Corey Maggette spent his rookie season in Magic blue, but could return to Orlando as a free-agent this summer.
File photo by Eric Gay, the Associated Press

In his NBA Confidential piece in today's Orlando Sentinel, Tim Povtak mentions two possible free-agent acquisitions for the Magic this summer: Jason Williams and Corey Maggette:

Point guard Jason Williams of the Miami Heat isn't the only one who will go into free agency this summer hoping the Orlando Magic will give him a call. With the Magic having so many guards in the final year of their contracts -- and with center Dwight Howard locked in for many years -- there are players all over the league hoping for a ride to Orlando.

Shooting guard Corey Maggette of the Los Angeles Clippers will be another one looking to see what the Magic will do, which is why he smiled last week when he was asked about opting out of the final year of his contract to become a free agent this summer [....]

"We'll sit down this summer and see where it goes," Maggette said before the Clippers were pounded by the Magic last week [....]

I have no interest in Jason Williams at all -- seriously, if we want to have a pass-first point guard around to back-up Jameer Nelson, we'd be better off re-signing Carlos Arroyo -- but Maggette is an interesting proposition. So interesting, in fact, that discussing his potential signing merits its own discussion.

Consider these positives: Maggette is averaging career-highs in scoring (22.4 points per game), field goal percentage (.470), and three-point percentage (.413). Additionally, he's fourth in the league this season in free throw attempts per game, and he converts on a solid 84% of them. Adding him to a starting lineup that already features Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Rashard Lewis along the perimeter -- not to mention Dwight Howard down low -- would make the Magic formidable indeed. Furthermore, Nelson, Maggette, and Turkoglu can all handle the ball well, meaning they aren't just going to stand around on the perimeter and launch threes. This year's Magic team is fourth in the league in offensive efficiency, and it's not a stretch to think that standing would surge to first with Maggette in the starting lineup.

There are a few downsides to Maggette, however. For one, he likes to dominate the ball: when he's on the floor, he uses 27% of the Clippers' possessions. Of course, if he's willing to sacrifice " million in guaranteed money next season to play for us, as Povtak suspects he might, I'm sure he'd be willing to share the ball. Second, he's a poor defender. He allows opposing small forwards to post a PER of 18.4 against him. For comparison's sake, note that Dallas forward Josh Howard's PER this season is 18.2. Understandably, I'm a bit leery of signing a guy who lets his man post borderline All-Star numbers. Finally, he's far from a beast on the offensive boards. The player he'd replace in the starting lineup, Maurice Evans, grabs 7.2% of the Magic's missed shots when he's on the floor. Maggette grabs just 3.6% of the Clippers' misses. Don't be fooled by Maggette's higher overall rebound rate: the Magic are 26th in the league in offensive rebound rate and third in defensive rebounding, and Evans is the better offensive rebounder. We could also retain Evans more cheaply than we could obtain Maggette. Even if Evans wants a raise this summer -- and he's earned it, by all accounts -- he'd still only command $2.5 million or so. Maggette would cost us the whole $5.5 million mid-level exception, and he'd be on our books for five seasons.

So, should the Magic make a run at Maggette to improve their already elite-level offense? Or should they look elsewhere, hoping to shore-up their 11th-ranked defense and save money? I'm still undecided. On the one hand, I like the idea of having yet another offensive threat, especially one whose presence could -- gulp! -- allow us to trade Hedo Turkoglu, whose value has never been higher, for help at the power positions. On the other hand, there's no reason to tinker with what's already a fantastic offense, especially not when the defense needs attending to.

Corey Maggette and Maurice Evans statistics from www.basketball-reference.com.

The New York Post reports (via Brian Schmitz)that the Magic have had discussions with the Knicks about sending either Carlos Arroyo or Keyon Dooling to New York:

A league source told The Post the Knicks and Orlando discussed trades in recent days involving their two backup point guards, Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling, but were in a stalemate.

[....]

Arroyo and Dooling each make roughly $4 million and own expiring contracts. But the Knicks didn't want to part with young players such as rookie Wilson Chandler Wilson Chandler , and neither team wanted to add payroll.

Orlando, with its glut of point guards, will not have the money to re-sign both as free agents following starter Jameer Nelson's contract extension.

I'm hoping we can pull a fast one on Knicks GM Isiah Thomas, who bailed us out two years ago by sending us Trevor Ariza and Penny Hardaway's corpse expiring contract for problem-child Steve Francis. Unfortunately, I don't see many players on the Knicks' roster who can help us. Renaldo Balkman and David Lee are both high-energy, rebound-focused guys, but Thomas doesn't want to part with either of them. Wilson Chandler, mentioned as a sticking-point in the above report, doesn't seem to be a long-term solution for us. He's only 20, and a rookie, but he's not a great rebounder (rebound rate: 11.2) ... or shooter (eFG%: .405)... or defender (PER allowed: 23.1).

Put that phone down, Otis! Get someone else, someone with actual assets to offer, on the line. The Bulls' John Paxson is reportedly taking calls for Joe Smith (via BlogABull); Toronto is the rumored interested party. Dial Pax up, Otis! DADDY NEEDS A NEW POWER FORWARD.

Yeah, so fun times at the trade deadline. Hardwood Paroxysm set the over/under on deadline deals at 2.5, not counting this morning's Rockets/Hornets trade.

Stay tuned.

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?

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.

Brian Schmitz has had it with the Kobe rumors:

Enough already.

For those excited Magic fans who have alerted me that Jerry Buss, Lakers owner and Hugh Hefner wannabe, claims he'll deal Kobe Bryant if the season unravels.....

If you want Kobe, it will cost you all-star center Dwight Howard in a trade.

Hello?

Still there?

As much as you may not want to believe it, he's right. There's no way anyone, much less the Lakers, will take Rashard Lewis and his oversized contract in a trade. Thus, Howard is the Magic's only bargaining chip in any attempt to land Kobe. Here's how the trade would probably look.

Every team should want Kobe Bryant -- he is, after all, the best player on the planet -- but not at the cost of its future. KB24 is nearing 30 years old and is at his peak; that is, he's not getting any better. Dwight Howard, on the other hand, is not yet 22 and is nowhere near his zenith.

Mortgaging your future rarely wins championships, as the Miami Heat can attest to. They unloaded Caron Butler and Lamar Odom to get Shaquille O'Neal and they won a title two years later. Now, the Heat are, for the most part, washed-up or injured. Their run is over.

Further tempering this trade scenario is Kobe's no-trade clause, which he would have to waive to be traded. I highly doubt he'd give a Magic trade his approval; Orlando is a small-market town and doesn't have enough complementary pieces to win a title. Why come here when he can go to Chicago, which is a big city and can offer enough talent to please the Lakers while still keeping enough talent to contend for a title?

Fact is, there's no way Kobe Bryant will be traded to the Orlando Magic. We should focus on more likely trade scenarios, ones which don't require us to trade our franchise player.