Wasted Opprtunities: Orlando Magic Don't Make Any Trades
by Evan Dunlap on Feb 21, 2008 5:08 PM EST
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PrintTim Povtak has the scoop on the Magic's trade-deadline "activity," which yielded no roster moves. Here's an infuriating quote from the article:
"You have to ask yourself, 'is there something out there that could make us better?' The answer was 'no,'" said Magic General Manager Otis Smith. "So I'm not disappointed at all. I like what we have right now."
I understand Otis is worried about chemistry or whatever, but clearly there were big-men available. The Bulls dumped both Ben Wallace and Joe Smith today, receiving Drew Gooden in return. Less conspicuously, the Pistons dumped Primoz Brezec. And yesterday, the SuperSonics dumped Kurt Thomas. Povtak's article mentions the Magic were in the running for Thomas, but Otis was reluctant to part with Carlos Arroyo in the deal. Carlos Arroyo was the sticking point in a deal to acquire Kurt Thomas?! He was our best trade asset; not only was he the best player we had with an expiring contract, but his contract had the highest value ($4 million). A Jameer Nelson/Keyon Dooling tandem at point guard would have worked just fine. Sure, an injury to one of those guys would have sapped our depth, but not as badly as one might think. Hedo Turkoglu can handle the ball and is more than capable of playing point forward. Ugh.
This whole deadline has been incredibly disappointing. Cleveland certainly improved by acquiring Wallace, Smith, and Wally Szczerbiak, and now shuld be considered a more talented team than the Magic. Add to that the fact that Toronto's Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon both consistently crush us, and we suddenly don't look so good.
The trek to a championship just got a whole lot more perilous.
UPDATE: Some Magic fans are calling for Otis Smith to be fired after his decision not to make a move at the deadline. Hrm.
UPDATE #2: John Denton got Otis to comment on not trading the expiring contracts:
"If we would have [traded the expiring contracts], it might have precluded us from doing anything this summer. I like the flexibility. What you are taking back for those expiring contracts has to be something that you really like. And in a lot of cases it just wasn't much better than what we had already."
Um, what? Trading an expiring contract would have let us upgrade the team significantly right now, plus we'd still have the mid-level exception to use on another solid rotation player this summer. Now, we'll only have the mid-level. We had the chance to upgrade two positions; now, we'll only be able to upgrade one. Nice going.
Otis also mentioned that Tony Battie will not return at any point this season, not even for the playoffs. Brian Cook, come on down!
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Otis Smith is a Fool
... I don't think Otis Smith gets it. In order to improve, 99% of the time you need to make a deal. Look at the freakin' Hawks. They made a damn move but we didn't?
When the Hawks improve their team via trade and we sit pat, you need to wonder what exactly Otis Smith is thinking?
In light of the Cavs incredible trade, they're easily now the 3rd best team in the East. One could argue the Raptors, after bending us over last night are the 4th best team in the East.
Where does that leave us? 5th?
That's unacceptable. We should at the very least have gotten Kurt Thomas or something. I don't think Otis should be fired ... yet, but ... there's needs to be bit more risk-taking and movement on our roster. I think he's blind to the fact we're now the 4th-best team in the East.
Re: Otis Smith is a Fool
I don't think Otis should be fired ... yet, but ... there's needs to be bit more risk-taking and movement on our roster.
Absolutely. No risk, no reward. And I don't want to hear that the Magic lead their division and are third in the conference. That's not good enough. Are we a championship team as presently constructed? Obviously not, and making a move for a power forward (Joe Smith was available!) wouldn't have improved our chances drastically, but it certainly would have helped. I'm not content with just making the playoffs or winning one series; I want to win a f---ing title, and today was our last chance to really shake-up our roster for the foreseeable future.
I am, frankly, disgusted at Otis' contentment. Leading the worst division in basketball is not an accomplishment of which to be proud.
by Evan Dunlap on Feb 21, 2008 11:19 PM EST up reply actions
I'm with Otis
The trades were either going to be general bench depth for more specific bench depth or a starter for another starter. Neither option was/is really that appealing at this point in the season. One reason is that the teams’ identity with their starting 5 is set; surround D12 with shooters and let him/them reek havoc. Then the bench is there to compliment on that strategy. It does that as compiled and so no, a trade was not needed nor necessary. We were not going to make a change that did not alter the teams identity and guarantee that the Magic perform better in the post season. The question really is if we still feel that this strategy can work, both now and in the future. I think it can and as Howard/Nelson/Lewis improve, and they will, so will this teams play.
If you think about it Ben, Otis addressed your concern for PF depth already by bringing in Cook. It is just that his idea of what we need at the 4 is different than yours. Who can say who is right?
Re: I'm with Otis
If you think about it Ben, Otis addressed your concern for PF depth already by bringing in Cook. It is just that his idea of what we need at the 4 is different than yours. Who can say who is right?
Cook is a power forward because of his size (6'9", 230), not because of his skill set. We're horrible on the glass, and Cook doesn't help us at all. Yes, I understand he's a good three-point shooter (.482 for us this season), but we need rebounding more than we need threes. He's redundant. Like I noted in that power forward post I keep linking to, four of the last five championship teams had at least three guys who played at least 15 minutes a game with a rebound rate above 15; we have one of those guys right now, and that's Dwight. We can't go into a postseason series against Cleveland, Detroit, or Boston and expect to win; they'll outrebound us like crazy, and if our three-point shots aren't falling, their put-backs will win the games for them.
Arroyo wasn't playing, and plenty of teams could have used his expiring contract and his playmaking skills. We could have swung him for a guy who would play and who would help us rebound.
We're 18-18 since our hot start and I'm not confident we'll win more than two playoff games. Adding Kurt Thomas or Chris Wilcox? I'd guarantee at least one playoff series win. That's how strongly I feel about the importance of rebounding.
by Evan Dunlap on Feb 21, 2008 11:28 PM EST up reply actions
Re: Re: I'm with Otis
I can appreciate that, especially the part about the trend in championship winners. I wanted badly for the Magic to keep Darko over the summer but they went a different route. To tell you the truth, I like the direction Otis has taken this team. As comprised they can compete with anyone in the league and I really think they are only going to get better.
by Eyriq the Red on Feb 22, 2008 9:24 AM EST up reply actions
I Disagree
... I completely disagree that we can compete with anyone in the league with our current roster. Sure, we'll get our share of victories but let's be frank, Detroit wasn't really trying when we played them a few games back.
We've beaten Boston, twice, sure, but Garnett was out for one game so we need to factor that into the equation. Add the point that when we DID beat Boston when they were at full-strength, it took a blown Tony Allen layup for us to win. Just saying ...
I ... kinda like the direction Otis has us heading. I was all for the Lewis signing and I thought that was a good move, but Otis needs to do more, especially with Danny Ferry in Cleveland appeasing LeBron at a critical juncture. Otis needs the same logic with Dwight. Sure, Turk/Lewis work ... but we still have holes. Power forward is the glaring one, because with a PF ... we can move Turk/Lewis to 2/3 and you immediately 'upgrade' at the 2 spot and add some depth to the bench by pushing Evans back (if he were to re-sign). Otis needs to be more aggressive instead of being content with a roster that will at most reach the Semi-finals. The fact we live/die by the 3 leaves us a small margin for error.
Right now, the teams that matter in the East (Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto) are better than us. It's pretty simple.
Well now
I don't think that the Cleveland trade will do much for them, so no, they are not better than the Magic. Again, no offense outside of LBJ. Toronto is another story offensively but I would not say they are better either, they don't have D12, we do, advantage us.
As for shifting Lewis/Turk to the 2/3 spots and plugging in a bruiser at the 4, that has potential but just is not the image that I think Otis wants this team to have. Lewis is not having a normal year for him and maybe it is that he is playing out of position, but we'd have the same story with Turk at the 2. The way the Magic are configured gives us an offensively versatile team that most teams can't match up well against. It does leave holes, but they are balanced out if the team plays focused. Like I said and stand by, the Magic can compete with anyone, especially when D12 does his thing and Nelson is penetrating and dishing for the open three.
by Eyriq the Red on Feb 22, 2008 9:56 PM EST up reply actions
I may be wrong, but...
I think the comment from Otis Smith about losing the flexibility in the summer is a reference to the luxury tax. This is where Lewis' inflated contract is already hurting Orlando. Had he signed the original contract before the sign and trade was arranged the tax would be further away and Orlando might be able to swap some expiring deals and use their midlevel this summer without going over the tax limit. But Smith knows that if they do not let their expiring contracts expire he cannot use his mid level exception without flirting with the tax.
I did not do any reasearch and maybe Orlando is not that close to the luxury tax next season, but the quote sounds like a definite luxury tax reference.
The miscalculation is thinking he can get more value in the summer for the MLE than now with the expiring contracts he is sitting on.
I agree that Kurt Thomas could have helped you guys.
Re: I may be wrong, but..
This is where Lewis' inflated contract is already hurting Orlando. Had he signed the original contract before the sign and trade was arranged the tax would be further away and Orlando might be able to swap some expiring deals and use their midlevel this summer without going over the tax limit.
As initially reported, Lewis' deal was for $75 million over five years. Too bad Otis gave him that needless sixth year. Ugh.
Otis Smith's Strategy is to take no risk, ever.
Otis Smith's strategy is that if he doesn't really take any risks, he can't get fired. Well, his bluff really should be called. This team desperately needs a legit power forward. Carlos Arroyo and Jameer have proven they pretty much provide equivalent results, so at least one of them has to be expendable. To be honest, I think a good point guard would help our team out more than a shooting guard, and that Jameer would make a better off the bench spark plug scorer than KeDo. The point guard question is tougher to solve, but we had pieces to grab a legit power forward, and we left them on the table. Don't tell me Battie is a solution for next year either. The only reason we are being sold this crap is because Smith signed him to a deal that made no sense.
When you look at the mess Smith has made by overpaying for Rashard (who I still like), by not making deals with valuable assests, and by inking iffy guys to contracts longer than they deserve (Battie), and instead think of where we could be if he had made a few deals... Yeah. Smith is not in job security being questioned territory only because of Dwight's continued improvement and Turk's improbable rise.
Our only chance of making noise in the playoffs is if Dwight kicks up his game yet more, and if Rashard can come through on his promises of being more aggressive. Oh, and also if Jameer can return to early season form. It's not nothing, but it's hard not to feel like in the NBA's season of one-upsmanship, we just decided to fold.
-D
by swamidigital on Feb 22, 2008 2:24 AM EST reply actions
Risk
It's not nothing, but it's hard not to feel like in the NBA's season of one-upsmanship, we just decided to fold.
Absolutely spot-on. It does indeed feel that way.
I Just Think ...
... that we're guaranteed a one-and-done season this year. I'm a loyal Magic fan like no other, but I'm also a realist and currently, I don't see us advancing past the second round AT THE MOST. I'm being generous ...
As It currently stands, we're the #3 seed and if the playoffs started today, we'd play Washington. Okay ... well, let's factor in an Arenas return alongside Butler/Jamison and an improved Haywood. It's quite possible we lose that series and go back to square one. Then what?
I think acquiring a PF will do more wonders that people realize. Let's say ... we had acquire Joe Smith, Kurt Thomas, hell ... even Jon Koncak, it would put us as at an offensive advantage because Turk would play the 2 and Lewis the 3. Imagine a lineup where we have a lineup with 4 dudes over 6'10''. Matchup problems galore, plus it lessens the defensive mismatches we have with Lewis currently.
(Cook is not a PF btw, that's just a pseudo-title. He's a 2-guard in a 6'10'' body.)
I think we're okay at PG. No one in the East scares me except for Billups and Bibby a lil'. Arenas too when he's healthy. But PF we have problems. Your talking Garnett, Sheed, Jamison, list goes on ...
I'm giving Smith one more year, then I want him gone. You can't succeed in the NBA with complacency. I don't want stupidity but I want risk-taking. Grow some cajones and make some moves. Waiting for Battie to come back next year to fix our PF problems is a horrendous oversight.
Re: I Just Think ...
I think acquiring a PF will do more wonders that people realize. Let's say ... we had acquire Joe Smith, Kurt Thomas, hell ... even Jon Koncak, it would put us as at an offensive advantage because Turk would play the 2 and Lewis the 3. Imagine a lineup where we have a lineup with 4 dudes over 6'10''. Matchup problems galore, plus it lessens the defensive mismatches we have with Lewis currently.
You're absolutely right.
I think we're okay at PG. No one in the East scares me except for Billups and Bibby a lil'. Arenas too when he's healthy.
Don't forget Calderon. And Rondo.
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