NLL Insider - Team by Team: Orlando Magic

by vt, updated on Sunday, September 21 2008, 06:29 pm EST

Orlando Magic Review

2007-2008
Finish: 30-52

What went bad
Though the Magic won their conference back in 2004, things haven’t really worked out for them since. A lot of mismanagement and bad deals can be to blame, but many fans are starting to turn the heat up on longtime star Tracy McGrady. He’s been in town for years, but can’t seem to bring home the glory.

But should the Magic fans, hungry for playoff glory, make T-mac culpable? The Magic made a big splash by signing big bad Brad Miller in the offseason, but inexplicably let him go. With who did they replace him? The nearly-as-expensive, not-as-productive Rasho Nesterovic. They also picked up Mike James and a bunch of no-names. When the season began, the Magic were not ready for primetime.

There was one light early in the season. Rookie Yi Jianlian played some explosive ball, replacing Antonio McDyess at power forward. The Magic, knowing they needed more help, signed free agent point guard Earl Watson and shipped off McDyess and Tyronn Lue for underachievers Ike Diogu and Stromile Swift.

What went worse
Unfortunately, the season went nowhere for the Magic. Rookie Yi got hurt and sat out the second half of the season. The frustrations with T-mac began to boil over. Watson played solid ball, but a bench consisting of household names like Von Wafer, Cedric Simmons and Courtney Sims didn’t do much. It was another unremarkable season in Orlando, something GM Bron23 is desperate to fix.

The Star

Tracy McGrady, GF -
It is rumored McGrady is shopping for houses in other cities. But will anyone have him? He had shoulder and knee surgeries in the offseason and he’s not getting any younger. McGrady averaged 31.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists this season. This is one of his highest scoring averages. But his appeal is diminishing and if the Magic want to move him, now is the time.

The Goat

The Rest of the Team
Let’s face it. The Magic gave up. Things need to really change for a successful next season.

Looking to the future

The Magic come into the offseason with a lot of questions and very little dough. The biggest conundrum is the amount of cap space McGrady’s eating with his $21 million salary. He is a nice asset to have on a team looking to push deep into the playoffs, but that’s not the Magic. But if they lose McGrady, what else do they have?

Two important players to re-sign Watson and JR Smith. Both are solid players and make good pieces to use in a starting five. Hopefully, Yi can return to his old form before the season starts. But Swift is not a starting-caliber player anymore. He’s too unpredictable. Nesterovic is a better bet and he picked up his player option to remain in Orlando another year.

So let’s imagine the Magic move T-mac. What should they look for in return? Youth and players with expiring contracts. Most of their players expire at the end of this coming season and they can be major players in the 2009 free agent market. Maybe one more year of rebuilding and this team can re-invent itself soon. But, GM Bron23 has to prove to the fans he does care. He missed the draft this season and ended up with Russell Westbrook. Soon enough, he traded Westbrook for Jerryd Bayless. His offensive skills will be welcome on this team but the Magic should hold onto Watson until Bayless can develop his point guard skills.

NLL Insider - Team by Team: Orlando Magic

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