The Roster, The Needs, The Possibilities

As many people are prone to point out, two things happened with the essential swap of Vince Carter for Hedo Turkoglu: the Magic got a better closer and they also got a heck of a lot thinner.  Essentially, in picking up an All-Star caliber (albeit an older one) shooting guard and a young power forward, the Magic gave up a point guard, a shooting guard, a power forward, and lost a small forward to free agency.  Word on the street has Marcin Gortat agreeing to terms with the Dallas Mavericks, and I don't know if Orlando would be so inclined to match.  I'm not sure why they wouldn't, but then again, you could probably get a backup center for pretty cheap.  Anyways, as some are inclined to point out, the Orlando roster as of today, currently looks like this:

PG - Jameer Nelson, Anthony Johnson

SG - Vince Carter, J.J. Redick

SF - Mickael Pietrus

PF - Rashard Lewis, Ryan Anderson

C - Dwight Howard

So the immediate needs that jump out are the need for a backup center that can support Dwight Howard, but also some depth at the small forward slot.  If I'm not mistaken (correct me if I am) Magic still have their MLE, the BAE, and veteran's minimum to work with.

As a tertiary issue, the possibility of upgrading the depth of the backcourt is a possibility as well.  However, the two primary issues are depth at the SF and C positions.

Let's address the SF issue first.  I see two possible solutions for this, and I'm fairly ambivalent as to how the Magic go about doing this.  Realistically, from free agency alone, either the Magic will likely have the best shot finding some sort of backup wing player to spell minutes behind Mickael Pietrus.  Someone relatively cheap and can be effective in limited minutes.  Off the free agent list, names that intrigue me include: Marquis Daniels, Matt Barnes, Grant Hill, and Jamario Moon.  There is the possibility of landing starting talent to play in front of Pietrus, but somehow I doubt that talent would fall for the MLE, therefore, I've left names like Shawn Marion, Lamar Odom, and Marvin Williams off the list.

The second possible solution is finding a starting caliber power forward and sliding Rashard Lewis back to his natural position at SF.  There seem to be a number of free agents available, and a lot of them are probably getting overlooked or are old enough to be cheap but still serviceable enough to warrant a starting spot.  This provides a more traditional lineup and would add a big body and another rebounder next to Howard.  Again, I believe names like Lamar Odom and David Lee to be fairly unrealistic, so people I can think of would be like Antonio McDyess, Drew Gooden, Joe Smith, or even Chris Wilcox.  I'm not a huge fan of the undersized power forward, but if it's in limited minutes, meaning that SVG still will play largely a lineup of Nelson, Carter, Pietrus, Lewis, and Howard, then they become a possibility, so I would also keep in mind names like Leon Powe and Brandon Bass.

In terms of a backup center, I believe that a number could be had for the BAE or the vet's minimum.  Given Howard's durability, he certainly wouldn't need a lot of minutes.  Perhaps someone like Brian Skinner, Rasho Nesterovic, Zaza Pachulia, or Chris Mihm. 

I had emailed Ben Q about this a little while ago, and just wanted to hear everyone here's take on it.  Thanks for the input!