Orlando Magic News for February 4th: Updates on the Trade Deadline, Jameer Nelson, Mickael Pietrus, Brandon Bass, and More
by Evan Dunlap on Feb 4, 2010 7:30 PM EST
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NBA AM: The Stoudemire Curve Ball
Steve Kyler of Hoopsworld has the latest on the Orlando Magic's trading front. As he explains, the Magic are unlikely to make a deal.Sources close to the situation say Magic GM Otis Smith has shopped the league, heard what other teams have to offer, and there is nothing out there to make the Magic better today or tomorrow worth breaking up the team for.
Kyler concludes that the Magic will be "value shoppers," meaning it will make a move if the right thing falls into its lap. But those chances are slim.
- Nelson and Pietrus both practiced Thursday
Good news from Josh Robbins, who reports Orlando should have its full complement of players available tomorrow night.
Both Jameer Nelson (left knee) and Mickael Pietrus (right ankle) practiced Thursday with their Orlando Magic teammates and seem on track to play when the team hosts the Washington Wizards tomorrow night.
"They both practiced full out today," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. "So, unless [there's] a bad reaction tomorrow or something we should be OK."
- Denton: Bass Remains Hard at Work
John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com catches up with Brandon Bass, who's struggled to earn minutes with the Magic since signing with them last summer, but not for a lack of effort. Bass averaged 23.4 minutes per game during Rashard Lewis' 10-game suspension, but just 8.5 since Lewis' return, while tallying 20 DNP-Coach's Decisions.
- The Magic made an offseason splash in signing power forward Brandon Bass, but he can't get off the bench this season.
UPDATE (from Eddy): Brian Schmitz has more on Bass, including thoughts from his agent, Tony Dutt, and general manager Otis Smith.
- This Isn't What Magic's Bass Expected
UPDATE 2 (from Eddy): Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse chimes in, too.
- NBA trade season: Top 20 players most likely to be dealt
Chad Ford of ESPN Insider takes a league-wide look at trading possibilities, and his piece seems to confirm Orlando's lack of interest in making a deal. He doesn't mention the Magic or any of their players in the piece.
- NBA HD: A Closer Look At Shot Locations
Tom Haberstroh, who runs Hoopdata.com, debuts his NBA HD column on Hardwood Paroxysm.
- My New adidas Commercial "The Game Changer"
Also debuting: Dwight Howard's latest adidas commercial. It's not as good as last year's FreeDarko collaboration, but still pretty killer.
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Man that Denton piece really made me feel for Brandon Bass . . .
When I read that he’s working on a corner just so he might improve his chances of contributing, I REALLY felt bad for him.
He’s such a nice guy, with a good set of skills I hope Stan can find a way to utilize his talents more down the road.
Also, props to him for being a consummate pro and not sulking or griping even though he turned down more money to hopefully get more playing time on our team.
Sigh . . . Now I need new AVATAR!
I feel yah bro!
I always liked B. Bass. Darn, that corner 3 got me as well. Darn!
I'm pulling for Bass.
Got to know him a little bit while I was in Orlando and I only wish him nothing but success with the team.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
I wish we could get bass in the gmae
I used to be all for him playin but i understand why E keeps saying he doesnt fit well in our system, but i still agree with Bass when he says that we should change up our look on teams sometimes so we catch them off their toes.
It's not that easy.
I’ve always suggested playing Bass at the five when opposing teams go small, but that’s the only lineup tweak I think can work for the Magic. Playing Brandon at the four is just asking for trouble, unfortunately.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Bass's strengths and weaknesses are well known.
If they knew his game didn’t fit with the team, why sign him at all? I feel bad for him.
"Swimming is not a sport. Swimming is a way to keep from drowning. That’s just common sense! "-George Carlin
Preseason, Anderson was still something of a question mark?
And, Bass has the experience/size/skills to backup the 4 and 5 if injury were to hit those positions. It was a great move by Otis. We are crazy deep. Bummer for Brandon to not get more burn, but thumbs up to him for working on this game and staying ready, AJ-like. Look at the contributions AJ’s made. Bass is one fluke injury away from play time.
"Give it a rest. No need to keep repeating your distaste for Vince. Carter is struggling, we get it." ~erivera7
by magicfaninTN on Feb 5, 2010 10:19 AM EST up reply actions
True, not many people(me included) knew who Anderson was.
My point is, as far as Bass goes, they knew what he is and isn’t capable of. He’s never been more than a low post player with a solid mid range game. If that wasn’t going to work in SVG’s offensive scheme, there was no point in signing him.
"Hi! I'm a nad"-Beavis
What wasn't know ahead of time is that Bass would have trouble learning the defensive scheme.
That is a big part of why he sits.
My point is that Bass—in light of all the PFs available as FAs during the summer— does fit, but it has turned out that Anderson fits better (in fact, in most metrics, Anderson fits better than Rashard Lewis). And, SVG plays the better players for the good of the team. Remember JJ griping about [lack of] playing time a few seasons ago? SVG is not handing out floor time to boost a guy’s morale.
No idea what Otis told Bass or his agent over the summer, but it sounds like Bass made some assumptions about the Magic by looking in from the outside.
Until he can beat out Anderson, Bass becomes insurance at the 4/5. And even that is a very good reason for signing him, imo.
"Give it a rest. No need to keep repeating your distaste for Vince. Carter is struggling, we get it." ~erivera7
And how is it that there are THREE different "Brandon Bass is Unhappy" stories on the web in one day?
Agent Tony Dutt doin’ work?
"Give it a rest. No need to keep repeating your distaste for Vince. Carter is struggling, we get it." ~erivera7
John Denton wrote one
and others cloned it for other publications with no more knowledge than Denton’s article.
by NC Magic Fan on Feb 5, 2010 4:57 PM EST up reply actions
Odd, isn't it.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
A team can never have too much depth.
There was a point in signing Bass and that’s on the basis of acquiring an asset. Smith is a shrewd general manager; he wouldn’t make a move if he didn’t think it’d benefit the team in some manner.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Its really a shame that Bass isn’t playing. You gotta feel for the guy when you read that Schmitz article. I just wish Stan would give him playing time against the teams that need us to throw out bigger bodies than Anderson at the 4. Stan can throw out a 10 man rotation…but using the same 10 players when you have more to at your disposition is just a shame. Look on the bright side though, it wasn’t long away that JJ was complaining the same way about PT and wanted out. He worked hard, got on Stan’s good side and now look.
"Where do you go from here, Dion?" "I go to Toronto."
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
It's going to take Van Gundy time to figure out how to best utilize Bass on the Magic.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
I don't think the Magic knew
how good a rebounder Anderson can be. I believe they would not have signed Bass if they had been able to envision how well RA fits the teams philosophy.
by NC Magic Fan on Feb 5, 2010 9:41 AM EST reply actions
That makes sense
I was just asking myself why they would have even signed a player like him in the first place. But, they picked him up before the VC/RA trade, I think. I feel bad for him tho. He is a good player, but he just doesn’t fit in with the style of play for the Magic.
He was signed after the trade
but who knew he would fit so well,
On the bright side, Brandon has made over $7,000 for every minute he has played.
by NC Magic Fan on Feb 5, 2010 9:54 AM EST up reply actions
Bass was acquired after the trade.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
I have a hard time believing Van Gundy didn't know about Anderson's rebounding prowess.
Sometimes I would hear Stan, in the Summer League, talk about Ryan’s per minute rebounding numbers. And I know during Carter’s press conference, Van Gundy was adamant that Anderson would be an important piece. At the time, that statement caught almost everyone by surprise but now we see he was right.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Can Dwight really dunk from the FT line, or is that just fancy camera work?
"Give it a rest. No need to keep repeating your distaste for Vince. Carter is struggling, we get it." ~erivera7
Fancy camera work...
BUT I FREAKIN’ LOVE IT!!!!
"He is fast, but what I like about him is he looks like one of those track guys that actually knows how to run the ball and has good vision and patience. He is not just running at top speed. He knows when to use his speed, and he has some power and toughness, too.'' Barry Sanders about CJ2K
Dwight Howard >The Justice League of America
by Bonafidebrother on Feb 5, 2010 11:36 AM EST up reply actions
If you're talking about the original Superman dunk...
The one where Jameer threw him the lob and he basically threw the ball in, he stepped a good foot or so over the line. Also, some critics would say he didn’t necessarily dunk the ball since he didn’t touch the rim. It was amazing to watch (especially since he didn’t run full-court and he had a lob set up to him), but I think he could silence any critics by actually taking off from behind the line and then getting all the way to the rim.
With two hands. Yikes.
"Give it a rest. No need to keep repeating your distaste for Vince. Carter is struggling, we get it." ~erivera7
Oh damn, forgot about that one.
Probably because I was so bummed that the fans gave it to Nate who, in my opinion, did not deserve it over Dwight. Bias against the big man.
I thought it should’ve been over after Dwight’s 3rd dunk. The one off the side of the backboard. Was there really a need to continue after that one? Dwight missed the FT line and Nate repeated the dunk that won it before and had to use Dwight’s shoulder to push off of so he could clear his head.
It’s alright though because Dwight’s performance the year prior was historic and he proved how awful the judging was his first year (looking at you MJ & Dr. J).
Life is a series of serious choices, theories are formed from experience, never mysterious forces. - stic.man
Keep working Bass
You will get your turn.. It always works out that way.
FEED THE BEAST!!!
Twitter Account
Usually.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Gotta love Brandon's work ethic.
His teammates have only been complementary about his professionalism this year in dealing with his limited minutes. Dwight even gave him a shout out once on TV during a post game interview for making the most of his minutes. I don’t know if he can really fit in on this team that well as stats will show, but you have to love his work ethic and I hope if he can’t find what he wants here that he’ll fit in somewhere else.
The intensity has to go up, up! Not down...UP! -Stan Van Gundy
Bass has been a pro throughout this whole ordeal.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
It's unfortunate
He came up big in games early this season but with Dwight in there you have to go with a spread PF so Bass can only get minutes if there’s an injury.
Now he wants minutes so bad he’s spending time developing a skill he’ll never use in the near or distant future, a corner 3 (which speaks volumes of his work ethic, putting the team before himself by trying to find a way to fit better). At $4 mill per year and 3 more years on his contract I think the Magic will have to move him in the off-season.
Off topic but I hope we keep Gortat. $5.8 is cheap! The Cavs pay Z $11.5 (Odom $7.5, Sheed $5.8 & Birdman $3.6). A good backup C is a rarity and it’s understated how important they are. With no Gortat when Howard heads to the bench any lead we build would get erased. The top 5 teams all have good backup C’s and it’s not a coincidence. Moving Gortat in the off-season would be a crititcal mistake in my opinion.
Life is a series of serious choices, theories are formed from experience, never mysterious forces. - stic.man
Tying your off-topic back to the topic,
If $5.8/yr is cheap, $4 is even cheaper. I liked what I saw from Bass in his limited minutes at C. If Gortat is moved this offseason, I would feel just fine having Bass being Dwight’s backup, and that would end his string of DNP-CDs.
In Gene We Trust.
by MoveThoseChains on Feb 5, 2010 2:07 PM EST up reply actions
I hear you but in my opinion it looks bad even on paper.
If Bass had to go up against Z, ‘Sheed, Odom or Birdman in a 7 game series I think he gets destroyed along with our hopes of winning the title. Bass is only better than Gortat at offense, something the Magic already have plenty of. He’s well undersized for a C, nowhere near the shot blocker or rebounder Gortat is and nowhere near the physical presence Gortat is. I think if Otis has the same mentality that Bass will suffice as backup C to Dwight, we’re in trouble. I used to think Bass would be a capable backup C to Dwight but that was before really taking into account a 7 game series. Bass backing up Dwight would get us through the 1st round and possibly the 2nd if we ended up with ATL but the Celts, Cavs, Lakers & Nuggets would abuse us in the paint all series and end us within 5 games.
Life is a series of serious choices, theories are formed from experience, never mysterious forces. - stic.man
Quite the contrary.
Bass’ contract makes it so that the Magic can afford to keep him, if the team chooses to do so. As for Gortat, his contract is going to continue to escalate so it’s going to be a tough decision for Otis Smith to make. If I had to pick between the two, it’d have to be Gortat because he’s a more valuable commodity than Bass.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
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