Even if it's broke it doesn't ALWAYS need fixing

You never find a foam 2-finger hand emblazoned with "We're #2". Nobody wears those silly hats and t-shirts that they give out for conference championships. My 5 year old doesn't even like his participation trophies. I don't expect pro franchises to be any happier. There just isn't any celebrating when you don't win it all.

This kind of dissatisfaction is why you can't blame the Magic. They didn't win the Championship; that joy went to the Lakers. So the knee jerk reaction, which they went with, was change. So they trade away Courtney Lee and they aren't really making offers towards Hedo Turkoglu that he is willing to play for. So what is their new solution: Vince Carter. I know it feels right to go with a big name wing-man to help overcome Kobe. But just because they lost didn't mean they we're broken; it doesn't mean they needed fixing. In fact by trying to improve they likely took a step backward.



A big part of their success, in fact the key to it, was the fact you MUST prepare for Dwight Howard in the middle. His size and athleticism make him a force. The second and more important prong of the Magic's attack is that all that time you spent preparing for superman took away the time you could have spent planning for their perimeter shooting. Because Dwight isn't yet developed enough to be a sole force, or even a primary one.

Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu have acknowledged that they tend to shoot in spurts. One of them will be hitting while the other can't seem to find his touch. While they both make a lot of money to combine for a consistent outside shooting threat, the fact is any single shooter goes through streaks. Without one to fill in for the other the Magic wont have the consistent scoring threat they need to support Howard.

Vince Carter is a scorer, and he will get his. He has gotten his everywhere he has played. But he has also never won it all anywhere he has played. He has also shown that when he is unhappy he will NOT play hard. Vince Carter's surly demeanor aside, he just doesn't fit with the Magic's style of play. As he drives and slashes he will find himself with only half a court to play with. He wont be able to drive on the side that Howard is posted and even if he drives on the off side he will still face Howard's man coming with help.

It's not mine but I have learned to like Colin Cowherd's "don't try to get happier than happy". The Magic should be Happy but they are trying to get happier. They have sacrificed a team with no ME players that got to the mountain top as a cohesive unit. In my first prediction for the 2009-2010 NBA season: The Magic wont make it out of the first round of the playoffs.

JJ Redick Wants Out, But Who Wants Redick

JJ Redick and his agent are looking into the possibilty of the Magic trading him. He obviously wants to see more time on the court. While Magic GM Otis Smith and Head Coach Stan Van Gundy have both said they love Redick and want to keep him, they are sending that along with a slightly mixed signal of never putting the guy on the floor.

Van Gundy has made it very clear that he needs defense and rebounding from that position and that is why Redick doesn't play. Really!?, you traded away Trevor Ariza and got Mo Evans in return explain to me how that is an upgrade in defense and rebounding.

My feeling is that they probably aren't as enamored with him as they say. I am going to assume that this is some level of gamesmanship. I mean if your guy says he wants out and you come out and say you want to move him (Cough::Jason Kidd::Cough) all of a sudden his value plummets. So that leaves us with where to go.

If they really wanted upgraded defense and rebounding then I would love to see him go to the Lakers for Ariza but somehow I don't see that deal working. (Side note: Thanks James) . Since they just gave him up recently I doubt they are looking to him as a missing piece of thier puzzle. So I am not sure what it would take on the Lakers but I imagine Phil would love to have a Steve Kerr/John Paxson type. Since Vladamir Radmonovich and Sasha Vujacic don't seem to be filling those roles.

Edit:This just got a lot less likely now that the Lakers have already made a huge trade

Another interesting prospect would be the San Antonio Spurs who play an offense that could fit Redick in nicely, and since we are still living the lie that this is about defense. The Spurs might be willing to part ways with Bowen, though I think it would take a bit more than Redick to get him.

Those are just some completely unfounded conjecture. In any case, the Magic can stop living this Lie and might as well get something for him. I honestly think that the only reason they are hanging on to him is because if when Peja goes down they can plug him in for his offense.

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