The Works: The Orlando Magic's Balancing Act

Filed under: Bulls, Heat, Kings, Magic, Nets, Nuggets, NBA Rumors, The Works

In The Works today: when picks are illusions and Derrick Rose dismembers Tyreke Evans. But first, the peculiar position of the Orlando Magic with regard to the future.

Is Orlando Flexible or Flawed?

The Mavericks beat the Heat over the weekend; there was an element of "I told you so" to this win, as Dallas didn't even get the chance to make a pitch to LeBron James over the summer.

As Art Garcia writes, Mark Cuban's pitch to Maverick Carter (in hopes of making a pitch) included this now-prophetic line: "No team had ever blown up a team of all their core, then added a couple of free agents and won." Well, at least that's how Cuban tells it today.

Then today, the Orlando Sentinel reports that the Magic wouldn't be averse to trading well, anyone but Dwight Howard, despite being one of the best teams in the league:

The Magic still are open to making a deal for either Carmelo Anthony or Chris Paul ... Even Gilbert Arenas would be in the discussion if he wasn't owed gadzillions. Maybe Monta Ellis.

The Magic are no fools: They want to win a title and they know they need either a big-time scorer or playmaker to get past the Celtics or Heat, and then the Lakers. They would even be willing to take a step back this season to restock if it meant they could land either Anthony or Paul.

The blockquote is long, but the gist important: Mark Cuban predicted that no team built out of free agency -- a core-less entity -- would never wrap its hands around that great treasure over the horizon. At the same time, somehow, the Magic are (supposedly) looking not only to add another major piece, but to part with anyone on their payroll to do so. In effect, they're acknowledging that to make it over that hump, their core needs a serious upgrade. To such a degree that this core itself is called into question.

 

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Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/11/29/the-works-11-29/

Adrianne Palicki Aisha Tyler Aki Ross Alecia Elliott Alessandra Ambrosio