Well, this changes things, though I'm not sure how. The Magic (who had lost 5 of their last 6 games) are blowing things up to retool on the fly.
Magic to land Arenas, Richardson, Turkoglu - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
As a prelude to the trade for Arenas, the Magic have agreed in principle to send guards Vince Carter and Michael Pietrus, backup center Marcin Gortat, a first-round pick and $3 million to the Phoenix Suns for Turkoglu and Richardson, sources said. The Magic also are nearing completion on a deal to send forward Rashard Lewis to the Wizards for Arenas, sources said. No other players or picks will be in that trade.
The Arenas deal was rumored for a while, though most thought it included Vince going to Washington. The Magic didn't simply want to tinker for the sake of tinkering. They went all-in, hoping to take advantage of the window of opportunity they have with Dwight Howard. Keep in mind that Howard has a player option to become a free agent after next year (which might be locked out). So this might be their last shot to make him happy and convince him that they are serious about contending for titles.
A lot will depend on how much Van Gundy can get out of Hedo, who's career fell off a cliff after he signed that big free agent contract in Toronto. He'll also have to work Arenas and Richardson into the offense and hope to get some defense out of all 3. Keep in mind that Pietrus was one of their more talented defenders and a guy that gave the Celtics fits at times.
Gortat was destined to be traded ever since the Magic matched his offer sheet, but losing him will shorten the depth behind Howard in the post.
This is a lot to digest, but clearly the team we will face on Christmas will look a lot different than the team we faced last Christmas.
So in case your head is spinning, here is the lineup before the trade.
- Jameer Nelson
- Vince Carter
- Rashard Lewis
- Brandon Bass
- Dwight Howard
- Bench: Gortat, Reddick, Pietrus, Q. Richardson, Duhon
And here is the lineup (at least in my head) after the trade.
- Jameer Nelson
- Gilbert Arenas
- Jason Richardson
- Hedo Turkoglu
- Dwight Howard
- Bench: Bass, Reddick, Q. Richardson, Duhon
So what do you think? Did the Magic get better or are they just shuffling deck chairs?
For all the latest updates, check out Orlando Pinstriped Post which has had the scoop basically from the start.