March 28, 2024

The Desperate Magic

It’s no secret Orlando has been struggling considering they have lost six of their last seven games and are 16-10 overall. Dwight Howard hasn’t been pleased with the Magic’s lackluster start to the season so over the weekend management reacted in a big way. Rashard Lewis was traded to the Wizards for Glibert Arenas straight up and then Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus and Marcin Gortat were traded to the Suns for Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, and Earl Clark. Never forget that Howard could become a free agent in 2012 so something had to be done or Howard could become miffed and want out like LeBron, Carmelo, and Bosh.

The Magic went to the Finals in 2009 because Howard was surrounded by three-point shooters like Pietrius, Lewis, Redick, and Turkoglu. Since then Lewis has gone downhill quickly, Pietrus hasn’t progressed and the Vince Carter acquisition didn’t work. Only time will tell, but this move could pay off very well for the Magic and they could be true contenders for the Eastern Conference title.

Goodbye Gilbert

David Stern made the announcement today, one many have been waiting for since December, that Gilbert Arenas has been suspended for the rest of the NBA season. This was supposively at the request of Gilbert and the word is he will ask the union not to fight his suspension. The suspension will cost Arenas nearly $10 million of his $16.2 million salary this year. Gilbert is playing this up pretty well because we all know the only reason he is asking to be suspended for the year is so he can avoid being suspended for an even longer term. When Arenas decided to bring unlicensed guns into the NBA workplace he made a gigantic mistake. When he later made jokes about his mistake and even mimicked the act of shooting guns with his hands in a pre-game huddle he showed complete lack of remorse. It is still up in the air if Gilbert will play out the remaining $80+ million contract with the Wizards or if the organization will void his contract. I think the Wizards decision on to void or not to void will come down to whether or not Gilbert is senteced to jail time. On a separate note Javaris Crittenton who was the other teammate involved in “gun gate” has also been suspended for the rest of the season by the NBA.