Magic Re-Sign Trevor Ariza

Orlando, FL – The Orlando Magic have re-signed restricted free agent forward Trevor Ariza, General Manager Otis Smith announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Ariza (6’8”, 200, 6/30/85) played in 57 games with both the Magic and New York last season, averaging 4.6 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 1.1 apg. and 1.00 stlpg. in 17.5 minpg. He was traded to Orlando by the Knicks on Feb. 22, 2006, along with the expiring contract of Anfernee Hardaway, in exchange for Steve Francis. During 21 games with Orlando, Ariza averaged 4.7 ppg. and 3.9 rpg. in 13.8 minpg.

“We are very pleased to bring Trevor back, as he is a key part of our young core,” General Manager Otis Smith said. “His athleticism and explosiveness will be a great asset to our team on both ends of the floor.”

Last season, Ariza scored in double figures seven times (four with Orlando), including a season-high 13 points twice, the last time on Apr. 19 @ Indiana, when he also ripped down a career-best 12 rebounds. More active on the defensive end, Ariza recorded at least one steal in 33 games (11 with the Magic) and two-or-more steals 17 times.

“Trevor is a young player with a bright future and we are excited to have re-signed him,” added Head Coach Brian Hill. “He has the ability to be a shutdown-type defender and will add to the versatility of our team.”

Originally selected by New York during the second round (43rd overall) of the 2002 NBA Draft, Ariza has played in 137 career NBA regular season games with New York and Orlando, averaging 5.3 ppg., 3.4 rpg. and 1.1 apg. in 17.4 minpg.

Still Trying To Find My Place

Posted By: Dwight Howard

So far camp is going great for me. I’m having a lot of fun playing with all these older guys, getting accustomed to playing with guys like LeBron and Carmelo, pretty much just being out here and being part of the team.

I really don’t know these guys on a personal level, so it’s different. Most of them are much older than me, so I’m just trying to fit in and get a spot with these guys.

That’s probably been the toughest part, finding out where I fit in. We have a lot of scorers, and even though I’ve been working on my offensive game a lot this summer, I think that my role for this team will be rebounding. That’s one thing that I’ve really been looking at over the past couple of days. They’ve had me matching up a lot against Elton Brand. He’s an old school player who knows all the tricks. It’s been awesome seeing how these other guys play and do different things.

And playing under Coach K has been an experience. The most impressive thing about him so far is just his will to win. Watching him when he was at Duke, I thought he would be one of those coaches that really stayed on his guys and worked his guys real hard, four hour practices, stuff like that. But I see now that he is laid back and that he wants the best out of you.

After a few more practices we’ll be ready and looking forward to competing against other competition. So far we’ve only had one real scrimmage game and we really played hard against each other. If we play hard like this against each other, we’ll be ready to play anybody.

Vince Carter - Best Dunk Ever

Since I posted the best alley' ever, I couldn't leave out possibly the best dunk ever; JUST SICK.

Dwight Howard's Amazing Dunk

Nelson to Howard; and possibly the sickest alley ever!

Magic stop chasing Stevenson, will sign former Magic player Bogans

By: Brian Schmitz

The Orlando Magic, in their search to settle their shooting-guard quandary, said goodbye to DeShawn Stevenson and welcomed back Keith Bogans.

The Sentinel learned today that the Magic were finalizing a three-year contract with Bogans after halting negotiations with Stevenson.

Stevenson and the Magic were at an impasse over the length of a contract.

Stevenson, who averaged 11 points and started all 82 games for the Magic last season, wanted a four-year contract at least $4 million year.

The Magic refused to budge at three years, ending Stevenson's two-plus year stay in Orlando. Stevenson's agent, Rob Pelinka, told the Sentinel recently that Stevenson had at least two contract offers on the table that were better than the Magic's.

Stevenson, 25, had one year at $3 million left on his deal, but opted out of his contract this summer.

The Magic believe they are getting a similar 6-foot-5, defensive-minded player at half the price in Bogans, who they acquired in the second round in the 2003 draft from the Milwaukee Bucks.

Bogans, 25, averaged 6.8 points for the Magic in 2003-04. But the club traded him to the Charlotte Bobcats for forward Brandon Hunter before the start of the 2004 season.

Bogans and Stevenson were teammates, the Magic having acquired Stevenson for Gordon Giricek in February of 2004.

Bogans was traded by the Bobcats to the Houston Rockets after 39 games last season. He averaged 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds last season for the Rockets.

Magic may make a move to land Rush

By: John Denton

Their contract talks with DeShawn Stevenson at a stalemate, the Orlando Magic have set their sights on other free-agent shooting guards.

The Magic have held serious discussions with 3-point sharpshooter Kareem Rush, and Orlando could be close to agreeing to a deal with the four-year NBA veteran, general manager Otis Smith said.

Teams and players can't officially sign free-agent deals until Wednesday.

Stevenson, the Magic's starter last season at shooting guard, opted out of a contract that would have paid him $3.2 million next season. His contract demands, in the neighborhood of $25 million over five years, are not in line with what the Magic are willing to pay.

Smith met Sunday with Stevenson and agent Rob Pelinka in Los Angeles, and
Smith said he increased his original offer. But there has been little progress the past week.

"I like DeShawn a lot, but within reason," Smith said. "I'm not going to overspend for a guy who in my mind his salary slot was perfect for him. I do understand he and his agent's thought process, but if we're going to make a deal, it has to be reasonable for both sides. I'm about being fair. If we can't be fair, you're going to have to find what you're looking for somewhere else."

Smith has talked to the agents for Cleveland's Flip Murray, New Orleans/Oklahoma City's Rasual Butler and Rush in the past week. Orlando was next-to-last in the NBA in 3-pointers made last season, hence the focus on finding outside shooters.

Rush, 25, is the favorite among that group because of his proven track record in the regular season and postseason. He is a career 34.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, and he's hit 39.3 percent in the playoffs for the Los Angeles Lakers.

He averaged 10.1 points this past season for Charlotte and scored a career-best 35 points in November against Indiana. But the Bobcats surprisingly released him on April 1 when head coach/GM Bernie Bickerstaff publicly questioned his work ethic.

"Kareem Rush is a guy I like a lot," Smith said. "I met with his people out in L.A. . . . Charlotte is Charlotte. We'll have another conversation with him. But it has to make some sense both financially and player-wise."

Smith admitted he had a brief discussion with agent Arn Tellem last week about Ben Wallace's rumored desire to return to Orlando. Wallace, a rising star during his one season in Orlando in 1999-2000, ultimately agreed to a four-year, $60 million deal with the Chicago Bulls.

Because they are over the salary cap, the only way Orlando could have landed Wallace would have been through a sign-and-trade deal. Ironically, that's how Wallace ended up with Detroit, going to the Pistons in 2000 for Grant Hill.

"You could have gotten (Wallace), but at what cost?" Smith asked. "It would have taken half the guys we call our core. Our point guard (Jameer Nelson) and small forward (Hedo Turkoglu)?

"Sometimes Orlando just has to let people go. I know Ben was here, he left and we love him, but sometimes we have to realize he's (31) years old and not 26 anymore."

Magic opt to stay course with talented youngsters

By: Brian Schmitz

Instead of dipping a toe in the NBA free-agent waters this summer, what if the Orlando Magic had jumped in headfirst and made the biggest splash?

What if they had arranged a deal to reunite with Ben Wallace and his Afro?

The promise: Perhaps a playoff appearance by Orlando for the first time since 2003.

The problem: To bag Big Ben, the Magic might have had to hit bottom after draining their talent pool.

Sure, the Magic could have worn wigs at a joyous news conference, chanted "Fear The 'Fro" and welcomed back Wallace -- who played here in 1999-2000 -- after signing him as a prized free agent.

General Manager Otis Smith said he even explored the possibility with Wallace's camp. It was a brief exploration, considering Orlando has no salary-cap room and would have had to acquire him in a tricky sign-and-trade.

Following the money, Wallace agreed last week to sign with the Chicago Bulls for $60 million over four years.

Playoff-starved fans and skeptical media watch impatiently as big-time players and larger dollars fly by the home team without its joining the free-agent frenzy.

But the Magic's opportunity with Wallace tests a franchise's building -- or rebuilding -- philosophy and offers a refresher course in hoops economics.

Do you tear up a promising young team that retooled last season to sign an aging defensive force whose numbers are declining steadily?

Or do you stay true to the latest blueprint that is built around 20-year-old phenom Dwight Howard?"

Did I have a conversation with someone regarding Ben's interest to play in Orlando? Yes, I did. 'He wants to play in Orlando' was what I got," Smith said. "But I just said, 'That's nice.' "

And what would it have taken to sign Big Ben?

Well, break up the Magic.

"It would have taken half the guys we call our core," Smith said. "You could have gotten him [perhaps in a sign-and-trade], but at what expense? Our point guard [Jameer Nelson]? Our small forward [Hedo Turkoglu]?

"You have to start thinking, 'Is what we have . . . going in the right direction?' We're going where we need to be going. I can't see trading for a guy [Wallace] who's going to be 32 [in September]."

The Magic, who closed last season with a 16-6 finishing kick, feel they largely did their wheeling and dealing to upgrade the club in February. Teams can begin signing free agents Wednesday.

"We were busy during the season," Smith said.

They dumped guard Steve Francis' weighty contract on the New York Knicks, acquiring forward Trevor Ariza, 21, and Penny Hardaway's expiring contract in the process. They received forward Darko Milicic, 21, and point guard Carlos Arroyo, 26, from the Pistons in exchange for center Kelvin Cato and a future No. 1 pick.

Trading Nelson ($1.2 million) and Turkoglu ($5.8 million) to the Pistons to land Wallace would have been just the start of a massive Orlando clearance sale.

With salaries needing to come close to matching, you'd only be about halfway to meeting Wallace's first-year salary of $15 million. You'd have to persuade the Pistons to then take more Magic players or take back Grant Hill (in an incredibly charitable bit of sign-and-trade deja vu, given that's how Detroit grabbed Wallace six years ago.)

Let's say the Magic landed Wallace and split up their "core." Would they be better if they had to replace, say, Nelson, Turkoglu and Tony Battie and surround Wallace with some cheap free agents?

Or could they sign more players when Hill's contract expires next summer and rise to contention after Howard comes of age -- and before Wallace ages?

The Magic chose to stick with their long-range plan instead of a quick fix.

"When you get beyond Ben, where do you go in this free-agent market?" Smith said. "If you want to change courses -- which we've been known to do -- in the middle of a plan that's going in the right direction, scrap it all and go get Ben Wallace, you can do that. But that's not something we wanted to do."

The Magic, roughly $17 million over the $43 million league-mandated salary cap, will look to improve this summer essentially by bargain-hunting. They are searching for a shooting guard and a big man.

They can offer the midlevel exception, which starts around $5 million for up to six years. Wallace's hairstylist would scoff at that loot.

Two years ago, the club gave Turkoglu a midlevel contract -- six years, $36 million -- but it isn't likely to use all of that exception this offseason. The primary free agents the Magic are pursuing are their own: Shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson and Ariza.

The Magic also have the $1.2 million veteran's exception to offer -- tip money in the NBA.

Wait till next offseason.

The Magic, perhaps needing one key piece to contend, can be serious players in free agency.

Hill's massive contract comes off the books after this season. Orlando will have money to spend in a stronger free-agent market, having about $12 million available.

The list of free agents and potential free agents includes Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups, Mike Bibby and Josh Howard. Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Kirk Hinrich are likely to follow their 2003 draft classmate -- Carmelo Anthony -- and re-sign with their respective clubs. Cleveland's LeBron James agreed Saturday to a contract extension of up to five years.

Next summer the Magic could make a play for Pierce or under-the-radar free agents such as Howard, Rashard Lewis, Antawn Jamison, David West or Leandro Barbosa.

"[Ownership] has given me all the tools to do my job," Smith said. "I want to put a team out there that can win a championship, but you have to do it smart and with flexibility.

"And sometimes that doesn't mean signing the biggest name, making the biggest splash. For us, it has to be the right fit."

Redick Brings More Than Shooting to Orlando

By: Melanie Curtsinger

Rarely does an individual have an attribute that allows them to be revered by so many, yet causes them to be the target of so much hostility from so many more.

For J.J. Redick, however, that concept is not foreign at all. In fact, his 'cockiness,' his 'swagger,' his seemingly endless supply of thick skin may be what sealed the deal on his No. 11 selection in the 2006 NBA Draft.

In other words, keep that swagger, J.J.

"It's just kind of natural for me to play with a little bit of a swagger on the court," Redick said. "I developed that at an early age, and it is the reason I have been able to survive in this game for so long and excel at it, because I play with an edge and a chip on my shoulder."

That chip may stem from the fact that, while he has received basketball accolades his whole life, he is still one of the most criticized athletes in the game. Even before he won the Naismith College Player of the Year award this year as a senior at Duke, following in the ranks of Tim Duncan, Elton Brand and new teammate Jameer Nelson, Redick was a McDonald's All-American and three-time Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year. He has been called the 'face of college basketball,' the 'most recognizable name in the draft,' yet he still faced a contingency of boos when his name was called by David Stern on draft night from a crowd made up of mostly Knicks fans.

Or as Redick put it, he got 'booed relentlessly at the draft - and it’s not even a freaking sporting event.'

But, of course, he was quick to add, "To be honest with you, I loved every minute of it. I had a smile on my face."

Redick may use that wry smile, that chip on his shoulder, to silence his critics, but he likes to keep his answering that way - strictly on the court.

"I'm not a person who says I told you so or anything like that, and frankly I am always going to have critics," Redick said. "I am really just like any other athlete - we live in a society that criticizes a lot and analyzes things and that's just the way it is."

Yet here he is, no matter what opposing fans have said to him in the stands at games, no matter how many times he has had to prove himself over and over again, Redick is now an NBA lottery pick, something those disgruntled fans and questioning media cannot take away.

"I don't want to get caught up in that," Redick said of his critics. "But I am very excited to be a lottery pick. When Coack K recruited me six years ago to come to Duke, he told me 'J.J., if you stay four years at Duke, I'll help you be a lottery pick.' And he did."

Now, Redick may be facing a whole new set of doubters on the NBA level - can he shoot from NBA range? Can he defend the best of the best? Can he create his own shot? - but just as he has his entire life, rest assured that Redick will do everything in his will to once again prove that he belongs.

"I kind of use it all as motivation - as fuel. I don't read everything in the media, but I have a lot of friends and family that do read a lot of stuff and they sometimes report back to me. The media is what it is and they're great."

So while fans of Orlando Magic hope his shooting expertise can make the transition from the college ranks over into the NBA, here's hoping that his swagger comes right along with it.

CHRONICLES OF REDICK

By: Tim Povtak

THE SHOT

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski calls him the 'the best pure shooter in school history.' He set an NCAA record for most career 3-pointers (457) and is the all-time leading ACC scorer (2,769 points). As a senior, he shot 42 percent from 3-point land. His mechanics are perfect and never vary. The footwork is excellent, and the release is quick. If he is fouled, he is automatic from the free-throw line (91.2 percent in college). There aren't enough shooters in today's NBA. The Magic have one now and haven't seen this since Dennis Scott.

THE BACK

There are degrees of a herniated disk, and Redick's doesn't sound like it will end his career. Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls had the same injury and won six NBA titles and played in seven NBA All-Star Games. Redick didn't miss a game at Duke due to back issues. He was hurt doing workouts on his own before the NBA's pre-draft camp. He believes a cortisone shot fixed the problem. Doctors assured the team the back issue should not affect his career. Redick went to Duke, like Grant Hill, but doesn't have Hill's health woes.

THE DUI

He always has been a better shooter than a driver, and he proved it last month when he tried to avoid a police checkpoint near the Duke campus by making an illegal U-turn, then pulling into an apartment complex. When stopped by police, he was found to have a blood-alcohol level of .11, which is slightly higher than legal in North Carolina.He showed up in the news as a freshman at Duke when his name was linked to an on-campus marijuana charge. He later was cleared of any wrongdoing, but it took several days of explaining. The Magic were not deterred by any issues of character, because he is considered too smart and too hard-working for this to be but a blip on his resume.

THE ATTITUDE

There is a cockiness about him that coaches love, but it made him a magnet for the hecklers in college basketball. Duke has become the team that the rest of the college basketball world dislikes, and Redick became the prime target the past four years. The taunts only fueled his fire, turning them into positive energy. He is mentally tough, which often is lacking with many young players coming into the league.Scott Skiles had this kind of attitude when he played for the Magic. As much as his shot is an asset, so is his in-your-face attitude.

THE DEFENSE

He was only an average defender in the NCAA, which will be accentuated in the NBA, where great players and coaches will exploit any weakness they can find. At 6 feet 4, he will be on the short end during most of his matchups at shooting guard. And without good size or great athleticism, defense is going to be a problem for him. The Magic have been saying they can teach him to play NBA defense, but putting him and Jameer Nelson -- also weak defensively -- on the court together could become a real problem. The NBA is filled with talented guys who don't play good team defense. The Magic believe that Redick's intensity and guile can help him become a good team-defense player.

THE STREET CRED

Everyone knows who he is, which will be evident by the reception he receives when he makes his first appearance in a Magic uniform. Everyone has an opinion about him, too. Not since Florida's Mike Miller in 2000 have the Magic taken a player who people knew before he got here.

The Magic will use him in their marketing campaign, and if he shows early that he can play, his popularity will grow quickly.