Wanna See a Magic Trick?

Alright folks, no flowery introduction, let’s get down to brass tacks.  The Orlando Magic just pulled off a true set of blockbuster trades, but the question is, will they help and why.  Though the Wizards and Suns were part of these deals, the only contending team involved was Orlando, so I’ll focus solely on what these trades mean for them.

Orlando loses Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus, and a first round pick.  While these are all quality players that had an entrenched role, none of them were guys that could carry the team for any substantial stretch.  In other words, none of these players was indispensable.  Carter has really slowed down, and he has to take a lot of shots to get points.  He is no longer an explosive athlete, and his defense is at an all-time worst.  Lewis is no more than a three point shooter, but without providing an inside presence at 6'10", he did not contribute enough, especially when he’s making $20 million a year.  Gortat’s absence will be felt because he provided quality size and depth behind Dwight Howard, and now Orlando is left without a true backup center.  Pietrus was a nice role player that may be missed, but his production can be replaced.  The theme here is that these were all solid players for the Magic, but they weren’t going to put Orlando over the top.

Orlando's Best #2 since
Howard became Superman

Orlando gains Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, Earl Clark, Hedo Turkoglu.  Arenas is the linchpin of the deal.  If he can return to his prolific scoring form of two years ago and keep his ego in check, then this deal is a slam dunk for Orlando.  Out of all the players that were moved, Arenas has the highest ceiling by far.  He can be the dominant perimeter scorer that Howard has always needed.  Orlando has relied so much on Howard and the three point shot in recent years; now they have an isolation breakdown player and excellent scorer.  Richardson is essentially a younger more athletic Carter with a better three point shot.  His style is a perfect fit for Orlando as he’s a tremendous outside threat to draw coverage away from Howard.  Clark may not see much playing time, but with the Magic’s relatively thin frontcourt, he will still log some minutes.  He’s a terrific athlete but is still very raw offensively.  Turkoglu is another wild card, but with so much talent around him now, he can return to the facilitating role he thrived in when he was with the Magic two years ago.

Ultimately Arenas and Richardson represent a more talented and athletic combination than Carter and Lewis did.  Turkoglu has a chance to revive his career in Orlando, and while Gortat will be missed, the Magic may make another trade as they search for a backup center.  Only time will tell how this trade really works out, but on the surface I think Orlando improved their talent and got much better offensively.  Their rotation now boasts Arenas, Jameer Nelson, JJ Reddick, Chris Duhon, Jason and Quentin Richardson, Clark, Turkoglu, Brandon Bass, and Dwight Howard.  That is a very deep and talented squad, and there is an abundance of backcourt depth, which may serve as trade bait to bolster Orlando’s frontcourt.
 
Even more than the Big Three in Miami, this unit will take time to gel as Orlando essentially imploded its roster in the middle of the season.  Orlando may lose some ground in the standings until they figure things out, but they could be dangerous come playoff time.  No longer satisfied by merely reaching the East finals, realizing they weren’t going to win a title with the Carter/Lewis duo, the Magic made a drastic change.  Orlando took a big risk, but it was one they had to take.
 
--from Adam

(image from espn.com)