Air Canada Lands In Orlando: The Morning After

• Orlando Magic Press Conference: Vince Carter, Otis Smith, Stan Van Gundy, and Bob Vander Weide Speak
  In case you missed it earlier, check out the transcript of Vince Carter's press conference, where he, Stan Van Gundy, Otis Smith, and Bob Vander Weide answered questions for the media.

• Magic acquire Vince Carter from Nets; Hedo return unlikely
  Brian Schmitz recaps last night's press conference for Vince Carter.

• Magic swing for the fences, looking to succeed today, not tomorrow
  George Diaz notes that the Orlando Magic are going for it all, with the trade. 

• Area legend Vince Carter coming home
  Josh Robbins notes that Mainland High School, Carter's alma mater, is buzzing over the return of their former local star. Excitement abounds. 

• Where Will Hedo Turkoglu Call Home?
  Tom Ziller of NBA FanHouse wonders aloud, with Vince's arrival, where Hedo Turkoglu may be heading in free agency and lists several suitors for him.

• Vince Carter Thrilled to Come Home
  Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse elaborates on VC's arrival to Orlando. 

• Nets Agree to Send Vince Carter to Magic
  Bethlehem Shoals of the Baseline chimes in on the Magic trade.

  We've been hearing for a while that Vince would like to play out his career in Orlando, since it's effectively his hometown team. Putting him on the Magic certainly gives them more offense, as if they needed any, and a slasher—I mean, a guy who when he chooses to can be among the best in the league at slashing. And who isn't getting any younger. Maybe this means they really wanted to get Alston out of town, since in the past (and possibly in the Finals) Nelson hasn't responded well to competition. And this would seem to suggest that Courtney Lee was not, in fact, their SG of the future.

• Vince Carter trade puts Orlando Magic in NBA's upper crust
  John Hollinger of ESPN.com elaborates on the move:

  As for the Magic, this ends up being a cheaper option than re-signing Turkoglu, because they dropped about $13 million in salaries to pick up $17 million from the Nets. Presumably, Orlando will now let him walk as a free agent and promote Mickael Pietrus to the starting small forward spot, with J.J. Redick becoming the sixth man. The Magic can use some of the savings to re-sign Gortat, whose presence becomes more important now that Battie is gone.
  
  Additionally, don't sleep on Anderson. A 6-foot-10 forward who shot 36.5 percent on 3-pointers as a rookie, he is a perfect fit for Orlando's system of spacing the floor with shooters around center Dwight Howard.
  
  The deal leaves Orlando a bit thinner on the bench; Anthony Johnson will go back to being the primary backup to Jameer Nelson at the point after not playing a minute in the NBA Finals, and at the moment only eight Magic players are under contract for next season.
  
  But if this nucleus is as good as it looks on paper, the Magic should have an easy time convincing veterans to come to sunny, tax-free Florida on minimum contracts to chase a ring -- much as Boston did two years ago by acquiring Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown late in the year.
  
  And what a team it promises to be. Carter is a much better player than Turkoglu: Carter is deadlier on the drive and more potent from outside, and he's a better defender to boot. The Magic can put out a starting lineup of four All-Stars and Pietrus, and the amazing shooting ability should not only open space for Howard but provide plenty of creases for Carter as well.
  
  For his part, Carter should be ecstatic about the deal: Not only is he a native of the Orlando area, but he is likely to nearly double his win total from a year ago and, as an added plus, should save about $1 million this year in taxes alone. [...]
  
  For the Magic, "championship contender" hardly seems to do them justice now. With a scary-good starting five that appears to rival that of any team in recent NBA history, they're at worst co-favorites with Cleveland and L.A. heading into next season.

• The Nets send Vince Carter to Orlando
  Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don't Lie tosses in his two cents on the deal:

  Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Orlando Magic have options. Options! 
  
  The team is about to acquire Vince Carter and Ryan Andereson for the pittance of Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, and Tony Battie. Big talent, without giving up too much. [...]
  
  For Orlando, they get a hometown product who is still a formidable contributor (nearly at an All-Star level) even at the age of 32. Sure, nobody has liked Vince Carter since 2002 or so, but that's not the point. The point is that Orlando made a huge upgrade without giving much up. Lee is a fine player, but he'll never be a star, and Carter's all-around offensive game is exactly what the league's 11th-best offense needed.
  
  Best, it gives the team a little leeway in negotiations with free agent Hedo Turkoglu. Though Carter is one of the better passing wing players in the game, he isn't a point forward, but he isn't bad either. And the Magic might not need to keep Turkoglu if he gets a ridiculous offer from a team like the Portland Trail Blazers. Just slide Mickael Pietrus into the small forward slot, start Carter, and continue apace. Hell, Anderson will be a starting-quality forward in two years.
  
  The move puts Orlando a little under the luxury tax level with Carter's salary added, and without Turkoglu or restricted free agent Marcin Gortat on board. Signing either to a reasonable deal would put the Magic into the tax bracket, but the team has already patted itself on the back by announcing that it would pay the tax, so you have to figure one or both players will be back.

BQR here. Make the jump to read what everyone else is saying about the deal:

• New Jersey Nets trade Vince Carter to Orlando Magic
  Dave D'Alessandro of The Star-Ledger has the perspective of Nets GM Rod Thorn, who insists this trade was not a salary dump. He also digs up a less-than-complimentary quote from Smith about Carter from two years ago.

• Draft Day Quick Thoughts
  Sebastian Pruiti of Nets Are Scorching will miss Carter, but admits the trade will benefit his favorite team ...

  It was real sad to see Vince leave [...] but it is the right move for the future of the team. I would have liked to see us make one more run at the playoffs, but doing that could have meant us not getting as much value for Vince, and it would have completely ruined our small (very small) chances at LeBron [James].

  An Open Letter To Vince Carter
  ... and writes a nice open letter for VC.

  [...] once you landed in New Jersey, you put all of my concerns at ease. Not playing hard? I haven’t seen you take a play off your entire Nets’ career. The injuries? I thought we were getting a broken down star when you came, but you only missed missed 11 games in your four years here. The selfishness? Despite being paired with two other "stars" you didn’t butt-heads with either, and in the end, you were the last one standing. Heck, when Lawrence Frank decided to go to the dribble drive offense to showcase Devin Harris more, you didn’t make a peep. You just played the best basketball of his career. The failures in the clutch? I couldn’t be more comfortable having anyone else taking the shot at the end. Just look at that game against Toronto this year.
  
  The thing that impressed me the most about you this past season was how you were a professional through everything. Playing hard even though we were out of (realistically rather than mathematically) playoff contention, through the trade rumors, and through the shift in offensive philosophy. It’s going to be strange not seeing you do your pull-up on the net before the games. It is going to be strange not seeing all of the Vince Carter jerseys walking the tunnel to and in the stadium. Most of all, it is going to be strange not hearing our PA Announcer screaming "VC3″ after a big three-point bucket.

• Twitter / Dwight Howard
  Magic center Dwight Howard isn't in the mood to discuss the trade, due to the recent death of Michael Jackson:

  today isnt a good day to talk about trades. really not. im sorry.

• Here's why the trade for Vince Carter was a good one
  Zach McCann of Orlando Magic Daily lists 5 reasons what the Carter trade will make the Magic better.

• Do you see VC? In Orlando!
  Doug Smith of The Toronto Star says both the Nets and the Magic are better off after this trade, and makes this prediction:

  Carter, at home, with Dwight Howard to be The Man and Jameer Nelson back and healthy, will have an excellent season next year.

  In the comments section, he notes that Carter shouldn't have any trouble being Dwight's second banana, saying, "It's easier [than being the first option] and doing the easy thing is something he does well."

• Draft grades: Evaluating every team
  Chad Ford of ESPN.com appraises the Magic in this way when doling out draft grades. Orlando, which did not have a selection in either round, earned an "N/A" from Ford.

  The deal was a home run for the Magic. Carter is a huge improvement for the Magic at the 2, and believe it or not, according to John Hollinger's PER, Anderson had a better rookie year than Lee did.

  The Magic needed to up the ante after the Cavs traded for Shaq and they did it in a big way. If they can find a way to re-sign Hedo Turkoglu, they'll be the clear favorites in the East.

• You can pre-order your Vince Carter Orlando Magic jersey at OrlandoMagicShop.com
  Note that he still hasn't picked a uniform number. He's worn #15 throughout his career, which is the number Turkoglu wears in Orlando. In the interests of political correctness, the jersey which the Magic presented to him at last night's news conference was also devoid a number, but did have his last name.