Dave D'Alessandro brings Nets fans up to speed on New Jersey's pursuit of Keyon Dooling:

The Nets have been in touch with Rob Pelinka, they haven't made an offer for his client, and it's fairly obvious to both sides right now that this probably isn't going to happen unless the market dries up even faster than we thought.

[....]

Oh, you need more details: Keyon, of course, saw his market shrink when Orlando signed [Mickael] Pietrus, so his best bet to get into a more aggressive price range would be Golden State (now looking for a starter) and New Orleans (especially if [Jannero] Pargo leaves). They can give him midlevel money.

Meanwhile, the Nets, as you know, handed Eddie Najera a $3.4M jumpoff point, which leaves $2.18 from their MLE to give some worthy recruit.

So if they think that bargain recruit is Dooling . . . not gonna happen. Not until he exhausts all his other options, anyway. Funny thing about that: Some coaches would tell you that Keyon is good enough to start for a few teams in the league, but people are treating him like a September hire -- like he's Royal Ivey or Keith McLeod.

D'Alessandro goes on to mention that neither Dooling nor Pelinka should be surprised by the lack of offers. I'll grant him that this free-agent market is loaded with wings, but Dooling was arguably the best available point guard not named Baron Davis. I still can't get over the fact that Chris Duhon was a hotter commodity. Chris. Duhon.

The rest of free agency comes down to what Celtics forward James Posey decides to do. New Orleans is said to be in the market for him. Should he land there, he'd take all the Hornets' mid-level exception, thus whittling Dooling's options even further. Golden State might end up being Dooling's destination, although he might not start there, either. Currently, the Warriors have slotted Monta Ellis, last season's starting shooting guard, as their point guard, pairing him in the backcourt with Stephen Jackson while newly acquired Corey Maggette will man the three.

I'd be truly shocked if Dooling wound up having to accept an offer of less than $3.5 million annually. He's a better player than that. DeSagana Diop, of all people, got the full mid-level...

	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.

------------------------------------------------------

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

------------------------------------------------------

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

------------------------------------------------------

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-

------------------------------------------------------

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.

------------------------------------------------------

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

John Denton, usually a reliable source for inside Magic information, believes the team is interested in acquiring forward Mickael Pietrus from the Golden State Warriors. From Florida Today:

Could a Magic team that has been strangely inconsistent for weeks be shopping [Keyon] Dooling, or even point guard Carlos Arroyo, who moved into the starting lineup four games ago?

Magic guard J.J. Redick, another player who could be used in a potential trade, is again out of Stan Van Gundy's rotation and has to be wondering if he'll ever get his shot in Orlando.

[....]

The Magic aren't allowed to comment on players on opposing teams, but they are keeping their eye on the availability of Golden State small forward Mickael Pietrus. Orlando made an attempt to nab Pietrus last summer when he was a restricted free agent. He has been buried on the bench all season behind Matt Barnes and Al Harrington. Golden State, meanwhile, is in the market for a point guard. Troy Hudson is out for the season, and Baron Davis' minutes have been increasing.

I hope this rumor is false. Trading either Carlos or Keyon for Pietrus would be horrible for two reasons:

• Either trade would move Jameer Nelson back to the starting lineup. Given how well he has played off the bench so far (15.3 points per game on 50% shooting), it wouldn't be wise to change his role.
• The Magic have no use for Pietrus, a small forward known for his three-point shooting (nearly 39% for his career) and defense. He's certainly not a bad player, but I don't see how he helps the Magic, especially at the expense of the team's weakest position, depth-wise.

Trading Redick makes a little more sense, but not much. Redick's contract doesn't match up with Pietrus', so the Magic would have to include another player to make the trade work. Adonal Foyle fits the bill, but leaves the Magic with only James Augustine and Marcin Gortat to back up Dwight Howard at center. As much as the Warriors would love to get Foyle back -- a fan-favorite in the bay area, Foyle played 10 seasons with them before they bought him out this summer -- the Magic can't afford to part with their best backup center, especially when doing so won't yield a quality rebounder in return.

Golden State is just not a good trading partner for us. Sure, they need a point guard, and we have two who would work well in their system. However, they don't have anyone who could help us. Our biggest weakness is offensive rebounding: we're 27th in the league in offensive rebound percentage. The Warriors don't have any outstanding offensive rebounders except for Andris Biedrins and DJ Mbenga. The former is due for a hefty contract extension next summer and the latter is a foul machine, committing one foul for every four minutes he plays. Further, because he was signed as a free-agent, Mbenga will not be trade-eligible until February 17th, or three months after the day he signed. The NBA's trading deadline is February 21st. Surely the Warriors want to acquire a backup point guard before then, which is why Mbenga is not viable.  

If there's a way for the Magic to make a trade for a productive rebounder with a reasonable contract without giving up Hedo Turkoglu, that should be Otis Smith's priority. Consider the small-forward depth on this team already: Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Maurice Evans, and Keith Bogans can all play the position. Why add yet another player there? It just doesn't make any sense, at least from an Orlando perspective.

Even Tom Washington agrees that this trade would be no good for Orlando.
Photo by Fernando Medina, NBAE/Getty Images

For the record, Golden State could not deal Pietrus to Orlando for either Arroyo or Dooling straight-up; the salaries do not match. In any scenario, Golden State would have to include a player with a small expiring contract. Kelenna Azubuike, Austin Croshere, Monta Ellis, and Troy Hudson all work. However, the Warriors are unlikely to part with Ellis, who won last year's Most Improved Player award, or Azubuike, who has played well. That leaves Croshere or Hudson as the throw-in player.

Both trades would give the Magic 16 players under contract, over the league maximum of 15. Whichever throw-in the Warriors included would be the one the Magic send packing, especially if it's Hudson, whose career may be over.

Read about Warriors fans' perspective in this diary at Golden State of Mind. As you might expect, they're are chomping at the bit to get this deal made; so far, there's only one voice of dissent in the comments of that discussion.

Our very own Jameer Nelson soars to the basket for a layup during the Magic's 123-117 victory over Golden State. Nelson scored 22 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and handed out 11 assists in a career-best performance.
Photo by Rocky Widner, NBAE/Getty Images

As most Magic fans are aware by now, Orlando defeated Golden State last night in overtime by a score of 123-117. 14 players total scored in double-figures. Here's the boxscore.

This recap is up several hours too late because, frankly, I couldn't handle the pressure of staying up late to listen to a close game AND the pressure of staying up late to finish a presentation, which I just got back from completing. There was just too much on my plate, so to speak, and I apologize.

We did our damndest to give this game away, though. Despite shooting 48% from the field and 44% from three-point range, we nearly lost due to committing too many turnovers and allowing the Warriors too many offensive rebounds. Our turnover problem seems to have improved from last season, but it's nights like last night that show just how badly we miss Tony Battie. I know he's not a great player, but I'm sure he could manage to BOX OUT MONTA ELLIS, the Warriors' 6'3" combo guard who managed to pull down 12 rebounds, just one shy of the 13 total rebounds 6'10" forwards Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis combined to pull down. Embarrassing.

There's also the matter of Dwight Howard's backbreaking technical foul call. After missing a dunk attempt on which he was fouled, Howard slapped the basket standard, earning him an automatic technical foul. Stephen Jackson hit the technical free throw for Golden State, but Howard countered by hitting his two free throws on the other end. Still, the game would never have gone into overtime if he managed not to lose his temper. But maybe I'm being picky. After all, we did win the game.

Can we please give a rousing ovation to Jameer Nelson? He played the game of his life last night, coming just two rebounds shy of a triple-double. Hats off also to Keith Bogans, who scored 22 points AFTER I put him on the bench in my fantasy leagues. Thanks, Keith. Oh well. At least I had Monta active.

For more on last night's game, check out these links:

• John Denton: MAGIC SURVIVE TO BEAT WARRIORS IN OT FOR 4-1 ROADTRIP

  Orlando dug its way out of a four-point hole late in regulation with some clutch work from Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard and then won the game 123-117 in overtime with some calm, cold-blooded execution

  .

• Golden State of Mind: RECAP: Warriors 117, Magic 123 - A Wise Man Once Said, "D'oh."

  Okay, this is the part where I drool over Howard for a bit. As well as we stopped him on offense (anything under 20 from him and I consider us defending him well), I can't believe how big this guy is going to be in the league. He's a rebounding machine and turned out 7 swats against us tonight. (Some of them were pretty embarrassing.) In the first half, it felt like our boys were driving into the lane and trying to shoot over Redwoods.

• NBA Glue: 12/3/07

  This Magic team is for real, folks, and you'll hear me saying it all the way 'til June.

• Orlando Magic Blog: Magic stun GS in OT thriller to move record to 16-4

  The Magic end the 5 game west coast road swing at a terrific 4-1, and are proving themselves as a top NBA team. They finally get a break in the schedule with only 2 games in the next 7 days, both home games, starting FRI against IND.

	vs.
9-7		15-4
Oracle Arena
10:30 PM
Sun Sports HD
Probable starters:
Baron Davis	PG	Jameer Nelson
Monta Ellis	SG	Keith Bogans
Stephen Jackson	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Al Harrington	PF	Rashard Lewis
Andris Biedrins	C	Dwight Howard

• The Warriors are on a six-game winning streak and have won nine of their last ten games. Stephen Jackson is a big reason why. Golden State of Mind, my SB Nation sister-site, details how Captain Jack's defense has improved the Warriors in this insightful post.
• We should be prepared for a track meet tonight: the Warriors are the fifth-fastest team in the league, averaging 97 possessions per game. However, the Magic have been successful playing at that pace. This season, they are 5-1 when they have 97 possessions or more.
• Baron Davis is a certified Magic-killer. He dropped 38 points on us last year in Orlando just a few years after posting back-to-back triple-doubles against us in the playoffs. He'll be licking his chops tonight; at 6'3" and 215 pounds, he should be able to bowl right over our 5'10", 180-pound Jameer Nelson.
• Speaking of Jameer, he struggled mightily last night: 1-of-9 shooting for 2 points. We'll probably see a lot of Keyon Dooling at the point tonight. He has the size to match up with Davis, and he's a much better defender anyway.
• The last time we played the Warriors in Oakland, the result was bittersweet. Dwight Howard tore the Dubs apart to the tune of 30 points and 25 rebounds, but Trevor Ariza sprained his right MCL and missed 22 games; the Magic went 5-17 in those games to drop their record to 27-30.That's no coincidence.
• There's a great chance that Dwight will go for 20+ rebounds tonight. The Warriors are the worst team in the league at allowing offensive rebounds, as their opponents have grabbed 30.4% of their own misses this season. What's the over/under on putback dunks for Dwight tonight? 6.5? And would anyone actually take the under?
• J.A. Adande wrote about the Magic's league-best road record for today's Daily Dime at ESPN.
• More at ESPN: the Magic are tops in Marc Stein's Power Rankings this week. The Warriors are 9th.