Goodbye, James Augustine. We hardly knew ye.

The Orlando Sentinel reports the Orlando Magic waived the second-year power forward "as expected." The move means the Magic have 12 players with guaranteed contracts on their roster. They'll sign another player, possibly Adonal Foyle, to meet the league minimum of 13 players.

Of course, it's also possible the Magic waived Augustine to free roster space for a potential trade, but given the relatively small size of his contract (approximately $900,000 $800,000), I find that scenario unlikely.

As for Augustine, I imagine he'll catch on in the D-League or overseas. He's young (24), tall (6'10"), and fairly athletic. He never struck me as a particularly talented player, but he did play hard and appeared to want to earn his minutes.

I'm contractually obligated* to point out that the Magic selected Augustine 41st overall in the 2006 NBA draft, one pick ahead of Cavaliers three-point assassin Daniel Gibson and six picks ahead of Jazz rebound machine Paul Millsap.

UPDATED: the Sentinel updated its report. Among the newly added details:

Magic General Manager Otis Smith said he would like Foyle to return and would speak to his agent, Lon Babby, in the next few days.

"Adonal's a big body, he knows how to play," Smith said. "We'lll [sic] see where it goes."

[....]

The Magic had until today to either re-sign the 6 foot-10 Augustine to a guaranteed contract of about $800,000 or waive him.

I think the Magic would be better off looking to the D-League for potential third-string bigs. Matt from Ridiculous Upside listed Rod Benson, Carlos Powell, and Chris Alexander as the best such available players as of yesterday. Will Otis at least consider reaching out to a youngster with upside? Well, probably not, but he should keep his options open.

*: Not really.

Ht: PVBFan at Denton's board.

The Magic's official draft party, featuring the Magic Dancers and notable play-by-play guys, takes place tonight at NBA City, which you can reach by phoning 407.NBA.CITY (407.622.2489). If you'd rather stay home, you can still catch a live feed of the Magic's "war room" via the team's website.

• Here are my three favorite questions and answers from Brian Schmitz's live chat yesterday. They're juicy:

  Chris: Are the Magic trying to trade for a second-round pick?

  Brian Schmitz: Otis said they are exploring trying to pick up a seocnd-rounder, a high one.

  [....]

  Gene: What are the chances Otis packages Hedo and JJ to bring in an elite shooting guard (like Rip Hamilton maybe)?

  Brian Schmitz: Otis said they are not trading their core players, which includes Hedo specficially "unless a deal knocks our socks off."

  [....]

  Chris: Brian, Can you just give us a run down on what Otis said in the Press Conf. if anything? Do you Tim, or Denton have any kind of feel as to where the Magic are going with their 1st pick and also what's the chances of OTis aquiring a 2nd rounder???

  Brian Schmitz: Otis basically did the song and dance today, very vague. Said they will proably keep the No. 22 pick. Could add a second-round pick. He likes [Courtney] Lee, [Marreese] Speights, [Jason]Thompson, [JaVale] McGee, [Darrell] Arthur, [J.J.] Hickson and R[obin] Lopez. Does not care for [Roy] Hibbert and says CDR [Chris Douglas-Roberts] is falling.

  Good for Otis not wanting to trade Hedo, although that's a subject I'll cover in-depth sometime after all the draft stuff calms down. Also nice to know that Roy Hibbert is not on the Magic's board. Dude's a stiff.

• Marc D'Amico posted this interesting piece about Otis Smith's draft philosophy on the Magic's official website. First, examine this quote from the article:

  Smith made clear that the team isn't necessarily drafting by position. The Magic seem adamant on the fact that they will address their pick first by talent and then by position.

  That's nice, but a few paragraphs later, Smith gives us this gem:

  "For me to sit down face-to-face is huge," Smith said. "I put a lot of value on the sit-down time, probably more than I do on putting them in the gym and watch them hoist up jumpers."

  I don't get it. First, the Magic say they'll take the best (ie most talented) player on the board, but then Smith says, in a roundabout way, that he values character just as much as he values talent. Which is it, Otis?

• The Sentinel has this illuminating feature on Magic Assistant GM Dave Twardzik, who spent this past Thanksgiving Day eating reindeer sausage in Anchorage, Alaska. A quote from Twardzik, the Magic's chief talent evaluator:

  Twardzik has seen some amazing athletes, but high on his scouting checklist is "basketball IQ. We look for guys who have a great feel for the game and make right decisions," he said. "We don't put a lot of emphasis on statistics. It's more what we see on the floor."

  I could have told you the Magic don't put a lot of emphasis on statistics. They selected power forward James Augustine in the second round of the 2005 NBA Draft despite the fact that Paul Millsap, another power forward who happens to be a rebounding machine, was still on the board.

• Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via NetsDaily) the New Jersey Nets are sold on forward/center Joey Dorsey and will use the 40th pick on him if he's still available. Dorsey's the sort of rebounding/shot-blocking beast who'd be the perfect frontcourt complement to Dwight Howard. If the Magic want him, as they should, they'll need to trade for a pick better than 40th. Portland has two picks and Seattle has one, which is interesting because Tim Povtak reported just last month the Magic discussed trading with either of those teams for a second-round pick. Let the rumor-mongering commence.

Look for an open thread in which to discuss the day's events at 10:30. We'll play it by ear from there.

	vs.
40-23		38-23
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
Sun Sports HD
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	Baron Davis
Maurice Evans	SG	Monta Ellis
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Mickael Pietrus
Rashard Lewis	PF	Stephen Jackson
Dwight Howard	C	Andris Biedrins
Season series:
3 Dec 2007: Magic 123, Warriors 117

The Warriors visit the Amway Arena tonight on the second night of a back-to-back, having blown out the Heat last night by a final score of 134-99. The Heat, with only seven healthy players, stood no chance against the league's second-fastest team.

We, meanwhile, enter the game fresh off two days of rest. We'll need it tonight. The Warriors, as noted in the previous paragraph, love to run. They also hate to play defense, paying no real attention to that aspect of the game. They're also not good on the glass, which is why I think Dwight Howard has a legitimate shot at reaching 20 rebounds tonight. It's not like I'm going out on a limb here; he had 24 rebounds in our first matchup with the Dubs this season and averaged 19 per game against them last season.

Dwight has a chance to do much more than that, though. The Warriors have no one who can guard him. 40 points isn't out of the question for him, either. However, we need his defense more than we need his offense tonight. If he protects the paint like he did in our last meeting, in which he blocked seven shots, the Warriors will have no choice but to shoot three-pointers. They hoisted 40 -- 40! -- triples last time out, and only hit nine. Golden State is vulnerable to bouts of inefficiency and complacency, and we absolutely need to capitalize on that.

Unfortunately for us, Golden State has no shortage of 40-point candidates. We're ill-equipped to defend point guard Baron Davis, who has the combination of size and strength that vexes both Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo. Meanwhile, Davis' backcourt-mate, Monta Ellis, has gone absolutely ballistic since the All-Star Break. Take a look at these freakish numbers: 24.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.5 steals on 55% shooting... and he hasn't made a single three-pointer in that stretch. He gets to the basket seemingly at will. I hope Keyon Dooling has recovered from his sprained left foot in time to play tonight. He's our best shot at slowing Monta.

We can't discount Stephen Jackson, either. Jackson shoots the ball with little consideration of the situation, which has worked well for him and for Golden State since it acquired him from Indiana in January 2007. If there's any player in the league who exemplifies the "no conscience" cliche, it's Jackson. He went 5-of-7 from downtown last night, so hopefully he got the hot-shooting out of his system. Also, he's an underrated defender, so Hedo Turkoglu is really going to have to earn his points tonight.

One final Warrior to watch: Brandan Wright. The 6'8" forward acquired from Charlotte on draft-night for Jason Richardson is finally playing consistent minutes, and he's producing solidly. Wright is long, tall, and athletic, the perfect power forward for Warriors coach Don Nelson's offensive system. If called upon tonight, Wright may well put up Paul Millsap-like numbers against us, which bodes ill. In case you need a reminder, the grisly details of that evening against the Jazz are here.

Requisite J.J. Redick mention: Brian Schmitz informs us that tonight will be our last chance to see J.J. for a while, as he will leave the team after tonight's game so he can spend time with his younger brother, who will undergo surgery to remove a tumor on Monday. Obviously, our thoughts are with J.J. and his family, and we hope David Redick makes a speedy recovery.

First team to 110 points wins. As usual, post your pre-, in-, and post-game comments in this thread. Check out Golden State of Mind for some Warriors perspective. Their Q-and-A with me should be up later in the day is up now. Dig it.

Go Magic.

The Magic appointed Otis Smith and Dave Twardzik co-general managers of the team on June 27th, 2005. Smith was later promoted to general manager, while Twardzik remains in charge of scouting. 3QC examines their draft history.

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Note: The Magic also bought the rights to Marcin Gortat, whom the Phoenix Suns selected with the 57th overall pick in this draft.

Essentially, the Magic spent four draft picks on four players who have played a combined 49 games over two-plus seasons. Only one -- Gortat -- is still with the team, although it still has the rights to Vazquez. This draft probably could not have been worse for Orlando. Grade: F

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Redick at least practices hard, but his poor defense has kept him on the bench behind Keith Bogans, Keyon Dooling, and Maurice Evans. Augustine had value last week as an expiring contract, but the Magic didn't trade him. Still, the fact that Redick at least has potential makes this draft look a little better than the previous one. Grade: D

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Note: The Magic were without their first-round pick because they sent it to Detroit as part of the trade that brought Carlos Arroyo and Darko Milicic to Orlando; Detroit used that pick on Rodney Stuckey. Additionally, the Magic sold another second-round pick, 54th overall, to Houston, which drafted Brad Newley.

The Magic have literally nothing to show from this draft, but that's actually not so bad. Otis Smith knew his team would be strapped for cash after signing a premiere free-agent, which Smith did just days later, when he reached a sign-and-trade agreement with the Seattle SuperSonics, who sent Rashard Lewis to Orlando. Still, the other teams in the division got an infusion of young talent (Atlanta: Al Horford; Charlotte: Brandan Wright, used to obtain Jason Richardson; Miami: Daequan Cook; Washington: Nick Young), while the Magic stayed the same. Still, the view from atop the Southeast sure is nice... Grade: C-

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Smith and Twardzik have presided over three drafts for the Magic, yet have have not improved the team at all. Imagine Monta Ellis throwing lobs to Dwight Howard on fast-breaks, or Paul Millsap hauling down some much-needed offensive boards. To be fair, plenty of teams passed on those players, but the fact remains: the draft is a viable way for teams to acquire young talent. For Smith and Twardzik to fail this miserably, year-after-year, is unacceptable.

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Stay tuned for more evaluations of Otis Smith's tenure as Orlando Magic general manager.

	vs.
35-22		26-28
Amway Arena
6:00 PM
Sun Sports HD
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	Beno Udrih
Maurice Evans	SG	Kevin Martin
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Ron Artest
Rashard Lewis	PF	Mikki Moore
Dwight Howard	C	Brad Miller

The Kings may be talented enough to make the playoffs. That's what section214 concludes after this Sactown Royalty article about the players earning fewer than $2 million who give the most bang for their buck; Jameer Nelson makes an appearance. So why don't the Kings stand a chance? Because they have $21 million tied-up in unproductive power forwards. Sounds like a problem we could stand to have, no?

The last time these two teams played, the Kings totally embarrassed us on their home floor. As the GameFlow tells us, we never had a lead after the opening minutes of the game, and we were down by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter; the respectable final margin, 104-100, was largely due to J.J. Redick scoring 10 points in the final 8 minutes.

Since then, the Kings have shaken up their roster. They traded Mike Bibby to Atlanta, a division rival of ours, for Shelden Williams and Cap Space. Bibby's replacement at point guard, Beno Udrih, produces almost the exact same level. Additionally, the Kings will have Ron Artest and Kevin Martin available this evening. Those two players sat out the first time we played the Kings.

For us to win, we're going to have to keep Kevin Martin off the foul line, which is much easier said than done. "Speed Racer" is capable of scoring 15 points without making more than five shots. Consider what Martin did to us the last time the Kings were here, a loss so infuriating it caused some deluded moron to start a website: in 30 minutes, he made only one-of-eight shots, yet still scored 20 points. The Kings managed to win despite shooting .338 from the field. That's got to be some sort of record.

Other Kings who could kill us: Brad Miller, whom Rashard Lewis had trouble guarding in these teams' first meeting this season; Francisco Garcia, who is en fuego this month, shooting .600 from three-point range(!); and Quincy Douby, a rambunctious combo-guard who can join Paul Millsap and Anthony Carter in the "Obscure Players Who Absolutely F---ing Destroyed Us" Club.

Be sure to mosey on over to Sactown Royalty for some brilliant Kings blogging. Tipoff tonight is at 6 PM instead of 7, and the first 5000 fans at the Amway Arena will receive a Jameer Nelson action figure. No word on if the concession stands are serving turnovers to commemorate the event.

Post your pre-, in-, and post-game comments in here. Go Magic.

In all the Magic games I've ever attended in my life, I'm not sure if I've ever seen an Orlando team with less passion and intensity than it did last night against the hard-nosed Utah Jazz. Paul Millsap joined Indiana's Danny Granger as the second Magic draft snub to torch us this year, scoring a career-high 28 points, including 13 straight for Utah in the -- ahem -- third quarter to put the game away for good. Here is the absolutely dreadful boxscore.

The storyline that most game recaps picked up was Stan Van Gundy's vitriolic post-game comments, which Brian Schmitz compiled in his recap:

• "We had a team-wide effort of guys getting their butts kicked."
• "It's a soft team . . . We're absolutely frightened of contact . . . We don't play hard enough. We're not tough enough and this will not stop. And until we change the way we play and play harder, it will not stop."
• "A lot of guys are OK with that as long as they get their numbers."
• "I think every film clip we show them [today] they'll have an excuse for."

It was an all-around embarrassment. Even though we lead, 50-49, at halftime, I wasn't comfortable with it. There were several bad omens: Anrei Kirilenko, a 15% three-point shooter this season, drilled three long-range bombs in the first half; Matt Harpring made two hook shots, also in the first half; and Hedo Turkoglu missed a wide-open dunk.

I feel like I should point out just how bad Rashard Lewis was. He had 10 points in the first half, but didn't score again until early in the fourth quarter when the game was pretty much in-hand for Utah. He just disappeared, largely because he got into foul trouble guarding Paul Millsap. I mean no disrespect to Millsap, but he can't be that hard to guard. He has no offensive moves; just box him out to prevent him from getting garbage put-backs. Rashard couldn't even do that. He also threw some terrible passes, which is something we should start keeping an eye on. He can find the open man, sure, but he rarely ever gets the ball to the teammate in a good spot. One lob he threw to Dwight sailed out of bounds; another was behind him, which required Dwight to contort awkwardly to catch it. He missed the ensuing hook shot, as I recall, because the time he spent recovering Lewis' errant pass allowed Utah's defenders to surround him. Yet another time, Lewis saw Keith Bogans wide-open in the right corner for a three, but his pass was low and to Bogans' right. Kool Keith was able to recover, but he no longer had a wide-open three and was instead forced to kick the ball out.

I guess it's easy to pick on Rashard due to his contract, but this criticism is indeed warranted. There's no excuse for a player of his caliber, whether he's being paid annually $15 million or $20 million, not being able to pass the ball effectively.

So, what were the positives to come from this game? It's hard to think of any. James Augustine, whom we selected instead of Millsap in the 2005 draft, scored 5 points, including a driving layup in traffic. What else? The chicken fingers were good, even if I had to wait 20 minutes in line for them. Um... I got Pat Garrity's autograph after the game. Yeah! That game was totally worth the money it cost and the time it took.

Not.

If we play this poorly against the mighty Celtics on Sunday, we'll be down by 20 points at the end of the first quarter. It's getting harder and harder to put any faith in this team, given the lack of heart it displays at home. Maybe we should work hard to let the Wizards win the division, thus given them home-court advantage in the playoffs. In Orlando, this season, there's just no such thing as home-court advantage, and that's embarrassing.

UPDATE: Thanks to Tom Ziller at Fanhouse, here's a YouTube clip of Van Gundy ripping the TrMagic after the game: