Orlando Magic News for June 19th: Estimating Hedo Turkoglu's Worth, Grading Player Performance, and More

Orlando Magic Daily compares Hedo Turkoglu's performance to those of some of his contemporaries at small forward this season and tries to assess a fair market value for his services.

$9 million [...] seems like a fair number for Turkoglu. If the Magic can keep the contract at four years - $36 million over that span seems good - then the Magic should pull the trigger.

The Orlando Sentinel looks back at 2008/2009 and grades each Magic player, as well as coach Stan Van Gundy. Shameless plug alert: 3QC will run its own player evaluations starting sometime next week.

Sentinel columnist George Diaz thinks Dwight Howard needs to toughen up, without losing his charm:

I'd rather deal with a good guy than a jerk any day. I hope that Howard finds some way to reconcile those two paths.

But I do think he needs to get more edgy. Losing in the NBA Finals, and the criticism that comes with it, will drive him to become a better player.

ESPN.com analyst John Hollinger chatted with readers yesterday, and responded to a question about the possibility of the Magic trading Rafer Alston this summer. His response:

Alston is highly likely to be dealt because Orlando already is paying [Jameer] Nelson and [Anthony] Johnson, so they'd rather use that $5 million salary slot on a frontcourt player (or for a nonguaranteed deal to put them under the tax).

Finally, Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse looks at the Southeast Division landscape and predicts what each team might try to do in the draft. There's not much with which to work here, since the Magic have no draft picks in either round, while the Miami Heat do not have a first-round selection.

Meet Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, construction worker
UPDATE 2: Want to see Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy in a hard hat and bright yellow vest? Click on the link to check out the picture. 

I’m of the opinion that Shaq joining LeBron James in Cleveland would be a good thing for the Magic. I love Shaq, but the Big Fella is getting slower by the minute while Dwight Howard just gets better and better. [...]

As long as LeBron’s there, the Cavs will be a brutal out in the NBA Playoffs. But let’s face it, the Diesel (if traded) would just be along for the ride. The scarier prospect for me is Cleveland adding a younger stud or two to pair with James. 

HAVING FUN ON TWITTER
UPDATE 4: Dwight Howard posts on his official blog, today.

For those of you asking, I will be back in the gym working hard this summer. But I’m going to rest a little bit before I get back to work. During the Finals I was interviewed by Bill Russell and he told me that it was important for me to take some time to rest my body after the Finals. With the Olympics, I’ve basically been playing basketball for a year straight. As Mr. Russell suggested, it’s time to step away from basketball for a little bit.