Hedo Turkoglu attempts a reverse layup against the Miami Heat last season.

File photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack, the Associated Press

Speaking objectively, it makes a ton of sense for the Orlando Magic to trade Hedo Turkoglu. His stock has never been higher, he's in his prime, and it's unlikely they'll have the money to re-sign him when he opts out of his contract next summer.Speaking subjectively, it makes no sense for them to trade him, because he's the team's second-best overall player, best playmaker, and key offensive weapon.

But subjectivity needs to yield to objectivity if the Magic are going to make the jump from "pretty damn good" to "elite." And the blogosphere is alive with proposed trades that, perhaps unfortunately, will never happen in real life.

Last week, the Trade Journal proposed a three-team trade between the Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers in which the Magic parted with Turkoglu, among other players, and received center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and point guard Steve Blake. Readers of this site didn't much care for that deal.

Before we continue, I need to add some context: on June 24th, I emailed Kurt of the Lakers blog Forum Blue and Gold to get his thoughts on a trade which would send Turkoglu, Tony Battie, and either J.J. Redick or Keith Bogans to the Los Angeles Lakers for Lamar Odom and a lottery-protected first-round draft pick. The idea came to me when I read this rundown of the Lakers' probable 2008/2009 roster in which Kurt addressed some Lakers fans' concerns with Odom's play. I intended to use his responses in an eventual Talkin' Trades post (like this one) for this site. And although he provided wonderfully thorough responses, the idea slipped my mind, and I didn't think a heckuva lot of it until last week.

Last Friday, Magic beat reporter John Denton proposed the Magic send Turkoglu and Battie to the Los Angeles Lakers for swing forward Lamar Odom:

Losing Tukoglu's playmaking skills AND Battie's size would damage the Magic's firepower and depth, but Odom would give the Magic some nuch-needed size and rebounding at power forward. And such a move would allow Lewis to move back to his natural position of small forward.

Today, Trade Journal reader (and Poor Man's GM author) jaceman proposed a deal which sends Turkoglu, Redick, and Brian Cook to L.A. for Odom:

If the Magic are going to try some more unconventional matchups for the forwards, then you might as well get one that rebounds as well as Odom does. As much as Odom's offensive game plays like a 3, his game is actually best utilized when he's playing at the 4 position, I think. That being said, you'd replace for Orlando at the 3 a Rashard Lewis clone with, well Rashard Lewis.

Greg Broome, who runs The Trade Journal, thinks the deal "works" if the Magic are willing to re-sign Odom this summer.

That makes three well-informed NBA writers who have argued in the past week that trading Turkoglu for Odom makes sense for all parties involved. Due to the upswing in interest of a trade based on those two marquee players, I've decided to post excerpts from my aforementioned conversation with Laker blogger Kurt to round out the various reasons why such a trade works. Read it after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Pau Gasol defends Dwight Howard the only way he knows how to: by flopping.
Photo by Fernando Medina, NBAE/Getty Images

On the first possession of the game, Dwight Howard got position on the right block, posted-up Pau Gasol, and went around him for a layup. Gasol offered no resistance. A minute later, Howard again posted-up Gasol, this time on the left block. Gasol flopped egregiously as Howard made his move, and got the benefit of the whistle, as he would all night. In one unbelievable, second-quarter sequence, Gasol flopped while Howard posted him up, forcing the turnover. On the ensuing Laker possession, Gasol himself posted up Howard, dribbled, and flailed his arms wildly when he felt Howard's forearm on his lower back. Howard was called for the foul. Thank you, Pau Gasol: You've taught me that it is indeed possible to flop while dribbling.

Still, we can't sweat the poor officiating in this one. In spite of it, we had plenty of chances to win in the end.

Point-blank: we did not deserve to win last night.

Sure, we played hard. But no team that turns an 11-point lead after one quarter into a 1-point deficit at halftime, battles back to give itself a chance in the closing minutes, then misses its last five shots of the game can legitimately say, "We deserved this one." No team can hope to succeed in the playoffs when it executes so poorly down the stretch. Let's set the scene:

The Magic took the lead, 112-111, on two Hedo Turkoglu free throws with 1:37 to play. On Los Angeles' next possession, Keith Bogans forced Kobe Bryant into taking a contested 17-footer, which he missed. Rashard Lewis rebounded for Orlando.

That's when it got ugly.

• On the ensuing possession, Turkoglu hoisted a three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining on the shot clock. I understand wanting to go for the dagger in front of the home crowd, but that was a poor idea with that much time on the shot clock and the team clinging to a one-point lead. Gasol rebounded and outlet the ball to Bryant, whom Turkoglu fouled. Bryant converted the free throws to give the Lakers a one-point lead.
• After two Orlando 20-second timeouts (one to set-up a play, the other to preserve possession after Turkoglu caught the inbounds pass and tripped), Jameer Nelson missed a step-back 18-footer with 14 seconds on the shot clock. That's too early to shoot. Bryant rebounded and the Lakers scored when Howard goaltended a Lamar Odom jumper.
• Keith Bogans missed a layup. The ball bounced out-of-bounds off a Laker player and the Magic call their final timeout.
• Rashard Lewis has his catch-and-shoot three-pointer from the right corner partially blocked by Lamar Odom. Bryant rebounded, Jameer Nelson had no choice but to foul him. Kobe made two free throws as Lakers fans in attendance chanted "M-V-P! M-V-P!" The Lakers lead, 117-112, with 14 second remaining. Game (effectively) over.

I give our guys a lot of credit for fighting back. The game looked really out of reach there late in the third quarter, but we steadily chipped-away at the Lakers' lead and put ourselves in decent position to win the game, only to take ill-advised shots. Note that Dwight Howard had 0 attempts in crunch time, even though he was 8-of-8 from the field. Stan Van Gundy said after the game he told his players to get Dwight the ball, but for whatever reason, they didn't. He defended his players by adding that it's easy for him to say, "Get Dwight the ball!" from the sidelines when he doesn't have a guy like Lamar Odom or Kobe Bryant standing right in front of him.

After the game, I turned to my dad and said, "That's vintage Orlando Magic basketball right there."

Notes:

• J.J. Redick exchanged pleasantries with the Lakers' Sasha Vujacic after Vujacic fouled him late in the second quarter. Bryant had to step between the two players, who each earned technical fouls. Redick vs. Vujacic might be the least exciting fight in NBA history.
• Pat Garrity was booed when he checked into the game late in the second quarter. During the 38 seconds he played, the Lakers "defended" him with Derek Fisher, who is 6'1". Jameer Nelson had to contend with 6'10" Vladimir Radmanovic guarding him around the perimeter.
• Adonal Foyle picked up his fourth foul late in the third quarter. With Howard already sitting with five fouls, and with no other center active, Stan Van Gundy had no choice but to insert J.J. Redick into the lineup. Redick joined Jameer Nelson, Maurice Evans, Rashard Lewis, and Brian Cook on the floor. Indeed, Brian Cook played center for this brief stretch, and was called upon to defend Pau Gasol.
• Put another notch in your belt, Carlos Arroyo fans; the Magic lost a game in which Nelson started while Arroyo received a DNP-CD. Feel free to ignore the fact that Nelson played well (17 points, 7-of-15 shooting, 9 assists, 0 turnovers), or that Los Angeles is a damn good team, or that Howard and Turkoglu were in foul trouble for the entire game, or that Arroyo laid an egg Wednesday against New Jersey.

	vs.
32-19		31-17
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
FSN Florida
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	Derek Fisher
Maurice Evans	SG	Kobe Bryant
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	V. Radmanovic
Rashard Lewis	PF	Lamar Odom
Dwight Howard	C	Pau Gasol

Our game-day feature is a bit of Lakers Q-and-A with Kurt of the web's premier Laker-fan resource, Forum Blue & Gold. You may remember him from the insight he gave us when the Lakers and the Magic engaged in a three-player trade last November. Kurt took the time to answer some of our questions, just as I answered some of his.

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3QC: It's been nearly three months since the Magic traded Trevor Ariza to the Lakers for Brian Cook and Maurice Evans. How has that deal worked for the Lakers? Does Ariza, who can opt-out of his contract this summer, fit in to their future plans?

Kurt: The deal has been viewed as a great move for the Lakers. Until he got his foot stomped on by Derek Fisher in practice (Ariza is out a few more weeks with a broken bone in his foot), he had become a key player at the small forward, splitting time with Luke Walton. He is far more athletic than Luke and a much better defender, so depending on the matchup he or Luke got the start and the majority of minutes that night (Ariza started three games and was playing about 18 minutes a game, up from 10 in Orlando). It was his defense that was winning him fans, it gave the Lakers a second very good perimeter defender to take some pressure off Kobe at that end. And the move even helped Ariza's offense - the first half of the year in Orlando he shot 45.2% and had a PER of 12.9, in LA that jumped to 52.4% and a PER of 17.3. Plus, he had a monster dunk on Christmas Day over Grant Hill.

It's going to be interesting with the Gasol trade - Odom will start at the three and the Lakers are now pretty crowded at forward (Radmanovic can play there as well in a tall lineup). Still, Ariza's defense will get him minutes. I'd be surprised if Ariza opts out at the end of the year. I think the Lakers would like to keep him around as part of a young core that can compete for a title for the next few years, so long as it can be done at a reasonable price.

3QC: Los Angeles made a much bigger trade last week by acquiring All-Star forward Pau Gasol, which sparked plenty of championship talk among Lakers fans and NBA commentators alike. Given the formidable playoff lineup of Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Gasol, and Andrew Bynum, is there any team in the league which the Lakers would stand no chance of defeating in a seven-game series?

Kurt: One of the best parts of the Gasol trade (other than just getting rid of Kwame) and the way the Lakers roster is built is the flexibility it gives Phil Jackson. Want to go small, put in a lineup of Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Kobe, Ariza and Lamar Odom. Want to go very big, put in Kobe, Ariza, Odom (or Vladamir Radmanovic), Gasol and Bynum. Need just a few stops, put in a defensive-focused lineup of Fisher, Kobe, Ariza, Ronny Turiaf and Bynum. And those lists go on. In the crazy-deep Western Conference matchups in the playoffs are going to be key, you're going to see a different kind of team each round and you need to be able to counteract that style (just ask the Mavericks). The Lakers are in a better position now than any other team in the West to do that. But we'll see how that translates into wins when it matters.

3QC: Bynum, the Lakers' young (franchise?) center, has improved dramatically this season. What's been the key to his success?

Kurt: No need to put that question mark after franchise. He is part of the core of this team for the next decade and beyond, even after Kobe hangs it up.

The biggest change this season has been Bynum's conditioning. His first two years in the league he spent a lot of time with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (which you probably noticed because every time Bynum scored in a national broadcast the television cameras cut to Kareem). Kareem taught Bynum a lot about how to play the low post, proper footwork, using his body and length to get rebounds, etc. Last season, forced into extended minutes because of injuries, Bynum was learning how to apply those lessons in games, but his body kept betraying him. He got tired quickly, wasn't strong enough to do what he wanted at times. This past summer he spent a lot of time putting on muscle and getting in NBA condition (he's no Howard but he's not bad). The results have been phenomenal - and as he does something well his confidence grows, and then he feels comfortable trying different things he'd been working on. That's a great upward spiral for a young player.

3QC: Which Laker, besides Bynum, has been the most pleasantly surprising this season?

Kurt: Jordan Farmar has been the other key. Clearly the guy had leadership skills - he took UCLA to the NCAA title game, and in that game was the only Bruin to play worth a damn, scoring 18. He fits with the Lakers style in that he's got a great basketball IQ. And, he's a gym rat. The quintessential story about Farmar is this: On draft night last year the Lakers took the now-traded Javaris Crittenton in the first round, another young point guard. As the Lakers front office staff at the LA team headquarters were leaving the building that night, Jordan Farmar came in and started working on his shot. Nobody was going to take his spot. This season his shooting has improved - overall from 42.2% last season to 47.5% this year, and from three he's now shooting 38.9%, up from 32% last year. He's splitting time and learning from Derek Fisher, something that has the added benefit of keeping the not-so-young legs of Fisher fresh for the playoffs.

3QC: Which Magic player poses the toughest matchup for the Lakers? Conversely, which Laker poses the toughest matchup for the Magic?

Kurt: Um, have you seen Dwight Howard play? Does anyone have someone to matchup with him? He is going to be a big challenge with Bynum out, Pau Gasol is tall but not a great post defender. You may see a bunch of DJ Mbenga (a 10-day contract guy). The other guys who could have a big night are Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. One of the problems for the Lakers defense this year, particularly since Bynum and his presence in the paint went down, is that defenders are quick to sag off guys at the three-point line to defend the paint. Since the Magic have so many guys who can shoot the three, that can be a problem for the Lakers.

On the flip side, nobody really has a matchup for Kobe. The only thing slowing him down right now is he dislocated the little finger on his shooting hand against the Nets and that impacted his shooting against the Hawks Wednesday night. We'll see what happens tonight, but he is a force unlike any other. I'm curious how the Magic will defend the high pick and roll with Kobe as the ball handler and Gasol setting the pick (he has the skills to roll to the basket if you trap Kobe, or if you sit back on him he can slide out and hit the 18 footer). Also, depending on which Lamar Odom shows up, he can be almost unstoppable. He is the one that stops himself most nights.

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We'd like to thank Kurt once again for his thoughtful responses to our questions. Once again, be sure to check out the game preview at Forum Blue & Gold to see how I responded to Kurt's questions.

In this article on ESPN.com, Bill Simmons tries to figure out a way for the New Jersey Nets to trade Jason Kidd to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Orlando Magic don't play a big role in this hypothetical trade, instead serving only as a salary-cap facilitator for the Nets; as Simmons notes, the Nets "want to clear Kidd for cap space, draft picks and a young point guard and that's it."

Vlad Rad to the Magic? Really?

Well, it kinda makes sense, especially when you consider that we'd only be dumping the expiring contracts of Pat Garrity and James Augustine. And Radman can shoot the three well -- .378 for his career and .418 this season -- so he'd certainly fit in with Stan Van Gundy's three-point-happy offense.

But...

Radmanovic is on the books for another 4 seasons. We're pretty inflexible salary-wise as it is, given Rashard Lewis' contract. Why complicate it? Would Radmanovic be the final piece of the puzzle? Because I'm totally willing to overpay an average-at-best three-point marksman if it means we'll win a title or two with him.

What do you think? Would you jump at the chance to trade Pat Garrity and James Augustine for Vladimir Radmanovic, in spite of his hefty contract?