Archive for June, 2010

According to Sam Amick of NBA Fanhouse, the Orlando Magic have talked to the New Orleans Hornets about superstar point guard Chris Paul. Orlando is interested in an elite-level, pure point guard to replace Nelson, who has never averaged more than 5.6 assists per game in his six-year career and has three seasons and a combined total of $21.9 million left on his contract. The Magic attempted to make up for his distributing deficiencies by signing veteran Jason Williams last summer, but both him and veteran point guard Anthony Johnson will be free agents on July 1. Unfortunately a deal [...]

Per Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, the Orlando Magic worked out six prospects on Monday afternoon. Those prospects were the five players that Alex Kennedy of Hoops World previously reported would participate (Jordan Crawford of Xavier, Quincy Pondexter of Washington, Darington Hobson of New Mexico, Devin Ebanks of West Virginia, and Greivis Vazquez of Maryland) plus Andy Rautins, a guard from Syracuse. Unfortunately this event was closed to the Media. (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 [...]

The NBA draft is now just four days away. Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post thinks Quincy Pondexter would be an excellent pick. We know Pondexter can score but Rock has good things to say about his defense as well. Synergy digs Pondexter’s defense, rating it as “very good” overall. He allowed just 0.775 points per possession, forced turnovers on 12.6% of opponent’s possessions, and committed a foul resulting in free throws 7.9% of the time. He can defend without fouling, in other words, with no major weaknesses; Synergy lists him as merely “average” defending shooters coming off screens, [...]

So far HTD has taken a look at two of Orlando’s potential picks at 29 in next week’s NBA Draft, both small forwards – Quincy Pondexter of Washington and Darington Hobson of New Mexico. Today, we’ll take a look at another small forward on Orlando’s radar – West Virginia’s Devin Ebanks. Back in 2008, Ebanks was one of the nature’s most sought after high school prospects. He was considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, was ranked as the nation’s second-best small forward and 11th best overall player. Ebanks had offers from basketball powers like Indiana, Memphis and Texas but the [...]

George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel believes the Magic won’t win a title until they move Rashard Lewis to the three and get a new four. The Lakers and the Celtics aren’t going away anytime soon. Sure the dynamics may change. Each team could have different coaches. And the Celtics might not bring back unrestricted free agent Ray Allen (btw, nice cameo in the Finals, pal). But still, there are some changes in store for the Magic, too. I don’t see Matt Barnes_ their toughest defender outside of Dwight Howard _ coming back. That will hurt. Otis Smith, the GM [...]

Another player the Magic have expressed interest in with the 29th pick in the NBA draft is Quincy Pondexter, a 6’6 Small Forward from Washington. Pondexter is one of five players the Magic will be bringing in for a workout on June 22nd. Pondexter averaged 19.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a senior while leading the Huskies to a Pac-10 tournament championship and to NCAA tournament victories over both Marquette and New Mexico before falling to West Virginia, who would go on to advance to the Final 4, in the Sweet 16. Pondexter had an excellent 4-year career. [...]

Over the next week or so, we’ll be taking a look at prospects and trying to guess who Orlando will be selecting in next week’s draft. After the jump, you can check out the latest HTD Mock Draft.

Philip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily discusses Orlando’s new logo. There is nothing inherently wrong with the new logo. It is perfectly all right. It just doesn’t sit right with me. Where’s the star for an “A” (the artistic touch some people think is too cute, but I think is distinctly Magic)? Why is the team’s name bigger than the actual logo? The font seems to overpower anything that would make me think Magic. Fortunately the traditional streaking basketball is still there and seem like it will forever be incorporated into the Magic logo (I won’t have to buy a [...]

DISCLAIMER:  There are potentially offensive words spoken of Mr. Tim Tebow in the post below that could be deemed offensive to some members of Gator Nation.  If you are unable to hear/read such statements it is recommended that you avoid reading the following piece.   For all others that may be confused by the post, please click here –> satire. Could the Orlando Magic be looking to make a Superman swap?  According to a few high-level unnamed sources, Orlando General Manager, Otis Smith, is growing ever more frustrated with the lack of leadership in his club.  As beloved as the jovial and [...]

As first reported by Alex Kennedy of Hoops World, the Orlando Magic are going to be working out five players on June 22nd. Relying heavily on game film and their individual interviews, the Magic are only planning to hold one workout prior to draft night, according to sources close to the situation. This workout is expected to take place on June 22nd, just two days before the draft. Quincy Pondexter, Darington Hobson, Devin Ebanks, Jordan Crawford, and Greivis Vasquez make up the list of attendees so far, but others could be added at the last minute. Based on the invites, [...]