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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

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posted by OVERWADED @ 2:44 AM  

11 Comments:

  • At 3:42 AM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    There hasn't been any "Magic" as of late. From what I've read, this is what has stood out to me.

    I'm not too excited about the waiting game. It seems that as of now the Magic are done making moves, unless someone comes to them with something.

    The more I hear and read, the more it sounds that Turk and Lewis will be playing together in the front court with Howard.

    I'm not completely sold on Jameer Nelson. As Matt pointed out on a previous post, Dooling/Arroyo could do just as good of a job if given the chance. I'm hoping the Jameer we saw last season was due to the style of offense he was forced to play. On a positive; John Denton reported the two sides still are a ways apart on what the extension's worth would be. I hope they're really patient with that extension. There is no need to rush it.

    I haven't heard Keith Bogans name mentioned AT ALL.

    J.J. is the buzz for the starting 2 spot; however both Dooling and Ariza have been mentioned.

    Personally, I don't want Dooling mentioned for the 2 spot. We saw how well that worked out with Brian Hill. He needs to play PG, and PG only.

    As it stands, it sounds like we might be lacking some size and toughness in our front court next season. They still have plenty of time to do something, but it doesn't sound like they will. I take that back, they might do something like signing a free agent that nobody else wants, or bringing in Gortat, but how much will that actually help the team next season?

     

  • At 8:57 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    Nice post, OVERWADED. I see fatigue already in the Magic's management. Their pursue of an extension with Jameer is a veneer to cover up the lack of substance underneath. Is Jameer not happy with 6 million a year? Who pays him that much now, using the same concept of someone proving his market value? Jameer has his pro and cons. The problems are the limitations:

    1) Jameer is not a true point guard but rather a scorer if he is allowed to shoot, and he shoots well if that is the focus of his practice. One may try to turn him into a true point guard, but then his shooting may suffer. Again this is one of those "either " "or" situations. Jameer is not capable of excelling at both considering that his conversion to a true point guard should take enough practice time leaving little or none for shooting practice.
    2) Jameer has a huge heart but his size remains an element of concern, exposure of which has been well evident when playing against Kidds and Billips of the league. Going back to No (1), if his offense could compensate for the defensive liability, that could have been acceptable, but looking at the example of last year that did not materialize to be the case.
    3) The size in the frontline is an element of concern. Neither one of Battie, Augustine or Gortat is the answer since none are NBA starters' material. The only option left is come up with a host of packages and try aggressively to find trading partners for a BIG. Sitting and waiting for someone to come to us is not a viable option. In all honesty, I don't see it in Otis Smith. He does not have the experience or the weight to pull off such sophisticated deals. As it stands, I am in agreement with OVERWADED that nothing will happen unless somebody out of the blue puts a deal on the table -not necessarily very attractive - but something to hang on to for an incremental improvement on the frontline. Once again, I am hoping for a miracle in Garrity finding his shooting touch which, in my view, could be as good as anything that we may wish for.

     

  • At 11:15 AM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Guys if you think this team will be put together in one summer then your wrong,at some point we will sign a big,who that will be remains to be seen whether he comes through trade or free agent signing. The plan has worked up till now,we all wanted rashard and we got him. We all wanted bsh fired and we got it. So things are in order,if we go into the season with dwight,battie,augustine,garrity,gortat and a big to be named we will have enough bodies to get us through this season of learning a new coach,getting familiar with his concepts,finding out who's gonna come to play every night,who will be the starters and what positions they will play. Theres just so many things that we have to learn about this team that we all have to know that this team wont be finished being put together this summer. Also,until reports come out about jameer asking for a unreasonable price(like darko),i'm not gonna get too worked up about his extention. Reports that otis wants to give jameer 6 mill i wouldnt beleive until they are confirmed,otis is usually very quiet by nature,how would that get out when everything else has been SUPER lockdown information. Very happy to here that the magic are gonna sign gortat,thats automatic insurance right there at center,being dwights back-up has to be the best position in the world for a rookie who has so much basketball experience playing internationally,how many minutes will dwights back-up have to play anyway? We all know barring foul trouble dwight's gonna play about 38-40 minutes a night,there couldnt be a better position for gortat,i suspect if we had signed him in the draft this year he'd be getting more hype,but i think hes gonna turn some heads this year with his rebounding and outside jumpshot. And finally,matt i read some of your comments about garrity lately and i agree that if he could find his touch,he could be a dangerous weapon off the bench spacing the floor for dwight at the 4 spot,BUT (and theres always a BUT)SVG has stated he favors defense,can garrity play good enough defense to get himself on the floor?

     

  • At 2:37 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    As for Jameer, even the idea of extending his contract for any amount is foolish. We have to wait and see what kind of improvement Jameer will make compared to last season. What is the worry or the rush for?

    As for not all could be done in one summer, that is what Otis Smith keeps saying. Why not? Is there any evidence that nothing is out there to be worked on? All these shortcomings have to do with Otis Smith's shortfalls. There is a difference between a heavy weight and experienced GM who has the respect of his counterparts, the players and their agents, and one who is light weight and inexperienced, and is just coming out of a situation that was not handled so smartly. As it stands, this team is not yet built for guaranteed success, and the GM's priorities are messed up when he is spending time and energy on an extension that does not seem to be a priority, at all.

     

  • At 3:30 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    And about Garrity, nobody expects any defense from him. His job, as has been in the past, is to play 6-8 minutes a game spreading the floor, providing just offense and hitting those open shots. If he can do it we could live with his defensive shortcomings. Now if Augustine and Gortat could step up, we may not have to think of a miracle!!!

     

  • At 4:12 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    Brian Hill thought Garrity played solid defense... I remember posting the quote a while back.

    I don't think we're asking for the team to be built in only 1 summer. How many years has Dwight, Jameer, and Hedo been here? There are more than a few players that have been here for years. The only guys were counting on that haven't been here too long are Redick and Ariza. The fact of the matter is, they've known who the center piece of the franchise was going to be ever since Dwight arrived; and he is getting ready to go into his 4th season.

    And while I'm not "down" about the roster we have as of today. I'm not totally confident in it yet either. Once the season hits and I can see what SVG does with these guys, I'll have a better idea. Regardless, I expect Orlando to make some noise next year in the post season. However, if Otis would have some how managed to resign Darko, rather than let whatever happen, happen. I'd be picking Orlando in the East next season. As it stands now, I can't say that.

     

  • At 4:45 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    Just a thought... The Pistons all but benched Nazr Mohammed last season after they signed Chris Webber. If they resign Chris Webber, and the odds are they will, unless Dallas goes after him; Mohammed will still be towards the end of the bench. He has said himself he wants to play, and if it's not going to happen, he wants to be traded. The Pistons have needed a backup point guard ever since they traded Arroyo away. The Magic have a point guard to spare. Mohammed makes 5.1 million a year, which should match up with Arroyo, Dooling, or Garrity. Of course I doubt they'd be interested in Garrity. I don't know if they'd want Arroyo back. I guess that'd depend on their previous relationship. Dooling might be the guy that has to go, but, it's just a thought. We need a big man that is actually ready to play. Gortat and James have a little potential, but nothing with them is a sure thing.

     

  • At 7:17 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    Etan Thomas is another guy that might be on the trading block.

     

  • At 12:37 AM, Blogger Ben Q. Rock said…

    The problem with Etan Thomas is his ridiculous contract -- three years and $20 million remaining. His trade kicker just went into effect, which boosts his salary by 15%. Thomas isn't a bad player, but be is at that price.

     

  • At 1:04 AM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    I knew he had a "trade kicker" or something like that; but I didn't realize it was that high.

     

  • At 2:47 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    From what I've been reading, it seems like if Otis Smith is going to make another move or acquisition, it's going to be a while. He seems content to be patient at this point and to wait and see what veterans might be available later on that could help the Magic.

    If either Marcin Gortat or James Augustine really step up their play, that would really be a big boost for the Magic to ease the pain of losing Darko. We all know the Magic are thin on the front line, but if one of those two guys can step up and show they belong in the NBA, what a big help that would be.

    Regarding Jameer, I think he's capable of having a much improved season with the new offense that's going to be implemented. Remember how well he played the final month of the 2005-06 season when Brian Hill didn't restrict the offense? That's the Jameer I'm looking forward to seeing this season. I would wait, though, before offering him an extension. Jameer has to show up and prove that he can be a consistent force in the lineup. Jameer knows a lot could be on the line for him, so I expect him to bring his "A" game this season.

    I don't know if Garrity has it in him any more to be a consistent outside shooter off the bench. Last training camp, he actually played very well, but once the season started, he was no factor. As Matt said, he could be very helpful off the bench if he can just spread the opposing defense and knock down a few open outside shots; so maybe I would be willing to give him another chance and see if he has it in him. However, if he shoots like he did last season, back to the end of the bench.

     

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