As a die-hard magic fan, as well as someone who likes to think and share some of my thoughts, I enjoy posting and reading on this site. Recently, however, it seems like everyone is at each other's throats. I just have a few things I'd like to point out here.

1. I like some of the changes with this new look Magic team. That does not mean that I disregard any person who does not like the trades as not being, or no longer being, a Magic fan. I liked the Magic team with Shaq and Penny better than the team the year Shaq left. That does not mean that I was no longer a fan. . . simply that I felt that the team was not at the level that it had been.

2. With all of the Otis bashing here, I think it is important that everyone realize that his job is not just to make trades, and that he does not have the ability to pull off every trade that seems to make sense. Even though Miami could use a better three point shooter, and the numbers worked, they were not going to trade Bosh for Rashard. No. . . seriously, Otis has made some very good moves, as well as some not so good moves. I much prefer this over a gm who makes no moves, and I believe all of you do as well. Every single move has some amount of risk associated with it. Here's a look at a few of his deals: drafted JJ Redick. This was looked at as a bad move for a few years. Now that Redick has improved, everyone forgets that Otis drafted him. He "traded" for Van Gundy. How often do you see a move like that? That one really paid off. He signed Gortat, Pietrus, Bass, J-Will. Most moves did not pay off right away. The ones that did were not expected to. Give his moves a chance before you dismiss him as incompetent.

3. No matter the topic, I know I don't come on here to have people bash my ideas and have my opinions ridiculed. I doubt anyone else does either. Not every post on here is realistic, probable, or even true, but can't we at least be civil, so that this site can remain a Magic fan site, rather than a fight club? Come on! Debate is great. . . keep it up. . . but just because someone doesn't agree with you, don't make him your enemy!

I'm looking forward to a bright future for this Magic team and for this site.

I think I like these trades. . . Here is how I see it:

We traded Rashard for Hedo, which is really not a bad trade. Their numbers are very similar, and I feel that both needed a change. If this trade was straight up, I would probably take it. 

We traded Carter for Arenas. I don't know whether we won or lost in this part, as we gave up efficiency and got energy in return. Can Arenas be an efficient player in this Magic system, or will he waste our possessions? I do like the thought of Duhon playing fewer minutes right now though. . .

We traded Pietrus for Richardson. Nice.

We traded Gortat for Clark. The loss of Gortat is the hardest thing about this deal. We had starters in every backup role until this trade was done. Either Bass becomes our backup center, which I am ok with depending on the center he's guarding, or we need another trade. Clark looks like he could be good. That is not the same as proving that he is ready to put in major minutes on an elite team. Allen? Please, no. Nothing against the guy, but I'm pretty sure that we have coaches who could outplay him. Nobody thinks Orton is ready. So who can we trade Q-Rich and Duhon for?

I was just noticing how balanced the scoring has been for the Magic this year. Five players have led the team in scoring (Howard, Nelson, Carter, Lewis, and now Bass) and two others (Pietrus and Anderson) have come within one point of the lead. Two others have seen twenty point games (Richardson and Redick). Gortat doesn't score too much, though he showed that he could dominate when he scored 12 in 24 minutes against Minnesota. That leaves the two backup point guards, who both can erupt when called upon, but just have not reached that point yet this year. So. . . who do you want to leave open when doubling Howard? or. . . maybe you should double Carter. . . oh wait, double Bass now. . . frustrating? :)

I'll be in NC, and wondered if any of you will be going there for game 3. I will be on the other side of the state, but might make it to Charlotte. The game is Saturday, April 24th, at 2:00 PM. It would be fun to see the Magic well represented at the game. Let me know if you want to go, and maybe we can get a good Magic section going! :)

I just happened to look at the box score of the Boston win over New Jersey. Did anyone see the lineup of the Nets team that only lost by 10? And you thought the Magic were an injury depleted team. . . How about playing without four of the five players who started against the Magic? Lopez was the only starter who started against Orlando. I can't wait to see the Magic back at full strength, but at least now I see how it could be worse.

With two weeks until our first real glimpse of this team, I have to say that I have not been this excited about a basketball season since the mid 90's. This is not only because of a trip to the finals, however. What excites me even more about this team is the enormous potential of the new players. That potential means that there are questions. . . questions that have no answers until this team gets on the court. . . questions that I cannot wait to have answered. Here are just a few of the questions:

How will this team come together? Will the new players gel with each other and with our existing team?

Who will our 5th starter be?

Will this team build off last year's success and continue to improve?

Who will have primary ball-handling responsibilities?

Will Jason Williams return to his old form?

Will Vince Carter start showing his age, or will he be rejuvenated coming here?

How much will we see a conventional lineup, and how much will we see the 1 in 4 out this year?

What role will Anderson have? and Bass? and Barnes? and everyone for that matter!

Well, we've been guessing at the answers, debating the answers, hoping for certain answers; but in two weeks we can begin to see the answers for ourselves.

Has it been two weeks yet?

09-10 Magic Leaders:

PPG

22.0 Howard

20.5 Carter

16.0 Lewis

14.5 Nelson

13.0 Bass

9.0 Pietrus

8.0 Barnes

6.5 Anderson

6.0 Williams

5.0 Gortat

3.0 Johnson

2.0 Redick

I think these numbers are conservative. . . yet they still add up (taking some dnp's into consideration) to the Magic having the highest scoring offense this year. Am I way off here? Or will we be seeing an amazing number of blowouts this year?

Will Redick be the 13th man? With a whole slew of forwards, and Pietrus able to back up Carter, he would be my pick. Or, with 3 Centers and three point guards, will one of them, be it Johnson, Williams, or Foyle, be the odd man out? The downside here is that whoever does not make the 12 man roster deserves to. Hopefully injuries wont determine this though.

However you look at it, I think we will have our 2nd best 12th man ever this year, behind Brooks Thompson about 15 years ago.

Sure, we lost Hedo, Courtney, and Rafer Alston, but did we actually lose any part of our game? We lost some three point shooters, but we added Anderson, Barnes, Carter, and Williams, so we added a 3 shooter to every position but center. Hedo's ability to play point forward should be replaceable, as Barnes fits this description. Inside game definitely improved, as did our depth. I think Bass improves our defense significantly, though backcourt d may have slipped. The biggest advantage for this years team, I believe, is the ability to play every style of game. . . whatever works best against any particular opponent. We can drive more and play inside more, but without sacrificing our outside game. 

What do you all think? Do we have any weaknesses that we didn't last year? Will this year be as great as it looks on paper?