Orlando Magic News for February 17th: Otis Smith Leaning Toward Not Making a Trade; A Look Back at Some of the Best Games of the NBA Season

GM Otis Smith says he still doesn’t anticipate any trades for the Orlando Magic
Josh Robbins reports that general manager Otis Smith stands by his decree that he doesn't anticipate the Orlando Magic making a trade.

In the meantime, several Magic players were asked whether they follow the trade rumors that involve other teams. [...]

"I don’t think you can, really," [Ryan] Anderson said. "There are so many different rumors that go on. Like last year with my trade, I had no idea I was going to be traded, because I’m not following it." [...]

"I follow it a great deal, but we can’t control any of that," [Jason] Williams said. "We just can control what we’ve got here."

Q&A with Orlando Magic GM Otis Smith
Here is Brian Schmitz's interview with Smith, by the way.

One team not looking to make a move at the trade deadline
Rob Mahoney of ProBasketballTalk thinks that Smith is making the right decision by not rushing to make a deal and explains why.

From Smith to head coach Stan Van Gundy to the players themselves, everyone appears to be on the same page. It makes sense; though the Magic have had a weirdly inconsistent season, they still have the second best record in the East and some incredibly depth on paper. Things just haven't clicked mentally for this team at times, and though Orlando has rebounded nicely from some of their early struggles, this Magic team is not as prolific on defense as last season's incarnation.

Which makes Smith's approach perfect. The Magic don't need another good defender to return their team D to highest heights. They just need more time to figure things out, work the rotations, and peg down and execute exactly what Van Gundy wants. There were so many new acquisitions in the off-season that there was bound to be a fall-off in some area, but the Magic are right to stay the course with their already impressive roster.

NBA Season's Best Moments: Counting Down The Top 20 Games Of First Half
Mike Prada of SB Nation lists the Magic's come-from-behind win over the New Orleans Hornets as the fifth-best game of the first half of the season in part because "it was a microcosm of their season."

My All-Star Game memories
UPDATE: Dwight Howard shares his memories from All-Star weekend.