Florida on the improve?

We’ve all seen the Magic’s latest effort to win a title and convince Dwight to re-sign with Orlando, but is it as much of an improvement as we first thought. Without question their offense is substantially better, at least at the more skilled positions, but is it enough to worry LeBron and the Heat.

The Arenas deal seemed to be only a matter of time as it had been in the makings since the summer. The Magic knew they needed a high octane scorer at either guard position which would take the load off Dwight and give Nelson another option to throw the ball to. Chris Paul was the number one choice, and we heard that the Magic were fairly high on his list also, but Paul chose to stick it out and see if New Orleans could build a contender, and it looked for the first 10 games like they had…

Nonetheless Arenas, despite the chemistry issues and contract baggage he brings with him to Florida, Arenas is a pure scorer, and whilst is more of a shooting guard, he can handle the ball and play the point if need be. The defensive liabilities can be overlooked because of his unlimited range, leadership and ability to perform down the stretch. Arenas is the key to this trade, and personally, the only thing that jumps out at me about the deal.

When I first saw the reports on Sportcenter I thought it was a very good trade. The offensive abilities the Magic now had, with experienced shooters like Arenas, Richardson and Turkoglu around Dwight Howard was a massive upgrade even on the team that made it to the Finals 2 years ago. However the more I thought about it the less impressive the trade was. Arenas a few years ago was a perennial All Star who could go off for 40 points on any given night. I expect once he gets back into the routine of playing every odd night that Arenas will return to somewhat of the player he once was, which is highly beneficial for the Magic. The other two however, I’m not so sure about.

Turkoglu almost single handedly knocked the Cavaliers out of the playoffs in 2009 because he posed such a matchup problem that the Cavaliers simply had no other answers but to put LeBron on him, which left players like Rashard Lewis to be guarded by Ilgauskas. The Cavaliers didn’t stand a chance. But that was 2 years ago. Turkoglu astonishingly left the Magic, who had made it to the Finals the season before, and headed to Toronto for surely no other reason but for financial reasons. Which is OK. He was then traded to Pheonix along with a contract he clearly does not deserve, but the Magic know plenty about that. He failed in Pheonix also, playing along side the best team mate perhaps in the history of the NBA. You’d thought he would have thrived in the Pheonix offense, like Richardson did, but this was not the case. He is a shadow of the player he was 2 years ago and that fear he brought other teams because of his unique talents as a 6’10 guard-forward seems to be a distant memory.

Hedo has averaged around 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists since leaving the Magic. Hard to imagine that considering all the big plays he made in the Cleveland and Boston series only two years ago. How time can change even the most talented.

Which brings me to Jason Richardson. Richardson was at his most effective in his fairly brief stints in Pheonix. At least for his post Warriors career. This year Richardson was just under 20 points per game, the best since his Charlotte days in 07/08. When Richardson gets settled into a system that benefits his style, 20 points per game is almost a guarantee. However the Orlando system isn’t quite his cup of tea. Sure he will get open shots when Dwight Howard is double teamed, despite Howard’s passing, especially out of the double team, being highly questionable at times. Another reason for the potential failure of Richardson in the system is because Orlando is very much a halfcourt team. They have players than can get out on the break, but if your franchise player is the most dominant (arguable) big man in the game today, you’re going to be a halfcourt team. Richardson is a run and gun, transition guard and whilst he lacks the athleticism he once had that allowed him to win the dunk contest, it’s still very much his style of play. Vince Carter failed in Orlando and I see similar results for the very similar Jason Richardson.

The Magic have lost their best bench big man in Gortat, a player who could sure up the paint and make the odd eye catching play on offense…usually a dunk. They also gave up the most over paid player perhaps in the history of the game, but nonetheless a valuable player who was really un-guardable by anyone other than Odom, Josh Smith and perhaps one or two others. By that I mean there are very very few 6’10 forwards that can stretch the floor like Rashard Lewis. Given Lewis’ radar has been off the last season or so, but you’re kidding yourself if you underestimate the guy, just ask Cleveland. You may say well they replaced Lewis with Turkoglu who does the same job as Lewis, and if you say that I say you’re wrong. Turkoglu was so important during the 08/09 season because the Magic struggled without having a true point guard. Nelson was injured the majority of the season and Turkoglu took upon the role of controlling most of the team’s plays, which he was highly successful at doing. Now Nelson is settled, they have added Arenas and Richardson, and the role Turkoglu once played for them is now not only unnecessary, but it just will not happen. I would then say Lewis is definitely a better shooter than Turkoglu and he doesn’t take any possessions away from Nelson and Howard, which Turkoglu will.

Now the most puzzling part of the trade for me was the inclusion of Pietrus, without doubt the Magic’s best perimeter defender and someone who has given both Wade and LeBron a lot of trouble in the past. So they bring in 3 fairly notorious non defenders and trade away their best match up problem, their best bench big man (especially important when Dwight is inevitably in foul trouble or tired of carrying the team on his tremendously broad shoulders) and also their best chance of containing one of the Big 2 who reside just a little further south than Orlando. Not what you would expect from a team that has to go through South Beach if it wants to return to the Finals.

Dwight Howard publicly admitted he wants a better defensive team, as he believes its the only way to stop the Heat, Lakers and other elite teams in the league. It’s not often I agree with Dwight Howard but in this case I am behind him 100%. So the Magic trade away two defensive keys and a defensive nightmare (if in form) for 3 players who are past their prime and are known less for their defense than they are for their halftime antics at All Star weekends.

As a Shaquille O’Neal fan, I am not overly fond of Dwight Howard and his Magic. As a Cavaliers and LeBron James fan I really do not like Dwight Howard and his Magic. So my opinions may stem from those beliefs. However you make sense of the trade, if you’re looking for ways to stop the growing superpower at the far south of Florida, or the current Champion Lakers and their buddies from Texas, thinning depth and defensive options doesn’t seem to be the answer for me.

But it’s not like the Magic have traded for and/or given contracts to players unworthy of these titles…

Oh wait…

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