Remaking the Orlando Magic

(Originally written on October 13, 2006)

In just three seasons, the Orlando Magic have gone from a team trying to recover after the Tracy McGrady failure, to an organization with young stars and a bright future. Since the start of the 2004-05 season, only five players remain on the roster. The centerpiece of this rebuilding process was their February 23 deadline deal with the New York Knicks. The Magic traded three-time All-Star, Steve Francis, to the Knicks for Trevor Ariza and Penny Hardaway. Hardaway, a free agent at seasons end, was released shortly after the trade was completed. Let’s take a look at their roster at the end of the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, in comparison to today’s roster:

2004-05 Roster
Steve Francis – 12.3
Tony Battie – 4.8
Kelvin Cato – 7.9
Doug Christie – 7.6 (waived after the season; amnesty clause)
Andrew DeClercq – 2.5
Pat Garrity – 2.9
Grant Hill – 14.5
Dwight Howard – 4.2
Stacey Augmon – 1.1
Jameer Nelson – 1.1
Deshawn Stevenson – 2.5
Hedo Turkoglu – 4.9

2005-06 Roster
Trevor Ariza – 700k
Tony Battie – 5.2
Darko Milicic – 4.1
Carlos Arroyo – 4.0
Doug Christie – 8.2 (not on roster, but salary counts towards the cap)
Keyon Dooling – 3.1
Pat Garrity – 3.2
Grant Hill – 15.7
Dwight Howard – 4.5
Stacey Augmon – 1.4
Jameer Nelson – 1.2
Bo Outlaw – 1.1
Deshawn Stevenson – 2.8
Hedo Turkoglu – 5.4
Travis Diener – 400k
Penny Hardaway – 15.8(free agent at the end of season; waived after the trade was made)

2006-07 Roster
J.J. Redick – 1.9
Grant Hill – 16.9 (free agent after this season)
Dwight Howard - 4.8
Keyon Dooling – 3.3 (player option after this season, f/a after next)
Darko Milicic – 5.2 (restricted f/a after this season)
Trevor Ariza – 2.5
Carlos Arroyo – 4.0 (4.0 in 07-08, f/a in 08-09)
Keith Bogans – 2.5
Travis Diener – 700k (f/a after this season)
Pat Garrity – 3.5 (f/a after this season)
Jameer Nelson – 1.3
Bo Outlaw – 1.2 (f/a after this season)
Hedo Turkoglu – 5.9

Salary Analysis
At season’s end, the Magic will be looking at over twenty million dollars in cap room, when Grant Hill (16.9), Travis Diener (700k), Pat Garrity (3.5), and Bo Outlaw (1.2) come off the books. It is likely to assume that Keyon Dooling will exercise his $3,596,000 option to stay with the team. The Magic will also have to make a decision on whether or not to let Darko Milicic sign with another team, resign him to a large extension, or simply agree to a one year deal worth $6,810,302. It is too early at this time to guess what Milicic's asking price will be. His performance and improvement this year could determine if he is able to get major money like Samuel Dalembert, Tyson Chandler, and Nene Hilario received in their latest contracts. Either way, the Magic will have a great deal of cap room available at the end of the season. They will have the flexibility to trade for a large salary player or sign a potential free agent, such as Vince Carter or Rashard Lewis. On the surface, the teams great positions of need are a scorer at the wing and another big man next to Dwight Howard.

Outlook
Through the 2008-09 season, the Magic core of J.J. Redick, Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza, Jameer Nelson, and Hedo Turkoglu are all locked into deals. These guys will be able to continue to develop together and should be a force in the Eastern Conference’s Southeast division. Orlando’s 17-12 record after the Steve Francis trade should be a sign of things to come.