Post by bluekryptonite09 on Sept 8, 2005 21:46:41 GMT -5
When the offseason began, the Orlando Magic found themselves quite simply put- stuck. After a mediocre season in which the Magic were bumped in the first round by the Cleveland Cavaliers, high profile stars Pau Gasol and Mike Bibby were put on the block. Initial talks were promising, but eventually all the proposed deals that came close to being completed fell through. Then, after a lackluster preseason by every player on the team, GM Bluekryptonite became fed up with waiting on his team to gel and decided it was time to shake things up. And thus the first domino fell - Spaniard sensation Gasol was shipped off to Phoenix along with rookie Kresmir Loncar to be teamed up with superstar Dwyane Wade in exchange for Joe Johnson , Udonis Haslem, and Devin Harris.
In an interview conducted by the Orlando Sentinel, it was determined that GM Bluekryptonite's reasoning behind making the move was simple: "Well of course we all loved the presence that Pau brought to our team up front with Dwight, but we simply could not pass up the chance to bring in 3 younger players on decent contracts. Both Haslem and JJ are locked up for us long term and while already solid players, still have room to improve. Devin has shown flashes of brilliance already and hopefully he will be able to realize his potential and become a serious player for this team in a year or two." And like it or not he has a point. Sure Pau is still young and can improve, but he might not be worth his contract in a few years. On the other hand, Joe Johnson is already a bargain and if he improves anymore, which all of us here in Disneyworld are expecting, then he might just be the best valued player in the entire league.
Next, the Magic stumbled upon a less star-filled oppurtunity. With the center job up in the air as it is unknown which rotation will win out for the season opener, Nazr Mohammed became expendable. He declined a bit in TC, and really could not be consistently counted on for starting minutes. And on a one year deal, GM Bluekryptonite decided it was better to get something for him now than risk losing him for nothing. And so thats what happened: Nazr was sent to Portland where he will fill a need. In return the Magic recieved 2 more youngsters to build in the evolution of this new squad: overseas enigma Ersan Ilyasova and high school phenom Andray Blatche. While both have the potential to become solid role players and even starters some day, potentially superstardom for Ersan, its likely both will spend the majority of the year in the UBDL.
As for what's next, it's anybody's guess. It has even been rumored that Dwight Howard has made his wa to the trade block. But we here in Orlando certainly aren't believing that all the deals have been done and are anxiously awaiting news of any more trades that will give fans here some idea of the future of this squad.
In an interview conducted by the Orlando Sentinel, it was determined that GM Bluekryptonite's reasoning behind making the move was simple: "Well of course we all loved the presence that Pau brought to our team up front with Dwight, but we simply could not pass up the chance to bring in 3 younger players on decent contracts. Both Haslem and JJ are locked up for us long term and while already solid players, still have room to improve. Devin has shown flashes of brilliance already and hopefully he will be able to realize his potential and become a serious player for this team in a year or two." And like it or not he has a point. Sure Pau is still young and can improve, but he might not be worth his contract in a few years. On the other hand, Joe Johnson is already a bargain and if he improves anymore, which all of us here in Disneyworld are expecting, then he might just be the best valued player in the entire league.
Next, the Magic stumbled upon a less star-filled oppurtunity. With the center job up in the air as it is unknown which rotation will win out for the season opener, Nazr Mohammed became expendable. He declined a bit in TC, and really could not be consistently counted on for starting minutes. And on a one year deal, GM Bluekryptonite decided it was better to get something for him now than risk losing him for nothing. And so thats what happened: Nazr was sent to Portland where he will fill a need. In return the Magic recieved 2 more youngsters to build in the evolution of this new squad: overseas enigma Ersan Ilyasova and high school phenom Andray Blatche. While both have the potential to become solid role players and even starters some day, potentially superstardom for Ersan, its likely both will spend the majority of the year in the UBDL.
As for what's next, it's anybody's guess. It has even been rumored that Dwight Howard has made his wa to the trade block. But we here in Orlando certainly aren't believing that all the deals have been done and are anxiously awaiting news of any more trades that will give fans here some idea of the future of this squad.
