Orlando Magic close to trading away $50 million in salary.

[billyshelby]

Given what Orlando has already done, I'd be dangling Nelson. Arenas as super sixth man might work, but for the money they're paying him they might as well take the whole plunge and let him be the guy running their offense. Nelson could net them some assets for THAT team. But it's quite a gamble.

 

[DeliveryBoy]

I think Nelson might be done. Part of what they liked about Hedo was his ability to help run the offense as a point forward-if he can do that again then between him and Arenas, there might not be a need for Jameer.

I have no idea if this was a good or bad move for Orlando. Washington and Phoenix did quite well though.

 

[memo is money]

- Whoever thinks JRich cannot be better than Vince has surely not watched both of them playing this season. VC was half-man-half-amazing earlier in his career and he was still a softie, a coward. The worse is he is now half-dead-half-retired. Orlando brought him to be the player who cuts inside, dribbles and creates his shot and bring some versatility and ball handling which are obviously stinked after Hedo departed. They needed a player who at least can add another dimension to shot-happy backcourt of the Magic team. He has not + he has never been the clutch player for Magic who gets it done either by creating or scoring, and Hedo certainly was. VC experiment failed. For JRich; I do not see any reason why he cannot be solid in SVG's system. He will not have to handle the ball too much, Turkoglu and Nelson (and Gilbert) will have that responsibility. AS long as he properly spaces the floor and once the old 2-man connection between Hedo-Dwight starts to click again, he will get his numbers. Plus, he can be a pretty good defender.
- I'm not sure that Arenas' contract is worth taking even if it means getting rid of Lewis' contract. It has proven that Lewis' success in Magic team highly dependent on the Hedo's presence as a ball handler and a creator off the dribble as well as a potential scorer. Arenas is a big question mark. Some experts think that being executive of 2003 GSW when Gilbert was there is a factor in this decision of Smith.
- Hedo did the worst thing by leaving the Magic, and Orlando GM did the worst thing by breaking up that Finals team by not keeping Hedo, at that time. Hedo, now, has a chance to finish his career on a high note with championship contender Magic. He is the lucky one out there.
- Magic will undoubtedly miss Gortat. He was a big part of their success. However, I think Bass, despite being undersized, can live up to his potential now that he becomes one of the essentials. He has bigger potential than Marcin, IMO. Better scorer, all around player. Ryan Anderson will become a factor to diminish the impacts of departure of Gortat, if he can define his role which is, I think, a lot similar to Lewis'.
- For the Suns, unfortunately it took sending team's best player this season to end the terrible Hedo the PF experiment.

 

[carolinajazz]

- Whoever thinks JRich cannot be better than Vince has surely not watched both of them playing this season. VC was half-man-half-amazing earlier in his career and he was still a softie, a coward. The worse is he is now half-dead-half-retired.

.....dead on right....not to mention Carter plays turrible defense to boot! And with Richardson you have a guy who can bounce the ball off the head of Boozer types, who are not paying attention on defense!


I'm not sure that Arenas' contract is worth taking even if it means getting rid of Lewis' contract.

.....both players were in the top 10 of worse contracts in professional sports...but Lewis was rated #1 worse contract! So I think it's worth the stretch for the Magic. Besides, Arenas is a better passer and shooter....and Lewis even stopped grabbing rebounds.

Hedo did the worst thing by leaving the Magic, and Orlando GM did the worst thing by breaking up that Finals team by not keeping Hedo, at that time.

.....Hedo wanted too much money. So he signs with the Raptors? Not a smart move. Will he be the same type player and contributor he was with the Magic before? Remains to be seen. Orlando banking that he will be.

I think Bass, despite being undersized, can live up to his potential now that he becomes one of the essentials. Ryan Anderson will become a factor to diminish the impacts of departure of Gortat, if he can define his role which is, I think, a lot similar to Lewis'.

.....let's hope it's better or more productive than what Lewis was giving them.....at least it will be better bang for the buck...because Lewis bang was non-existant....but his bucks were through the roof!

my response in bold!

 

[Shad]

You definitely start JRich over Hedo anyday. I don't care how good he did 2 years ago.

 

[billyshelby]

They're talking about Arenas as the Super Sub. So the lineup looks like Nelson/JRich/Hedo/Bass/Howard. Arenas comes off the bench to play scoring point alongside Redick/QRich/Anderson/Crap. Outside the obvious frontcourt problem, you can make a strong argument that the team is now better on the whole. But down the road? Huge, huge gamble and even less flexibility than they had before.

 

[Gyp Rosetti]

That hole behind Howard is glaring but I really like the balls and ability to hit big shots that J-Rich and Arenas both bring to the table in big spots over Carter who's been a shell of even himself for a while now.

 

[carolinajazz]

Arenas as super sixth man might work, but for the money they're paying him they might as well take the whole plunge and let him be the guy running their offense.

.....I wouldn't trust Arenas to run some bath water for me....let alone control my offense! No, Nelson is the man to do the job, with Arenas playing shooting guard and maybe some time at the point to rest Nelson.

 

[Duck Rodgers]

Can Gilbert Arenas even go to the hole anymore? His shooting percentages are awful. Seriously, is he really any better than a guy like Allen Iverson at this point? I'm not making that move under any circumstances.

Lewis and Wall could be interesting. Maybe Lewis will do more than stand at the 3 pt line now.

 

[franklin]

If anything I don't understand it's the Suns giving up Richardson. This guy has been underrated for 10 years. Vince Carter is nowhere near the talent Richardson is at this point.

With Hedo/Richardson, there's no need for Lewis. That was a good trade that get's them more utility off the bench with the current lineup. Absent Hedo it is debatable if the trade was a good idea. Hedo can do the same outside shooting job as Lewis, but he's a much better drive and dish man.

The only thing Orlando loses is Gortat. They're not much without Howard anyway, so why does it matter so much? They lose the 8 minutes when Howard needs to rest but gain 30-40 good minutes by not having Vince Carter on the floor, and have a solid bench scorer.