12/21/24
December 18, 2010
Magic Add Arenas, Turkoglu, Two Others for Lewis, Carter, Gortat and Pietrus: The Orlando Magic have traded Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus, a 2011 first-round draft pick and "cash considerations" to the Phoenix Suns for Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark. They also traded Rasheed Lewis to the Washington Wizards for Gilbert Arenas.
posted by rcade to basketball at 04:43 PM - 7 comments
Yeah, Arenas for Rashard Lewis is done too.
How the hell are Gilbert and J-Rich going to co-exist? For their sake, I'm hoping/guessing there's going to eventually be another trade in the works.
posted by Ufez Jones at 07:05 PM on December 18, 2010
This is baffling. Orlando has just shipped out most of their rotation, and the Suns have just handcuffed their offense.
For the Magic, is this a vote of no confidence for Jameer Nelson? ESPN paints GM Smith as a pretty avid Arenas supporter. My best guess:
- Jameer Nelson
- Jason Richardson
- Hedo Turkoglu
- Brandon Bass
- Dwight Howard
The Suns have taken another big bite out of their offense in search of a big man. It's how I know it is officially winter. I foresee Gortat's usage rate going up and his production tapering down. Pietrus would fit in nicely if his skill set didn't mirror Childress/Dudley. As if this wasn't depressing enough, Carter's ball-stopping and ISO forays are going to have this squad in the lottery rather than treading water for playoff contention. And thats if Nash isn't the next to go.
And the Wiz? Well, they are definitely swingman heavy. They have officially waved the white flag on this season (before X-Mas?), and are having open auditions for John Wall's running mate. I don't think they're done dealing yet.
posted by lilnemo at 08:07 PM on December 18, 2010
Wow, Jason Richardson is relegated to one of the "two others". He's probably playing the best of anyone in this deal.
What a crazy couple of trades. It's like a whole new team. I'm struggling to think of another top tier team that has tried to completely re-invent themselves. I'm trying to decide if I like this team more or less than the one they blew up.
posted by tron7 at 11:12 PM on December 18, 2010
I like that the Magic are taking a stab at it. They aren't beating Boston (& probably not Mia), so if you want to win this year you have to roll the dice.
That Arenas deal will kill their lux tax even more. I think the Wiz did this mainly b/c Lewis comes off the books quicker. If you are trying to rebuild & are hamstrung with a bad contract, better to minimize the time frame at least.
posted by brainofdtrain at 01:34 AM on December 19, 2010
Arenas will play some two guard with Nelson, and some one when Nelson isn't on, Richardson will start at the three (and can play some two in other sets) with Turkoglu coming off the bench as first sub. Bass is the four and Howard the five. That's my guess.
It's actually a much better line-up for Orlando than what they had - which was a good regular season team that was never going to win a championship. Not with Lewis and Carter playing major roles. And Arenas is just as bad a contract as Lewis', but at least Arenas can give you something. Lewis was a complete passenger.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 04:05 PM on December 19, 2010
This is a total panic move for Orlando. They're making the same misguided types of moves Cleveland did when they were trying to keep Lebron.
I do find it amazing that the Wizards found a trading partner dumb enough to take on Arenas' albatross of a contract. It's not going to be fun in Orlando the next couple of seasons, as Arenas and J-Rich decline, and Howard leaves anyway.
posted by reenum at 12:22 PM on December 20, 2010
They're also rumored to be trading for Gilbert Arenas.