trade deal involving the SuperSonics and either the Mavericks or Rockets.

UPDATE: The Houston trade is no longer a rumor and a great fear now strikes me; the story showed up on ESPN.com early Sunday morning. Said Rockets GM Daryl Morey:

"We really want him. We think he would be a significant player for us. Rashard would have to be motivated to come."

Lewis played his high-school ball in Houston and could be motivated to return home.

Then there's the report to which I linked yesterday, which states that the Heat are dangling Udonis Haslem and Jason Williams' expiring contract in front of the Sonics in exchange for Lewis.

These reports, if they can be believed, seem to damper the Magic's hopes of getting Lewis, who knows the Mavericks, Rockets, and Heat are much closer to contending than the Magic are. Think of the star power already on each of those teams:

• Dallas has Dirk Nowitzki, who won the MVP award last season, and the young Josh Howard, who was a first-time All-Star selection last season.
• Houston has arguably the best inside-outside combination in the league with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. New head coach Rick Adelman is well-known for being popular with his players.
• Miami has Shaquille O'Neal, who is the most dominant center of this generation, and Dwyane Wade, who single-handedly won Miami the title in 2006.
  

Fortunately, Dallas and Houston don't have much to offer Seattle in terms of a trade. Young point guard Devin Harris is the only asset Dallas has, and he'd have to be inked to a hefty extension for the salaries to match up. Houston could put Rafer Alston, Shane Battier, and Jake Tsakilidis together, but Alston and Battier have unattractive, long-running contracts and Tsakilidis is a total stiff.

Miami is what worries me the most. Udonis Haslem is a valuable role-player in this league, and Jason Williams' hefty contract comes off the books in 2008, just in time for the Sonics to make a play in free-agency. Of course, Lewis would have to approve any sign-and-trade deal, but why wouldn't he approve one to Miami? After all, they're only one year removed from the title, and Lewis knows that he could make them a contender again in a hurry. Miami has all the benefits of Orlando -- beautiful weather, no state income taxes -- and it can contend immediately.

What seemed like a sure thing just days ago now seems far less of one. I wouldn't give up hope yet, though; those rumors may not be true and Lewis may prefer to play in Orlando after all. But after hearing this news, I suspect Otis Smith would do well to get Gerald Wallace on the line as well.

2008 Free Agency and its Impact on the Magic: Will Trevor Ariza Stay?

I wondered why some articles discussing this year's free agent class -- which includes All-Stars Chauncey Billups and Vince Carter as well as up-and-coming talents Mo Williams and Gerald Wallace -- described it as "weak."

Well, now I know.

This nifty rundown for Insider subscribers (which was available for free yesterday) by ESPN's John Hollinger shows that as many as 10 superstars could be on the free-agent market next summer if they a) don't sign extensions or b) exercise their Early Termination Option (ETO). The top five players listed: Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Elton Brand, Gilbert Arenas, and Shawn Marion, all of whom are All-Stars.

The Clippers' Elton Brand is just one of many All-Stars who might be free agents next summer, John Hollinger writes.
Photo by Mark Avery, Associated Press

Hollinger concedes that the possibility of all those players actually being available is slim; it's a lock, for instance, that Duncan will not exercise his ETO. Why? Well, there's no reason for him to want to leave the Spurs; they're perennial championship contenders and they play in a city he loves. Some of that certainty takes away from the fun of the article, but it's still well worth reading, especially considering the implications for the Magic.

John Hollinger thinks Trevor Ariza will attract a lot of attention on the free-agent market next summer. With moves like this dunk over Jermaine O'Neal, it's not hard to imagine why.
Photo by Stephen M. Dowell, Orlando Sentinel

After discussing the superstars with ETOs, Hollinger moves on to discuss lesser-known players with that ability who might attract some attention. He lists Keith Bogans, then writes that the most notable player from that group is our very own Trevor Ariza, whose salary Hollinger describes as "way below market."

It's true that Ariza is underpaid; last season, he earned just $3.1 M, only the ninth-best salary on the team. If he gets the starting small forward position this season and performs well, he'll have made an even stronger case that he's worth more money than he's getting. Thus, I'd expect him to opt-out, but only so he can renegotiate his contract and raise his salary. Barring an unexpected development, the Pistons' Chauncey Billups will do the same thing this summer, and the Wizards' Gilbert Arenas has already said he will do the same thing next summer.

As a Magic fan, the possibility of Trevor opting out scares me. While it seems unlikely that he'd want to go anywhere else, the Magic are notorious for lowballing their own free agents, with the most famous example being Shaquille O'Neal. However, Otis Smith seems committed to Trevor. After re-signing him last summer, Smith had the following to say:

“We are very pleased to bring Trevor back, as he is a key part of our young core. His athleticism and explosiveness will be a great asset to our team on both ends of the floor.”

Amen, Otis. Don't let this future star soar away.

ESPN's Marc Stein: Duncan Almost Signed With Magic

Photo by Tony Dejak, Associate Press

As if the events of the past two weeks haven't been tumultuous enough, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports in today's Daily Dime (scroll down to the 9th box) that Tim Duncan's decision to choose San Antonio over Orlando during the 2000 free agency period was, in Duncan's words, "probably a lot closer decision than people even think or even know."

More from Stein:

Orlando's nine-figure contract offer to Shaquille O'Neal wasn't enough to convince Shaq to stay in 1996 ... and Duncan was apparently more serious about joining Grant Hill four summers later than the basketball world ever realized ... and Billy Donovan just set a land-speed record for backing out of the lucrative coaching agreement that had folks in Central Florida believing that their string of free-agent miseries -- Shaq, Duncan, Hill and Tracy McGrady are the most prominent four -- had finally been broken.

The full article is available for ESPN Insiders here. If anyone with an Insider account wants to share a summary of the piece, please do.

Okay, I still don't agree with Jemele Hill when she writes that we're "perhaps the most disrespected franchise in sports", but I'd have to now concede that Orlando's had worse luck than anyone knew previously. As loathsome as Duncan's lack of style is, it would have been nice to have him in Orlando. This conference doesn't have a truly dominant center, and hasn't had one in years. Even with an injured Grant Hill, the Magic still would have been in contention with Duncan in the lineup.

If you'll excuse me, I have to stab myself in the hand for the next 20 minutes. It'd make me feel better.

Reverse the Curse: Forgive Shaq and Bring Him Back

As the regular season drew to a close, I didn't think I'd have to write too many more rah-rah pieces for this blog. I'm proud of my last one, but I'm disappointed because it didn't seem to get anyone's attention, or if it did, it didn't alter any perceptions about this team. I guess that's to be expected, given the tiny amount of visitors this site had back then.

With Billy Donovan bailing out on the Magic after just three days, many people have expressed that they no longer care about the team, some even going as far to suggest the Magic relocate to Kansas City. Florida Gator fans are having a field day with this news, days after some of their number called us the "Whorelando Tragic" for "stealing" Billy away from them. Evidently, we're still a Mickey Mouse Town, at least in their eyes.

But I am not interested in the thoughts of small-minded people. We, as Magic fans, have two options at this crucial juncture in the franchise's history: we can bemoan our past failures, or we can look for ways to secure a brighter future for this team.

There's one easy choice the Magic can make that I believe will reverse the curse and restore this franchise to glory:

Bring back Shaq.

The Magic have been, at best, mediocre since the Diesel left us in 1996 -- a regular-season record of 442-448 (.485) and a postseason record of 8-20 (.286) including no series wins. During that same time period, he's has won four NBA titles and won three NBA Finals MVP awards. Considering the respective fates of the Magic and Shaq since 1996, it's no wonder that some believe in the Curse of the Shaqino.

Photo by Pier Nicola D'Amico

Is bringing him back really that crazy of an idea? Not to Shaq; take a look at this excerpt from an interview with Lang Whitaker appearing in the July 2007 issue of SLAM Magazine, pictured above:

SLAM: I've heard you talk more and more over the last year or so about wanting to buy an NBA team when you retire. Is that something you're serious about?
SHAQ: Yeah, I would like to either work for this organization [Miami] or work for Orlando.
SLAM: In what capacity?
SHAQ: General manager? President? I don't want no BS job. "Director of SLAM Magazine!" [Laughs]
SLAM: Director of alumni relations?
SHAQ: [Laughing] Exactly! If I'm gonna do this, it'll probably be a real job.

That much is settled: Shaq hasn't ruled out returning to the Magic. Perhaps the best way for him to do that is to join the team in a consultant role once he retires from playing. And is there anyone on Earth more qualified than Shaq to teach Dwight Howard what it takes to dominate the post? Further, could there be a more compelling story in basketball than the once-scorned superstar returning to the city he abandoned to save it from certain death? Talk about redemption.

Former franchise cornerstones returning to mentor future stars isn't unprecedented. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, perhaps the best center in the history of the game, currently works with the Los Angeles Lakers' eighteen-year-old center Andrew Bynum, a potential superstar.

Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein

Shaq's contract with the Heat runs through the 2009/2010 season at a whopping $20 M per year. Assume for a moment that Shaq plays out his contract with the Heat, retires from playing, and joins the Magic to tutor Howard beginning in the 2010/2011 season. Our All-Star center will be 24, in his physical prime, and under the guidance of the most physically dominant player of all-time. I can't think of a better way for this story to play out.

He left us a long time ago, Magic fans. His statement that he was "a big fish in a small pond" in Orlando was hyperbolic. He wants to return here once his playing days are over. For the sake of the franchise, we must forgive him for his past transgressions and embrace Shaquille.

He brought us hope once.

Photo by Don Ryan

He can bring it again.

UPDATE: Just as I posted this piece, I was shown this one by Jemele Hill, the former Orlando Sentinel columnist who has now found a home on ESPN's Page 2. It's a short and enlightening read.