Archive for June, 2010

After discussing Gilbert Arenas and the Magic Tuesday, Ken Berger of CBS Sports was back at it Wednesday. On the eve of the most anticipated free-agent signing period since 1996, when Howard was 10 years old, the Magic center has formulated a short list of players he’d like GM Otis Smith to pursue this summer. No. 1 on the list, according to a person with close ties to Orlando management, is Hornets point guard Chris Paul. Reports in the past week have noted that Orlando was one of several teams to inquire about Paul’s availability – mostly after CP3 was [...]

With free agency officially starting Thursday, HTD is taking a look at Magic players who may be on the move at some point this offseason. J.J. Redick The most worthwhile story for Magic fans to follow in free agency is what will happen to J.J. Redick. Redick is a restricted free agent so the Magic can match any offer made to him. The Magic have a need for young wings on their roster and want Redick to return. Redick has expressed his desire to remain with the Magic and is fine with his role as a backup. It appears as [...]

Former Magic guard and draft pick Keyon Dooling was bought out by the Nets and NBA Fanhouse’s Tim Povtak reports he is eying a return to either Orlando and Miami. Dooling, 30, is from Ft. Lauderdale. He played for Van Gundy in Miami during the 2004-05 season. And he played for Van Gundy in Orlando during the 2007-08 season. Both times he left as a free agent to sign a more lucrative deal elsewhere, but Van Gundy liked and utilized Dooling’s ability to swing from shooting guard to point guard in both places. “I think there’s a very realistic chance [...]

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor on the Fansided Front Page. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Twitter to follow him daily and you can get the HTD app here).

Here is the official word from the Magic. ORLANDO MAGIC SET SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER -Eight teams to take part in five-day event at RDV Sportsplex July 5-9- Orlando, Fla. – Orlando Magic draft picks Daniel Orton and Stanley Robinson will headline the Magic’s roster at the 2010 AirTran Airways Pro Summer League, the team announced today. The 20-game event, which will run from July 5-9 at the RDV Sportsplex, will feature the Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats. Due to space limitations, the event is not [...]

Dwight Howard has found a new agent – Dan Fegan. Fegan also is a well-versed participant in the ongoing CBA negotiations that could dramatically affect Howard’s on-court earning potential. Unlike this summer’s crop of free agents, who can land one more massive payday under the current CBA, Howard and other young stars face uncertainty as owners aim to take a substantial bite out of the salaries paid to the highest-earning players. “Dwight wanted to be represented in the CBA talks,” a person close to the Magic center said. But what Howard was really looking for was an out-of-the-box, full-service and [...]

With the 2010 draft now behind us and speculative trade and free-agent rumors running rampant, I thought we would take a break from trying to figure out the future and take a look at the past.  I recently chronicled the team’s historical draft success and below I take a look at some of the best and worst of Magic draft past. Best All-Time Draft Pick: Shaquille O’Neal.  When Shaq bolted from Orlando in the summer of 1996, his name become somewhat of a sullied word around the city.  It wasn’t until Dwight Howard emerged on draft night in 2004 that [...]

Ken Berger of CBS Sports put together a free agent primer earlier today and he has some interesting information about the Orlando Magic. To that point, the Magic are said to be actively considering trade scenarios that could provide Dwight Howard with a post-up power forward to play with, a play-maker to replace what Hedo Turkoglu brought to the 2009 Eastern Conference championship team, or a dynamic point guard. It would be easy enough to move Rashard Lewis to small forward and satisfy Howard’s first wish – something he feels strongly enough about to begin “heavily recruiting” free agents that [...]

On January 13th, 2009, the Orlando Magic set an NBA record by hitting 23 three-pointers against the Sacramento Kings. (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor on the Fansided Front Page. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Twitter to follow him daily and you can get the HTD app here).

The Magic were very happy with their draft choices. Magic general manager Otis Smith said the opportunity to develop a blossoming center who didn’t have to play a primary role right away was appealing. Smith said he thinks that Orton would have been a lottery pick had he returned to Kentucky and entered next June’s NBA Draft. “We wanted to take a big guy with some upside and with Dwight (Howard) and Marcin (Gortat) he’s not a guy that we have to use today,’’ Smith said. “He can learn from Dwight, Marcin and (assistant coach) Patrick (Ewing). He was actually [...]