... because Greg Oden's rookie season is over before it really began due to microfracture surgery performed today. The 2007/2008 NBA season just got a whole lot less interesting.
What does this news mean for the Magic? Nothing, really. But it should be relevant to Magic fans. The night of the draft lottery, I wrote that Greg Oden and Brandon Roy could team-up to form an inside-out combination to rival the Shaq-and-Penny tandem the Magic had in the 1990s. Now that scenario is even more likely, as Tom Ziller pointed out. Given that the Blazers didn't improve by much this offseason, there's a great chance they'll be in the lottery again next season, which would (presumably) give them three cornerstone-caliber players under the age of 24 headed into the 2008/2009 season. Voltron connected.
13 September 2007
I Hope You Haven't Bought your Magic/Blazers tickets yet...
02 August 2007
NBA Schedule Unkind to Magic
I came home from work today fully intending to write a long-winded post about the Orlando Magic's 2007/2008 schedule, but when I opened my RSS aggregator, I saw that Four Free Throws beat me to it (rated PG-13 for language). Here's an excerpt that illustrates how hard this season will be:
If those 11 away games in November aren't enough, then the fact that we play 14 of our 30 games against Western Conference opponents in the first two months should sway your opinion against the NBA's scheduling geniuses. Oh, and 9 of those games are AWAY games. Yes, that's right, almost TWO THIRDS of our away games against the western conference are in the first two months. That's brutal.To add insult to injury, the Magic will be featured on national television exactly once: April 5th against the Cavaliers in Cleveland.
I understand that the Magic aren't a big-market team, but shouldn't the addition of Rashard Lewis to the team draw some sort of national interest? Shouldn't the opportunity to see Dwight Howard dunk all over people make people want to see the Magic? It's like we were a mediocre team last year or something.
Oh, wait.
Anyway, here is a list of
UPDATE: In my haste to get this entry posted, I forgot to add one important link. You can click here to purchase 2007/2008 Orlando Magic season-ticket plans. I'll let you know when individual game tickets can be purchased.
08 July 2007
Which Free-Agent Big-Men Should the Magic Pursue?
The likely departure of Darko Milicic via free-agency leaves the Magic with glaring holes at the center and power-forward positions. The team has some prospects -- James Augustine, Marcin Gortat, and Mario Kasun -- who could shore up those deficiencies, but none of them are NBA-ready yet. The Magic should have enough salary-cap room to address their frontcourt needs, so on whom should they use it? 3QC takes a look:
| P.J. Brown | ||||
 | Points Per Game | Rebounds Per Game | Field Goal % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 4.8 | .407 | ||
| Free-Agency Status: UNRESTRICTED | ||||
| Magic fans should be well-acquainted with the 37-year-old Brown, who spent the most productive years of his career with the Miami Heat. As expected, his skills have dropped off considerably, but he scored double-figures in 19 of his 72 games last season -- not bad for an old guy. He's not a total stiff, but the Magic should think of signing someone who could play for at least two seasons. That seems to eliminate Brown, who's rumored to be mulling retirement. | ||||
| Chuck Hayes | ||||
 | Points Per Game | Rebounds Per Game | Field Goal % | |
| 5.6 | 6.7 | .573 | ||
| Free-Agency Status: RESTRICTED | ||||
| Chuck Hayes may lack height -- he's only 6'6" -- but you wouldn't know it by looking at his rebounding numbers. Like a certain other undersized Rocket power forward, Hayes uses his tenacity and will to beat out taller players to rebounds. He'd be a great boost off the bench. That said, he's a complete non-factor offensively; unless he's two feet from the basket, he's toast. Hopefully, the Magic would have enough offensive weapons to offset Hayes' deficiencies on that end of the floor. Obtaining Hayes is a pipe-dream, though. The Rockets are determined to re-sign him. | ||||
| Jamaal Magloire | ||||
 | Points Per Game | Rebounds Per Game | Field Goal % | |
| 6.5 | 6.1 | .504 | ||
| Free-Agency Status: UNRESTRICTED | ||||
| At 6'11" and 265 pounds, Jamaal Magloire is a real handful in he paint. He rebounds well, has a decent low-post game, and can play 20+ minutes a night. Magloire is still skilled, but the Trail Blazers would likely let him go, as Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge are their big-men of the future. Despite being the least-deserving All-Star in the history of the sport, Magloire would be a worthwhile pickup for the Magic. | ||||
| Mikki Moore | ||||
 | Points Per Game | Rebounds Per Game | Field Goal % | |
| 9.8 | 5.1 | .609 | ||
| Free-Agency Status: UNRESTRICTED | ||||
| Mikki Moore has bounced around this league for his entire career, playing for seven teams over nine seasons. Moore's renaissance in 2006/2007 with New Jersey did wonders for his free-agent value, as he averaged career-highs in points per game and rebounds per game. He also lead the league in field goal percentage. Much of that is due to playing with Jason Kidd, one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, whose ability to spread the floor and to make improbable passes lead to several easy buckets for every Net, but Moore especially. He can't be expected to post similar numbers this season unless he stays with the Nets, and the Magic should be wary of that fact. | ||||
| Joe Smith | ||||
 | Points Per Game | Rebounds Per Game | Field Goal % | |
| 8.5 | 6.2 | .449 | ||
| Free-Agency Status: UNRESTRICTED | ||||
| Joe Smith never quite lived up to his billing as a first-overall draft pick, and his name has been tarnished thanks to the under-the-table dealings he had with the Timberwolves, but he's actually a solid NBA player. Considered a throw-in in the Allen Iverson trade, Smith went from warming the bench in Denver to playing a key role in the 76ers' second-half resurgence; as hard as it is to believe, the 76ers were still in playoff contention during the second-to-last week of the season, largely due to Smith's consistent production. He'd fit in nicely in Orlando as a slightly better version of Tony Battie. As an added bonus, he has a career free-throw percentage of .794, which is quite good for a guy who stands 6'10" tall. | ||||
| Anderson Varejao | ||||
 | Points Per Game | Rebounds Per Game | Field Goal % | |
| 6.8 | 6.7 | .476 | ||
| Free-Agency Status: RESTRICTED | ||||
| Anderson Varejao has become one of the league's most polarizing players. Some fans love his intensity and energy, while others loathe his tendency to flop on defense. I fall into the latter category, as I believe flopping ruins the integrity of the game. But Varejao's questionable sportsmanship is not the only reason for the Magic to be wary of him. Although he's only 24, Varejao has reached his offensive ceiling and relies on putbacks to score. His flopping forces turnovers by drawing offensive fouls, but people would be clued-in as to how lousy a defender he is if it didn't. In short, he's not overly talented, nor is he likable. The Magic, and others, should avoid him. | ||||
| Chris Webber | ||||
 | Points Per Game | Rebounds Per Game | Field Goal % | |
| 11.2 | 7.2 | .452 | ||
| Free-Agency Status: UNRESTRICTED | ||||
| It'd be almost poetic for Chris Webber to sign with the Magic, the team that drafted him with the first pick in the 1993 draft, only to send him to Golden State for the rights to Penny Hardaway. He's one of the top-ten power-forwards in NBA history, but knee troubles slowed him down considerably. He was miserable in Philadelphia last season, but his play magically improved once the 76ers bought out his contract and allowed him to sign with Detroit. Like Vince Carter, Webber appears to be able to "flip the switch" on his talent and play hard only when he wants to, which should make him unattractive to us. He's also chasing a championship, and he's unlikely to win one in Orlando before he retires, which should make us unattractive to him. He's still an NBA-level talent, but I'd be disappointed to see him in Magic-blue next season. | ||||
Also available:
- Rafael Araujo, a former eighth-overall draft selection who posts robust career averages of 2.8 points per game and 2.8 rebounds per game.
- Andray Blatche, the 20-year-old project whom the Wizards are determined to re-sign.
- Pat Burke, the former Magic player who has spent the past two seasons making hair-restoration commercials and high-fiving the Suns' regular rotation players during timeouts.
- Melvin Ely, a career underachiever whom the Magic tried to acquire before the trade deadline last season.
- Marc Jackson, a 6'10" former rookie-of-the-year candidate who, to his detriment, fell in love with his jump shot.
- Chris Mihm, a 7'0" stiff who missed all of last season following ankle surgery.
- Dikembe Mutombo, [insert your own age joke here].
- Michael Olowokandi, arguably the worst first-overall draft pick in history.
- Jake Voskuhl, a foul machine who's never been able to play big minutes.
Slim pickings, to be sure, but the Magic have to prefer almost any of those players to the inexperienced ones already on their roster. Which of the players suggested would you prefer?
22 May 2007
Portland is the new Orlando: Thoughts on the Lottery and its Ramifications for the Magic
Earlier tonight, when NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver revealed that the Portland Trail Blazers won the NBA's draft lottery, I immediately flashed back to my elementary school days in the early-to-mid 1990s, better known to Magic fans the Shaq and Penny era. Why?
With the top pick in the draft, the Trail Blazers will likely select Ohio State center Greg Oden, who many experts have touted as the next Patrick Ewing. The ESPN broadcast of the lottery this evening said as much, which means that Oden is regarded even higher than Shaquille O'Neal was.
So Oden is Portland's Shaq. Who's their Penny? Look no further than Brandon Roy, Portland's representative at the lottery and this season's Rookie of the Year, who shares Penny Hardaway's skills as a good shooter and ballhandler. It's not farfetched to imagine Oden and Roy combining to make Portland an exciting and dynamic team next season in the same manner that Shaq and Penny did so in the 1990s. You can be sure that I'll pay close attention to the Blazers as those two electrifying young players develop. It'll be like a trip through the Wayback Machine.
Sadly, this lottery means very little to today's Magic team, at least for the moment; qualifying for the playoffs eliminated the Magic from lottery contention, and their pick this season goes to Detroit as part of the Darko Milicic/Carlos Arroyo trade in 2006. Seeing as how this draft class is the deepest in many years, I'd like to see the Magic make a move to pick somewhere in the top 15. What are their options?
The possibility that immediately jumps out is trading Jameer Nelson and one of three second-round selections to the Atlanta Hawks for the 11th overall pick. While the Hawks would certainly hate to part with the 11th pick, making this trade would give them the young starting point guard they so desperately need. They also would keep the 3rd overall pick, which they could then use to draft a center or power forward, perhaps Yi Jianlian or Brandan Wright. Meanwhile, with the 11th pick, the Magic could draft a better point guard, such as Mike Conley Junior, Javaris Crittenton, or Acie Law IV. Trading a fourth-year point guard for a rookie one seems risky at first, but Conley, Crittenton, and Law each have more potential than Nelson does.
If the Hawks aren't interested in Nelson, the Philadelphia 76ers might be. Nelson played his college ball at nearby Saint Joseph's University, and the 76ers are also in need of a point guard. They acquired Andre Miller from Denver in the Allen Iverson trade, but rumor has it that Miller might be traded himself for the right price. Nelson would give the 76ers a younger, quicker point guard to play alongside franchise cornerstone Andre Iguodala. The 76ers pick 12th, so the Magic would only lose one pick if they make this deal as opposed to the Atlanta one. However, it's unlikely that Philadelphia would trade its highest first-round pick for a fourth-year point guard, so the Magic might have to include cash or future considerations to get the deal through.
The possibility of trading for a draft pick adds another item to Magic GM Otis Smith's "To-Consider" list. As if that weren't long enough already.
