Orlando Magic Acquire Vince Carter in exchange for Courtney Lee Alston and Battie

[angelbelow]

not bad

[JamStone]

Not to mention they have Johnson as the back up point guard and Red as the back up shooting guards. That imo is not a lot of depth.

The Lakers had Farmar and Vujacic as the back-up guards before Phil started using Shannon Brown (who didn't play much in the Finals), but they were fine with their guard depth. Plus, if Nelson returns healthy, he's capable of playing big minutes. VC should still be able to play 32-35 mpg. Except for injuries, there's not a great need for depth. Johnson can handle 15 minutes a game and Pietrus can play some 2-guard with Rashard Lewis spending some time at small forward. If the Magic can add one more guy who's versatile enough to play both forward spots, they should have enough depth.

[tomtom]

no depth whatsoever for the magic but thats a mighty fearsome starting 5

[HarlemHeat37]

They can still fill out their roster with veterans..

You guys also have to consider the fact that Turkoglu might have asked for more $ than they were willing to pay, so they acquired somebody to replace him..

[Chillen]

This just means that the East is gonna be a war zone in 2010 for the ECF and NBA finals. No win will be easy, whoever gets out of the East is gonna be the last man standing.

[bdictjames]

So no more Hedo?

[HarlemHeat37]

Courtney Lee is not a promising player, I don't understand where this hype comes from..he's a role player..

[Killakobe81]

Hedo and Lee might be a better value than VC, but they're not better. VC gives them a more consistent explosive scoring from the wing position than those two combined. When the best teams have guys like Kobe, LeBron, and Pierce, it's a bonus to have a guy that can go toe-to-toe with each of them and drop 35 points a night in a series. Not just once, but every game of a series. That's where Carter's value will really come. Plus, Vince is a pretty good low post offensive player for a guard. Hedo and Rashard are both face-up players or spot up shooters. And with Dwight still not consistent in the low post, this gives the Orlando offense a low post scorer. I like the deal for the Magic even if Hedo does not re-sign. In fact, I think it creates problems if Hedo does re-sign. Pietrus fits better as a role player and spot up shooter rather than a guy that needs and wants the ball in his hands on offense a lot.

I agree Jamstone said it well ..and as others have said he plays Kobe well. But heck so has Battier, Artest and Pietrius and that hasnt stopped Kobe.
I muat say I like Orlando more than the Cavs even without Hedo ...plus with Hedo roles are not defined well. They will miss his ball handling because even with Jameer Hedo could see over traps and is a btter deep shooter with Nelson you can gu under the screen Hedo forces you to go over ...when he is hot.

Plus he has proven to be clutch NO ONE else besides Lewis has shown that in BIG games but VC sis have some huge clutch plays early in his career so we'll see if he can recapture that magic (ha) in Orlando.

[SpurOutofTownFan]

But also, i may be the only person that realizes this, but hedo is one of the dumbest players in the NBA

[Budkin]

I'm pissed that they gave up Lee for VC... I thought Lee was a badass who was only going to get better.

[IronMexican]

I'd take Hedo over VC.

[dirk4mvp]

I'd take Hedo over VC.

I would too.

[InK]

Lets see what they get back for Hedo, but i dont get this one at all. They were set before.

[TJastal]

This is a GREAT move for the Orlando Magic, as good as the spurs acquiring Jefferson.

The magic defenitely needed a guy who can create his own offense and put points on the board. They were too reliant on the inside/outside game of Dwight Howard and a bunch of spot up shooters before. With Turkoglu being the main guy picking up the slack. Turk's good but he's not prime time, he'd be much better coming off the bench IMO.

Vince Carter OTOH will put HUGE pressure on opposing teams to stop him, and free up everyone else on the magic to really goto town.

There won't be nearly as much pressure on Dwight Howard now to score, which is not really his game. His game is more about defense (shotblocking & intimidation) and rebounding. He can now focus on those things and not have to worry about carrying the load offensively as well as defensively.

Wow, one has to think the Magic are almost a lock to return to the finals again next year.

[TJastal]

AND I don't know if this was mentioned but... the magic got a decent 6'10" PF prospect Ryan Anderson out of the deal as well

So in essence

Magic solved their point guard situation by shipping out Alston (ya Rafer was going to be a problem with Nelson and everyone knew it), acquired a top flight scorer in Carter, bolstered their frontline with young prospect PF that can knock the 3 down.

All they gave up was a role player(Battie) and a young prospect Courtney Lee.

How anyone can say that was a dumb trade is beyond me. This puts them right up there with the Lakers now.

[angel_luv]

I would not have traded Lee. I think that was a stupid move. I like the Magic though, so hope it works out for them.

[dirk4mvp]

How is this a bad trade for the Magic? If they sign back Turkey Glue, how are teams going to stop them? That's probably the best starting 5 in the league.


Nelson
Carter
Turkoglu
Lewis
Howard

[IronMexican]

Magic FO are idiots. They downgrade they're SF spot and add about 10 million more dollars on the SF spot. Lose they're starting SG. I am sure people will mention Pietrus, but that's about 12 points you are losing off the bench. They got worse, added more payroll, and lost two starters.

[JamStone]

Well the Magic fans shouldnt be suprised.

Ariza, Billups, and now Lee are added to the list of rookies traded immediately

Neither Ariza nor Billups were rookies with Orlando. And Billups never played for Orlando. He was part of a trade to Orlando to help match salaries but was injured at the time. He was released and never played a game for the Magic.

[Spursfan092120]

How is this a bad trade for the Magic? If they sign back Turkey Glue, how are teams going to stop them? That's probably the best starting 5 in the league.


Nelson
Carter
Turkoglu
Lewis
Howard

That's just it though...I'm pretty sure this deal eliminates them resigning Hedo. I could be wrong, but that's how it looks.

[tomtom]

Actually yeah, now that Hedo is for certain not staying all of a sudden its not looking like that great of a trade. VC imo is a better player but not a better fit and now they lost Lee who is a defensive minded gem that they found. There game is gonna be completely flipped around now.

[IronMexican]

Al would not do this trade. I don't see VC running a 4.28. Unless, the Basketball equivalent to speed(Football) is Vertical.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Had to laugh at the Rod Thorn interview during the draft.

Stu: "Rod, walk us through the decision to make this trade. What's the mindset behind trading Vince Carter?"

Drunk Fan: "Because he ssssuuuccckkksss!"

The guy had barely half a second to get that in but he nailed the timing. I just love it when a crowd shows up to play.

As for the trade, they traded versatility for pure scoring. If they couldn't afford to keep Turk then Carter's probably the next best thing, but I think he represents a downgrade. It's not a crippling loss of depth in the trade, bu if I was a Magic fan I don't think I'd feel the team gets any better with this move.

[JamStone]

I think similar with the Shaq to Cleveland deal, much of it depends on what else the Magic do. If the Magic get a solid, versatile big man to back up the 4/5 positions and maybe a real cheap swing back-up, it will end up being a very, very good thing for the Magic. Hedo probably wouldn't play well having to play with Vince. But, Mickael Pietrus could fill in at small forward and looks like he could play well next to Vince. They could bring back a guy like Keith Bogans who can play the 2/3, is solid defensively, and can hit an open jumper every now and then. Then, get that solid back-up big man, and I think they're a better team than last year's Finals team.