Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy isn't thrilled with the free-agent big men currently available, which is one reason why the Magic have yet to sign another power forward or center to back up Dwight Howard inside, writes Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel. Team President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith has consulted Van Gundy about some such free agents, but none has impressed Van Gundy:
"The names that I have heard that might be available, that Otis has run by me, Malik [Allen] is better than those guys," Van Gundy said. "Even though he’s a little bit smaller, he’s better. So, I don’t think adding a guy just to add a guy is it."
Current free-agents include Earl Barron, Mark Blount, Mikki Moore, and the recently retired Rasheed Wallace.
McCann quotes Van Gundy as saying he would consider adding someone "that can make an impact," which is consistent with what we heard last week about their interest in Marcus Camby, and, in the days after trading Marcin Gortat, Ronny Turiaf.
OPP community member magicfaninTN went through some statistics in this FanPost and found the Magic have played well without Howard since trading Gortat, Vince Carter, and Mickael Pietrus to the Phoenix Suns for Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Earl Clark. Whether they can sustain that performance is questionable, but for now it suffices to say Orlando is pleased with its rotation of Howard, Ryan Anderson, and Brandon Bass at the power positions, with Allen able to help in spot duty once he recovers from the sprained left ankle that's ruled him out of their last three weeks' worth of games.