jmmagicfan

quote: Originally posted by Rob: I'll take Carlos Boozer for $500 Alex. You have to go with a player like Boozer. Hes everything we would need at the 4. For Turk and Battie should be able to get Boozer. We get the defense,rebounding and we still would have a 20ppg type scorer. I love it. Boozer and Howard would control the paint instantly give us higher rankings and a better chance to not just win the conference but win a championship THIS YEAR. If not this year, Next year or This year and next year. We could really control the east with Boozer on our team. The only problem is you can't get Carlos Boozer for $500. Carlos Boozer is in the final year of his contract making $11M+, is 26 years old, and is going to expect a max contract next season. If you think we will have trouble finding enough money to retain Hedo, where do you think we will find enough to retain Boozer? Also, what makes you think he is even on the block? With Kirilenko making $15M, and reportedly unhappy with Utah, I have no doubt they would try to move AK long before they wanted to move Boozer.

Hmm-m-m-m. Maybe because both Zo and Shaq have to play back to the basket and one foot in the paint to be effective, since neither has a consistent 10-12 foot jump shot. Also, neither could guard Rasheed Wallace outside, who would have rained down threes on them all day long, or gone by them if they did step out. Larry Brown may like some "trick" line-ups, but as he showed coaching the Knicks; he doesn't always know what's best.

quote: Originally posted by KillingInTheNameOf: I don't think Crittenton is a combo guard. I think he's a ball dominant PG with the size to play some SG. I think he's a better natural facilitator than Jameer, but he'll never be confused with a pure PG. But, pure PG's are kind of a dying bread. Of the prospects in the draft next year, Rubio is, AJ Price, & Maynor are better than average, but Crittenton averaged more assists as a freshman on a bad team than every PG prospect in the draft next year except Price (5.8 - 5.7). So, if the question is do I think we'd land a better PG prospect in the draft next year than Crittenton my answer is highly unlikely. I have two questions now - 1) How come there has been no official announcement of the Magic signing Mike Wilks, if he is indeed our 3rd point this year? 2) If Crittenton is so good, how come he can't get playing time? Yes, they have several young PG; but none of them had such fantastic seasons that he should be on the bench as much as JJ.

quote: Originally posted by Anthony Engel: quote: after losing Pat I think that the most tenured player is now Battie. I think Dwight and Meer came in the same year as batt man. Actually, Turkoglu was signed to the MLE during the summer of 2004, Dwight was picked in the draft, Meer was "purchased" after the draft, and Battie was traded for that summer. Not a bad summer when you look at it in retrospect. So, which person has been with the team the longest, I'm not really sure. One of those four, but I'm not sure who signed their contract first - but which player on the current roster played for the Magic first? The answer to that boys and girls, is Keith Bogans, who first played for the Magic in the 2003-04 season. I know he was traded away, and re-signed a few years later; but he was the first player on the current roster to actually where a Magic uniform. Interesting?

quote: Originally posted by Rob:Now im all for replacing Jameer Nelson for Gilbert Arenas. But i thought Nelson played ok last season. Less shots taken and had a little over 5 assist per game. Defense wasnt great but he stepped up in the playoffs. He shot very good last season. If that isnt consistent then what is. We already have a big 3 that was putting up 60ppg and from Nelson we knew we was getting 11ppg 5apg 3rpg. Thats consistent. If hes not the guy, other than Arenas who i would love to have here, then who could be the guy for us. Gilbert Arenas is a newer version of Steve Francis - a shoot-first guard who doesn't really distribute the ball. I don't believe he makes the team much better than Jameer, because what you gain in offense, you lose in chemistry and balance from Hedo/Rashard/Dwight. Look how Dwight did with Steve-o as the PG. Gilbert commands the ball too much. What you need is a purer PG, more in the John Stockton/Steve Nash/Jason Kidd mold. Obviously, a CP3/Deron Williams caliber would be phenomenal, but even a 6 or 7 apg guy would be a major step for this team. Can Jameer be that guy; it depends on his approach and focus. It is tough to change how you approach the game, after playing as a "scoring" PG; and I am not sure if 'Meer can make that adjustment. If he can't, then maybe it is time to start looking for someone who can.

quote: Originally posted by Jackie Treehorn: quote: Originally posted by Kramer:That is the oversimplification of the century. Does you're job have literrally tens of millions people wishing that they could take you're role? Yeah, I didn't think so which makes it an unfair comparison. They are paid to entertain me and that is hindered when they do dumb stuff, so why not make it illegal to do such things? I mean show some respect for the consumer and give me the virtual garuntee that none of my athletes will suffer suspensions or get hurt in unnecessary situations because they can't afford to. It's actually exponentially more fair than what is going on now This is quite possibly the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. If your argument is that these people are entertainers and therefore should basically be slaves to those they entertain (and that's really what you're advocating here), why limit that to pro sports? Why not apply that to musicians and actors as well? And why stop there? How about all government employees since public tax money pays their salaries? Let's make it illegal for school janitors to go out past 10 because we pay their salaries and we don't want them to go out and do something stupid and not be able to clean the school in the morning. Ridiculous. The amounts of money involved are irrelevant. Athletes are paid to provide a service, nothing more. They aren't role models and they don't owe the fans anything. If you find that you have a problem with the way athletes behave and feel that your money shouldn't support such things, stop watching the games. Stop contributing money. They don't have to change for you. Actually, I find both of your arguments to be ridiculous. No, they should not be slaves to their jobs, any more than any other person in this country should be. However, the "don't support the game" argument is just as stupid. Obviously, fans are not going to stop watching a team and/or a whole sport because of a few stupid players who aren't smart enough to stay out of trouble - but the teams and their fans shouldn't have to suffer for their stupidity. If a player places himself in these type of situations, then the league and/or team should have the option of voiding their contract, or placing that player on an unpaid suspension, or a "parole" if you will. If you or I went out and got arrested for gun violations, or brawling at a strip-club, or involved in a domestic violence incident and missed work due to injury/jail; there would probably be repercussions that could include suspensions and or termination. With most NBA contracts, that is not an option - or it is an option that must be excorcized by the team, who has the most to lose if the player is lost. This should be an automatic league decision, not a team decision - and should be subject to an arbitration review, not a court. The pro-sports leagues have all gotten to the point where the players and their unions have too much power; and most of the time the tail is wagging the dog, instead of the dog the tail. Hit them where it really hurts - their wallets. I guarantee you that the brawl between Indiana and Detroit; and Sprewell choking PJ Carlisimo would never have happened if they had the potential to lose their livelihoods for making stupid decisions.

quote: Originally posted by A BETTER DJ:My wife's hotter with no make up on than these girls, and she's in her 40's... they must be pickin' them by cheer leading skills??? Is that your wife in the picture you attached? If so, I would have to disagree with you.

quote: Originally posted by ManuGinobili: quote: Nick Anderson doesn't need our love though, he was just recently elected to the Central Florida Sports Hall of Fame. Wow! What an honor... No, it isn't the NBA Hall of Fame; but hey, what the h*** have you done?!? If you are going to give him grief over the free throws (which I have), you also need to give him credit for the steal, and for all the other good things he did for this team and this city. If you can't do both, then you aren't a true Magic fan, and you should get the H*** off the board!

It is interesting to me that nobody has picked up on, or responded to the related idea of putting JJ and CLee in the backcourt together. Neither is a true PG, granted, but if you have the two of them out there with Turk at the SF, do they need to be? Do they each have enough ball-handling, court vision, aggressiveness, and defense as a combined backcourt unit to make the team run without a true point? Obviously not something you would try against someone's starting unit, but against another team's backups, maybe.

quote: Originally posted by SmackDaddy:I'll probably get reprimanded like I did last year, but... Even after 10 tequilla shots I would still tell 9/10 of them to take a hike. I would tend to make it telling 17/20 to take a hike. On the other hand, Heather, Rachael, and Jenna could stick around; even without the tequila.

quote: Originally posted by Natmayo:Honestly, if it were me, id throw JJ into the PG position and see what he does. Hes got some quickness running the floor. He can dribble and the PG position, especially in the preseason, can gauge his improvement or regression with his defense. I mean we know what we have with Jameer and AJ, let him have a shot at the PG and see what he can do. I believe you can gauge his potential and see where it goes from there. This is one of the most interesting ideas that I have seen listed about "what to do with JJ" on these boards. I know people have mentioned about Lee possibly being used in a back-up PG position - but I don't recall anyone mentioning JJ there. Honestly, I don't know if he has the ball-handling and passing skills for it, but it might not be a bad idea to try him there. Especially if you match him up with a defensive SG like Pietrus or Lee in the back-court with him. Possibly neither JJ nor Lee will be able to handle the back-up PG, but a combination of the two in the backcourt might be a very interesting experiment. Two guys with good basketball IQ's, neither really a PG, but with decent ball-handling and complimentary skill sets might be good.

quote: Originally posted by cunningstunt: quote: Originally posted by jmmagicfan:I don't know that we are "definitely" going to lose Hedo; as I am sure the Magic would have to consider going into the luxury tax to re-sign him. I am not 100% sure, but I think that both Cook and Battie's contracts are in their last year; so we might not have to go into the tax to re-sign Turk, but filling in two more PF slots next season is even scarier. RESTRICTED Marcin Gortat UNRESTRICTED Keith Bogans Brian Cook (P) Adonal Foyle Anthony Johnson (P) Hedo Turkoglu (ETO) You missed Redick - his contract is done at the end of the season, as well. Okay, so at the end of the season you can use the $6M from Bogans/Cook's expirings, plus his current salary to put Hedo at approximately $13M, which should resign him. You can use the money from Redicks expiring, plus his own current salary to put Gortat at about $3M, assuming he improves as much this season as last and that that will get it done to retain him. You may be able to re-sign AJohnson at the same salary, and maybe even Foyle, are remain under the luxury tax, but you now only have ten players, and need to add several to reach the league minimum for roster. Being able to do that and stay under the tax is pretty iffy. As was said before - I don't think the question is only can we retain Hedo, but can we afford to tie that much money ($29-30M for Hedo/Rashard) up for two players that primarily play the same position. Nelson/Johnson/??? Pietrus/Lee/??? Turkoglu/Lewis/??? Battie/Gortat/??? Howard/Foyle/??? I know that you don't necessarily play them the way I just listed, I am just listing them that way to illustrate that we now have 10 players under contract, less than the mid-level under the luxury tax to fill a minimum three roster spaces, and some serious depth issues in the back court

Thanks DoM - I must have been looking at the wrong one. I know we can exceed the cap to resign our own free agent - especially one with "Bird" rights, which I believe Hedo has/will have by the end of the season. The question then becomes, can we either trade him before he becomes a free agent, or possibly do a sign and trade to get a better-quality PF. Right now we would have to include other players in a Hedo-AK47 deal (to name a fairly popular idea, not necessarily my first choice), because Kirilenko makes significantly more than Hedo. If we utilize him in a sign and trade, we might get a player more comparable in value.

quote: Cook and Battie expire the year after this one. And we can resign Turk, since you can go over the CAP to resign your players. The issue is whether or not it's worth it to go into the luxury tax to pay 2 SFs a combined 22m+ a year. I don't have access to the trade machine here at work, but I was fairly sure that Cook is in the final year of his contract. Other than that, I agree with you 100% - is it worth it to go into the luxury tax to have two SF's at max/near max deals.

I don't know that we are "definitely" going to lose Hedo; as I am sure the Magic would have to consider going into the luxury tax to re-sign him. I am not 100% sure, but I think that both Cook and Battie's contracts are in their last year; so we might not have to go into the tax to re-sign Turk, but filling in two more PF slots next season is even scarier.

Since you are a proponent of keeping a one year wonder with an expiring contract that is looking for double the salary, while pushing your theory that the first team All-NBA center is expendable for a player like Michael Redd, I have no choice but to conclude that your are either heavily intoxicated, mentally retarded, or both. I doobie that he is intoxicated, or retarded; but I do want to know what he's smoking, and if he is willing to share?

I considered making a snide remark, but then I looked at the registered location, and realized it might be a legitimate confusion from someone for whom English is a 2nd language; hence the attempt to clarify.

quote: Originally posted by Carolvs V: quote: Former Saint Joseph's basketball star Jameer Nelson and most of his Orlando Magic teammates watched the Phillies take batting practice before last night's game. The outing was part of a team-building getaway hosted by Nelson http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20080821_Phillie...n_Feliz_from_DL.html That is ridiculous! Team- building? Didn't they had one building already? I did not know Nelson was now a construction worker! The article is about creating a sense of camaraderie, team spirit - not an actual building.

If we had managed to get in on the Memphis fire sale, we might have been able to pick up Pau Gasol and Mike Miller for pennies on the dollar, or the Minnesota fire sale and gotten Kevin Garnett for not much more. Unfortunately, those kind of deals don't come along as often as you think. Fortunately for the league as a whole, the kind of GM who makes the short side of that kind of lop-sided deal doesn't usually end up with a job for very long. Notice that nobody is thinking that New York will go for those kind of crazy deals now that Isaih is gone. He would have traded Dwight for Michael Redd in a flash! Hey, Jackie, maybe you can start working as Isaih's assistant!

quote: Originally posted by Jackie Treehorn: quote: Originally posted by Jareth Cutestory:I'd hate to have 16.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.9 spg, 2.8 bpg. HATE to. Especially if it's replacing 19.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.0 apg, 0.9 spg, 0.3 bpg. Think of how many games we had last year that were won by 3 points or less. Or the games that went into overtime. We'd lose all those games. For what, a little better defense and a few more rebounds? Foolish, if you ask me. Hey, genius, do you understand basketball at all?!? 1) Defense wins championships!!! 2) +2.5 blocks per game = +5 points, so your primary objection is already a moot point. 3) Are you willing to trade Dwight Howard for Michael Redd? Why not, he is a better scorer? Stats should be used with discretion, not as a be all, end all decision maker. Especially not to compare players who are playing different positions. 4) If the highest-scoring team is obviously the best, why have the Celtics, Lakers, San Antonio, and Detroit won so many championships; and Denver, Golden State, and Dallas won so few?? Your "logic" only works for fantasy leagues. In the real world, defense is half the game!

Orlando gets: David Lee Quentin Richardson New York gets: Hedo Turkoglu Keith Bogans

One more: Orlando gets: Al Horford Speedy Claxton Atlanta gets: Hedo Turkoglu Keith Bogans

Orlando gets: Tim Thomas Al Thornton LA Clippers get: Hedo Turkoglu JJ Redick

Or how about this one: Orlando gets: Javaris Crittenton Hakim Warrik Marc Gasol Memphis gets: Hedo Turkoglu JJ Redick

Here's an interesting scenario - what do you think: Orlando gets: Udonis Haslem Marcus Banks Miami gets: Eddy Curry Nate Robinson Keith Bogans New York gets: Hedo Turkoglu JJ Redick Daequan Cook