Orlando Magic News for September 28th: Wrapping Up the Off-Season; Some Quick Notes from Media Day

'Net reaction: Media Day notes, quotes and tats
J.E. Skeets of Ball Don't Lie gathers Twitter updates at different Media Day's from several sources, including Third Quarter Collapse's own, Ben Q Rock.

The 10 best shooting guards of the last decade
Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don't Lie lists the 10 best shooting guards of the past decade, today. At #3, Vince Carter:

Carp at VC all you want, I'll lead the chants, but the man brought it all decade. Most of the decade. He took some of the decade off, I guess.

When he didn't take parts of decades off, Carter threw together averages of 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He's become a much better passer and defender as his career has moved along, while establishing a post-up game. And while he was pretty injury-prone to start the decade, Carter hasn't really missed much time in the years since 2002-03.

Year-to-Year Four Factor Correlations
Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference takes a look at the 'four factors' and tries to figure out if there's year-to-year correlation for each metric. Great read.  

I know we haven't talked about Dean Oliver's Four (Eight?) Factors here in a while, but that hasn't been deliberate. I actually like the 4 factor methodology for evaluating teams' strengths and weaknesses, although there's a quite a gordian knot to deal with when you start trying to link team factors to their respective metrics for individual players. Hmm... maybe that's the reason why I haven't invested so heavily in them recently, because we've been all about trying to establish expectations for teams in 2010 based on their current rosters, and last year's 4 factor data wouldn't help you get very far in that direction. But it occurs to me that another way to look at team trends is to see which stats are historically sustainable from year to year, and which aren't.

The 5 Teams Who Had The Most Productive Offseasons
Gerald Narciso of Dime Magazine lists the five teams in the NBA that have had the most productive off-seasons. Not surprising, Orlando makes the list.  

3. Magic: Let’s face it, the Magic lost a great scorer and clutch player in Hedo Turkoglu - who signed a long-term deal with Toronto. But despite that void, management wasn’t shy about finding Hedo’s replacement. They traded Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee and Tony Battie to the Nets for eight-time all-star Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson. Carter, who is from the Central Florida area, will provide scoring and excitement to the team. The Magic also signed Brandon Bass, a young and athletic power forward from Dallas. Bass along with re-signing Marcin Gortat helps improve the Magic’s frontcourt. Orlando fills the backcourt void left by Alston and Lee by signing veteran guards Jason Williams and Matt Barnes.

I'm sorry, but Hedo Turkoglu is not a great scorer. Vince Carter is a great scorer. Do we really need to go through this discussion again?

Marcin Gortat: "Break Glass In Case Of Emergency"
Aron Phillips of Dime Magazine comments on general manager Otis Smith's recent statement about using Marcin Gortat "in case of emergency". 

Magic Pick Up Van Gundy's 2011 Option
Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse confirms that head coach Stan Van Gundy's contract option has been picked up by the Magic for the 2010-2011 season.

The Orlando Magic will announce soon that that they have exercised the option year on coach Stan Van Gundy's original contract, putting him on the payroll at least through the 2010-11 season.

Van Gundy this season would have been going into the final guaranteed year on his original contract, signed before the 2007-08 season.

General manager Otis Smith confirmed Monday at the team's media day that they have guaranteed the contract through next season.

Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, GM Otis Smith get contract extensions
UPDATE: The Sentinel reports Smith's contract has been picked up, too.

New-look Magic start training camp with big goals
UPDATE 2: Brian Schmitz checks in with a report.

A club that will resemble a traveling all-star show now with Vince Carter on board already has heard the team slogan for this season -- and it embraces no egos:

Grab A Handle.

That's Orlando Magic General Manager Otis Smith's catch-phrase.

And it's no coincidence the slogan came about with the arrival of Carter, who has more all-star nominations (eight) than Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson combined.

"We're not asking any one guy to carry any part of the whole load. We're asking everybody to grab a handle," Smith said. "Just grab a handle. Because trying to win a title is a grind."

Magic will start training camp running
UPDATE 3: Josh Robbins explains what Orlando will do in training camp.

Magic players will do plenty of running when they begin training camp and two-a-day practices today.

Coach Stan Van Gundy said the team will scrimmage for about three quarters during the morning workout at RDV Sportsplex, with every player getting 18 to 27 minutes of playing time.

"We'll get a good look at our team," Van Gundy said. "I think it's the best way to build conditioning and chemistry and get up and down the floor. And I get to start seeing guys. I know there will be a lot of mistakes, but I hope what I'll see is guys playing very, very hard and hopefully trying to play very, very disciplined."

Magic's Rashard Lewis hasn't forgotten Finals disappointment
UPDATE 4: George Diaz writes an intriguing piece about Rashard Lewis.

Mickael Pietrus: "I want to come off the bench"
UPDATE 5: Zach McCann of Orlando Magic Daily shares this tidbit that will certainly interest Magic fans, concerning Mickael Pietrus.

One of the biggest questions heading into training camp was who would win the starting small forward job, Mickael Pietrus or Matt Barnes? While the general assumption is that Barnes would start alongside Rashard Lewis (and Brandon Bass for the first ten games), Mickael Pietrus answered that question swiftly on Monday.

"I like to come off the bench," Pietrus said. "I don’t mind if Matt Barnes starts. I don’t mind if I come off the bench. It’s just a matter of winning a championship."

Tip-Off Timer: Scott Skiles Is the Single Game Assist King With 30
UPDATE 6: Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse looks back at a former Orlando player that still holds the record for most assists in a single NBA game, Scott Skiles. For a refresher on what allowed him to get all those dimes, click here.

It only makes sense.

It's why gritty Scott Skiles sticks out like a dark stain on a white carpet.

Surprisingly, it's not Cousy, Robertson, Johnson, or Stockton who holds the record for most assists in a single NBA game.

It's Skiles, who had 30 assists against the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 30, 1990, when he played for the Orlando Magic in just their second season.