[Sly Fox]

After a summer of possible deals and Howard acting like a baby, it appears he is finally headed to the Lakers in a 4-team deal.

I'm disappointed that the Rockets still couldn't get anyone in the shuffle.

[TIMSCAR20]

I'm excited to get Bynum in Philly out of all of this!

A Lakers-Heat Final would be special though. If (and it's a big if) Bynum stays healthy, I believe the Sixers can challenge in a couple of seasons for the Eastern Conference championship.

[Sly Fox]

Bynum plays where he wants as a free agent after this next season. The Sixers don't have long to convince him that Philly is where he needs to sign long-term. The deal was a calculated gamble for nearly all parties involved.

[TIMSCAR20]

What's not to like about playing in Philly (tongue in cheek). Yeah it is a gamble but I really hope he stays long term. He is still in his mid 20's and hasn't reached his potential yet IMO.

[RubberMallet]

philly is nice and young. he will like it there.

[thepostman]

There are rumblings that it isn't final. Either way nobody knows if Dwight will be completely healthy. That fact combined with his childish actions have lowered his worth and the negative reaction Magic fans have had towards this trade just prove how unrealistic some Magic fans are. I am just happy to hopefully finally have this whole thing over with. The cap space the magic will have by the time the summer of 2014 comes around will be amazing.

[Sly Fox]

Most NBA analysts believe the deal that Orlando is receiving is less than what they were offered by the Rockets. Frankly it isn't much to get excited about in Central Florida.

[thepostman]

Most NBA analysts believe the deal that Orlando is receiving is less than what they were offered by the Rockets. Frankly it isn't much to get excited about in Central Florida.

Most NBA analyst have lost all their credibility during this whole thing. So much that when news first broke about this trade I didn't believe it. I will take cap relief in a couple years over what Brooklyn offered that is for sure. Orlando has said that the trade Houston offered is not nearly as good as what was reported. Most reports are filled with planted stories in attempts to sway teams to make a move.

I am not saying this move is anything to be happy about, but it also isn't something to get angry about either. I am glad to see this chapter for the Magic closing. It has been painful to watch.

[lynchburgwildcats]

What the Nets offered and what Orlando turned down was so vastly superior to what they are getting now, it's downright laughable.

This is what they could have gotten, what was officially sent to Orlando
Brook Lopez - A promising young big man who can score well. Needs to rebound better, clearly better than any player they ended up with.
Kris Humphries - One of the best rebounders in the league
Marshon Brooks - A high potential shooting guard, has a significantly higher ceiling than any player they ended up with
Four unprotected first rounders

Orlando still got rid of all four of those same players, and this is what they get
Arron Afflalo - A good role player for a playoff team
Al Harrington - An old and overpaid player
Nikola Vucevic - A post with potential, but likely neer anything resemblind an all-star
Moe Harkless - A small forward who can't shoot anything but layups and dunks
Josh McRoberts - Barely played on a Lakers team with no bench
Christian Eyenga - A swimgman that played even less than McRoberts
Three protected first rounders
Two second rounders

This trade honestly leaves one having to debate who the Magic's best player is between Glen Davis, Jameer Nelson, and Arron Afflalo. The freaking Bobcats have more to be excited about than Orlando.

[thepostman]

The Nets deal was awful.

I am not going to post anything too long about it but I disagree. The Nets deal would've handcuffed the Magic for at least 4 years by vastly overpaying for 2 players on brand new contracts.

The deal the Magic made today is far from perfect but the good thing is the flexibility it give the Magic in the future.

The Nets deal was awful across the board and it would've ruined the franchise for nearly a decade. This deal doesn't give the Magic a very good team next season, but with the flexibility and the fact that the Magic's new GM worked with 2 of the best drafting franchises in the league gives me some faith.

[thepostman]

They also acquired a 17.8 mil TPE which adds even more flexibility and options for trades down the road.

Flexibility is what the Magic wanted and flexibility is what they got.

[Sly Fox]

Flexibility and cap space hasn't helped the Rockets any.

[thepostman]

Fair enough...I am not saying its fool proof, but with Dwight's public demands combined with his back surgery there wasn't much else left as far as options goes.

It is easy to be critical of this move, and I understand it to an extent, but its not crippling to this franchise much like the Nets deal would have been.

I am not happy this is the direction the Magic took, but I am also not happy that Dwight forced them to take this direction. They cleared house for him and he still screwed them over. For a while I could understand Dwight's frustration, especially with Otis Smith, but the Magic did what needed to be done and cleared house. This included firing one of the better coaches in the league who did a great job bringing the best out of Dwight. He yelled too much and it hurt his feelings much like Stan hurt Shaq's feelings.

On a side note I was hearing that the Rockets were going to include draft pick OR take on bad Magic contracts. It wasn't always like that but the offer sheets they signed off on made things a bit more complex then the media was initially reporting.

And Sly, don't you hate the NBA?

[lynchburgwildcats]

Flexibility and cap space is worthless if you can't get any good free agents. With the history of Orlando, they'll end up overpaying for marginal talent just like they always have. Even with knowing they would lose Howard, they went and overpaid for Jameer Nelson who won't be worth a crap whenever Orlando can get out of the cellar. Their new management has shown absolutely no intelligence whatsoever from overpaying for Nelson to trading away Ryan Anderson for pennies on the dollar in Gustavo Ayon, what maeks you think giving them more money to throw away at marginal players is going to give them any brighter of a future?

[thepostman]

so overpaying for 2 bigs that deserve half the salary they are getting is better??

The Magic were in a lose/lose situation but to say the Nets deal would of been better and then in the very next post talk about overpaying for marginal talent is comical.

I do agree some of the moves the new management have been questionable, but it also is a couple months into their reign. Much like in coaching a new management core needs time to prove themselves. If in 3 years from now things aren't improving annually then I can understand the harsh criticism but not after 2 months...

As far as Ryan Anderson goes he will need to be used properly to be effective. He disappeared in the playoffs and the Hornets completely overpaid him. Again, that goes against your whole overpaying for marginal talent statement.

I agree Jameer is overpaid, but it does go with everything they said. They wanted some veteran presence combined with youth. They have that. It won't be pretty, but they won't be the worse team in the league either.

I just think it is comical that you go on and on about overpaying for marginal talent yet believe it would've be perfectly ok for the Magic to overpay way more on 2 bigs that deserve half of what they got. I just don't get your way of thinking.

I will close with this. I am a Magic fan. It has pained me to see things play out the way they did. I think things were mishandled all around with this whole Dwight Howard thing. Dwight is immature and the GM and former CEO of the Magic were completely over their heads and made some boneheaded mistakes that I know annoyed Dwight and understandably so. However, Dwight whining over Stan yelling at him or not getting every little thing he wanted showed his true colors. Here is a guy you talked big when he came into the league about being a different kind of superstar, but in the end he turned out like every other superstar. At least LeBron has never try to pretend he was some kind of different kind of superstar.

This move is not something I am happy about and takes a huge step back. I don't want people to think that I think this is the solution to all of the Magic's problem and it will surely succeed, because to make any conclusion one way or the other at this point is mere ignorance. We live in a quick fix society, I get that, but the best way to build a sustaining franchise is to do it slowly. I believe that the Magic are in the position to do that.

The big thing nobody is talking about in the media is the HUGE 17.8 mil TPE the Magic are getting. That is massive and could secure them something in the future...possibly come draft time next year to move up or even secure a good player or 2. The possibilities are endless. It is not any one decision that will do them in...it will be interesting to watch that is for sure.

Wow, that was much longer then I anticipated. I just am sick of reading the same crap over and over again and on top of that, lburgwildcats, you are spewing complete crap about that Nets trade being better. That trade was downright awful. I can understand people claiming the Magic should of gone with the alleged Houston trade, but the Nets trade??? Seriously?? NO freaking way....

[lynchburgwildcats]

so overpaying for 2 bigs that deserve half the salary they are getting is better??

I'd rather be paying for a guy who could be an all-star in Brook Lopez than whatever parade of crap the Magic run out there with all the cap space they will have.

And of course, you are assuming the Magic would have signed Brook Lopez to a max deal to begin with. You know what they say about assumptions. The Nets were biding against themselves wen they gave Lopez that deal, he was a restricted free agent, no one else had even offered him a contract. the Magic wouldn't have had to sign the same one.

And Kris Humphries contract is for only two years. 12 million a year for a double-double machine is a good deal. In two years Orlando will still be competing to get out of the cellar. They could get rid of him after he has come in and taught Nicholson and O'Quinn a few things about being a post player in the NBA. Now the only veteran post player their promising rookies have to learn from is Glen Davis, Josh McRoberts, and a SG masquerading as a PF in Al Harrington.

Oh, and Al Harrington 6.7-7.6 million dollar cap hit for the Magic until he is 35 years old. Yeah, that is such a great contract, barely even offers half the production of Humphries or Anderson yet makes more than half as much as each of them do and at a significantly older age as a poor teammate. And they probably could have gotten Humphries cheaper than that, the Bobcats were his only other suitor and weren't offering $12 million a year (20 over two years, 26 over three).

They better hope all these young guys they got back develop into something more than rotation players because if not they aren't going to have anything of value to trade outside of Afflalo, Nelson, or Davis, and those are just good role players on a playoff team, along with draft picks.

[thepostman]

Again there is plenty to nit pick with this deal. Al Harrington will either be dealt or bought out after this year since the last 2 years of his contract are only 50% guaranteed...

From reading everything else you said you either didn't read everything I said or simply are trying to continue a arguement that does not exist. The Nets deal was terrible and that is pretty much universally agreed to except for Brooklyn homers. You lost the little credibility you have by saying it was a better deal. At least Sly mentioned the Houston deal, which if it had been completed as it was reported, would've been much better.

[Purple Haize]

I'm excited to get Bynum in Philly out of all of this!

A Lakers-Heat Final would be special though. If (and it's a big if) Bynum stays healthy, I believe the Sixers can challenge in a couple of seasons for the Eastern Conference championship.

I'm excited Doug Collins is being talked about as being the next Olympic Basketball coach!

[lynchburgwildcats]

Again there is plenty to nit pick with this deal. Al Harrington will either be dealt or bought out after this year since the last 2 years of his contract are only 50% guaranteed...

From reading everything else you said you either didn't read everything I said or simply are trying to continue a arguement that does not exist. The Nets deal was terrible and that is pretty much universally agreed to except for Brooklyn homers. You lost the little credibility you have by saying it was a better deal. At least Sly mentioned the Houston deal, which if it had been completed as it was reported, would've been much better.

So you are telling me you'd rather have flexibility to overpay for marginal FAs (which is what ORL just about always does) than not have flexibility while having three quality players? That's what losers do and that's why ORL never amounts to squat unless they draft their best players. The only had any success for one stint with a guy they got in free agency, and that was for three years where they floated a few games above .500 and lost in the first round three years in a row.

Once you Orlando fans start to face the reality of the situation, you'll realize how much better the Brooklyn trade offer was. But instead, you and the rest of the Magic faithful would rather live in a fairy tale world where quality high quality free agents will actually want to come to Orlando.

[thepostman]

you really should kind of know the Magic fan base before saying anything. Most people are angry about this trade and wish they would've gone with this mystery Houston package that everyone is talking about.

You have zero credibility to me because it is clear you have no idea what you are talking about. You are simply spouting off crap.

I never said this deal was perfect but its WAY, WAY better then the deal with the Nets. You are doing exactly what the media, most of the Magic fans, and others are doing...jumping off the deep end before everything can play out. I am glad you aren't running my nba team. Short sighted management is what got the Magic into this mess to begin with.

[lynchburgwildcats]

Jeff Van Gundy questions if Magic fans should stay loyal

“I think long-term if you’re an Orlando Magic fan today is a day where you have to ask yourself is it worth it? Because we’ve had three stars in our time, in Orlando, we had Shaquille O’Neal who went free agency and left. We had Tracy McGrady and he forced his way out and I was the beneficiary of that. Then third you had Dwight Howard who forced his way out. You have to ask yourself, is it worth it? Because even if we get the guys are we going to be able to keep the guys? So much is being made of draft picks. Those draft picks are great if, like Oklahoma City, you have the ability to have the second, third and fourth pick in the draft and get (Kevin) Durant, (Russell) Westbrook, (James) Harden and (Serge) Ibaka. You’ve got to get those picks and then you have to draft the right guys and they’ve got to come together like those guys have and then you have to be able to retain them like Oklahoma City has but Orlando, when they have gotten their best players, whatever reason, it hasn’t worked out and I really, really feel for their fan base. It’s a sad day for the Orlando Magic fan base.”

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... tay-loyal/

[thepostman]

Jeff Van Gundy questions if Magic fans should stay loyal

“I think long-term if you’re an Orlando Magic fan today is a day where you have to ask yourself is it worth it? Because we’ve had three stars in our time, in Orlando, we had Shaquille O’Neal who went free agency and left. We had Tracy McGrady and he forced his way out and I was the beneficiary of that. Then third you had Dwight Howard who forced his way out. You have to ask yourself, is it worth it? Because even if we get the guys are we going to be able to keep the guys? So much is being made of draft picks. Those draft picks are great if, like Oklahoma City, you have the ability to have the second, third and fourth pick in the draft and get (Kevin) Durant, (Russell) Westbrook, (James) Harden and (Serge) Ibaka. You’ve got to get those picks and then you have to draft the right guys and they’ve got to come together like those guys have and then you have to be able to retain them like Oklahoma City has but Orlando, when they have gotten their best players, whatever reason, it hasn’t worked out and I really, really feel for their fan base. It’s a sad day for the Orlando Magic fan base.”

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... tay-loyal/

Sums it up pretty well. I feel pretty bad for myself as a Magic fan as well...haha.

Not sure how this proves anything for you. My point isn't this is the best deal in the world, my point is it is way better then the New Jersey deal.

[lynchburgwildcats]

Jeff Van Gundy questions if Magic fans should stay loyal

“I think long-term if you’re an Orlando Magic fan today is a day where you have to ask yourself is it worth it? Because we’ve had three stars in our time, in Orlando, we had Shaquille O’Neal who went free agency and left. We had Tracy McGrady and he forced his way out and I was the beneficiary of that. Then third you had Dwight Howard who forced his way out. You have to ask yourself, is it worth it? Because even if we get the guys are we going to be able to keep the guys? So much is being made of draft picks. Those draft picks are great if, like Oklahoma City, you have the ability to have the second, third and fourth pick in the draft and get (Kevin) Durant, (Russell) Westbrook, (James) Harden and (Serge) Ibaka. You’ve got to get those picks and then you have to draft the right guys and they’ve got to come together like those guys have and then you have to be able to retain them like Oklahoma City has but Orlando, when they have gotten their best players, whatever reason, it hasn’t worked out and I really, really feel for their fan base. It’s a sad day for the Orlando Magic fan base.”

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... tay-loyal/

Sums it up pretty well. I feel pretty bad for myself as a Magic fan as well...haha.

Not sure how this proves anything for you. My point isn't this is the best deal in the world, my point is it is way better then the New Jersey deal.

It proves my point that top flight talent doesn't want to stay there if they even end up there to begin with.

[thepostman]

I never argued that point.

I have been a fan since the beginning as a kid growing up in Orlando. I know first hand how bad management has been.

Not bad enough to make Orlando a terrible franchise, but bad enough to make it frustrating.

I realize all of this. I just think you are off base with your claim that the Nets deal was soooo much better. It was a terrible deal..