Earlier today, I received an email from a reader named Darrell urging me to watch this morning's edition of ESPN's First Take because it featured an interview with Dwight Howard in which the big fella can be seen wearing what appears to be the Magic's new uniform. As much as I would have loved to see the new uniform, I did not want to have to sit through First Take.

Now the video is up on ESPN.com. Even better, Black and Blue Jor took some screencaps of it, which you can view at his site, The Howeva Files.

Bad: No sign of the pinstripes that Courtney Lee had on his uniform during the rookie photo shoot. Worse: the side paneling on the home uniforms is black, whereas the wordmark is blue. It just looks... off.

The away uniform is pretty solid, though. I'm a sucker for Magic blue.

Maybe it's just a mock-up, but I rather doubt it because the official unveiling is less than three weeks away -- check the countdown clock on the homepage for the exact time remaining.

So, based on the screencaps Jor so graciously provided, what do you think about the new uniforms?

Some odds and ends:

• J.J. Redick is back from vacation and says he and a few teammates have had some "informal" workouts this week.
• Brian Schmitz has the team's local television schedule.
• New 3QC user PSmith7 would like to know what the heck is up with Fran Vazquez.

More later this weekend on Mickael Pietrus and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Probably.

• Erick Blasco of Bleacher Report lists the league's 30 best centers. Our very own Dwight Howard ranks second, behind Yao Ming, in large part due to his lack of offensive moves. Blasco also calls Howard out for poor court awareness on defense. (Hat tip: Canis Hoopus)
• As you might imagine, Dwight's proud to be an Olympic gold medalist. John Denton has the details. (Hat tip: SLAM)
• The Magic are proud of him, too. Check out the splash page of their website.
• The Magic's drafting of Fran Vazquez in with the 11th pick in the 2004 Draft may go down as one of Otis Smith's greatest blunders. Not only did he select a player who has yet to join the team, and who probably won't until next summer at the earliest, he passed on several good-to-great players in the process. As we know, Danny Granger is one such player. Tom Ziller explains what makes him a rising star, and why he's due for a breakout season, in his NBA Top 50 series at FanHouse. For what it's worth, Granger's 44th.
• The Oklahoma City NBA franchise, long-rumored to be named the Thunder, will officially announce its name and colors at a news conference next week. The Magic had a role in the confirmation, as The Lost Ogle found a goof on the team's website whichlisted their December 5th game as "vs. Thunder." Oops. (Hat tip: TrueHoop)
• SLC Dunk user "clarkpojo" believes the Magic would be wise to ship J.J. Redick and Brian Cook to Oklahoma City for Chris Wilcox. I like the idea, at least from our perspective. It clears out the logjam at the two-guard and strengthens the power position at the same time. If only the Thunder had a decent, affordable young point guard to add to the deal...

The Spurs re-signed Kurt Thomas, the forward/center whom the Magic coveted at the deadline. Meanwhile, a day after acquiring combo guard Keyon Dooling from Orlando, the Nets sent backup point guard (and object of Magic fans' affection) Marcus Williams to the Warriors for a future first-round pick.

Oh, and the Magic's chances of re-signing Carlos Arroyo -- already a long shot -- took a big hit when he tore a leg muscle during an Olympic qualifying tournament.

But Javaris Crittenton, long connected to the Magic in trade rumors, is still in play. The Grizzlies' young combo guard is likely the odd-man-out in Memphis, which wants to focus on developing O.J. Mayo, Mike Conley, and Kyle Lowry. I think Crittenton would be a home-run acquisition for Otis Smith and the Magic. For one thing, he's tall (6'05"). For another, his presence would make both J.J. Redick and Keith Bogans more expendable than they already are... assuming they weren't the guys dealt for Crittenton in the first place. Finally, it would mean fewer minutes for Anthony Johnson, the Magic's 34-year-old current backup, whose talent level befits that of a third-stringer.

Could Mikki Moore be an option? The Kings spent their full mid-level on the veteran power forward last summer, but might look to unload him to free-up playing time for youngsters Spencer Hawes, Shelden Williams, and Jason Thompson. Kings fan pookeyguru, whom you may know from his participation in the Sactown Royalty community, would swap Moore for Redick and Brian Cook.

I still support the idea of swapping Redick and Cook for Jeff Foster, but I doubt the Pacers would part with him now that they've dealt Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, and riff-raff.

Maybe we overestimate the Magic's need for another player at the power positions. After all, Tony Battie will make his return this season, and figures to steal some minutes from Adonal Foyle (at center) and Rashard Lewis/Cook (at power forward). And Marcin Gortat, who played in more post-season games than regular-season ones, showed promise. But you'll forgive me for feeling nervous about a big-man rotation that includes Lewis, Battie, Gortat, Foyle, and James Augustine.

What's the Magic's biggest area of need? Whom should they target to fill that need?

The Orlando Magic reached an agreement to sign free-agent guard Anthony Johnson, who played for them during the 1999/2000 season, as seen above.

File photo by Don Frazier, the Associated Press

The Orlando Magic signed veteran point guard Anthony Johnson to a two-year deal. Denton and Schmitz have the scoop. Schmitz also says that the team expects backup center Adonal Foyle to return, although he will probably not sign for another month. The 2008/09 roster is indeed taking shape, and there could be another deal in the works, as the Magic are still trying to acquire point guard Javaris Crittenton from the Memphis Grizzlies.

Only that last bit of news excites me. Johnson will turn 34 before the season starts and is, at best, a third-string point guard on a contending team. The Magic need to find a younger, taller option to lead the second unit. And as much as we all admire Foyle's hustle and character, he's too much of an offensive liability to effectively back-up Dwight Howard.

Based on today's news, I expect next season's depth chart to resemble the following (inactive players in italics):

The roster is loaded with bigs, so I expect the team to jettison at least one of them (Cook?) before the season starts. So far, this roster isn't a huge improvement over last year's, which won 52 games and a division title, so maybe we shouldn't complain.

Maybe.

Brian Schmitz says the Orlando Magic have offered Keyon Dooling a two-year deal worth a total of $3.8 million, hoping it will be enough to retain the team's best defender. Unfortunately for us, Dooling would be wise to decline that deal because it fails to offer the long-term financial security that he desires and deserves.

I don't know whether to applaud Otis Smith for at least making an offer to Dooling or to criticize him for making such a low offer. It's the latest in a series of moves that Dooling could perceive as snubs. First, the Magic offered their back-up point guard job to Chris Duhon, regarded by most fans and media experts as inferior to Dooling. Then, when Duhon signed with the Knick, the Magic turned their attention to Golden State swingman Mickael Pietrus, whom they eventually signed. In so doing, they lost the cap space they could have used to make Dooling a competitive offer.

Bottom line: we'd love to see Keyon back, especially in light of Jameer Nelson's injury history, which Schmitz mentions in the article. But $3.8 million won't get it done. Once Dooling formally declines that offer, the Magic will probably extend it to Anthony Johnson, Jason Williams, or another such bargain-basement point guard in this barren free-agent market. If those options don't sound good to them, they could always try to swing a trade, using out-of-favor J.J. Redick as bait; Schmitz mentions Keith Bogans and Brian Cook are on the block as well.

n8c21 with the assist.

Mike Bianchi, the most opinionated sportwriter in the Orlando Sentinel's bullpen, minces no words in this column, published in today's paper, imploring Otis Smith to admit his drafting of J.J. Redick was a mistake. I usually don't devote an entire post to one article, but this one really deserves its own discussion. Some highlights:

The thing is, Smith has admitted the mistake in every way possible -- except verbally. He admitted it two weeks ago when he drafted Western Kentucky shooting guard Courtney Lee. And he admitted it two days ago when he came to terms with Pietrus on a four-year, $22 million contract.

[....]

Orlando doesn't need to endure Redick's defensive shortcomings just to get a shooter on the floor, but surely there's a team out there that could use a three-point bomber. And that's why the Magic should trade J.J. For the love of God, PLEASE trade him. Even if you can only get a second-round pick, cash considerations and a gallon of tattoo ink.

[....]

Redick has handled his situation with class, but still, has there ever been more embarrassing adoration for a guy who never plays? It's like the second-string long snapper being the most popular player on an NFL team.

Jeez, Mike. Why don't you tell us how you really feel?

The dominoes keep falling into place for the Magic. Tuesday, they agreed to terms with free-agent guard Mickael Pietrus; Wednesday, they decided they would not re-sign Keyon Dooling, according to the Orlando Sentinel's sources. Essentially, team made a marginal upgrade at its weakest position, only to make a significant downgrade at its second-weakest position one day later. At best, they've broken even. Dooling is, without a doubt, the best point guard left on the market. The best the Magic could hope for now is -- gulp -- over-the-hill Jason Williams, who just happens to be interested in signing here, also according to the Sentinel.

Whoop-de-freakin'-do.

The only thing keeping me sane right now is the knowledge that this team won 52 games last season. No need to panic, is there? I mean, it's not like other Eastern teams are making moves to get better. HAHAHAHAA!

Shoot me in the head.

Best of luck to you, Keyon, wherever you go. And I'm sorry you had to hear about the Pietrus signing while on vacationing with Jameer Nelson and Tony Battie in the Bahamas. That must have been... awkward...

Maybe the team will get a solid contributor in return for J.J. Redick, who seems to have accepted that he's finished here; for what it's worth, Otis Smith thinks differently. The Nile is not only a river in Egypt, friends.

What a miserable day.

A couple more details from the Orlando Magic's signing of Mickael Pietrus have trickled in. The team will host an introductory news conference to introduce its new starting shooting guard this Thursday, says Brian Schmitz.

• John Denton, who first broke the news of Pietrus' signing, has more details. It's a four-year deal worth $25.1 million. If you ask me, the Magic overpaid, but Pietrus fits their system and upgrades their weakest starting position from last season. Here's my favorite nugget from the piece, though:

  Also, Pietrus is close friends with Magic small forward Hedo Turkoglu and the two families recently vacationed together in Turkey for a week.

  So he's friends with Hedo and knows Otis Smith from his Golden State days. He should be comfortable here, especially since he'll play his natural position.

• Sean Deveney of the Sporting News spoke with Bill McCandless, Pietrus' agent, and gives us this information about which other teams pursued Air France:

  McCandless said 11 teams were interested in Pietrus but only five were serious. It came down to Orlando or Detroit, with Atlanta also a possibility. For the Pistons, Pietrus would have been a reserve. With the Magic he will start, McCandless was told, not at power forward, but at the more natural shooting guard spot.

  "It was not the most lucrative offer," McCandless said. "But the opportunity, combined with the money, to start for an up-and-coming team was too much to pass up. He could have gotten the same money, or more, from Detroit. But he would have been coming off the bench. ... It becomes a matter of timing. Orlando had the perfect spot for him. You have the threat of someone else moving into the spot. We did not want to wake up tomorrow and find that Otis had signed someone else."

  First, I love that we beat Detroit to signing Pietrus. I'm sure it's no big loss to Pistons fans, but it feels good to get something from them for once. Jeez.

  Deveney notes that the four-year deal includes an Early Termination Option for Pietrus after the third season.

• If you're wondering what this signing means for the Magic's chances of re-signing Keyon Dooling, you aren't alone. Dooling himself doesn't even know what's happening. When reached for comment, Dooling told Brian Schmitz the following:

  "It looks like they have filled their position at the 2. Pietrus will help us," Dooling said. "I don't know what's going to happen. Things are all over the place."

  The switch from third-person to first-person probably doesn't mean much, -- dude was probably a bit frazzled -- but it can't be a good sign that Dooling isn't confident he'll return. And, frankly, why should he be? The Magic made overtures to Chris Duhon, to Corey Maggette, and to Pietrus, but have yet to present him with an offer.

  The Magic can sign him, but doing so will bring them close to luxury-tax territory, which they want to avoid. The Magic's best bet is to make Dooling a long-term, front-loaded offer, which would give Dooling the money and security he wants while simultaneously freeing-up cap space as the salaries of Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson increase.

Woof. Busy offseason ahead. Either J.J. Redick or Keith Bogans will surely move via trade -- the smart money's on J.J., as he has more value -- and the Magic still have plenty of holes to fill.

Mickael "Air France" Pietrus, seen here taking flight over Kyle Korver, has agreed to terms with the Orlando Magic on a multi-year deal.

File photo by George Widman, the Associated Press

Earlier today, I discussed with another blogger how the Magic's inactivity this summer made me nervous. The moves some of the teams behind them have made -- the Wizards' re-signing their two big-name free agents, the Heat's adding the draft's most talented player, the Raptors' acquiring a dominant low-post defender, to name a few -- coupled with the Magic's not making a peep in free agency just made me... uneasy. I didn't like that we were just sitting back, watching other teams make moves to get better.

The Magic got proactive today by agreeing to sign swingman Mickael Pietrus, which is curious, because he doesn't address either of the Magic's biggest needs: depth at point guard and at the power positions. He lacks the ballhandling and decision-making skills to play point-forward, and although Pietrus, 6'07", played power forward in Don Nelson's nutty, anything-goes offense in Golden State, can't play that spot in Orlando, not with Brian Cook (6'09"), Rashard Lewis, and James Augustine (both 6'10") in front of him.

But, despite not addressing Needs 1 and 1-A, Pietrus makes sense for the Magic. He's an upgrade over their incumbent starter, Keith Bogans, and he should make an immediate impact. The signing also means J.J. Redick is likely on his way out. Already the Magic's best trade asset, he now projects to sit at the back end of Orlando's still sub-par backcourt rotation. He, combined with a future draft pick or two, should net the Magic a solid player at either point guard or power forward. The Magic will look to bolster Whichever position the nigh-inevitable Redick trade doesn't address through free agency with the low-level exception. Of course, they wouldn't have to trade Redick if they drafted a power forward in the first place...

A final note about Pietrus: he's coming off a season in which he regressed. His per-36-minute scoring decreased (14.9-12.9), as did his effective field goal percentage (56.7-52.5). Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part, but I believe Pietrus' problem was focus-related. Getting away from Nelson, with whom he had a sour relationship, might do wonders for his confidence and performance.

You may remember this post from May, in which I tried to navigate the NBA's salary cap to see what the Magic could do this summer in free agency. Now that we're closer to the beginning of the free-agent signing period (Wednesday, July 9th), I thought I'd take another look at it. I've presented my findings in a Q-and-A format. For this post, I consulted Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap F.A.Q., Storyteller's Contracts, ESPN's 2008 NBA Free Agent list, and the Orlando Magic's official roster page. We hope you find this guide helpful.

Question: How many players do the Magic have under contract next season, and what are they owed?

Answer: Currently, the Magic have 11 players under contract, owed a total of $60,553,339 next season. While the league has yet to release its official salary-cap data, we can say with absolute certainty that the Magic are over the salary cap. Here's how everything breaks down by player...

Note: for this table, "Age" refers to a player's age as of October 31st, 2008, when we expect the NBA season to begin.

... and by position...

Make the jump to read the rest of the Q-and-A.

Continue reading this post »