Does Vince Carter get Magic back to Finals?
The Orlando Magic fully expected to lose Hedo Turkoglu to free agency, and the versatile forward officially informed the team on Friday that he will opt out of his contract to become a free agent.
After averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, Turkoglu is in for a big raise from his $7 million salary, and the Magic knew this and expected he would be out of their price range. Turkoglu was a big reason the team reached the NBA Finals this season.
“We will see what the market holds on July 1, but that market will surely be robust for Hedo,” Lon Babby, Turkoglu’s agent, said.
So Magic GM Otis Smith made a pre-emptive strike on Thursday, acquiring Vince Carter and forward Ryan Anderson from the Nets for guards Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee and forward/center Tony Battie.
Alston and Lee were key parts to this year’s Magic team, but Carter gives the Magic something they didn’t have: a guy who can create his own shot and finish at the end of games. He is definitely a better one-on-one player than Turkoglu, who was a good passer but also mostly a 3-point shooter. Carter, who grew up in Daytona Beach and lives in Orlando, has averaged 23.5 points over a 10-year pro career and played in 80 games with the Nets last year after having some injury problems in previous seasons.
“Vince [Carter] gives us a veteran, go-to scoring presence, especially at the end of games,” Smith said in a statement. “Our goal remains the same — to win a championship. Any time you can add an All-Star to help you reach your goals, you have to do it.”
Anderson, a 6-foot-10 forward who was the 21st pick overall in last year’s draft, started 30 games and averaged 7.4 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Now Orlando’s payroll will dip into the luxury tax for the first time in franchise history, so there is simply no way that Turkoglu is coming back. Smith said he made Turkoglu a “decent” initial offer before receiving Turkoglu’s official letter notifying the team he had opted out of his contract.
“It would be hard,” Smith said of bringing Turkoglu back.
The Magic could have signed and traded Turkoglu to receive some compensation, but his opting out now makes that process difficult.
Alston was fairly dispensable because All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson should be back 100 percent healthy next season after playing on a limited basis in the Finals. Lee showed flashes of being a good player, so that might come back to bite Orlando. The Nets, meanwhile, open up salary for the big free-agent summer of 2010.
This is an interesting counterstrike to the Cavaliers acquiring Shaquille O’Neal. That means three NBA title contenders have now made big moves already, with the San Antonio Spurs adding Richard Jefferson – bet on NBA futures soon at WagerWeb.com.
The Lakers’ chances of repeating just got harder.
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