Vin-Sanity to Magic, Nets Getting Ready for 2010

The real season has begun and the Magic have countered moves by San Antonio and Cleveland as they attempt to build on last season’s postseason run.

The Magic have acquired a legit superstar in Vince Carter and a promising young big man in Ryan Anderson from the New Jersey Nets. To complete the swap Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee and Tony Battie were packaged.

Carter has been carrying the overused “overrated” label as of late. I don’t feel it’s warranted. Many guys don’t have the ability to lead a team to the mountaintop. What Carter can do and always brings to court is scoring – lots of it.

With Hedo Turkoglu opting out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent, the Magic have already proactively braced for the possibility of losing a key cog in their engine.

Good for them.

The message is clear, Turkoglu better not out price himself this summer or the Magic will call the bluff. I like Turk, but his numbers slipped from 2007-08 and his shooting was sporadic. The fact that he hit some timely shots on the big stage makes him more marketable than ever – but the raw slippage in statistics shouldn’t be ignored.

Carter has the ability to extend defenses because of his 3-point range and he still can slash the lane, every once in a while.

My opinion, Turkoglu has played his last game with the Magic. Whether you believe Carter underachieves or not – he’s still an upgrade over Turkoglu.

The Nets receive Lee, who showed no fear as a rookie and he equates to a relatively inexpensive contract. New Jersey will now have about $17 million of cap space open next summer to bring in a top talent. It was clear that Alston wouldn’t be back with Orlando. I don’t believe he could’ve accepted that backup role to Jameer Nelson. So the Nets now get their guy to spell Devin Harris, in essence sliding Kenyon Dooling further down the depth chart.

Crazy week of NBA trades. Spurs acquired Richard Jefferson. Cavs traded for Shaq. The Magic’s move keeps them near the top of a reloaded Eastern Conference.

Lang
Lang.Greene-at-gmail.com
http://twitter.com/hoopsvine