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.

• The folks at Golden State of Mind take a look back at Mickael Pietrus' career in the Bay. The consensus from Warriors fans, as best I can tell, is that Pietrus is a likable and talented player with a low basketball I.Q. Also, check out the comments for some questions as to how to refer to a single Magic, Heat, or Jazz player. One argument that's always annoyed me is that we should refer to Magic players as "Magicians." If that were true, the Magic would not be the Magic; they'd be the Magicians. Ditto for Utah Jazzmen and Miami Heatians.
• For his part, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star thinks Pietrus "is a backup in Orlandoland" and doesn't believe Air France to be a significant upgrade over Maurice Evans.
• Ira Winderman wrote yesterday that most every NBA General Manager left the Pro Summer League by the time play began on the camp's last day, meaning the Magic's practice facility was nearly completely empty and, in Winderman's words, "an eerie spectacle." It's probably just as well, because if the boxscore is any indication, yesterday's Magic/Heat matchup was ugly. The teams combined to shoot 35% from the field. Heat rookie Mario Chalmers lead all players with 2 assists. Magic point guard Cliff Hammonds shot 1-of-10 for 4 points. The good news? Courtney Lee lead all players with 30 points, including 12-of-13 from the foul line. Marcin Gortat and James Augustine added 12 boards apiece for the Magic. Brendan from Believing in Magic was pleased with the team's performance this week, and especially impressed with Lee and Gortat.
• Yesterday, rumors about the Pistons' seeking to acquire Tracy McGrady from the Rockets circulated. I am so glad the Free Press debunked those rumors. The thought of the Pistons getting that good... ugh.

Orlando Magic draft pick Courtney Lee is officially in the scorebooks. Early in the Magic's first summer-league game of 2008, Lee took and made a tough leaner from the right elbow for his first NBA points, and for the Magic's first points of the summer as well. Here are some screenshots from the sequence:

Magic point guard Kevin Kruger delivers the pass to Lee, who comes off a Marcin Gortat screen.

Lee catches the pass and considers his next move.

His mind made up, Lee drives to the right...

... picks up his dribble at the elbow....

... elevates...

... and connects.

Currently, the Magic trail the New Jersey Nets, but I don't know the exact score; there's no on-screen scoreboard, and the camera only occasionally pans to the in-arena scoreboard. So, apologies. You can tune-in right now at OrlandoMagic.com.

A final note: Lee, originally listed as no. 32 on the Magic's roster, has changed his uniform number; he's wearing no. 11.

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 »

Free agency is here! Everybody freak out!

• Free-agency coverage abounds in the Sentinel today.
  • Tim Povtak lists Golden State Warriors swingman Mickael Pietrus (more on him below), Chicago Bulls point guard Chris Duhon, and Los Angeles Clippers swingman Corey Maggette as the Magic's primary targets.
  • Povtak also has a list of the NBA's top free agents, which includes Clippers forward Elton Brand, Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, and Warriors guard Baron Davis. Most of the guys on this list are either out of the Magic's price range or off their radar completely. If Kwame Brown ever plays for Orlando, I might throw up.
  • Brian Schmitz received word from Bill McCandless, who represents Pietrus, that he expects the Magic to contact him regarding his client. Pietrus' calling cards are defense and three-point shooting, so it's easy to see why Stan Van Gundy and Magic management would be interested in him. If the Magic's top priority is to replace Maurice Evans in the starting lineup, Pietrus is probably the best option. For more on Pietrus, check out...
    • this ridiculous weakside block of the Kings' Kevin Martin, which made waves in the basketblogosphere.
    • this criticism of Pietrus' work ethic from 3QC fave Tim Kawakami:

      When Pietrus is hurt, he usually takes about 2 or 3 games longer than any other Warrior mainstay would in a similar circumstance. He's right at 3 games longer right now, by the way.

      He has now missed 11 games this season for various reasons -- all valid enough -- but that's 2 more than Stephen Jackson has missed, and that includes Jackson's 7-game suspension to start the campaign.

      Pietrus has missed 5 more games than Andris Biedrins has missed, and, yes, Biedrins had an appendectomy in the middle of the season.

      That's not a good stat. That's about normal for Pietrus' career, too.

      Those facts should raise some red-flags for the Magic

  • In less exciting news, Schmitz reports that the Magic have told free-agent forward Pat Garrity that they will not offer him a contract until later this summer, if at all. It's a wise move on their part to hold-off, yeah. If they make a splash in free-agency -- unlikely -- they might need a cheap 15th man, and Pat might be that man. But if the team signs him, even for a year at the smallest possible salary, Magic fans will revolt. Of that I am sure. Despite Garrity's long stay in Orlando, he hasn't drawn a large fan following, largely due to his lack of productivity. He should have ended his playing days long ago.
• As expected, Magic draftee Courtney Lee signed a four-year, $6 million deal.
• Yesterday, I speculated that the source Tim Povtak cited as saying Corey Maggette could return to Orlando was none other than Maggette's agent, Rob Pelinka. User "Orltragic07" at Denton's board speculates the source could be Bo Outlaw, a former Maggette teammate and current Magic Community Ambassador. You'll have to scroll down to find his post; I can't seem to find a way to link it directly.
• The annual Pepsi Pro Summer League, which the Magic hosts, starts next Monday. The Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets, and Seattle SuperSonics will all send teams filled with players hoping to make the opening-day roster. Click here for the summer-league roster page for all teams. A few notes from Orlando's squad:
  • James Augustine, Marcin Gortat, and Courtney Lee are the three "real" Magic players on the team. Lee will wear uniform no. 32, the same one he wore at Western Kentucky. If he chooses to wear that number in the regular-season, he'll be only the third Magic player in 20 years to do so. The others were Otis Smith and Shaquille O'Neal.
  • Kevin Kruger, who played on last year's summer-league team, will also play on this year's.
  • Temple guard Mark Tyndale, who went undrafted last Thursday, also made the Magic's summer-league team. He was among the five shooting guards the Magic worked-out before the draft. The week before the draft, stat guru Ed Weiland, of HOOPSANALYST, ranked Tyndale the third-best shooting guard in the entire 2008 draft class, behind O.J. Mayo and Chris Douglas-Roberts; he rates Lee, whom the Magic selected 22nd overall, to be the 6th-best.
  • Like last year, you can watch each game online free.

That's all for today. Leave your free-agency suggestions in the comments or the FanPosts.

The Magic drafted Courtney Lee for his maturity, his talent, and his ability to contribute right away. But the biggest reason they added him?

His donut preference.

Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. A sidebar in the Sports Daily section of this morning's Orlando Sentinel lists five ways in which Lee will change the Magic. The first bullet notes that he'll "change the doughnut culture around practice." Uh, what?

It's the rookie's job to make sure there are doughnuts available for the veterans before practices. And last season, Marcin Gortat starting bringing that delicious Polish-style pastry, and some of those yucky cream-filled doughnuts, which often went uneaten. Courtney Lee is more of a traditionalist, preferring either the glazed or sugar-coated variety.

If the Magic are smart, they'll parlay this bit of information into a promotional tie-in with Dunkin' Donuts, which offered a free donut to any customer the day after a Magic victory during the 2007/2008 season. Maybe they can have a drawing for an autographed Lee jersey or trading card every month?

If nothing else, we now have a start on getting Lee a decent nickname. If the donut stuff doesn't work, at least we know he earned his bachelor's degree in sociology.

So, now that you've had at least one full day to think about the Magic's draft, how would you evaluate it? Did they do well? Could they have done better? Let's take a look.

They Did Well

1. They got the guy at the top of their draft board without having to trade up.
2. They got a guy who can contribute immediately; in other words, someone who's on-track with the team's championship aspirations.
3. They got a guy who gives them depth at one of their weakest positions.

They Did Not-So-Well

1. They drafted a two-guard, which leaves them with only Tony Battie, Marcin Gortat, and Adonal Foyle (if he re-signs, which seems doubtful at this juncture) to back up Dwight Howard at center.
2. It also leaves them with no true power forward on their roster.
3. They couldn't maneuver into the second round; John Denton explains that teams asked for far too much cash than the Magic wanted to offer, which raises the question: why couldn't they have traded into the second round?

Let's take a look around the basketblogosphere and see what it has to say:

• Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don't Lie did not like the Magic's decision to select Lee. In his team-by-team rundown of draft picks, Dwyer gave the Magic a 3 out of 10, the second-lowest score for any team he rated (Dallas got a 0, and several teams didn't make moves and were thus not evaluated). Why is Dwyer down on Orlando's decision?

  The guy is going to be 23 on opening night, and couldn't even put together huge numbers for a so-so Western Kentucky team. I am not a fan. If you disagree, bookmark this and talk to me in three years.

• For his part, ESPN's Chad Ford wasn't impressed with the Magic's pick either, rating their draft as a B-. Ford mentions the Magic would have been better served drafting Darrell Arthur, then writes, "I'm not down on Lee, but he's not a guy who can put them over the top." Hardly anyone gets an over-the-top kind of player at 22, so I think Ford might have overreacted a bit with this grade.
• Marty Burns of Sports Illustrated goes a bit lighter on the Magic, rating their draft a B. His justification? Lee was the best available two-guard left when they picked. I'm sure Magic fans in the Chris Douglas-Roberts camp will have something to say about that, as Douglas-Roberts slipped (!) all the way to the Nets with the 40th (!!) overall pick.
• Sam Smith of the Sporting News likes the Magic's pick because he thinks it means the end of the J.J. Redick "era" -- his word, not mine. Smith gave the team a B.
• Mike DeCourcy, also of the Sporting News, didn't hand out grades, but did say that Lee is "a better athlete than any guard in this draft, save for Russell Westbrook." He calls Lee "a solid choice" at 22 for Orlando. And, like Smith, he thinks J.J.'s as good as gone. (Sporting News links via BrewHoop)
• UPDATE: Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress gives the Magic a B, which on his scale means they "did well in filling their needs, getting fair value from their pick and getting a prospect that fits their system in the direction the franchise is heading in," according to the scale at the beginning of the article.

Me? I was all set to give the Magic a B+, but their failure to get into the second round of the draft, and thus their lack of depth at power forward, made me grade them a B-. If they have to go through another season with Rashard Lewis at power forward (read: getting killed on their offensive boards) because they thought $200,000 was too much to pay for the right to draft a rebounder, none of us will be pleased. And if Arthur blooms into an All-Star, well, crap.

But what say you, 3QC readers? How'd the Magic do? Vote in the poll and add your thoughts in the comments.

The Magic expect backup center Adonal Foyle to do the unexpected by opting out of the last year of his deal, says Tim Povtak. Foyle, who played in all 82 of the Magic's regular-season games before falling out of the rotation in the playoffs, will leave $1.26 million in guaranteed money on the table.

In my postseason evaluation of Foyle, I wrote, "I suspect that [Marcin] Gortat will spell [Dwight] Howard for much of next season. And, as much as I appreciate Foyle's effort, it's probably for the best." When I wrote that post, I operated under the assumption that Foyle would return to the Magic, but fall to third on the depth chart at center. Well, it still applies. The Magic will have Gortat and a healthy Tony Battie to play center behind Howard, so I doubt we'll miss Foyle too much... if he leaves at all. Magic GM Otis Smith said that Foyle might still return to the team.

Verdict? Adonal seems like a nice guy and a great teammate, but the Magic need more athleticism and more offense than what Foyle offers. Later, dude.

This summer, 3QC will take a look back on each Magic player's 2007-2008 season. The first nine posts will evaluate, on an individual basis and in alphabetical order, the players who played in at least 20% of the team's total minutes; the final post will briefly evaluate the five players who appeared in less than 20% of the team's minutes.

Today, our focus is Adonal Foyle.

It's hard for anyone to get excited looking at Adonal Foyle's statistics. But let's be honest: we knew when the Magic signed him that he wasn't a long-term answer as Dwight Howard's backup, and that he wasn't an offensive force in the slightest. But even though he's the Magic's biggest stiff since John Amaechi, I appreciate what he does for them.

Foyle was one of four Magic players to appear in all 82 regular-season games. Each night, we could count on Foyle to give Dwight Howard his customary five-minute break at the beginning of the second quarter. We could count on him to work hard defensively and to hit the glass hard on both ends of the floor: that 15.5 rebounding rate is nothing to sneeze at at which to sneeze. Of course, we could also count on him to bobble at least one entry pass in that stretch, but that's besides the point. Who's more to blame for Foyle's dropped passes: Foyle, or the teammate who foolishly passed to him?

Curiously, Foyle fell out of the rotation in the first round of the playoffs when the Toronto Raptors went small and played Chris Bosh, a perimeter-based power forward, at center. Foyle, who specializes in low-post defense, simply couldn't match up with Bosh. Coach Stan Van Gundy looked to rookie Marcin Gortat instead, and Foyle recorded his first DNP-CD of the season in its 85th game. He only appeared in one game the rest of the playoffs. He had the distinction of being the only player to earn a DNP-CD in the Magic's 111-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Round Two. His disappearance raised two key questions:

• Will Foyle exercise his player option for next season or will he instead look to sign with a team that can put him in the rotation?
• Where the heck was Marcin Gortat all this time?

It appears as though Foyle plans to return next season, if for nothing else than because no other team can offer him playing time. He'll probably play a reduced role and not make the regular rotation. I suspect that Gortat will spell Howard for much of next season. And, as much as I appreciate Foyle's effort, it's probably for the best.