An outsider opinion on Magic, hoped you would be interested.

[Potterman]

Isnt Jameer playing next to the most dominant big man in the NBA? Isnt he playing with Lewis a borded line all star? Isnt he playing with Turk which by most accts was snubbed from being in the all star game, never mind being MIP of this year? Come on now... Rondo is longer and taller than Meer, that alone makes a HUGE dif, never mind that Rondo plays more than average D... Yes i's take Rondo over Jameer, even Calderon over Jameer... Yes Jameer can score, yes he has heart but in 4 season i think we can see how a player might fit in to the pic, i was one of the biggest supporters of Neer on the Francis days, but i have realized hes a combo 2 in a PG's body and that at least NOW, hes not the player i thought he was gonna be .... And btw this by no means makes me a Jameer hater, i just tell it how i see it...

Anyways i do agree our SG and PF issues are more important, these are huge holes in our roster that really showed in the playoffs...

Isn't Rondo playing next too one of the most dominant men in the game ever? Or at least as Mhec said three potential hall of famers? I do not consider you a Nelson hater by far. But I fail to see him as the particular reason that we lost this series which some are saying. It took all 15 guys and our staff to lose this series.

And I think you overate Rondo's D by at least a tad as he is average at best playing with one of the most defensive minded big man in the league to back him up. I would choose Nelson over Rondo in my opinion because neither bring anything to the table that screams out as me as definite "upgrade" if not a downgrade by going to Rondo.

Good discussion and yes there are better PG then Nelson but we got bigger (literally SG/PF are naturally bigger anyway) problems!

[Potterman]

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How much mileage does Miller have left in him?

But Garcia would be nice - based solely on the numbers. He was on my fantasy team and put up nice numbers when KMartin was out.

What little I have seen of Garcia I would take him. My general question is how is his defense. Is he a smart defender or all hustle. Basically we need a smart one that can at least mentally handle the tricks that the SG throw at us that our current SG fall for.

[maginno]

SO yea, I say first we need a very good SG.

Thing is though I think we well may be overestimating what Hedo can bring. I don't know that trading him gets you a star SG for example. I'm bearing in mind that you need a SG athletic enough to take it to the basket with some creativity . Possible I guess considering some of the weird trades that went down this year.

[ivDT]

How much mileage does Miller have left in him?

um, you'd have to ask him that.

i will say that i'm not really liking what i see on his nba.com profile, though.

he was injured to finish the season, and since coming to sacramento he hasn't been able to play 70+ games in consecutive seasons.

he played 72 game this season, so...

But Garcia would be nice - based solely on the numbers. He was on my fantasy team and put up nice numbers when KMartin was out.

[Driguez]

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Isn't Rondo playing next too one of the most dominant men in the game ever? Or at least as Mhec said three potential hall of famers? I do not consider you a Nelson hater by far. But I fail to see him as the particular reason that we lost this series which some are saying. It took all 15 guys and our staff to lose this series.

no no no... im not blaming Meer for our playoffs exit, never did... He did play his heart out i completely agree with that, but in the other hand i believe we can do better on that dept and dont see him as a future PG for a championship caliber team... hopefully he proves me wrong...

[Kent]

Great thread we have going here. I can't believe I actually read every post on these 8 pages.

What we need to figure out is if Hedo would be as good without 'Shard at the 4. Taking a guess, I think we would all agree that his breakout season is because of Battie being out. So do we go with a different starting lineup and move Lewis to the 3 next season? If so, I would think Hedo's stats take a hit and his stock falls some.

Because of this possibility, A) we probably wouldn't get much back if we try to trade him, however, B) he's less expensive come extension time.

I'm all for keeping Hedo as part of this team. I think even though his numbers would fall, we would still consider him integral to what we're trying to do while at the same time other teams would be less interested in throwing as much money at him.

I guess it's a gamble the way I'd like to see it go down.

[HotelVitale]

Hi, another outsider here who watches the Magic when French tv deigns to show them. First, you have to keep in mind that the Magic could have won three of the games they lost last week, and they lost them all just because of a shot or two and some random bounces. The Pistons are a better team, but they're not miles ahead of them, and the Magic could have at least taken the series to seven, possibly won if they had some good shooting nights a la the Cavs last year (who weren't any better than this year's Magic).

Second, I'm really impressed with Hedo--those lefty drives, high-glass finishes, and little scoops, plus the patience passing off his slashes are great developments and make an optimal use of his abilities. But I agree with other posters who see that he's a shaky number one option. He's not quick enough nor does he jump high enough to guarantee you any more separation than he got against Tayshaun Prince on that last play. If Tayshaun does that to Kobe or Paul Pierce, I'm surprised, but not against Hedo. He could be a great second banana, but then...so could Rashard, who's also simply never going to be a great closeout player.

So then third, Hedo for Calderon doesn't work well for the Raptors.. Toronto doesn't need shooters and shot-creators, they need defense and toughness. They already space the floor and shot extremely well, run pick and rolls and isos with Bosh, and have Ford and Delfino (!) to create shots out of nothing. Even if they find they can't sign Calderon, they could probably find another trade that wold serve their inerests better--specially since they won't want to give Hedo a big contract when his current one is up.

As for the future, I see a few possibilities. You guys could make some offseason moves and hope that the chemistry works out better (which would mean fewer to's, which was the main reason the Pistons looked decidedly better than the Magic). I like the idea of Jameer as a 6th man, but I don't know if your team is that much better with a decent to mediocre pure pg, e.g. Steve Blake (or a draft pick like Ty Lawson). Of course you guys could use a killer pg, but Derons and Chaunceys don't grow on trees. Nor do Kobes. Would the team be better if you swapped Hedo for Jason Richardson or Ben Gordon? I don't see it.

The other option is to hold your ground and hope for two things: a) that your guys gel a little more and earn to compensate for their faults, and then happen to have some good shooting nights and a it of luck when the Pistons, Cavs, Celtics, or whoever come calling next year; or b) that your GM is on the phone when some hapless team starts giving away great players. The Pistons of four years ago and the Lakers this year weren't much better than the current Magic before their respective trades. You need some luck.

[flyingvee]

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Thing is though I think we well may be overestimating what Hedo can bring. I don't know that trading him gets you a star SG for example. I'm bearing in mind that you need a SG athletic enough to take it to the basket with some creativity . Possible I guess considering some of the weird trades that went down this year.

True, thats gotten lost in these trade scenarios. I'm saying trade Hedo if it brings us a star SG or PF. But if it's to bring in a just a good player I say no, lets keep him. Also as someone mentioned on here, I would not trade Hedo for Calderon. Yes Calderon is a great PG but not worth the price of Hedo. But I'd give them Nelson and filler.

[1eyedjake]

Trade Hedo for AK47, or Andre Kirilenko for those that don't recognize his nick name. The guy was a dynamo at the 4 before the Jazz moved him to the 3 for Boozer. He would improve the defense by leaps and bounds with his stat filling ways, stealing and blocking all game long. He has a descent three ball so could still play the spot shooter roll. I think the front court of Dwight/AK47/Shard is even better than the one we have currently. You could even start JJ with this front court to back help on D, as Dwight and AK47 are some of the best help defenders there are. Edit: I also think that we will find that Redicks ball handling and passing will be a plus with the loss of Turk.

I'd defintely do that if we can pick up an above average SG like Maggette.

All of this is dreaming, of course, but, again... a lineup of:

PG: Nelson
SG: Maggette
SF: Lewis
PF: Kirilenko
C: Howard

is a much more balanced one than present.

[lovehoops01]

I have also heard that the Magic are looking to trade up to get Darrell Arthur. We then may see a Hedo for Maggette S&T. Add Duhon for MLE, White Choc. for the vet min, and we suddenly have a much more balanced roster.

Just out of curiosity.....You said you live in California, right? Where do you "hear'' what the Magic intend to do?

I'm not saying that you don't have any inside knowledge. But it amazes me how many people who live on the other side of the country come here saying that they have the word on what the Magic intend to do. Does anyone else find this odd?

Regarding the original post....Sounds like the guy says he doesn't like any of the starters except Dwight and he wants J.J. to play. Could have basically just assembled all the complaints of some on this board and combined them into one thread.

Finally, I don't really see Hedo's contract alone as a reason to deal him unless you just believe he will leave for some other reason when he becomes a free agent. With Dwight and Rashard under their contracts, the Magic are going to be toying with the luxury tax on a regular basis unless you expect them to win a title with their draft picks, and the luxury tax number is not going to stay steady either. Ownership signed off on the deal. They had to know the situation. Regarding Andre Miller, next season he will be 33 years old. As for Calderon, a lot of people have been saying that he is likely to get $10 million per season anyway so dealing for him really wouldn't change the situation (plus, the speculation in Toronto is that they will keep Calderon and deal T.J. Ford). No matter what quality players you want, though, you are going to have to pay for them.

[drsd]

Trade Hedo for AK47, or Andre Kirilenko for those that don't recognize his nick name. The guy was a dynamo at the 4 before the Jazz moved him to the 3 for Boozer. He would improve the defense by leaps and bounds with his stat filling ways, stealing and blocking all game long. He has a descent three ball so could still play the spot shooter roll. I think the front court of Dwight/AK47/Shard is even better than the one we have currently. You could even start JJ with this front court to back help on D, as Dwight and AK47 are some of the best help defenders there are. Edit: I also think that we will find that Redicks ball handling and passing will be a plus with the loss of Turk.

If the Jazz get sucked in to believing they need more offense at the SF slot, maybe this is possible. But I see it has highly improbable.

[Typhoon20]

Kirilenko ? So basically you want to pay a mediocre guy a la Shard another max contract ? So we can have NO depth at all ? For a glass man who is injured quite often ? Boggles my mind. Though compared to Shard, he's much MUCH better.

Plus, Kiri isn't a solution at the 4. He never was, is or will be.

[lovehoops01]

The bigger question for me about trading Hedo is -- if you do -- are you regularly going to get his 20 points per game from someone else on the roster -- and also have someone else who can handle the ball? Rashard can't do the ball handling -- and I doubt his scoring would pick up that much. I think you have to specify who the person in the trade would be before saying you're going to deal for a SG. Kirilenko does a multitude of things well -- but I don't think in the same volume or as consistently (even before Boozer and Okur arrived, he was often about a 12 ppg guy).

No doubt, Hedo did make way too many turnovers near the end of the season, but I think this is the first season he has been relied upon to do so much so consistently. I frankly think he had been totally worn out before the regular season even was over. And the Magic did lose three games after missing a key shot on basically the same play at the end of the games.

And let's talk about why the Magic lost that series. Every player on the Magic roster was matched up against a player who was bigger than he was height wise. The Magic were grossly outsized in the front court. Even Dwight was a little. Rasheed Wallace might not be as strong, but he is slightly taller. And that's without even taking into consideration that Wallace all by himself likely has more playoff experience than every player total on the Magic roster. It's a darned shame that guy hasn't worked on his game more over the years because he might have been one of the best players ever in the NBA with his basketball IQ, too. Even with what he has done, he can be one of the league's best players when he wants to -- and he usually does during the playoffs.

[maginno]

I'm not saying that you don't have any inside knowledge. But it amazes me how many people who live on the other side of the country come here saying that they have the word on what the Magic intend to do. Does anyone else find this odd?

Its a wired world. ESPN and SI break stories in cities all over the country before local papers even know about it. Players and management talk to other teams personnel more than they do the locals and the top Beat writers for the Magic publish to the internet. where someone lives doesn't make their information or viewpoint any more or less less valid. So no not even remotely odd.

[spinedoc]

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it's one of my faves, too.

i guess the one major gripe people will have with it is that garcia isn't the sex-ay swingman that some people are clamoring for.

this would probably be a correct assessment, but i don't fully understand why we even need a star SG if he's only going to be the 3rd or 4th option on the team.

unless, that is, we're operating under the assumption that with hedo gone rashard would not be the second option on this team...

Sure, but he's only been in the league for three years playing behind Artest and Martin, who's already exploded on to the scene. Garcia will have a better growth curve and will soon be better than what Hedo has become once he starts getting some serious playing time. It has taken a long time for Hedo to mature to where he is now. Garcia will come cheaper, be a better fit for us at sg, and be better than Hedo in the long run anyway. I honestly think Cisco can come very close to a Teyshaun Prince type of talent.

As far as Brad, he does come with a long history of injury and the tail end of a big contract, but his next contract should be more reasonable. Although he's a center, he plays more like a traditional pf capable of taking his man away from the rim. He also averages 4 assists as a center! That would go a very long way in replacing the numbers that we would be losing with Hedo. Also, the Kings are going to be looking to shed some salary with the probable sign and trade with Artest that should be coming this summer. And, they need to open up some playing time for Hawes and Shelden. They still have Lorenzen too for center depth, if they choose to resign him, and SAR, Mikki Moore, and Kenny Thomas at pf. They definitely have enough depth up front to absorb the loss of Brad. The trade really makes sense for both teams.

[BassMaster]

I disagree...

Trade Hedo for a SG
Sign a PF with the MLE...Carl Laundry, Craig Smith, Ryan Gomes
Draft a wing...Chris Douglas-Roberts
Sign some vets with LLE...Kurt Thomas, Jason Williams

Dwight
?
Rashard
?
Jameer

Are locks...Yes Jameer, he proved this postseason that he can get it done...All he needs is a capable backup

Bring back Battie
Bring in Fran
Trade JJ
Resign Evans

We will be a FORCE.

If the Magic follow everyone of your suggestions then next year and the year after that I see regression and the Lottery is where the Magic will be.
Thanking God right now that you are the not the Magic GM.
Jameer proved nothing if the post season except that he will never be a starting pg or even the backup. Forget Fran and I see Evans going for greener pastures as his agent reminded us just yesterday.
And most important bring in some support for Dwight a good PF/C like Robin Lopez.
And will someone in the management hire a free throw shooting expert. (maybe they should hire Redick for this it would cost them less)
Because if you look at all of the stats for the last game and some of the others against the Pistons what was the one stat that yelled out HELP and that was the free throw stat. I don't care what team you are, but shooting around 50% you are not going to win games and that is what the Magic have been doing.
I do like was the first poster said I should add.

[BassMaster]

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Its a wired world. ESPN and SI break stories in cities all over the country before local papers even know about it. Players and management talk to other teams personnel more than they do the locals and the top Beat writers for the Magic publish to the internet. where someone lives doesn't make their information or viewpoint any more or less less valid. So no not even remotely odd.

I agree as well lovehoops it doesn't matter today where someone lives because of the internet they could live in China and end up being more up to date then you are in Orlando. So no I don't see anything fishy about the person who setup this thread.

[lovehoops01]

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Its a wired world. ESPN and SI break stories in cities all over the country before local papers even know about it. Players and management talk to other teams personnel more than they do the locals and the top Beat writers for the Magic publish to the internet. where someone lives doesn't make their information or viewpoint any more or less less valid. So no not even remotely odd.

Yes, but I can and do read those sites, too, and I haven't seen any of those reports in particular. And even when you do see those reports on national Web sites, they are wrong more than half the time.

So now that the OP got everyone all stirred up, where did he go? Was this a drive-by?