AP Photo/Phalen M. Ebenhack
Per the Orlando Sentinel, Orlando Magic General Manager Otis Smith likes his team the way it is and it looks like he won’t be making a move before Thursday’s trade deadline.
“I think we have enough talent to win a title,” Smith told the Sentinel. “We have enough people here to go back [to the Finals].”
That said, Smith is not planning to make a deal before Thursday’s deadline, although it should be noted that Smith has become an adept poker player.
Unless “something knocks your socks off,” Smith said the Magic will stand pat. They are 36-18 and have the third-best record in the league, trailing only the Cleveland Cavaliers (43-11) and the Los Angeles Lakers (41-13).
In fact, four key Magic players don’t see any move coming.
Four key players who spoke off the record with the Sentinel said they didn’t anticipate Smith making any changes.
Smith already has gone on record saying he would not “rent” an available star for a title run — such as Amar’e Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer or Chris Bosh — and those Magic players didn’t believe that kind of deal was likely.
Even Orlando’s most tradeable assets feel safe.
Three Magic players who haven’t received a lot of playing time this season — center Marcin Gortat, power forward Brandon Bass and point guard Anthony Johnson — all told the Sentinel after Tuesday’s practice that they didn’t expect to be traded.
This should have been expected – it’d be nearly impossible for the Magic to make a deal that brought them back any real value. I outlined the reasons why here.
You can find the complete story here.
Update: Sources tell me that the Magic are still in fact active in trade talks and are currently shopping Point Guard Anthony Johnson and his expiring contract in an attempt to land another Point Guard.
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL Mocks Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)
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