Vince Carter coming to the Magic (Orlando: luxury, tax, stats)

[Pete C]

So, what do you think of the trade? IMO, this is a good move without question. We are clearly bringing him in to replace Turk, who was probably leaving anyway. Turk is a good player who created a lot of mismatch problems, but the ball was always in his hands at the end of the game. Even though he has the ability to create his own shot and make a clutch 3-pointer, he too often bulldozes to the rim and throws up a prayer in hopes of drawing a foul. This is not what we need when there is no time on the clock. Rashard Lewis hit more game winners than Hedo did this offseason, and Hedo had several horrible, HORRIBLE shooting games, including one where he could have ICED the game with 2 simple FTs. Look up his stats. He simply did not prove his worth, even though he has a great history with the team and the fans love him. Do you sign him, bring the same team back next year and just hope for the best? I don't think so. We will not win a championship with that team, especially considering the kind of 3-point shooting that we relied on too often to bail us out. Vince Carter CAN create a shot and I think is a more valuable asset to have when the game is on the line, which is the situation we found ourselves in in many games this offseason. Who gets the ball in the clutch? Who takes the last shot? Before, I don't think that was defined enough with Hedo, and I just didn't have that confidence that he would make the right play. I think Carter will be the go-to guy in those situations, and can pass off to an open player if needed. The guy is the same age as the Celtics 'big 3', and way younger than Shaq, so it's not like he doesn't have enough left in the tank for a few more good years. I think this was a very good move for the Magic, and this makes me excited about next year's prospects. There is now more reason to be excited and hope that we will not have the same result next year that we did this year.

[Practice]

Actually as I understand it, the Magic want to hold onto Turkoglu also. He opted out of his contract, yes, but that's just a money move on his part, he wants to stay in Orlando if he's offered a contract, and management has said they'd be willing to resign him even if it means going into the Luxury tax for the first time.

Carter was added because we need a closer. I like the trade a lot. I'm going to miss Rafer Alson, skip to my lou! But there was no way to keep Rafer and Jameer Nelson on the same team. I think next season is looking great, and I'm already pumped up for it. This is going to be a long summer...

[Pete C]

Yep, Alston will be missed. Agreed you keep Nelson over Alston. Nelson is a lot younger, shoots with a higher percentage, and is going to get better. Alston was the spark plug we needed this year though, and he definitely brought us back to form when the season looked lost after Nelson's injury. I am just hoping we can get some more size at the power forward position to help take the heat off of Howard. Rasheed Wallace would be a good fit...hopefully we can make that happen, even though I have never cared for the guy personally. If we do, we are going back to the NBA Finals.

[rogercobb]

Carter should help the team out a bit however I continue to hear that Turkoglu will look elsewhere to play. The nice thing about Carter is that he is pretty versatile (can play shooting forward/guard), is a veteran, and if I'm not mistaken is rather tall for shooting guard position. The Magic still need a bruiser down low who is tall and can get those rebounds.

[Practice]

Hmmm, I stand corrected, looks like with the Vince Carter trade, the Magic probably aren't going to hold on to Hedo. Looks like Portland seems to be the most likely destination.