Did the Magic get better or worse?

[Ari Gold]

Basically as in players getting dealt
Orlando lost : VC , Lewis,Gortat,Pietrus
Orlando got : Arenas, Turkoglu ,J-Rich , Earl Clark

Did they get better or worse?

[Darrin]

I like the backcourt, especially with Jameer Nelson coming off the bench. The Magic still have Brandon Bass, who has been playing out of his mind, and Dwight Howard upfront. They gave up the 3rd richest contract in the NBA. Hedo should improve the ball movement and they can run the pick-and-pop with Arenas and Hedo now. Defensively, they may lack something. But the risk had to be taken.

[tomtom]

They definitely trade defense for offense here so I think it might just come out to a wash

[LkrFan]

Magic got better.

• Turkeyglue is the playmaker that VC never was. That means they are not relying solely on Jameer's "playmaking" abilities
• Jameer and Gil are both essentially SGs that have some passing ability. The fact that they won't both be sole playmakers on the team with Turkeyglue in the fold is huge for them. Now they can spot up and play off the ball - without the offense stalling as has been in the past
• Bass needed to start. He's no stud, but he is physical and has shown flashes. He's tough and will help D12 down low. Re was not a PF in any sense of the word. Re Lewis' inability to contend with KG means the Magic were never a threat. If his 3-ball wasn't falling he was useless. Bass fits what the Magic needs at PF and is improving. The fact that the Magic traded Re shows me they believe in him.
• J-Rich >>>> Carter at this point. He's a streaky shooter that sometimes plays with a chip on his shoulder. He should provide some youth and some fire to the Magic

The only thing I sweat if I'm a Magic fan is them giving up Gortat. Overrated or not, now D12 is the only center on the roster. The team they need to worry about is in Boston and not Miami. If they can gel I think they can at least take them to 6 games and maybe even upset them - due to the age factor of Boston's big 3. They are more balanced now so I think they will surprise.

I'm really interested in seeing what Turkeyglue's return to Orlando will do to their team. I compare Hedo to LO on the Lakers in a way. The Lakers have the ability to put pressure on your defense by having LO (a PF) rebound and ignite a fastbreak. That's a nice asset to have to be able to get some early offense before a team like Boston has a chance to set up their defense.

Magic just got better IMO

[Warlord23]

I think the trade is pretty much a wash, Arenas and Turk are unlikely to suddenly improve enough for the Magic to contend, and their frontcourt is not good enough to get past the Celtics or Heat. Overall they get worse because they lose the Polish fan base by trading Gortat .

[HarlemHeat37]

Magic got better.

• Turkeyglue is the playmaker that VC never was. That means they are not relying solely on Jameer's "playmaking" abilities
• Jameer and Gil are both essentially SGs that have some passing ability. The fact that they won't both be sole playmakers on the team with Turkeyglue in the fold is huge for them. Now they can spot up and play off the ball - without the offense stalling as has been in the past
• Bass needed to start. He's no stud, but he is physical and has shown flashes. He's tough and will help D12 down low. Re was not a PF in any sense of the word. Re Lewis' inability to contend with KG means the Magic were never a threat. If his 3-ball wasn't falling he was useless. Bass fits what the Magic needs at PF and is improving. The fact that the Magic traded Re shows me they believe in him.
• J-Rich >>>> Carter at this point. He's a streaky shooter that sometimes plays with a chip on his shoulder. He should provide some youth and some fire to the Magic

The only thing I sweat if I'm a Magic fan is them giving up Gortat. Overrated or not, now D12 is the only center on the roster. The team they need to worry about is in Boston and not Miami. If they can gel I think they can at least take them to 6 games and maybe even upset them - due to the age factor of Boston's big 3. They are more balanced now so I think they will surprise.

I'm really interested in seeing what Turkeyglue's return to Orlando will do to their team. I compare Hedo to LO on the Lakers in a way. The Lakers have the ability to put pressure on your defense by having LO (a PF) rebound and ignite a fastbreak. That's a nice asset to have to be able to get some early offense before a team like Boston has a chance to set up their defense.

Magic just got better IMO

..

[LkrFan]

..

(LkrFan is on the Left, HarlemHeat37 is on the right)

[frodo]

looks they've reshuffled their cards which in many other cases would affect chemistry but that's not much of a concern in this case imho. Hedo & Hill just rejoined the old team, J-Rich will take the role VC used to play so he'll be fine too.

[rayjayjohnson]

Serious q, if lewis was the thrid most expensive contract in the league, who is one and two?

[rayjayjohnson]

Magic got better as long as hedo can, pardon the pun, get some of that magic back.

[frodo]

I think the trade is pretty much a wash, Arenas and Turk are unlikely to suddenly improve enough for the Magic to contend, and their frontcourt is not good enough to get past the Celtics or Heat. Overall they get worse because they lose the Polish fan base by trading Gortat .

and they also lost a lot french fans as well by losing Pietrus. losing Pietrus will turn out a mistake imo, dude has been a solid performer on both ends and its really not easy to find a replacement for him. i reckon their starting lineups will be:

D-Howard
hedo
Hill
J-Rich
Nelson

subs: Gilbert etc...

[rayjayjohnson]

who said anything about hill?

[DeadlyDynasty]

Their problem last year was they were too finesse to handle the C's. So they go out and trade for 4 finesse offensive players...well done, Otis.

[Ace]

Magic got better.

• Turkeyglue is the playmaker that VC never was. That means they are not relying solely on Jameer's "playmaking" abilities
• Jameer and Gil are both essentially SGs that have some passing ability. The fact that they won't both be sole playmakers on the team with Turkeyglue in the fold is huge for them. Now they can spot up and play off the ball - without the offense stalling as has been in the past
• Bass needed to start. He's no stud, but he is physical and has shown flashes. He's tough and will help D12 down low. Re was not a PF in any sense of the word. Re Lewis' inability to contend with KG means the Magic were never a threat. If his 3-ball wasn't falling he was useless. Bass fits what the Magic needs at PF and is improving. The fact that the Magic traded Re shows me they believe in him.
• J-Rich >>>> Carter at this point. He's a streaky shooter that sometimes plays with a chip on his shoulder. He should provide some youth and some fire to the Magic

The only thing I sweat if I'm a Magic fan is them giving up Gortat. Overrated or not, now D12 is the only center on the roster. The team they need to worry about is in Boston and not Miami. If they can gel I think they can at least take them to 6 games and maybe even upset them - due to the age factor of Boston's big 3. They are more balanced now so I think they will surprise.

I'm really interested in seeing what Turkeyglue's return to Orlando will do to their team. I compare Hedo to LO on the Lakers in a way. The Lakers have the ability to put pressure on your defense by having LO (a PF) rebound and ignite a fastbreak. That's a nice asset to have to be able to get some early offense before a team like Boston has a chance to set up their defense.

Magic just got better IMO

They have no defenders to guard Lebron or Wade. What does having Gorat do for them against Boston? Boston's advantage is having multiple defenders to send at Howard not the other way around. Besides being 6'10 how is Hedo like LO? Did you really put any thought into that?

[jacobdrj]

It is a wash. I am not sure they will ever recover from VanGundy's moronic decision to overplay Jameer in the Finals in favor of Rafer Alston. The reality is, as long as Jameer is a Magic, they will not be able to get over the hump.

[Venti Quattro]

The Magic... are ed.

[JoeTait75]

How does this help them against Boston or Miami?

Not sure it does.

[Capt Bringdown]

I'd say getting rid of Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter is a plus, even when you consider the uncertain abilities and at udes of Arenas and Turkoglu.
You know with absolute certainty what Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter do in the playoffs, so I reckon it's worth the gamble.

[Venti Quattro]

How does this help them against Boston or Miami?

Not sure it does.

Boston - they are ed in the frontcourt

Miami - the height advantage they had is now gone, so they are also ed

[LnGrrrR]

I really don't get the trade. It also might be because I hate the idea of a team that lives or dies by the three ball.

[DeadlyDynasty]

I'd say getting rid of Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter is a plus, even when you consider the uncertain abilities and at udes of Arenas and Turkoglu.
You know with absolute certainty what Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter do in the playoffs, so I reckon it's worth the gamble.

I have no problem with them jettisoning VC and Lewis...they were overpaid and basically useless. Losing Pietrus (who is actually a pretty good defender) and a legit back-up big man were the bigger losses imo. Hedo's a perfect fit and should never have left...the rest of the bunch offer nothing new.

[LkrFan]

They have no defenders to guard Lebron or Wade. What does having Gorat do for them against Boston? Boston's advantage is having multiple defenders to send at Howard not the other way around. Besides being 6'10 how is Hedo like LO? Did you really put any thought into that?

Wrong thread so GTFO with that LeHype/Wade . I guarantee you they ain't winning . I'd sig bet you, but I know your punkass have no honor.

Like LO, Hedo can rebound a miss, take it coast to coast, dish, and shoot the 3. Not many players in the league 6'10" can do that. Too bad he isn't as tough nor play any defense. That's where the comparisons stop. Won't matter much to the Magic because they will try to out score you. Hedo helps them in that regard way more than Wince ever did.

You mention Boston's multiple defenders. With Hedo, Gil, and Jameer all on the court at once it is hard for them to shut down one player and have their offense stall like in the past. All can shoot the 3 and all can make plays for themselves and others. They should provide a lot of space for D12 to operate downlow.

I'm not saying they are coming out of the east, but the question was did they improve. I say yes - potentially...

[timvp]

Tough to say. A lot of ifs. If Arenas' isn't totally broken, if Hedo tries again and if J-Rich can put down the liquor, it'll probably make them better. But Arenas probably is broken, Hedo probably won't care now that he has his final NBA contract and J-Rich probably will probably keeping getting his drank on.

That said, they weren't going anywhere before the trade. They weren't going to win anything relying on VC's non-compe iveness and Lewis' quickly declining game.

[Technique]

They got worse simply because they just ripped apart their core and are starting the team chemistry all over in the middle of the season.

Granted they do still have time, but this trade is more of a desperation trade to make something happen rather than an actual improvement to their roster.

[Texas_Ranger]

I guess they are better, but still not that great as Boston or Miami.

They don't have a bigman when Howard goes out.