NBA Trade Rumors, Melo Not Included: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic Are Not Done
The Orlando Magic have completely changed the team that led them to the 2009 NBA Finals. After acquiring Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Gilbert Arenas from the Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards respectively, the Magic are a completely different team.
To acquire these players, Magic GM, Otis Smith, gave up sharpshooter Mikael Pietrus, backup center Marcin Gortat, scoring threat Vince Carter and former All-Star, Rashard Lewis.
This trade is interesting because it doesn't make the Magic that much better than before, and in comparison to their biggest rivals in the Eastern conference, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, it seems they've gotten weaker.
The Magic have no backup center, and little defensive talent, so there must be more trades coming right?
Now let's analyze these two trades, and look at how the Orlando Magic can improve their team to compete with Miami and Boston in the 2011 NBA playoffs.
Are The Magic Worse Defensively?
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The Orlando Magic lost to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern conference finals last season because they did not play good enough defense. Nowhere near the level of the Celtics.
With Orlando's recent trade, they gave up players who don't play good defense, and received players who don't play good defense.
It was a pretty pointless trade when you examine the talent they brought in. Arenas is not capable of guarding the likes of Rajon Rondo, Dwayne Wade, or Derrick Rose. Turkoglu has shown he cannot guard Paul Pierce and Lebron James well.
With the departure of Marcin Gortat, who is a very underrated bench player, the Magic now have one big man who can play defense, Dwight Howard.
The Magic made this trade and forgot about the most important part of basketball, defense, which is quite puzzling.
The Magic MUST Trade For Another Center
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Dwight Howard already shoulders too much of the offensive and defensive burden for the Orlando Magic, and now with his backup Marcin Gortat gone, he will need to even more to help his team win.
The Magic's overreliance on Howard has been there downfall in recent years. He has been there only big man who is solid defensively, and if he gets into foul trouble, opposing players walk into the paint and score at will with Howard on the bench.
After giving up backup center Marcin Gortat as part of the recent trades the Magic have made, Brandon Bass becomes the backup center, but shouldn't he start at power forward?
The only other center the Magic have to give Howard a rest is rookie Daniel Orton from Kentucky.
The Magic need another center, because without one, they'll struggle to get out of the first round of the playoffs.
Did The Magic Overreact to The Celtics and Heat's Current Winning Streaks?
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At the beginning of the season, the Orlando Magic felt like they had all the pieces to win the Eastern Conference, and get back to the NBA Finals.
But in mid-December, the Magic had lost five games in a six game stretch, and fell to fourth in the East. At the same time, the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat extended their winning streaks to over ten games, distancing themselves from the rest of the East.
All of this prompted the Magic to make a two team trade last week, but did they overreact to their place in the standings?
Otis Smith, panicked. If he realistically approached the situation, he would have realized the Magic aren't good enough to beat the Heat or the Celtics in a seven game playoff series.
The Magic need to focus on building team chemistry and defense, and with a whole new squad, the team chemistry part is back to square one.
This Trade Proves Orlando Should Have Never Let Hedo Turkoglu Leave
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Who was the Orlando Magic's most important player during their run to the 2009 NBA Finals? Hedo Turkoglu.
After the 2009 playoffs, the Magic were faced with a decision they made harder than it appeared to be, whether to re-sign Hedo Turkoglu or not.
Hedo was the glue that held the entire team together, and he played multiple roles. He was a primary scoring option, a long distance sharpshooter and the primary ball handle at times.
Point guard Jameer Nelson was injured for most of the 2009 NBA playoffs, and thus Turkoglu was forced to handle the ball a lot, and he was exceptional.
Turkoglu was the MVP of the Magic, and their decision to let him walk in free agency was very confusing. Now that they have him back, he will transition into the offense smoothly, since a lot of players he was teammates with remain, as well as head coach Stan Van Gundy.
Turkoglu will be the most effective player the Magic just traded for, but they never should have let him go in the first place.
Who Else Should The Magic Acquire?
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There are players available to trade for who would help the Orlando Magic defensively. The player that would help them the most is Shane Battier, currently of the Houston Rockets.
Battier is a superb defender, and has guarded Kobe Bryant very well in the playoffs.
Battier is in the final year of his current contract, which pays him about $7 million. The Houston Rockets are unlikely to keep him beyond this season because Battier will surely want to go to a contender, and every contending team needs defense.
Defense wouldn't be the only improvement Battier would offer the Magic, he is an excellent long distance shooter too, and would help stretch the floor for Dwight Howard to score in the paint.
Houston needs offense and Orlando has plenty of that, making a Battier to Orlando deal something Otis Smith needs to make happen.
The Magic Traded Carter and Lewis Due to Their Playoff Failures
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The Orlando Magic thought the addition of Vince Carter would allow them to score more in the playoffs and make them tougher to defend.
The 2010 NBA playoffs were the first playoffs for Carter with the Magic, and now we've learned they'll be his only postseason with the team.
Carter was horrendous in last year's playoffs, completely folding against the Boston Celtics, and was not capable of guarding anyone on the defensive end.
Rashard Lewis completely disappeared in the Boston series, making people ask if he was even playing. Lewis was shut down by Kevin Garnett, and was too undersized vs. Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2009 NBA Finals.
Lewis and Carter were traded because of their playoff failures. Turkoglu is a proven playoff performer, and Arenas will get his chance to shine in Orlando come May.
Review: Suggestions For Orlando Magic Improvement
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With the completion of these two trades, the Orlando Magic appear to be no better than they were at the beginning of the year.
They may be a bit better, but still not near better enough to beat the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics in the Eastern conference playoffs.
How can the Magic improve? Will they trade for Carmelo Anthony or Andre Iguodala? Make your suggestions heard!
