The Spurs re-signed Kurt Thomas, the forward/center whom the Magic coveted at the deadline. Meanwhile, a day after acquiring combo guard Keyon Dooling from Orlando, the Nets sent backup point guard (and object of Magic fans' affection) Marcus Williams to the Warriors for a future first-round pick.

Oh, and the Magic's chances of re-signing Carlos Arroyo -- already a long shot -- took a big hit when he tore a leg muscle during an Olympic qualifying tournament.

But Javaris Crittenton, long connected to the Magic in trade rumors, is still in play. The Grizzlies' young combo guard is likely the odd-man-out in Memphis, which wants to focus on developing O.J. Mayo, Mike Conley, and Kyle Lowry. I think Crittenton would be a home-run acquisition for Otis Smith and the Magic. For one thing, he's tall (6'05"). For another, his presence would make both J.J. Redick and Keith Bogans more expendable than they already are... assuming they weren't the guys dealt for Crittenton in the first place. Finally, it would mean fewer minutes for Anthony Johnson, the Magic's 34-year-old current backup, whose talent level befits that of a third-stringer.

Could Mikki Moore be an option? The Kings spent their full mid-level on the veteran power forward last summer, but might look to unload him to free-up playing time for youngsters Spencer Hawes, Shelden Williams, and Jason Thompson. Kings fan pookeyguru, whom you may know from his participation in the Sactown Royalty community, would swap Moore for Redick and Brian Cook.

I still support the idea of swapping Redick and Cook for Jeff Foster, but I doubt the Pacers would part with him now that they've dealt Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, and riff-raff.

Maybe we overestimate the Magic's need for another player at the power positions. After all, Tony Battie will make his return this season, and figures to steal some minutes from Adonal Foyle (at center) and Rashard Lewis/Cook (at power forward). And Marcin Gortat, who played in more post-season games than regular-season ones, showed promise. But you'll forgive me for feeling nervous about a big-man rotation that includes Lewis, Battie, Gortat, Foyle, and James Augustine.

What's the Magic's biggest area of need? Whom should they target to fill that need?

Brent Beck, a die-hard Pacers fan, really wants Indiana to make a move for J.J. Redick, as he explains in a guest post at Indy Cornrows. Considering the Pacers a) are one of my favorite teams, b) Redick is one of my favorite players, and c) the Magic have no use for him, I heartily endorse the idea of sending Redick to Indy. But, as in any trade proposal, one must consider what the Pacers have to offer the Magic. And there's an obvious answer:

Jeff Foster.

File photo by Tim Strattman, the Associated Press

The Magic need help at power forward and center. Foster, a nine-year veteran with a career PER of 14.4, plays both positions. And unlike Brian Cook, the Magic's presumed backup four next season, Foster bangs around the boards with the best of them. And I really mean "the best": he lead the NBA in Offensive Rebounding Rate (the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player snags while on the floor) in each of the last two seasons. His career ORR, 15.31, is fifth-best in the history of the league and tops among active players, even more highly paid ones like Erick Dampier, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Ben Wallace. And, wouldn't you know it, the Magic's biggest weakness in their first season under Stan Van Gundy was their inability to clean up their own misses: although they were nigh-elite on the defensive boards, they were horrendous on the offensive ones, finishing 27th in the league in Offensive Rebounding Rate.

Foster's presence has a tremendous impact on the Pacers' rebounding abilities as a team. Data from 82games.com show that when he's on the floor, they grab 50.9% of available rebounds, a 4.7% improvement from their average when he's off the floor. Don't let the advertising quacks fool you. "Foster" is not "Australian for 'beer,'" but rather "San Antonian for 'Rebound.'"

As always, we must consider finances when discussing potential trades. Foster's $5.70 million salary next season more than double's Redick's ($2.14 million), but the Magic can throw in a player to make the trade work. Whom might they package? Look no further than Brian Cook. At 27, he's nearly four full years younger than Foster, and while he's certainly hit his ceiling, he fits in with Indiana's younger players (average age: 26.7) better than Foster did. Additionally, Cook's specialty, three-point shooting, will come in handy in Indiana. Only the Warriors and the Magic attempted more triples last season than the Pacers did, yet they finished eighth in three-point percentage. As a bonus for Indiana, his style contrasts nicely with Ike Diogu, the so-called "steal" in the trade that sent Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington to the Warriors, who plays more of a low-post game.

And if all those reasons didn't do it for you, maybe this one will. Foster's contract expires at the end of next season, giving the Magic cap room to re-sgn Hedo Turkoglu, who will almost certainly use his opt-out clause to negotiate a contract which would reward him for his exemplary play of late. Or, if Turk decides he would rather not stay with the Magic, or if the Magic decide Turk's asking price is too high, they can try to re-sign Foster.

To me, this trade is a low-risk, high-reward proposition for the Magic. They exchange one young player who doesn't play and a veteran who doesn't fit their needs for a veteran who does fit their needs. Heck, I wouldn't mind throwing a future first-round pick into the deal if it would appease the Pacers.

When the Magic traded Trevor Ariza to the Lakers for Maurice Evans and Cook, ESPN's John Hollinger liked the deal because it was the sort of minor move that above-average teams make to take themselves to the next level. Obtaining Foster would be a similar, seemingly minor move for the Magic, but one that would pay even greater dividends. Every serious contender in the NBA gets contributions from role-players: Detroit has Antonio McDyess; San Antonio has Kurt Thomas; Boston has... well, it has three future Hall-of-Famers, so it doesn't count; and the Lakers have Derek Fisher. If the Magic want to make the most of the primes of their stars, they'd do well to acquire Foster (or another similar role-player) who may be slightly past his.

The internet tells me the Magic won last night, but I didn't pay any attention to the game. But really, it only counts as a win in the win column; any team that surrenders 34 points to Jason Williams and only manages to defeat the undermanned Heat (they only had eight players in uniform) by nine points should really consider itself the loser.

Tonight's game between the Magic and the Pacers is already in-progress, Check it out on FSN Florida or online with NBA Audio League Pass.

	vs.
43-24		25-40
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
FSN Florida
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	Flip Murray
Maurice Evans	SG	Mike Dunleavy
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Danny Granger
Rashard Lewis	PF	Troy Murphy
Dwight Howard	C	Jeff Foster
Season series:
7 Dec 2007: Pacers 115, Magic 109
10 Dec 2007: Magic 121, Pacers 115

	vs.
19-28		30-18
Conseco Fieldhouse
7:00 PM
FSN Florida
Probable starters:
Travis Diener	PG	Jameer Nelson
Kareem Rush	SG	Maurice Evans
Mike Dunleavy	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Danny Granger	PF	Rashard Lewis
Jeff Foster	C	Dwight Howard

Tonight's game against the Indiana Pacers will be a big test for the Orlando Magic. No, really, I'm serious. The Pacers are on a five-game losing streak; are just 9-12 at home; and are missing Jermaine O'Neal, their All-Star center. They're so bad, Jared from Subway didn't renew his season tickets^*. In other words, they're the sort of team to which the Magic find ways to lose games. Recall the Pacers embarrassed us at home in December, which kicked off a streak of games in which the Magic were one of the league's worst defensive teams. Incidentally, the last time we played the Pacers was also the last time we were 12 games above .500... just like we are now. Ominous.

The Pacers, like the Magic, are on the second night of a back-to-back, losing a close one to the Rockets last night, 106-103. But as David Friedman points out, the Pacers did a great job of containing Yao Ming, who scored 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting. But their focus on Yao freed-up Houston's role players, who all had solid games. The night belonged to Carl Landry (?!), who came off the bench to add 22 points. I have no doubt the Pacers can nullify Dwight Howard. But if they focus too much on him, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis could be in for some big nights. Maybe even Brian Cook...?

The bench should be able to come up big for us as well. Pacers' point guards allow opponents to post an 18.2 PER against them, which basically means whomever they guard magically transforms into Jason Terry. Travis Diener, God love him, is not a good defender, and I have no doubt Jameer Nelson can abuse him on his way to the basket all night... provided that his foot is okay.  

Sometime before tipoff, be sure to check out Indy Cornrows for more on the Pacers. See you at 7. Go Magic.

Notes:
^*: He later explained he was unable to attend most of the games, and he hopes to re-up with the Pacers later when his schedule clears up.

	vs.
16-4		9-10
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
FSN Florida
Probable starters:
Jameer Neson	PG	Jamaal Tinsley
Keith Bogans	SG	Mike Dunleavy
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Danny Granger
Rashard Lewis	PF	Jermaine O'Neal
Dwight Howard	C	Jeff Foster

• The Pacers don't have a great collection of talent. So how are they hovering around .500? With balance and teamwork, according to Indy Cornrows.
• The Magic should be happy Jermaine O'Neal will play tonight. As my colleague Steve at Clips Nation pointed out before the Pacers played the Clippers the other night, the Pacers are worse off when Jermaine O'Neal plays.
• It's a shame we don't have Trevor Ariza around anymore. He's good at dunking on O'Neal:
  Photo by Stephen M. Dowell, the Orlando Sentinel
• Indiana plays at the second-fastest pace in the league; only Denver averages more possessions per game. Golden State and Phoenix get more hype as running-and-gunning teams because of their reputation. If the Pacers keep this up, they'll soon be branded one of the league's more fun teams to watch.
• Speaking of Phoenix, the Pacers sure gave them a helluva game the other night. They played the Suns better than we did in both our tries this season. We shouldn't let our guard down.
• Expect Dwight Howard and his Magic teammates to get to the foul line frequently tonight. The Pacers allow more free-throw attempts per game than any other defense in the league. In spite of their charitable ways, they're still in the top half of the league in defensive efficiency.

Should be a close one tonight; I don't think the Pacers are pushovers. I'll be listening to the game for free online thanks to NBA Audio League Pass. It's awesome. Please tell your friends.