• Monday morning, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld reported the Magic are basically finished making moves this summer. A rumored Tony-Battie-for-Nick-Collison swap isn't happening, his sources assured him. Damn. Collison's the tough, rebound-centric forward the Magic need. I suppose they value Battie's defense more than they would Collison's work on the glass. Either that, or they love Tony too much to banish him to Oklahoma City.
• It's probably just as well the team's finished making moves, though; they'd hate to have to buy any new acquisition a plane ticket to Pennsylvania. Darren Heitner reported yesterday that Magic co-captain Jameer Nelson is hosting the team in Villanova, PA, for his third annual Building Magic program:

  Building Magic week's mission is to bring the Orlando Magic organization closer together in the offseason by having a week full of workouts, team-building activities, and other events.

  • UPDATE: More on this story from Matt Steinmetz (thanks to 3QC reader Susan for the email assist):

    Magic vice president of communications Joel Glass said Nelson and Howard, Orlando's captains, are the ones who deal with getting players together, and that the team has nothing to do with it.

    Glass said from what he understands the players work out together during the day, then go out to dinner, comedy clubs, etc., at night.

    According to Foyle, the Magic will be bowling, attending a Philadelphia Phillies game and heading down to Atlantic City over the course of the week. Who knows if Foyle will push for next year's bonding session to be in his hometown ... that isle in the Caribbean.

• Last week, the Magic released their preseason schedule, as reported in the Orlando Sentinel. 3QC member Marie noted in the FanPosts three weeks ago that the Magic will host CSKA Moscow in one game. CSKA Moscow employs former NBA-ers Trajan Langdon, Viktor Khryapa, Zoran Planinic, and Terence Morris (who played for the Magic three seasons ago). Former Bucknell standout J.R. Holden also plays for CSKA.
• Dwight Howard posted 6 points and 7 rebounds in Team USA's 116-85 win over Team Australia this morning. Howard played a decent game but -- surprise, surprise -- continues to struggle from the foul line, connecting on just 2 of his 5 freebies today. He also had one of his shots swatted and was late on at least one defensive rotation.
• We all knew the contract Rashard Lewis signed last summer was big. Well, Business Pundit puts it in a historical context, saying it's the 18th-richest sports contract of all-time. Hardwood Paroxysm remains flabbergasted.

Goodbye, James Augustine. We hardly knew ye.

The Orlando Sentinel reports the Orlando Magic waived the second-year power forward "as expected." The move means the Magic have 12 players with guaranteed contracts on their roster. They'll sign another player, possibly Adonal Foyle, to meet the league minimum of 13 players.

Of course, it's also possible the Magic waived Augustine to free roster space for a potential trade, but given the relatively small size of his contract (approximately $900,000 $800,000), I find that scenario unlikely.

As for Augustine, I imagine he'll catch on in the D-League or overseas. He's young (24), tall (6'10"), and fairly athletic. He never struck me as a particularly talented player, but he did play hard and appeared to want to earn his minutes.

I'm contractually obligated* to point out that the Magic selected Augustine 41st overall in the 2006 NBA draft, one pick ahead of Cavaliers three-point assassin Daniel Gibson and six picks ahead of Jazz rebound machine Paul Millsap.

UPDATED: the Sentinel updated its report. Among the newly added details:

Magic General Manager Otis Smith said he would like Foyle to return and would speak to his agent, Lon Babby, in the next few days.

"Adonal's a big body, he knows how to play," Smith said. "We'lll [sic] see where it goes."

[....]

The Magic had until today to either re-sign the 6 foot-10 Augustine to a guaranteed contract of about $800,000 or waive him.

I think the Magic would be better off looking to the D-League for potential third-string bigs. Matt from Ridiculous Upside listed Rod Benson, Carlos Powell, and Chris Alexander as the best such available players as of yesterday. Will Otis at least consider reaching out to a youngster with upside? Well, probably not, but he should keep his options open.

*: Not really.

Ht: PVBFan at Denton's board.

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.

I updated this post to reflect the fact that the Magic lost Grant Hill in free agency last summer, which I somehow overlooked earlier. Thanks to commenter OVERWADED for bringing that serious oversight to my attention. Additionally, I updated the list after the jump to reflect the Phoenix Suns' potential interest in one of Orlando's current free agents.

With all the draft nonsense last week, it was easy for us at 3QC to lose sight of the fact that the NBA's free-agency period starts Tuesday.

So I'd like to thank Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (via Dee Gugel of the Orlando Sentinel) for shocking us out of our stupor with today's Florida Sports Buzz feature. Apparently, the Heat have their eyes on some of our free agents (emphases Jackson's):

Riley said he still might trade for a point guard, with Memphis (Kyle Lowry, among others) considered in play. Otherwise, the Heat believes it can find a stopgap starter from a free agent group including Chris Duhon, Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling, Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Jannero Pargo and Anthony Carter. And the Heat likes restricted free agent Sebastian Telfair, though Minnesota can match any offer.

[....]

[Heat GM Pat] Riley pointed to the potential to lure a player from ''teams that have three or four unrestricted free agents.'' Keep an eye on Orlando (Arroyo, Dooling, Maurice Evans) and Golden State [...]

Last year, the Magic only lost two three players to free agency: little-used point guard Travis Diener to Indiana; more notably, backup power forward Darko Milicic to Memphis; and swingman Grant Hill to Phoenix. Nobody expected Diener or Hill to come back, and although Milicic's departure surprised plenty of people, we should have expected the Magic to ignore him if it meant focusing on signing Rashard Lewis, which they did.

But the circumstances surrounding its summer -- limited cap space, high expectations entering next season, the higher quality of its own free agents -- will magnify the impact of any Orlando's free-agent losses, especially if they eventually sign with archrival Miami.

What follows after the jump is a list of Orlando's free agents, what they can provide, and which teams might be interested in them.

Continue reading this post »

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's new D-League Affiliate is the Bakersfield Jam

Image from Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page (sportslogos.net)

• The NBA Development League, commonly and affectionately referred to as the D-League, released its list of team affiliates for the 2008/2009 season. The Magic's affiliate is now the Bakersfield Jam; previously, they were affiliated with the Anaheim Arsenal. Matt from Ridiculous Upside doesn't think the switch bodes well for Bakersfield:

  Oh, this just makes me sad. A D-League team that needs some help playing in the toughest division in the league. Two teams that desperately need to develop young talent. And yet, this is going to be a waste.

  [....]

  Orlando needs whoever they draft to help in the frontcourt. Conversely, the Magic should have been looking to pick up rebounding help from the D-League last year. But the Magic have yet to exhibit a knowledge that the D-League even exists. Bakersfield was the worst team in the league last year. Expect that trend to continue.

  The four conference finalists this year -- the L.A. Lakers, the Spurs, the Pistons, and the Celtics, all make extensive use of their D-League systems. Hell, L.A. and San Antonio own their own teams. There appears to be a correlation between D-League participation and team success. James Augustine stayed on the inactive list for much of his rookie season, and ended up playing seven minutes in two games. Why the heck wasn't he in Anaheim more often? Beats me.

• The Magic want Keyon Dooling to stay in Orlando. We want Keyon Dooling to stay in Orlando. Keyon Dooling wants Keyon Dooling to stay in Orlando. But money talks, and Keyon will listen, says Tim Povtak:

  "There is a personal side to this, and a business side. I've enjoyed Orlando. It's a great place to raise a family, but when the stakes are this high, you have to consider all options," he said. "You play this game to win a championship, but it's also our livelihood. This is a way you can set up your family for generations."

  [....]

  Neither Dooling nor Pelinka [Dooling's agent, Rob Pelinka] would speculate on potential contract offers, but there are several teams that are expected to show interest, including the Miami Heat, the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz.

  Keyon would be a great fit with any of those teams, and with Utah especially. Whether or not the Jazz are interested is an entirely different issue. I don't want to think about the possibility of the Magic playing without Keyon Dooling, but it may indeed become a reality. We hope Keyon stays, but we'll wish him the best if he decides to leave.

• Dooling's future with the team remains uncertain, but we know this much: Keith Bogans doesn't plan to go anywhere. From John Denton's write-up of Adonal Foyle's decision to opt-out (and with thanks to MME at MagicMadness):

  Smith [Magic GM Otis Smith] said he's been given "full assurance" Bogans plans to stay in the final year of his contract that will pay him $2.9 million. Bogans doubled his career best in 3-pointers made (148), ranking 22nd in the NBA. He averaged 8.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in the regular season and 7.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in the playoffs.

  I like Keith okay, and I think he can contribute to this team... off the bench. I'd much rather Maurice Evans stick around, but with Bogans' decision to stay and Evans' relatively high asking price, that much seems unlikely. Then again, if Keyon gets an offer he can't refuse, the Magic just might have enough money to throw at Evans.

• Matt from Orlando Magic Blog posts his report card for Otis Smith, Stan Van Gundy, and every Magic player. I think he's a little harsh on Jameer and not harsh enough on Keith, but I agree with his assessments in general.
• Speaking of evaluations, I've delayed Hedo's until tomorrow. I originally planned to post it today. Sorry.

Happy birthday, Mom.

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.

... did it actually happen?

• The Magic held private workouts with at least three players today, all of them power forwards: Joey Dorsey from Memphis; Marreese Speights from Florida; and D.J. White from Indiana. No word from any of the usual suspects as to how the workouts went, so, uh, that's all I've got. If you're really curious, DraftExpress has the measurements of almost every player in this year's draft class. Dorsey is the only one of the guys the Magic worked out today to appear on that list, though. He's 6'7.25" with shoes.

• Interesting reaction to Otis Smith's contract extension from Matt Watson:

  The Magic improved by 12 games this year to finish with 52 wins, their most since 1996 when Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway carried the team all the way to the NBA Finals. GM Otis Smith deserves a lot of credit for the turnaround, first for bidding against himself to sign Rashard Lewis and then having the foresight of knowing Tony Battie would get suffer a season-ending injury to open up playing time for the soon-to-be Most Improved Player Hedo Turkoglu. For that, he was rewarded with a three-year extension.

  [....]

  Smith is hardly the worst GM in the league, but I'm convinced the Magic are where they are despite his efforts, not because of it.

• By the way, the schedule for 3QC's Orlando Magic player evaluations is as follows:
  • Monday, June 2nd: Carlos Arroyo
  • Tuesday, June 3rd: Keith Bogans
  • Wednesday, June 4th: Keyon Dooling
  • Thursday, June 5th: Maurice Evans
  • Friday, June 6th: Adonal Foyle
  • Monday, June 9th: Dwight Howard
  • Tuesday, June 10th: Rashard Lewis
  • Wednesday, June 11th: Jameer Nelson
  • Thursday, June 12th: Hedo Turkoglu
  • Friday, June 13th: James Augustine, Brian Cook, Pat Garrity, Marcin Gortat, and J.J. Redick.

We now return to your regularly scheduled early-summer doldrums, already in progress.