In two separate moves on Saturday the Orlando Magic made some drastic changes to their roster in hopes of shaking things up for the Eastern Conference contenders. Orlando will send Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat and Mickael Pietrus to Phoenix for Jason Richardson, Hedu Turkoglu and Earl Clark. As if one blockbuster move wasn't enough for the day, they also will send Rashard Lewis to Washington for Gilbert Arenas.
After losing 5 of their last 6 games and falling to 4th place in the Eastern Conference, the Magic were eager to make some changes. Despite making it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, as well as to the NBA Finals the previous year, the Magic felt their current roster was not sufficient enough to compete against the reloaded Celtics or the All-Star trio gathered in Miami. These bold moves are a clear sign that Orlando intends to be a title contender over the next several years, but it remains to be seen if the risk will pay off.
Here is a breakdown of how these moves impact the three teams involved.
Orlando
The struggles the Magic have had this season were in part due to further decline by Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter, both of whom are on the wrong side of 30 and having seasons far below their career averages. Jason Richardson is a couple of years younger and having a better season. He's a three point threat, shooting just under 42% from beyond the arc this year, that should fit in well with Orlando's collection of shooters that they use to space the floor around Dwight Howard.
Orlando also will welcome back Hedo Turkoglu, who's best seasons were with Orlando a couple of years ago, but has struggled in shot stints in Toronto and Phoenix in the past year plus where he seemed to be mis-cast in his role. Turkoglu is at his best when playing the point-forward role where he can have the ball in his hands and create shots for himself and his teammates. The Magic haven't been the same since letting him go, so they hope adding him back will get them back to the elite level they were at a couple years ago when Turkoglu helped get them to the NBA Finals. It is a bit strange that the reason they let him go in the first place was over not wanting to pay him that much money, yet less than two years later they have now traded for that same over-priced contract, as well as added a lot more total salary over the next few years with these two trades.
The biggest risk for the Magic is the addition of the controversial and combustible Gilbert Arenas. Not only does he come with a health warning label due to knees that have been operated on several times over the past few years, but he also has character issues after being suspended last year for nearly starting a gun fight in the locker room last year. He's the biggest wild card in this, because the former All-Star can be one of the games most potent scorers when things are going right, but there is a lot that could go wrong that could derail the team and their title hopes.
Phoenix
After watching Amar'e Stoudamire leave town this off-season and Steve Nash's career winding down, it's time for the sun to set in Phoenix. Pietrus gives them an expiring contract that could be used later in another trade (he has a $5.3 million player option for next year, which he could decline if the team gives him the impression that he's not a part of their future plans). Vince Carter is a shadow of his former self and being traded from a contender to a re-building project could cause him to fall into a disgruntled funk. There is also the chance that playing in a player friendly system with Nash feeding him easy passes could revitalize him in the desert. Phoenix's highly regarded training staff could do wonders for a guy like Carter that has been banged up a lot in recent years (just ask Grant Hill how great that staff is). He could help pick up much of the scoring slack left by the departure of Richardson, and if it doesn't work out then parting ways after this season should be easy enough since only $4 million of his $18 million contract for next year is guaranteed. The move gets them out of Turkoglu's toxic contract and saves them a ton of money in the future.
They also get Gortat, who should help a team that is extremely thin on big men. Stuck behind Howard in Orlando, Gortat was frustrated with his lack of playing time, but he should get plenty in Phoenix, where only Robin Lopez stands in his way. He has played well in limited minutes and will bring some much needed rebounding and toughness inside for the Suns.
Phoenix also gets an unreported amount of cash along with a 2011 1st round draft pick from Orlando in the deal.
Washington
It was once assumed that the Wizards had no chance of trading Arenas after his recent string of legal troubles and knee injuries. This trade is a win for them because it finally rids them of their controversial star and the $60 million remaining on his contract. With Johns Wall in the mix now, Arenas became expendable. The two point guards have yet to share much court time together this season due to injuries to both of them, but many people are in agreement that they aren't a very good match.
For the Wizards, this is a matter of trading one bad contract for another. Lewis has seen his skills drop off significantly the past couple seasons and there is little reason to think a change of scenery will fix that. However, he comes with less character and health issues than Arenas, and has one year less left on his contract. While Lewis' contract is an albatross in itself, it isn't quite as bad as Arenas'. You get the feeling they would have taken just about anyone as long as the total amount of money left on the contract was less than what they owed Arenas. The trade saves them money in the long run, saves them headaches in the short term, and officially gives John Wall the keys to the franchise.
Conclusion
The Wizards and Suns both come out as winners in these trades, not because they acquire the most talent, but because of the money it saves them. It also signals that each franchise has made a decision to move on and re-build. For Phoenix, it remains to be seen how this deal impacts Steve Nash. He's shown no indication that he wants to leave, and he's too classy a player to publicly demand his way out. With his career winding down, if he ever hopes to win a championship, he must know it's not going to happen in Phoenix. It's a tough situation, since he deserves better than to waste away his remaining years on a bad team. The Suns would be better off trading him to help continue their rebuilding process, but he means so much to their franchise that the backlash from fans could cripple them for years.
For the Magic, the deals have the potential to make them winners, but it's a big risk. They must have figured they weren't winning a title with what they had, so a couple of bold moves were needed to give them a chance. They are desperate to win now in order to keep Dwight Howard happy to prevent him from bolting to join up with other star players when his contract runs out, similar to what we saw this off-season with LeBron James and Chris Bosh. They'll do whatever it takes to make sure they don't wind up like Cleveland or Toronto, or get stuck in the mess the Nuggets currently find themselves in with Carmelo Anthony. If the players they traded for play to their potential then Orlando re-establishes themselves as an elite team in the East. If Turkoglu struggles to re-acclimate with the team or Arenas misses as much time as he has in recent seasons then it could blow up in their faces. It's a big risk for a small market team like Orlando to take given the assets they give up and the amount of money they take on over the next several years.
For what it's worth, the ESPN Trade Machine predicts the trade will actually make Orlando worse by a devastating 7 games. That seems like a worst case scenario, yet not necessarily an unlikely one. One thing's for sure, things just got a lot more interesting for the Eastern Conference.
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