a PLAN should start now...

Alright, I know everyone has their own ideas of what we should do with our roster. The most important thing is to have a plan, so(1) we are not stuck with overpaid, underachieving players if/when Dwight bolts for a super sized market, and (2) maybe the options won't be as good looking as Dwight thought they would be when he was pressuring the Magic to trade him, and he stays in Orlando.

First move: Trade Jameer Nelson (8.6 million) to Atlanta for Kirk Hinrich (8.1 million). WHY?- Jameer has another year left on his conract at around 9 million, while Hinrich is in the last year of his contract. Jameer would be able to be an aggressive 6th man in Atlanta, and it would play more to his what he is good at, which is being aggressive looking for his own shot. We all know Jameer is not the same player he was 4 years ago, but he would provide a nice spark off the bench, while Hinrich is coming off an inury.

Second move: Trade Hedo Turkoglu (11 million) and Chris Duhon (3.5 million) to Charlotte for Boris Diaw (9 million) and Eduardo Najera (2.75 million). Obvious lopsided trade for the Bobcats as for as player personnel. Turk actually is having a decent season thus far, and Duhon is a solid backup PG. For the Magic, Diaw and Najera player contracts expire at season end.

Third Move: Trade Jason Richardson( 5.5 million) and J.J. Redick (6.7 million) to Toronto for Jared Bayless (3.1 million) and L. Barbosa (7.6 million). Again, magic give up the best asset in the trade (Redick) and another quality guard in Jason Richardson. Again, both Barbosa and Bayless' contracts come off the books at the seasons end.

So after the three trades, no upgrades have been made to the roster, I understand that, in fact, we've gotten noticeably worse. With our Depth Chart after the trades looking like this:

PG: Hinrich/ Bayless/Hughes

SG: Barbosa/Von Wafer/Liggins

SF: Diaw/Clark/Richardson/Harper

PF:Anderson/Davis/Harper/Najera

C:Howard/Davis/Orton

Honestly, we may miss the shooting from Redick and the inconsistent play of Turkoglu in the 4th quarter, but besides that, I don't mind finishing out the season with this lineup. Especially when the real value is in the offseason, when the Magic will not be tied down to players they cannot get rid of, or stuck not having enough room to make moves in Free Agency to either build with Dwight, or rebuild after Dwight. Either way, this is our best chance to keep Howard. WHY?- After the season the only players under contract would be Dwight's buddy Big Baby (6.3 million), journeyman QRich (2.5 million) , and 4 young energetic players with potential that are inexpensive: Earl Clark (1.2 milion), Von Wafer (1.1 million), Daniel Orton (1.1 million), and rookie Justin Harper (500K). Thats about 13 million total salaries. The salary cap is said to be believed at about 60 million going into the 2012-13 season. That would leave the Magic with a solid veteran with championship experience, a journeyman, and 4 young players, and 47, FORTY-SEVEN MILLION in cap room going into the offseason.

With 47 million in cap room, Dwight could lure a couple star free agents down to Orlando while re-signing a deal himself. A few players that will be free agents:

PG: Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Andre Miller, DJ Augustin

SG: Ray Allen, Landry Fields

SF Gerald Wallace, Nicolas Batum,

PF: Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, JJ Hickson, Ryan Anderson( restricted)

C: Chris Kaman, Mehemt Okur

Just a few names, there are a lot more free agents that could be nice fill in pieces if the Magic can get Deron Williams and Dwight Howard to agree to play here in Orlando.

The key here is obviously to try and get Deron Williams and Dwight Howard to sign in Orlando. You get that and you still have cap room to find some veterans that want to make a run at a championship such as Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Kaman, KG, Andre Miller. They would even have enough room to find a nice mid-level player to be that third in an attempt to make our own big three here in Orlando. No this is not dreaming, this is reality, this can be done, none of the deals i proposed are far fetched, it would just be a huge risk by the Orlando Magic because Dwight could walk and they end up empty handed, thus the rebuilding process would already be underway. I just think Dwight is not a player you trade, under any circumstance, he's a once in a generation player, and I think we should do everything we can to convince him to bring titles here to Orlando.