Magic Remake Roster

Wow, blockbuster in the NBA today involving the Orlando Magic.

In the first of two trades, the Orlando Magic acquired guard Gilbert Arenas (above) from the Washington Wizards in exchange for forward Rashard Lewis. I like this trade for the Wizards as they officially hand the reigns of their team to rookie John Wall now, and get an outstanding outside shooter, which they lacked. For Orlando, although Lewis was under performing, and Arenas should play well with Dwight Howard, this leaves Jameer Nelson, an all-star caliber guard, as the odd man out.

In the second trade, the Magic get Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Earl Clark from the Phoenix Suns for Vince Carter, Mikael Pietrus, Marcin Gortat, and a 2011 1st round pick. I like this deal much better, as Turkoglu led Orlando to NBA Finals in 2008 and Richardson is having a great season, upgrading the SG position from an under performing Vince Carter. For Phoenix, it will be interesting to see how well Carter fits in with Steve Nash and their fast-moving offense. Gortat should also add size down low, while Pietrus gives an above average perimeter defender.

All in all, the Magic did get better talent wise with their deals today, as Lewis and Carter both failed to live up to expectations in their time there. However, Orlando's perimeter defense should be horrible now, as Arenas, Richardson, and Turkoglu play little to no D.