After verbally agreeing to sign with Golden State earlier this week, Maurice Evans backed out and asked for more money. The Warriors said, "Thanks, but no thanks," and instead matched the offer sheet Kelenna Azubuike signed with the Clippers. Neener neener, Baron Stealers!

Evans has found a home in Atlanta, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (ht: Hoopinion). Evans was as good as gone the moment Keith Bogans told the team he would exercise his player option this season, so this signing means little to us. We'll get to see him roast us -- the Hawks always roast us, it seems -- four times a year. It also means he'll play 41 games a year in the building in which he set his NBA career-high last April. Good times.

We all figured that Maurice Evans wouldn't return to the Magic next season; Keith Bogans' picking up his player option determined that much. Well, now we know where he's headed: the Bay Area.

The Warriors signed Evans to a three-year, $6.4 million deal, reports the Mercury News (ht: ClipperBlog). He'll work out well in Golden State, which prizes three-point shooting and athleticism. Evans provides both those things (80 triples and 73 dunks last season), and does so at a reasonable price. Congratulations to Maurice. Thanks for your hard work. See you in the fall.

• 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.

Free-agent point guard Chris Duhon, formerly of the Chicago Bulls, will receive a three-year, $10 million contract offer from the Orlando Magic.

File photo by Chuck Burton, the Associated Press

Tim Povtak and Brian Schmitz report the Orlando Magic will offer free-agent point guard Chris Duhon a three-year deal worth around $10 million. Duhon could decide by the end of the week if he will accept the offer, and his agent, Kevin Bradbury, says he wants his client to work quickly to make a decision.

As Povtak and Schmitz note, signing Duhon would end any possibility of the Magic signing free-agent swingman Corey Maggette, who's drawn interest from nearly every NBA team.

It's unclear whether Duhon will accept the Magic's offer, having received a two-year, $7 million offer from the New York Knicks just yesterday (link found via Posting and Toasting). Orlando's proposal gives him a lower average salary, but an extra year of job-security. It also gives him the opportunity to play for a contending team.

UPDATE: Thanks to 3QC reader travelerkt for pointing out the Magic have Keyon Dooling's Larry Bird Rights, and can thus exceed the salary cap to sign him. Keep that information in mind when reading the rest of this post, which I've amended with strikethroughs when appropriate.

What I'm more interested in knowing is how Duhon's potential signing affects the status of the Magic's incumbent backup point guard/best perimeter defender/sixth-man, Keyon Dooling, also a free agent. It's doubtful the Magic could retain his services, as Duhon's salary ($3.3 million, which is more than half the mid-level exception) leaves just $2.5 million for Orlando to use to keep Dooling, who earned $3.5 million last season and who now seeks a raise. It could mean Orlando could re-sign shooting guard Maurice Evans, who earned $1.5 million as a starter last season.

I'm disappointed by Orlando's offer to Duhon; although he's an above-average defender, he's also an offensive liability who struggles to his 40% of his shots. Opposing defenses will leave him open to double-team Dwight Howard. Although Dooling was not a great outside shooter either, he at least got to the basket and created offense for himself. I'll liken him to other recent Magic backup point guards in this way: he combines Dooling's defense with Carlos Arroyo's passing ability and Jacque Vaughn's "marksmanship." He's certainly not worth $10 million over three years, nor is he worth losing any hope of signing Maggette or Dooling, who are is a far superior players.

Once again, Magic management baffles me with its decision-making. Even with Jameer Nelson's relatively steady play, and with Dooling's career-best season, the Magic had one of the worst overall backcourts in the league. It just got appreciably worse.

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.

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 »

Courtney Lee is the newest member of the Orlando Magic. Some thoughts/links:

• The Orlando Sentinel has a solid recap of the Magic's draft, including video of Otis Smith and Stan Van Gundy discussing the team's pick, here. For me, the highlight was Smith telling reporters he did not make a promise to Lee; he wanted him to "sweat it out." That's funny.
• The Magic have called a 3 PM press conference to introduce Lee to the media.
• Brian Schmitz wonders what Lee's presence does to affect J.J. Redick's status with the team. Smith told Schmitz that "it doesn't do anything to [Redick]." Uh, how doesn't it? Redick's a two-guard who hoped to move from third (fourth if you count Keyon Dooling as a two) on the depth chart to first. Keith Bogans plans to stay, the Magic drafted Courtney Lee, and their biggest free-agent priority is re-signing Dooling for the portion of the mid-level. And if Dooling bolts, the Magic will turn their attention to retaining Maurice Evans, their starting two from last season. So, yeah, I'd say Lee's selection impacts Redick in a big way in that it keeps him at the end of the bench.
• The Magic weren't able to acquire a second-round pick, although I got antsy when Portland selected power forward Joey Dorsey 33rd overall. The live feed from the Magic's draft room showed Assistant GM Dave Twardzik, who had spent the last several minutes sitting idly, like everyone else in the room, buzzing about and appearing to take a fax. But, obviously, nothing materialized. If you want me to post some screen grabs, I can.
• And, for what it's worth, Otis didn't move from his chair during the several minutes I spent watching the feed during the second round.

All in all -- and this subject is one Believing in Magic touched on immediately after the draft -- the Magic went with the safe pick. But was it the right one?

The Magic could not have screwed this pick up, it seemed. Their biggest needs are, in order: shooting guard, power forward, point guard, and center. They had four great players left on the board, and each one would have fit a need: Lee, the shooting guard; Darrell Arthur, the power forward and likely a better overall player than Lee; Mario Chalmers, the point guard; and Kosta Koufos, the center. Nobody in the Ridiculous Upside liveblog could believe Arthur slipped as far as he did, although ESPN later reported that his stock fell due to a kidney condition. Had the Magic taken him anyway, it would have been the steal of the night. Yet they didn't.

But snubbing Chalmers might bite them in the behind more than snubbing Arthur will. Chalmers fell all the way to Minnesota and the 34th overall pick; the Timberwolves shipped his rights to the Miami Heat, who need a point guard in a bad way. The addition of Chalmers, a first-round talent and possible opening-day starter, to a lineup that already features Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley might put the Heat in contention for one of the bottom-tier playoff spots in the East, if not better. And considering that Miami's the closest thing the Magic have to a rival -- sorry, the Pistons don't count -- the thought of them succeeding with a point guard the Magic could have had hurts. Then again, I've overrated the Heat before. When they acquired Mark Blount and Ricky Davis last fall, I wrote, "if this deal goes down, the Southeast Division will be much tougher to win, and there's no guarantee we'll even make the playoffs."

The Heat went on to win less than one-third of the games the Magic did, finishing with the worst record in the league. Good call I made there, huh?

It's been a blast covering the draft. Next up: summer league and free agency. Trades? Those, too.

Fun's just beginning.

UPDATE: Here are a few evening/weekend links from the team's website. Enjoy.

• The team's official website has this small bio of Lee. It also has a transcript from his introductory news conference.

DraftExpress says the Magic think highly of shooting guard Courtney Lee, who might be available when they pick 22nd overall. How highly is highly? Jonathan Givony explains his "Word on the Street" feature:

The reports on Courtney Lee indicated that he looked "good enough to play in the NBA right now," as he was "explosive, very polished, made good decisions, excellent defensively, jumped right over guys, and was terrific from mid-range." Lee has reportedly been working out well almost everywhere he's gone recently, and looks to be making a strong push to be drafted at 22 by the Orlando Magic, who had him in last week for a workout, and sent GM Otis Smith to Golden State to see him again.

Meanwhile, the player I originally preferred, Chris Douglas-Roberts, hasn't done himself any favors with his workouts. Here's Givony again:

Chris Douglas-Roberts was reportedly "just OK" in the workout, which is similar feedback to what we've heard consistently over the past few weeks from different cities he's been to. As we've discussed in the past, he's not proven to be a great workout player, which might be pushing his terrific season with Memphis a little further out of teams' minds.

The summer strategy I advocate for the Magic involves them drafting a two-guard; splitting the mid-level exception to re-sign Keyon Dooling and a new veteran center; and using the low-level exception to sign a third point guard. But with the news that Dooling is going to follow the money, that strategy might change. The Magic could instead draft a point guard; split the mid-level between Maurice Evans and a backup center; and use the low-level exception on another point guard. But in a draft that features only one "true" point guard (Derrick Rose, whom the Bulls will likely select first overall), the Magic might be out of luck at 22...

... or maybe not. Steve Weinman of CelticsBlog is really high on Kansas point guard Mario Chalmers:

As someone with Mizzou connections, I'm generally not a big believer in the 'Rock, Chalk Jayhawk' crowd.

As someone who has always held pro basketball well ahead of collegiate affiliations, here's hoping I can still recognize a decent player when I see one. Mario Chalmers can play. He defends very well, handles the ball confidently and can get his points when necessary, too. Smart basketball player from a winning program. Not a character problem.

Drafting Chalmers might be a bit of a gamble for Smith, especially since he invested nearly $40 million over five years to Jameer Nelson, his current starting point-man, but he might not have any other choice if he believes Dooling will get better offers from other teams.

Ridiculous Upside, which covers the draft, D-League, and general prospect news for SB Nation, is hosting a mock draft with picks made by blogs representing each NBA team. I'll make the Magic's pick this Thursday at or around 4:30 PM Eastern. If you want to throw anyone's name into consideration, leave a comment or FanPost.

And in non draft-related news, Dwight Howard had the league's 12th-highest selling jersey, according to this press release from the NBA itself. Howard placed behind Dirk Nowitzki and ahead of Tracy McGrady. Thanks to NetsDaily for the link.

I promise I'll have that Hedo Turkoglu review post up sometime this week.

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.

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 Maurice Evans.

When Maurice Evans joined the Magic in November, his teammates nicknamed him "Mogans" for his resemblance to Keith Bogans, his new teammate. It's true that the players are alike physically, but their games are similar as well. They're both two-guards who are known for their defense and who prefer to shoot three-pointers from the corners.

Where Evans differs most from Bogans is his aggressiveness. He moves well without the ball, but not in the traditional way. When we apply that phrase to shooting guards, we typically think of players like Reggie Miller and Richard Hamilton who cut around screens to elude defenders and to get open for jumpers. In contrast, Evans finds ways to get free directly under the basket for dunks and layups. It also helps him rack-up offensive rebounds at an impressive rate for a player his size.

But that aggressiveness is not without its drawbacks. Unless he has a wide-open -- and I really mean wide-open -- look under the basket, he's liable to get his shot blocked. Opponents swatted a staggering 25% of Evans' "close" shot attempts this season, according to 82games. At 6'5", he shouldn't have that much trouble finishing at the basket. Additionally, Evans tends to overestimate his own ballhandling skills, pushing the ball upcourt when he should instead wait for the offense to set up. And although I don't have statistical evidence to back this claim up, I suspect he lead the team in "turnovers caused by stepping on the sideline with the ball." But he turned the ball over less that one time a game, so I suppose we can forgive him for that.

Defensively, Evans is like Bogans in that he simply has a knack for staying with his man. But Evans tends to "gamble" for steals more than Bogans does, which makes him a liability at times. He's also less physical.

Overall, his efficiency makes Evans the sort of backup two-guard the Magic need. He's deadly from three-point range and hardly makes mistakes. Two major factors hurt the team's chances of re-signing him, though: first, Bogans has a player option for next season, and Magic GM Otis Smith has said he'd "be shocked" if he didn't use it. Although Evans is the better player, the Magic only have 15 roster spots, and can't devote two of them to like-skilled, backup-quality shooting guards. Second, Evans will want a raise from the $1.5 million he earned last year. The Magic figure to make re-signing Keyon Dooling their top priority, and they might not have enough money leftover to keep Evans. It's too bad. The second-best trade Smith ever made -- getting Evans and Brian Cook from the Lakers for Trevor Ariza -- may soon go for naught.