Official: Arenas/Hedo/Jrich takin talents to central FLORIDA

[ADRajX]

This team will be better than the 2008-2009 roster.

Let's GO!

[davidse]

wait - is no one seriously realizing that the real downside of this trade is not hedo, nor arenas, and not even the payroll - but it's actually that this could be the day that you lost dwight howard ???

what you lost more than anything else is trade flexilbity looking forward, and what you gained is a chance which even if pans out - does not make you title favorites, merely contenders.

so what happens if you don't win ?
how do you sell howard on spending the rest of his career with this roster *which has just about zero internal upside next year) or something very similar to it ?

this is the real risk that the magic took today if you ask me. and no one seems to be willing to say it.

[chillinlikeavillain]

If you are a foreigner why would you chose to be a VInce Carter fan. Wouldn't you choose a player that is not a major dissapointment?

Still hating even after the guy left. Carter was arguably the most popular player in the NBA for a few seasons (look at the all-star votes from 2000-2004). Extremely entertaining player with a knack for pulling off the impossible. In his Nets days was a super-clutch assassin at the end of games, hitting a few game winners every year. Most of the Carter fans have been fans since the early days and have remained loyal through good times and bad. He's not my favorite player, but if you don't understand why people are Vince Carter fans you obviously haven't used Youtube before - he's put together some of the most amazing highlights in NBA history. That's unarguable.

[Cigamodnalro]

this is the real risk that the magic took today if you ask me. and no one seems to be willing to say it.

we didn't.

[Canucklehead]

good luck to ORL with this deal as much as I'd like to see Hedo continue his journey of epic fail I want him to turn it back around in ORL and both of these trades work out for the obvious reason of another team having a better chance to knock out MIA in the playoffs.

[JazzItUp13]

so we didn't want to overpay hedo so we trade to get him back? we made a mistake signing lewis for that contract now we have arenas which is just as worse contract wise? BIG GAMBLE...we better hope arenas stays healthy.

[chillinlikeavillain]

So the post-trade lineup is:

PG: Nelson, Arenas, Duhon, Williams
SG: Richardson, Arenas, Redick
SF: Turkoglu, Richardson
PF: Bass, Anderson, Clark, Turkoglu
C: Howard, Allen, Orton, Bass

I'd expect Otis has a plan to turn some of the guard depth into big man depth (we're paper thin at C). Some package of the non-essentials (Duhon, Williams, Redick, Clark, Anderson, Orton, Allen) should net us a reasonable backup. If this happens and the team manages to gel, watch out for the Magic...

[maginno]

this is the real risk that the magic took today if you ask me. and no one seems to be willing to say it.

Because you are late to this forum you think that you are being original. We've had discussions about that several times over the last few weeks. Shard as I recall wasn't coming off until Dwight's decision time. Vince was expiring any way. JR we have the option of not resigning him if he's fool's gold. So it really comes down to the extra year of GIl but you needed to make a play BEFORE Dwight's contract expires not try and convince him when he has one foot already out the door. Besides you have to think that someone ran these moves past the franchise center. If you follow the magic you could kind of seen hints from Dwight that he wanted something done now.

So I think everyo9ne know sits a gamble and a big one but its not like sitting pat didn't have its risks as well.

[davidse]

so we didn't want to overpay hedo so we trade to get him back? we made a mistake signing lewis for that contract now we have arenas which is just as worse contract wise? BIG GAMBLE...we better hope arenas stays healthy.

you get hedo minus the final year in his contract - which is the highest paid and lowest productive for a guy his age - because he gave up his player option when he was traded to toronto.

so fwiw - you get him with a better deal than the one he wanted when he was a magic free agent...

[Banks2Pierce]

One of those deals where I will have to see what is done with the rotation before I truly judge it.

I can see potential problems if Meer, Hedo, and Gil are in the starting lineup because they are at their best while being ball dominant.

If someone out of this crew is good off the bench, it could end up paying off.

From a Celtics fans standpoint: KG struggled with Lewis' length when he tried to post him up and won't have the issue with Bass or Hedo. More shot creators should help you guys out when Howard is defended straight up. The defense won't take a big hit as long as Dwight stays out of foul trouble because Dwight basically is the defense imo. Might all be a moot point if you and Miami pair up in the 2/3 seeds, but wayyyy too early to call.

[JazzItUp13]

So the post-trade lineup is:

PG: Nelson, Arenas, Duhon, Williams
SG: Richardson, Arenas, Redick
SF: Turkoglu, Richardson
PF: Bass, Anderson, Clark, Turkoglu
C: Howard, Allen, Orton, Bass

I'd expect Otis has a plan to turn some of the guard depth into big man depth (we're paper thin at C). Some package of the non-essentials (Duhon, Williams, Redick, Clark, Anderson, Orton, Allen) should net us a reasonable backup. If this happens and the team manages to gel, watch out for the Magic...

arenas coming off the bench? haha yeah right

[jaymeister15]

Why are there Vince Carter fans................


seriously.

meh, I don't feel like arguing with anyone tonight. But, if you really have to ask that, then you weren't an NBA fan in the early 2000's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSmzkJF7Ons

[Hilltop]

Richardson works out because he is better at playing off the ball than Carter is. He is going to adjust to that role just fine.

What I am skeptical about is the **** that is Nelson, Arenas, and Turkoglu.

[Skin]

Can people WAKE UP? I keep seeing people say that Otis didn't want to pay for Hedo before, but he wants to now... WAKE UP! Otis WANTED Hedo, but he couldn't compound the kind of contract Hedo wanted WITH RASHARD'S contract still on the books.

But in today's scenario, he dumped Rashard's contract.

[Hilltop]

... for Arenas'

[davidse]

this is the real risk that the magic took today if you ask me. and no one seems to be willing to say it.

Because you are late to this forum you think that you are being original. We've had discussions about that several times over the last few weeks. Shard as I recall wasn't coming off until Dwight's decision time. Vince was expiring any way. JR we have the option of not resigning him if he's fool's gold. So it really comes down to the extra year of GIl but you needed to make a play BEFORE Dwight's contract expires not try and convince him when he has one foot already out the door. Besides you have to think that someone ran these moves past the franchise center. If you follow the magic you could kind of seen hints from Dwight that he wanted something done now.

the difference with shard and before all the other trades, is that you had options -
you had other assets with which to possibly entice teams to take shard at next year's deadline. or you had tradable players to move so that even with lewis and howard's bird rights - you'd still have cap room for a max deal a-la miami for chris paul.

so imo - i think that's ^ what's changed now.

you had a very good team with an exit strategy to keep your superstar.
now, you may have a better team, but you have to wonder if it's good enough to win it all and have you lost that exit strategy - which i fear you have.

i think wade has shown that it doesn't matter if you had a bad team the previous year - if your team presents you with a bright future (much less your home team) - you will gladly resign and even give up money...

so i do think you took a huge huge risk today, and i think that this specific risk (of losing howard) is just not worth it and i wouldn't have made those moves.

doesn't mean i'll turn out right eventually, but it's how i see it -
keeping howard > all, and keeping howard will have a lot more to do with future prospect than past success if the roster isn't flexible to allow improvement.

[ADRajX]

The more I'm starting to think about it, the more I'm believing that we should start players in their natural position... Arenas is a PG (granted a Shooting Guard in PG's body, but a PG nonetheless), and J-Rich has to start at SG, SF will not do him much good... and Hedo would be nice starting at SF

I'm starting to think Nelson maybe should come off the bench, eventually... not now, but eventually

It's either him or Hedo, and I don't like the reality of J-Rich starting at SF if Nelson starts at SG... and there is no way Arenas is coming off the bench (in favor of Nelson/J-Rich/Hedo starting) and neither is J-Rich (in favor of Nelson/Arenas/Hedo starting)

[chillinlikeavillain]

Richardson works out because he is better at playing off the ball than Carter is. He is going to adjust to that role just fine.

What I am skeptical about is the **** that is Nelson, Arenas, and Turkoglu.

Agreed wholeheartedly. If you replace Carter and Lewis with JRich and Turkoglu in the starting lineup, that is a clear upgrade on paper offensively, probably a wash defensively. However, adding Arenas to the mix just confuses things. We now have 3 ball-dominant scorers who are at most the 2nd option on the team. We lost 2 of our 3 good defenders (now Howard is literally the only good defensive player left on the team).

Still, the old team was going nowhere. This team, at least, has a chance to be great if things gel.

[fendilim]

you should target kwame brown.

just about the only available center for what you have to offer.

orton for brown
duhon/allen for brown/najera

j will + 2nd rounder

whatever

but looking around realisticaly, i think kwame is your guy. (unfortunatly ? )

Honestly, I think he is a good serviceable big. He has good post defense.

[chillinlikeavillain]

you should target kwame brown.

just about the only available center for what you have to offer.

orton for brown
duhon/allen for brown/najera

j will + 2nd rounder

whatever

but looking around realisticaly, i think kwame is your guy. (unfortunatly ? )

Honestly, I think he is a good serviceable big. He has good post defense.

Probably the best option. The backup C needs to be a good help defender, given our shortcomings on the wing.

Another option would be Diop. Charlotte needs a backup PG and we have 2 to spare.