You may remember this post from May, in which I tried to navigate the NBA's salary cap to see what the Magic could do this summer in free agency. Now that we're closer to the beginning of the free-agent signing period (Wednesday, July 9th), I thought I'd take another look at it. I've presented my findings in a Q-and-A format. For this post, I consulted Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap F.A.Q., Storyteller's Contracts, ESPN's 2008 NBA Free Agent list, and the Orlando Magic's official roster page. We hope you find this guide helpful.

Question: How many players do the Magic have under contract next season, and what are they owed?

Answer: Currently, the Magic have 11 players under contract, owed a total of $60,553,339 next season. While the league has yet to release its official salary-cap data, we can say with absolute certainty that the Magic are over the salary cap. Here's how everything breaks down by player...

Note: for this table, "Age" refers to a player's age as of October 31st, 2008, when we expect the NBA season to begin.

... and by position...

Make the jump to read the rest of the Q-and-A.

Continue reading this post »

• Scoop of the Day goes to John Denton, who reports that Otis Smith has denied, and will continue to deny, requests from J.J. Redick's representatives to trade him. Here's my favorite part of the piece:

  "We know that he can play, but as with a lot of young guys he just has to be patient," said Smith, who drafted Redick 11th overall in the 2006 NBA Draft. "If I trade him and he goes somewhere else and plays well, then what?"

  Then, Otis, you'll look like a moron. Smith points out that Redick could move up on the depth chart this summer, and Keyon Dooling's and Maurice Evans' contracts will expire and Keith Bogans' will have a player option. I can't imagine the Magic letting Dooling go, and Bogans would be foolish to opt-out -- there's no way he'd get better money than the $2.9 million he's slated to earn next year -- so J.J. is probably stuck.

• Up in the diaries today: my Eastern Conference All-Star Reserve ballot. Spoiler alert: Hedo didn't make the cut. Sorry, Turk.
• John Hollinger has his All-Sleeper team roster up at ESPN Insider - click over there now, because it's only free to view today. No Magic players are mentioned, but there is someone on there who could help us: Ryan Gomes. Hollinger notes that he's averaged 15.5 points and 6.4 rebounds in 2008. I'd take that -- Hell, I'd take 10-and-5 -- from a backup power forward, wouldn't you? He'll be a restricted free agent this summer. If the Timberwolves are nuts about him, they'll match almost any offer another team makes to Gomes. I'd say he's worth the mid-level exception.
• UPDATE: Brian Schmitz reports the Magic are not interested in signing Damon Stoudamire. An ESPN.com report late last night stated the Magic were one of several teams who had contacted the recently bought-out, veteran point guard.

The Memphis Grizzlies reached a buyout agreement with veteran point guard Damon Stoudamire on Monday evening. The Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns, and Denver Nuggets had been rumored to be teams interested in signing him once he clears waivers. ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan reports that two new teams have registered interest: the San Antonio Spurs and the Orlando Magic. Read the full report here.

I don't think signing Damon would be such a good move. At this stage in his career, he's little more than a backup, and the Magic already have plenty of those: Carlos Arroyo, Jameer Nelson, and Keyon Dooling are all backup-quality poitn guards. However, Stoudamire is more of a distributor than any of those players, and from that standpoint his presence could benefit us.

What do you think? Would you support the Magic adding Stoudamire? And which player would you want the Magic to cut to make room for him on the roster?

	vs.
17-7		6-16
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
Sun Sports HD
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	D. Stoudamire
Keith Bogans	SG	J.C. Navarro
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Mike Miller
Rashard Lewis	PF	Rudy Gay
Dwight Howard	C	Darko Milicic

The Grizzlies' All-Star power forward, Pau Gasol, is sitting this one out with a sore toe. Two-guard Juan Carlos Navarro will start in his place, moving Mike Miller to small forward and Rudy Gay to power forward. Navarro, a small, quick, European rookie, has Magic-killer written all over him.

Be sure to check out 3 Shades of Blue's preview for tonight's game.

Get those donuts.