Thoughts about the Magic for this yr and beyond

[Arielle 138]

A few thoughts:

 

--Deron over CP3 at this point. CP3 is injury prone.

 

--Legit back-up center.

 

--This current team is still gelling. I really hope that SVG can get this team locked down to compete in the playoffs. IMHO likely won´t win title, but definitely has the ¨dark horse¨factor like Phoenix has always been a dangerous dark horse for LA all those year´s past. If we still had Gortat, I think this current team could go all the way. Missing one legit starting caliber big and a consistently healthy Arenas as 6th man and this current team may boldly go as far as it can go. In other words, if this team gels and takes it a notch above, it may surprise us all and go all the way.

 

--Keeping Dwight is priority number 1 for 2012.

[Luke_FfS 248]

I loved the Magics roster at the start of the season. I was hopefull that VC would regain his pre Orlando form and that the small additions of Q Rich and Duhon would beef up our defense, add to our 3 point threat and help with our pick n roll plays as I had heard that Duhon was excellent with pick n rolls. I was a little sad to see Barnes go but I could see the sense in it as he was inconsistent offensively and everyone expected Q Rich to be more reliable there.

 

Overall though I felt we were well rounded, had a luxary of attacking options, great depth and good up and coming prospects in Bass and Anderson. We had also drafted a young center but didn't need to involve him straight away due to having the best C in the league and the best back up C in the league. Redick resigned as well so for me, even though we made no major moves, I was excited as I expected us to be more solid due to being in the 2nd year as a squad and everyone knowing the ropes more.

 

The the trade happened and now I'm a little confused if I like this team or not. In my heart of hearts I don't think we've now got the squad for the championship but we do have some nice pieces. I feel like our squad is a little thrown together right now and we don't have the depth we did when Gortat and co were here.

 

I look at Chicago just now and I like what they've done. They have the feeling of a club with a plan and that they've been put together very cleverly. I like their team work and think they have a lot of talent. This is what I used to think of us.

 

We're still a dangerous team who could beat anyone but I still think we need adjusting to get the ring.

 

Exactly my thoughts. Very well said!

[ignitethis 0]

Now entering Dwight's prime, Magic should not be reduced to a "dark horse" status, but right now that is all they are. Dallas, Orlando, Atlanta, et. al. Will make playoffs every year, but that's it.

 

As for this year's team, J-Rich has played better recently, and Q-Rich is starting to look like that perimeter defender Stan has been looking for.

 

After having an initial rebirth after the trade, Hedo is back to his old ways and simply sucks in all aspects of game.

 

Gil is a shell of himself, and I doubt he will ever return to resembling what Magic hoped he would. We are going to have a $20 mil back-up at point guard, screwed for the long term.

 

Bass simply lacks basketball IQ, but has a good contract, and should be dealt away for a low end lottery pick if offered.

 

Ryan looks as if he will be guy to man 4 spot moving forward, but Ilove him coming off the bench.

 

JJ is slumping, but even if shooting well, is nothing more than a shooter off the bench for playoffs.

 

Duhon should have been sent packing instead of JWil.

 

Still need a capable big guy as back up.

 

Magic lack a guy capable of closing out game with ball in his hands, something Otis hoped VC and now Gil would be. Problem is that Otis was five years late for both. I imagine we'll soon look to deal for Ron Artest,

 

Find the guy who will be "the guy" in two years and go get him.

[30Assists 342]

We **can** beat anyone, but if we make it to the Finals this year, it'll be more luck of the draw than anything else. That said, if we do make it to the finals, I like our chances against any of the Western teams.

 

I don't think we have a better them than the Celtics or Miami when they're not imploding and actually playing well. We still have a hole when Dwight goes to the bench and that's concerning going into the playoffs when everything slows down.

 

I think we're a lock for the 3rd or 4th spot and no one below us will catch us. I think it's going to be Celts in the 1 slot, Bulls in the 2 slot, and we'll be somewhere below that. I'd like us to be be 3rd, because I like our chances against the Bulls in a 7 game series more than the Celts. I'd love for the Heat to land at the 4 slot and have them and the Celts beat the crap out of each other.

 

Besides the playoffs this year, I like what Jameer brings - no: he's not the biggest guy on the court, no he's not a lock-down defender, no he's not overwhelmingly consistent. He plays with heart and he's a leader, though, and that's not something that shows up on the stat sheet too often. Would CP3 help us? Well....duh, but I don't think he comes to Orlando. Why? NO ONE EVER COMES TO ORLANDO.

 

Even when we landed Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady, remember that Hill was badly injured in the previous year's playoffs and everyone was a little leery of that (oops). Tracy was kind of a backup player that had had moments of brilliance, but was really just kind of throw-in that everyone thought we overpaid for.

 

Beyond that? We don't have the veteran free agents flocking to Orlando to "be a part of a championship team," like they do with Miami, Boston, or even New York.

 

So I'm not holding my breath.

 

A good veteran who's actually contributed on a championship-winning team would be good. Someone like Prince would be a real good fit: someone who's big enough to bother players like LeBron and Kobe, but can play bigger players, would be ideal. Another big who can rebound and play D, like a Dampier, would be nice, too. He doesn't have to be Kareem coming off the bench - he just needs to be able to hold the line while Dwight takes a breather.

 

Lastly, it all depends on Dwight. If Dwight goes...well, honestly, I don't think he will, but if he does? WE'RE DOOOOOOOOMMMMMMED.

[Magicman28 295]

-Find an athletic 3 who can defend and won't be a black hole and serviceable on offense. Let Hedo come off the bench.

 

-Find a PF thats long, athletic enough, that defends, can score when needed.

 

-Try to land Deron. Maybe resign JRich.

 

-Resign and continue to develop Clark.

 

-Find a vet big to backup Dwight.

 

-Hopefully Arenas will drop a year or 2 off his contract but doubt that.

 

 

 

[Miller4Prez66 545]

This offseason is a tough one for Otis (assuming he's still GM by then, an early playoff exit could get him canned). The first issue is what to do with J-Rich. If you re-sign him, that's more long term salary that hurts our chances of making roster changes and getting Dwight that 2nd star. If we let him walk, our roster is significantly worse now and we still are not in a good financial situation going forward. We also don't have many trade chips to get a replacement, can't afford to sign any replacement in FA (and with the MLE you won't find anyone who will actually help that much). We could end up starting Arenas at the two and hoping he regains All Star form.

 

Second thing is, Otis needs to find more big man depth this offseason without spending too much long term salary. Fran is an option to come over, but I'm not sure how much he'll ask for. He could just sign some veteran guy on a short term deal for cheap, that would be ideal to help now and still give us a chance to get into a good salary situation.

 

In order to get Dwight that 2nd star, we're gonna have to find ways to get rid of Hedo and Gilbert. People talk about the Arenas opting option in 2012, I'm not sold, but if he does...that would be HUGE. Problem is Hedo is still under contract and while I don't know his contract details, he seems less likely to opt out to me. He's getting old and won't pass up his payday just to help the team.

 

It just scares me that the league is turning into star players teaming up with each other left and right with the LeBron decision. Dwight is a FA the same year as CP3 and D-Will and I'm very confident he will be teammates with one of those guys in the 2012-13 season. Don't know where, but that's a strong possibility. I'm just hoping it's Orlando, but we have a lot of obstacles to overcome in a short period of time to do that.