I don't know about everyone else, but me personally, I don't want to go through another season like the last one as a Magic fan. I'm not saying I'm believing the rumors that have already emerged once again, but if we get our head coach and GM picked and we still have no commitment from Dwight, I trade him. I'm sorry, but it's just not worth it, I'd rather try and trade him for another young star to try and build around, or for a bunch of hard working role players. Anything is better than another episode of last year's soap opera.

These are all hypotheticals so don't get all worked up on your comments. Pretty much just trying to bounce around some ideas, to see what everyone thinks.

Here are a few scenarios I can see possibly happening:

1) New York Knicks

Bounced from the first round after getting manhandled by the Heat. Amare and Melo still don't seem like they're a fit on the court together. We'll take the Defensive player of the year Tyson Chandler, the Orlando native Amare Stoudemire, and a good young defender in Iman Shumpert (Knee Injury) for Dwight, Big Baby since we will be bringing Amare in and re-sign Ryan Anderson, the bad contract of Duhon and Richardson to make the numbers work.

Magic Receive: Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert, Toney Douglas

Knicks Receive: Dwight Howard, Glen Davis, Chris Duhon, Q. Richardson

Maybe try and bring in Steve Nash to re-ignite Stoudemire? Just a thought.

2) LA Lakers

Now we all know the Lakers will be making changes this offseason. Kobe is not pleased with another second round exit. If the Magic can somehow pull off a Dwight-Turk for Bynum-Gasol exchange, I would do that yesterday. It might be possible, depending on how desperate the Lakers are, but I don't see it happening.

Something a little more realistic would be a three team trade with the Lakers and Rockets. The Rockets have been trying to get Gasol for years now, and Head Coach Kevin McHale's man crush on him has added even more pressure to the organization to go after him. The numbers are tricky to make a trade like this go through, but it could look something like this:

Magic Receive: Andrew Bynum, Kyle Lowry, Rockets 1st Round Draft Pick

Lakers Receive: Dwight Howard, Luis Scola

Rockets Receive: Pau Gasol

This trade (maybe not this exact way) I could actually see happening. Magic and Lakers are looking to shake things up, while the Rockets are looking for an upgrade in the middle.

3) LA Clippers

I'm not going to spend too much time on this one, simply because I don't see it ever happening. There is a very small chance, but the clippers may jump at the chance to team Howard up with CP3. It's obviously going to cost them Griffin and few other pieces is the only problem.

Magic Receive: Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe, Ryan Gomes

Clippers Receive: Howard, Glen Davis, Von Wafer

In all reality, this trade could actually work. Blake Griffin is more than enough to keep the stands filled in Orlando. Jordan is young and can be a solid start to replace Howard at C. Bledsoe is good young PG prospect who isn't going to get the playing time with CP3 in town. Clippers may baulk at this at first, but then take it home and look at it, and it's not too often you get your hands on a center like Howard, much less teaming him with arguably the best PG in the NBA. Hmmm.. interesting

4) Brooklyn Nets

I know all the analysts say this is the most likely destination, but I just don't see how. The Nets have close to NOTHING to offer back for Dwight. A 30 year old Gerald Wallace, I'll pass. A young injury prone center in Brook Lopez, yeah, that's REAL enticing, not. So unless they get lucky in the draft lottery and get a top 3 pick (which is the only way they get to keep it because its a protected top-3 pick, otherwise they have to trade it) Even with that though, is the third pick in the draft, Marshon Brooks and Brook Lopez enough to land Howard? Maybe, I've seen worse deals made.

5) Mavericks

I don't really see anything they could possibly do, they have nobody other than Dirk on their roster worth anything at this point.

Let me know your thoughts. I didn't randomly select these teams, these are "said to be" by "sources" that they are Dwight's preferred landing spots.

Maybe you think they are all dumb, maybe you don't. If you had to pick one that you thought would be the best move for this franchise moving forward, which would it be?

I understand everyone is wanting to make up their own trade scenarios at this time of year, especially with all the speculation revolving around the Magic. Here is my take on a 3 team deal that I feel can benefit all teams.

Golden State: Gets: Chris Kaman, Jameer Nelson, Earl Clark, Deandre Liggins, Daniel Orton

New Orleans: Gets: Kwame Brown, Ryan Anderson, JJ Redick, Ekpe Udoh, Von Wafer

Orlando Gets: Trevor Ariza, Monta Ellis, Jarret Jack, Jason Smith

The numbers work. Golden State picks up their center and PG in Kaman and Nelson, allowing Curry to move to his more natural position at the 2. Also picking up some young talent in Clark, Liggins, and Orton. New Orleans picks up an expiring contract in Kwame Brown, Ryan Anderson who can be a nice building piece for the future, along with Redick, Udoh, and Wafer. The Magic take Ariza's contract off the Hornets, while also adding a nice defender, Monta Ellis and Jack would be the new starting backcourt, with Jason Smith being able to backup the PF/C positions.

Golden State fills some needs, and adds young talent. New Orleans sheds some salary while also getting some very nice young players. And Orlando adds a few players in their prime that can really help them make a playoff push with their defense and scoring abilities. Before you write on here that this will never happen, take a look at each team and where they are at. Maybe Golden State doesn't want to take on Jameer's contract, but its only one more year, hes a solid PG and they'd be getting their desired big man with an injection of young talent. The hornets are awful, Jack is 28, Ariza is 27, while they are not expensive players, they wouldn't mind shedding their salaries for an expiring contract (Brown), a couple of 23 year old big men (Anderson, Udoh), Redick who is a nice young role player, and Wafer who can help off the bench and is still young. Orlando trades away all of its valuable assets (Anderson, Redick, Liggins, Clark, Nelson) but they receive nice compensation in return. Ellis is a prolific scorer that close games with pick and rolls with Howard. Jack is a solid PG, who is 6'3 and plays solid D. Ariza is an upgrade over Turkoglu simply because he is a very good defender. Jason Smith could prove to be a valuable backup.

There's my take. I see this trade being as close to fair for all teams involved as it can be. All teams have a reason not to do the trade, but all the teams have a bigger reason to pull the trigger on this deal.

What do you think?

Alright, I know everyone has their own ideas of what we should do with our roster. The most important thing is to have a plan, so(1) we are not stuck with overpaid, underachieving players if/when Dwight bolts for a super sized market, and (2) maybe the options won't be as good looking as Dwight thought they would be when he was pressuring the Magic to trade him, and he stays in Orlando.

First move: Trade Jameer Nelson (8.6 million) to Atlanta for Kirk Hinrich (8.1 million). WHY?- Jameer has another year left on his conract at around 9 million, while Hinrich is in the last year of his contract. Jameer would be able to be an aggressive 6th man in Atlanta, and it would play more to his what he is good at, which is being aggressive looking for his own shot. We all know Jameer is not the same player he was 4 years ago, but he would provide a nice spark off the bench, while Hinrich is coming off an inury.

Second move: Trade Hedo Turkoglu (11 million) and Chris Duhon (3.5 million) to Charlotte for Boris Diaw (9 million) and Eduardo Najera (2.75 million). Obvious lopsided trade for the Bobcats as for as player personnel. Turk actually is having a decent season thus far, and Duhon is a solid backup PG. For the Magic, Diaw and Najera player contracts expire at season end.

Third Move: Trade Jason Richardson( 5.5 million) and J.J. Redick (6.7 million) to Toronto for Jared Bayless (3.1 million) and L. Barbosa (7.6 million). Again, magic give up the best asset in the trade (Redick) and another quality guard in Jason Richardson. Again, both Barbosa and Bayless' contracts come off the books at the seasons end.

So after the three trades, no upgrades have been made to the roster, I understand that, in fact, we've gotten noticeably worse. With our Depth Chart after the trades looking like this:

PG: Hinrich/ Bayless/Hughes

SG: Barbosa/Von Wafer/Liggins

SF: Diaw/Clark/Richardson/Harper

PF:Anderson/Davis/Harper/Najera

C:Howard/Davis/Orton

Honestly, we may miss the shooting from Redick and the inconsistent play of Turkoglu in the 4th quarter, but besides that, I don't mind finishing out the season with this lineup. Especially when the real value is in the offseason, when the Magic will not be tied down to players they cannot get rid of, or stuck not having enough room to make moves in Free Agency to either build with Dwight, or rebuild after Dwight. Either way, this is our best chance to keep Howard. WHY?- After the season the only players under contract would be Dwight's buddy Big Baby (6.3 million), journeyman QRich (2.5 million) , and 4 young energetic players with potential that are inexpensive: Earl Clark (1.2 milion), Von Wafer (1.1 million), Daniel Orton (1.1 million), and rookie Justin Harper (500K). Thats about 13 million total salaries. The salary cap is said to be believed at about 60 million going into the 2012-13 season. That would leave the Magic with a solid veteran with championship experience, a journeyman, and 4 young players, and 47, FORTY-SEVEN MILLION in cap room going into the offseason.

With 47 million in cap room, Dwight could lure a couple star free agents down to Orlando while re-signing a deal himself. A few players that will be free agents:

PG: Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Andre Miller, DJ Augustin

SG: Ray Allen, Landry Fields

SF Gerald Wallace, Nicolas Batum,

PF: Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, JJ Hickson, Ryan Anderson( restricted)

C: Chris Kaman, Mehemt Okur

Just a few names, there are a lot more free agents that could be nice fill in pieces if the Magic can get Deron Williams and Dwight Howard to agree to play here in Orlando.

The key here is obviously to try and get Deron Williams and Dwight Howard to sign in Orlando. You get that and you still have cap room to find some veterans that want to make a run at a championship such as Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Kaman, KG, Andre Miller. They would even have enough room to find a nice mid-level player to be that third in an attempt to make our own big three here in Orlando. No this is not dreaming, this is reality, this can be done, none of the deals i proposed are far fetched, it would just be a huge risk by the Orlando Magic because Dwight could walk and they end up empty handed, thus the rebuilding process would already be underway. I just think Dwight is not a player you trade, under any circumstance, he's a once in a generation player, and I think we should do everything we can to convince him to bring titles here to Orlando.

  Here are a couple trades we should look into if we are looking for immediate upgrades and wanting to make a run at the title this season. 

  TRADE # 1) Orlando receives: Josh Smith (11.7 million) , Marvin Williams(7.3 million)

                        Atlanta receives: Jameer Nelson (7.8 million) , J.J Redick (7.25 million) , Brandon Bass (4.0 million)

REASONING: OK. The secret is out that Atlanta and Josh Smith want to go their separate ways, rumor also is that Atlanta is looking to shed some salary because of the enormous amount Joe Johnson will be making. Marvin Williams hasn't really worked out the way Atlanta was hoping when they drafted him #2 overall (ahead of Chris Paul and Deron Williams) and he has 3 years left at close to 7-8 million a year range. Nelson, Bass, and Redick all solid role players, exactly what Atlanta needs. We know the majority of the touches will be going to  Al Horford and Joe Johnson from here on out, so they are looking for solid role players, who will rebound, make shots, and be efficient. Also all three players, Nelson, Bass, and Redick only have this year and next year left on their contracts, so the Hawks are not committing any more years to them, and also saving a year and 8 million on Williams' contract. 

  TRADE # 2) Orlando receives: Andre Iguodola (12.3 million) , Andres Nocioni (6.85 million)

                        Philadelphia receives: Hedo Turkoglu (10.2 million) , Ryan Anderson (1.5 million) , Gortat trade exception (6.3 million) (and possibly either Daniel Orton or Future 1st round pick)

REASONING: Philadelphia, just like Atlanta with Josh Smith, seems to have run its course. I know, I know, the rumors that Philadelphia "Is not" shopping Iguodola, but I mean come on, everyone around the league has known this guy has been on the block for the past year and half. I know they take on Hedo's contract, but they also rid themselves of a pretty bad one in Nocioni. I've said this before, Hedo can still play! He is just not built anymore to carry a team late in the shot clock or at the end of games, but he will contribute great floor vision, smart decision making and shooting ability. Ryan Anderson is a steal in this for Philadelphia, at a bargain, he's a very solid player with potential to get better. They save almost 7 million in cap room with the trade exception, which is something they are looking to do. And whether or not we throw in Orton, or a 1st round pick is not that big of issue for us.

New 2011-2012 Orlando Magic Depth Chart

PG) Gilbert Arenas , Free Agent, Chris Duhon

SG) Andre Iguodola, Deandre Liggins

SF) Marvin Williams , Justin Harper, Nocioni

PF) Josh Smith , Earl Clark

C) Dwight Howard, Orton or FA

 What do you guys think? Like I said, if we must make trades to improve now, these are the ones I would choose to pursue. In my opinion we'd be one hell of a defensive team.

        OK. We all know Dwight is going to say he wants to stay in Orlando, (given we can improve our roster), this may or may not be true. If I am in the front office of the Orlando Magic, I have to think about the way the league is going. There is going to be probably a lot of elite teams next year. You've got your obvious, Heat, Lakers, Mavs, Thunder, maybe Celtics if they find some youth, the Knicks and they can add a few supporting cast players, the Bulls if they can add some scoring help to take a load off Derrick Rose, Memphis is only going to get better with age and adding Rudy Gayto the mix, the Hawks are going to have that potential. I mean, the competition is going to be at high level again, it's notjust 3 or 4 teams with a chance. They're players out there such as Dwight, CP3, Deron Williams, who are as of right now on teams that can't compete at the level of the elite teams, but have a superstar. The Heat have really set the standard this year, especially since they're making a run at the title.

      I posted a post a few weeks ago about how the Magic should plan for the Summer of 2012. Similar to the way Pat Riley did in Miami for 2010. I threw in a few trades, ridding us of Turkoglu's contract, moving Nelson while he still has some value, and a few other pieces in order to bring people in who will keep us competitive in 2011-12 season, but not get us over the hump. I just don't think there are any moves out there for us this summer or before the deadline that can actually get us to a Title team. We don't have assets to acquire CP3 or Deron Williams ( notthat New Jersey would trade him now.) If we really want to be serious about keeping Dwight, and making a run at the title for the next decade, then we have to plan ahead, no more desperation trades!! (OTIS SMITH)  (On a side note: I don't understand how he could possibly still have a job; all he did was blow up a team that made it to the championship, ruined chemistry among the team, brought in his buddy (Gilber Arenas), who if anyone saw his twitter tweets recently can see just how he's not all there  (mentally). Now he's got the Magic in a position to lose possibly the best big man for the next decade. 

     Back to what I was saying, (I'm sorry I just really haven't liked one move Otis has done since he's been with the Magic.)  PLAN AHEAD. There are teams out there who WILL take Turkoglu, he's still a very capable player, we just ask him to do too much beyond his ability in Orlando. He's a very solid 3rd or 4th option on a team.  The Trade I very well think the Magic could make happen is Turkoglu/Redick for Kaman/Foye. If that's not enough for the Clippers to bite, then throw in Ryan Anderson, I remind you my friends not get attatched to ANYONE we have on the team right now besides Dwight. We have to think Big Picture here, which would be summer of 2012. The other Trade I proposed was Nelson/Orton and/or Anderson to Denver for Felton/Koufos. If the Amensty clause is passed and we can rid ourselves of Arenas' awful contract, then the plan falls into place. There is no reason for these teams not to make these trades, I'm not just making them up because the numbers work. The Clippers need a SF and shooting and would be getting both in Turkoglu and Redick. Turkoglu probably would be a very a good player for the Clippers throwing alley-oops to Blake Griffin, plus they have Griffin, Eric Gordon, Deandre Jordan, Turk would provide a good Veteran Presence around that team. The Denver trade, how could Denver complain? They're getting a proven scorer in Jameer Nelson and young talent in either Orton, and/or Anderson, for a player who doesn't want to play the backup role anymore in Felton, (he's no taking Ty Lawson's starting job). 

     So where does this leave us? Well, first let me say I think we should re-sign Earl Clark right now, to a nice in-expensive contract because his potential is very high. So with that said, come the summer of 2012, (If no other deals are made), we would have Bass (4mil), Duhon(3.5mil), Richardson (2.8mil), Clark (est. 2-4 mil) and that's all. Simple Math: 12-14 million on the books. So if the New Cap is around 40-50 million, that leaves us with somewhere around 30-35 million in Cap Room. (Dwight Howard will opt out of his contract, the same way Wade did last summer) That's enough to bring back Dwight, and either CP3 or D-Will, or both if they all agreed to take less money the way the Heat Trio did. This is a dream scenario, but not a Dream scenario. This is very, very do-able. There are no ridiculous one-sided trades involved, just very well thought out planning ahead. You can tell my Key words for this post are PLANNING AHEAD. If we want to compete for a championship and be serious about keeping Dwight, then this is what needs to be done. Not trading for Iggy or Brandon Roy, NO. Those are a couple more desperation moves, we've seen enough of those, it's time for our front office, to calm down, write out a plan, and execute. We need to make this happen, and it's very possible. What do you guys think?

 I know everyone is eager to jump on the ESPN Trade Machine and try to make us better. However, we may have to take a few steps back to get back in the right direction. These are a few trades I think would help the Magic. At first sight, they may look awful for the Magic, but it's the long haul I'm thinking about.

First Trade: 

  Denver Receives: PG Jameer Nelson, PF/C Daniel Orton

  Orlando Receives:  PG Raymond Felton, C  Kosta Koufos

   I know, I know, I know. Before you jump down my throat let me explain. Felton is not happy being a backup, they're going to have to move him, because it doesn't look like Ty Lawson is going to play his way to the bench. Jameer is going to hit thirty years old soon, and while he can start for a lot of teams, he is probably better suited to come off the bench. REASON for the trade, simple, Felton's contract expires at season's end, as does Koufos'.

Second Trade: (Involving Turkoglu) 

LA Clippers Receive: SF Turkoglu, SG Redick

Orlando Receives: C Chris Kaman, G Randy Foye

   Again, Magic giving up too much? Probably, but for this plan to save the franchises hopes of retaining Howard, the Magic are going to have to make some moves that initially put them back a bit in order to catch up to the Heat or Bulls. Again, the KEY here is Kaman and Foye both COME OFF THE BOOKS in 2012. In reality, Turkoglu is not that bad of player, he just can't be asked to carry the load anymore, which he wouldn't in LA. The steal is the Clippers getting a shooter in Dead eye Shooter in Redick. The Magic will have a servicable backup to Dwight next year in Kaman, and a versatile Foye who can play both Guard positions.

Third Trade: 

Pacers Receive: SF Turkoglu, PF/C Daniel Orton

Magic Receive: SF James Posey, SG/SF Brandon Rush

  Same story here, Magic giving up a big piece in Turk, and not getting much back. But that is what you have to expect when trying to get rid of Turkoglu's horrible contract, you're just not going to get equal value back. Both Rush and Posey come off the books in 2012 as well. 

  So you see where I'm heading with this. Kind of a Pat Riley strategy you can say?While we may not be contenders next year, We have Dwight, we're going to be competitive, that's the bottom line. So build around him for the future. These trades also make way more sense if the amensty clause is passed. (Getting rid of Arenas' contract) You could possibly move a couple other pieces (Bass, Anderson, Q-rich) to fill some holes where needed for a year, and help lower the Magic's cap for 2012. 

 SUMMER OF 2012: Magic use their amensty clause to get rid of Arenas' contract (18 mil, 56mil 3 yrs), EITHER Kaman comes off (11.8 mil) Foye comes off (4.3mil) OR Posey comes off (7.2mil) Rush comes off (2.2 mil) AND Felton comes off (7mil)  koufos comes off (1.3mil).

With that alone, and Dwight Howard opting out (The way Wade did last summer) The Magic would only have Duhon (3.5mil), Bass (4mil) Q-Rich (2.2) and that's ALL! That could leave the Magic around 40 million under the CAP!!!

Then Howard and either Paul or Williams could get to talking the way lebron and Wade did, and also have enough to bring in another star, or a few solid role players(better choice in my opinion). 

What do you guys think? These aren't trades that are impossible to make to happen, this is a real opportunity.

   I know besides Dwight there wasn't much else to get excited about in Game 1. Jameer went off in the third but did so without getting others involved. On offense, guys just need to step up, plain and simple. No more excuses, new team this, getting used to eachother that. It's playoff time, this is when the team is supposed to wake up right? It doesn't work that way. Those of you who thought they could just flip the "on" switch were mistaken. 

  First off, Jason Richardson, I can't even explain how poor his performance was yesterday, on both ends. This guy is getting paid 14-16 million/per year range? WOW! He might be one of the worst defenders in the NBA. He presses up against Joe Johnson about 30-35 feet from the basket, Johnson patiently waits for his team to get in position to spread the floor, and he goes right past Richardson for an easy 10 foot floater that he's obviously worked on because he knows Dwight will be there. I think Johnson scored at least 5 of those alone yesterday, not to mention pretty much getting any other shot he wanted, when he wanted it. I could go on for two pages about how bad Richardson's play was yesterday, but I'm pretty sure everyone is already in agreement.

  Second, Jameer can score. We know this. He's always been able to score. The problem is, he's not very good at setting up others for their shots. We have a whole bunch of players who need a PG to get them the ball in space for an open shot. (Ex. JJ Redick, Jason Richardson, Ryan Anderson, Q-Richardson, Brandon Bass) These guys specialty is not creating their own shot, I'm sorry but it's just not what they do. They hit open shots. All the Hawks did was take a page right out of the Boston Celtics Defensive philosophy which is play Dwight straight up and let him get his, while everyone else stays at home on the shooters. Therefore nobody else was able to get going throughout the game. (With the exception of Nelson) 

   The good news. Dwight is becoming a different animal. He's more patient, he's a little better from the line, he's finishing three point plays, he's making the right decisions. Flawless game for Dwight. At times, I feel bad for him, because he really does look like an alone player out there at times with his team just standing around and watching. 

   The shots should come, Van Gundy will figure out a way to get guys open, and the Hawks probably won't shoot such a high percentage the rest of the series. They were on fire yesterday. The one thing that worries me, is will guys dig in and play DEFENSE?! I mean come on. Jason Richardson, it appears pretty evident how bad you are at defense, so lets not guard Joe Johnson 35 feet from the basketball. I'd rather him hoist 3 pointers all night than getting layups and 10 foot floaters. Let's try and close out on Horford huh? What do you think? The guy seems like he's pretty good at knocking down that jumper. Bass and Anderson need to stay home on him. When jamal Crawford is in the game, give the ball to Jameer immediately. I think using a little more trapping defense would help too, get them out of sorts every once in while. All I know is when J-rich on an island alone with Joe Johnson, bring help fast. ORRRRRR maybe, just maybe, these guys can dig in and play some DEFENSE!!!

With the Magic sitting at 41-25 and 4th in the east, what playoff scenario would you like to see? I'm going to just going to take a wild guess and say the Magic are not going to move any higher than 4th and any lower than 5th. Can they move to third? Yes, however I'm not sure if that would even be the most beneficial to us. As of right now the standings look like this: 

(1) Boston 46-17

(2) Chicago 47-18

(3) Miami (45-21)

(4) Orlando (41-25)

(5) Atlanta (38-28)

(6) New York (34-20)

(7) Philadelphia (34-32)

(8) Indiana, Charlotte (27-38)

Me personally, I would like to see Chicago overtake the number 1 seed and us stay in fourth. Obviously all the teams in the top 6 are very talented and could present trouble to the Magic. However, if I had to choose, I would choose to play Chicago over Boston or Miami in the second round, if we made it there. Let Miami and Boston beat each other up in the second round, and take our chances on Chicago. I know many things could happen, Im just throwing out the scenario that is very close right now. What do you think?

      Obviously we all know Dwight has a tendency to retaliate to hard fouls. My question is when will the NBA finally give Dwight a little (little) respect and start calling flag. fouls? We as Magic fans who watch every game see how Dwight is pushed, shoved, hit, and mauled throughout games. Obviously if they called everything the way they call it for Lebron or Durant, the game would take several days because Dwight would be at the line the entire time. So, the NBA knows they can't give the same calls to Dwight as they do to those "superstar wings" but all I'm saying is when the other team is not even making an attempt at the ball, and just swinging wildly at Dwight's head or arms for that matter, can't they call a flagrant foul? Last time I checked when someone is going up for a bucket, the player has to at least make an attempt to block the shot. Now I know I'm not crazy, but that doesn't happen 75% of the time Dwight goes up. Yes he gets stripped, yes he fumbles the ball, but I'm not talking about those instances right now. I'm talking about the HARD fouls that made SHAQ retaliate, and will continue to make Dwight retaliate. I  know the NBA has changed, but 15 years ago, some of these fouls would ignite a brawl between both teams. I'm just saying, the NBA should give the Magic 2 shots at the line and the ball back, (flagrant foul), just to lessen the pain inflicted on Dwight. I know he's the biggest man in the league physically, but that doesn't mean he should have to take the abuse he does. And anyone, you or me, would retaliate the same if someone was swinging wildly at our heads all game. 

I am not trying to make excuses for Dwight, but I mean come on, give the guy a break. How do you feel?

Should the Magic try and sign any of the recently waived players? Carlos Arroyo, after watching Duhon in that Knicks game last night, he could barely get the ball across half court. It makes me wonder if something happened to Arenas or Nelson, we need an upgrade there.  Eddy Curry, obviously this guy has had numerous problems over the past few years with his weight and effort. Would playing for a contender motivate him? He's a huge body who could fill the middle for 10 minutes a night when Dwight catches a breather. Low risk, high reward with him I think. And Al Thornton. Can play the 3 or 4. Would add some athleticism. What do you guys think?

Any of you stubborn Magic fans want to admit it yet? The Magic ARE NOT a Championship team. I say again, the Magic ARE NOT a Championship team. Can they make the playoffs? Sure. Will they make it to the second round? MAYBE. And that's a BIG MAYBE. In the event they make the second round, can they beat the Celtics, Heat, or Bulls? Simply put, NO. And for all you people that can't see the big picture, no this is not because of one game they loss to the lowly, and I mean lowly(14-41) Sacramento Kings. (Without their best player Tyreke Evans). This is because, we play poor team defense, we lack a true elite play maker, we lack size besides Dwight Howard(Troy Murphy is not the answer, so please spare your comments on saying we are getting him), and we lack all around athleticism. Our team is FULL of hot and cold shooters. Everyone is streaky, no consistency, again, besides Dwight. 

First let's get to this non-sense of signing Richardson to an extension. Seriously? He is absolutely awful as a defender. Just awful. At best he gives you 15-18 points on a "hot" night for him. That's certainly no guarantee either. Use his expiring contract to bring in someone, anyone. These rumors about ZBO (Zach Randolph), I say if it's on the table do it. But you never know with these rumors how credible they are. If not him, someone. Im sure there are plenty of teams looking to dump salary around the NBA. We might as well not be worried about that because thanks Turkoglu  (11 million) and Arenas (almost 18 million) a season for the next 3-4 years, the Magic wont be players in any sort of free agency anytime soon, and I don't think there is any GM around the league dumb enough to take on either one of those contracts, because neither player plays up to those earnings, not even close.

So what do we do? Did anyone get a chance to hear Dwight Howard after last nights game? 

"I've said everything there is to say, that's it I've talked every timeout, when we're in the huddle, in the locker room...what you want me to tweet about it? I've done everything I'm supposed to do as a leader."- Dwight Howard

"If guys don't want to play, they've got to sit down. We can't just have guys or anybody out there not playing hard."- Dwight Howard

Anyone second guessing the Summer of 2012 isn't on the back of his mind still? All his all star buddies are teaming up to form these championship teams, and he's stuck in Orlando, practically alone. Get this through your heads Magic fans, Executives, whoever reads this. The Magic need to acquire another superstar, or at least a significant upgrade of overall team talent, or Dwight is as good as gone, and history repeats itself. All you J.J Redick and Ryan Anderson lovers out there, get over it. Same with the Richardson and Nelson lovers. The Magic need to make a decision now, whether they want to move forward with Dwight, or start rebuilding. Don't be stubborn and disagree with me, think outside of your little box for just a moment. 

Scenarios: We make no moves this year, we are bounced in the maybe first round, Second Round. This causes Dwight to become even more upset, leading to a summer of disorganization for the franchise. You thought all that Carmelo drama was bad, and took too long? Wait until you see Dwight's. We may make a small move or two in the offseason, due to limited participation in free agency because of our great contracts for our mediocre players. Dwight leaves us as a free agent following next season, and the franchise crumbles, just like the Cavs.

We make a trade now, just to bring some new excitement and hope to the team that seems to be completely out of both right now. It may improve us, we have nothing to lose, and everything to gain by trying. 

And last, we trade Dwight along with a couple other crappy contracts, for a lot of exciting young players with potential and draft picks, and the rebuilding stage begins.

For all of you who are, like I said before, too stubborn to open your eyes and realize what is happening right now, save your comments or feedback. 

Alright. After watching this Carmelo Drama for a year now, why wouldn't the Magic learn from this? I don't think its just a coincidence that almost every NBA Analyst thinks Dwight is as good as gone, unless the Magic make some kind of trade to bring in another superstar next to him. The trades earlier this season made us better, but it's still not good enough. With the Celtics and Heat being on a different level from everyone else, the Knicks are catching on and taking chances, and making moves. We need to make moves NOW! We need to make Orlando the next place where the superstars want to come, because obviously they are the ones that are in control. Here are a couple of trades I came up with: The first is with Utah. 

Utah Gets: Jason Richardson (expiring contract) , Jameer Nelson, Ryan Anderson, JJ Redick, Daniel Orton

Orlando Gets: Deron Williams, Mehemet Okur, Raja Bell, CJ Miles

Why this works: Yes, this is a very BIG trade, with a lot of of players and changes. OK so if you're a Utah or Orlando Exec. you have to face reality and see whats happening. These players are leaving with no consent to their teams, to join up with other superstars. Who can blame them? Once one team does it, it's only going to start a trend. Ok so Utah loses their superstar player, (who they will almost certainly lose after next year anyway), but they are still going to have a very strong team, with the cap room to bring on another very good player. The longer they wait, the less value Deron will have, because teams will realize he is not re signing anyway. The Magic in this trade also give up a lot, but this is what is has to be done in order to compete. With Deron Williams though, The magic will have two superstar players and could persuade them both to sign on extensions and start a dynasty. The worst case scenario? They don't sign extensions, leave, and the magic would have to rebuild anyway, because let's face it, our team is a lottery team without Dwight Howard. So both teams Depth Charts after the trade would look like this:

Utah: PG-Jameer Nelson, Earl Watson                      Orlando: PG-Deron Williams, Gilbert Arenas

          SG-Jason Richardson, JJ Redick                                       SG-Raja Bell, Quinten Richardson

          SF-Andre Kirolinko, Gordon Hayward                                SF-Hedo Turkoglu, CJ Miles

          PF-Paul Millsap, Ryan Anderson                                        PF- Brandon Bass, Earl Clark

            C-Al Jefferson, Fesenko                                                       C- Dwight Howard, Mehemet Okur

*Note* In the Summer of 2012, Utah Jazz would only have JJ Redick, Al Jefferson, and Paul Millsap under contract*

The other trade is for the other obvious player who is going to be looking to join up with some other superstars around the NBA. Chris Paul. All the same reasons I said above for this trade.

Hornets Get: Jason Richardson (expiring contract), Jameer Nelson, Ryan Anderson, Daniel Orton, 1st Rd. Pick(future)

Orlando Get: Chris Paul, Aaron Gray, Cap Exception

5 Years ago I would say neither one of these trades would ever go through. But teams now are understand what is going on with this decade's top players. They are all trying to combine to make superstar teams and compete with eachother. Obviously there aren't enough superstars to go around for Every team. So some teams will have to work on rebuilding for the future and start their own attempt for a dynasty by making cap room, accumulating draft picks, and acquiring young players. This trade with New Orleans for example gives the Magic a chance to compete now and for the next few years for a title. New Orleans on the other hand, acquires some young players with bright futures, draft picks, and some solid veteran guys who can keep them competitive in the short term.

Some of you might say well these trades are "ridiculous". Utah will never do that, or the hornets. Like I said, if this were 5-10 years ago, I'd agree with you 100%. But after whats happened over the past few years with these elite teams loading up, and the way Lebron left Cleveland empty handed,(and now the worst team in the league). 

Others may ask, well why would they trade away their superstar if we aren't trading ours? From my eyes, and I think most people would agree, Dwight Howard is among the "untouchables" in the league with the likes of Lebron James, Kobe Bryant. While Chris Paul and Deron Williams are superstars, they are point guards, which there are more elite of than big men. A true dominant center like Dwight Howard do not come around very often.

Let me know what you think.

Tell me what you think... i know some may not be realisitc in your eyes, but lets think about the situation we are in... 

    Did we really get better this offseason? We resigned Redick which is a plus, we signed Duhon for something Otis Smith sees in him that i sure as heck don't. He'll be solid but not great. Then we signed Q-rich but lost barnes, close to equal swap id say, not significant enough either way to bash the signing, nor praise it. The Magic have a solid enough team to compete and beat 90 percent of the league. There are about 4 teams i could see giving us problems.

We know the Celtics are still the Celtics, the Lakers are still the Lakers, both teams just a year older. Boston will still give us problems, as would the Lakers if we saw them again in the finals. Then you got the Bulls and Thunder who are both going to be better next year, the Bulls with a few offseason moves, and the thunder just because Durant and Co. will be a year older and wiser. Then of course theres our little problem about 4 hours south on Interstate 95. (HEAT).... So are you a believer that the team we have now is going to compete with the Celtics and Lakers of today and the Heat, Bulls, and Thunder of tomorrow? .....

   Ok. So if you believe the team we have now can get it done. Great! ... me, however, I have a hard time believing in a Magic team that let me down the past two years. They had Great seasons dont get me wrong. But when you are on that verge of being the at the top of the mountain, it only hurts worse to fall when you're so close to the top. 

  This brings me up to my next point. There is a top 10 superstar available (supposedly) by the name of Carmelo Anthony. I did some trade scenarios using ESPN Trade Machine. I know a lot have been said, but take a look and let me know what you think and what you think of the rest of my post, thanks.

1)To Denver:  Vince Carter and Mickel Pietrus 

    To Orlando: Carmelo Anthony and A. Affalo - This trade doesnt make much sense in my eyes but i saw a columnist for slam put it down.

2)To Denver: Jameer Nelson, Marcin Gortat, Brandon Bass, Mickel Pietrus, and Rashard Lewis

   To Orlando: Carmelo Anthony, Nene hilario, Chauncey Billups

REASONING: Ok. this one is a bit intense and considerable changes are made. But think about it from both sides. First Denver it makes sense because, well, they're getting FIVE potential NBA starters, which could compensate for the loss of superstar Anthony, and keep their fan base intrigued enough and they could still put up a winning record with that group. For the Magic it makes great sense. Magic fans, personal, owners, want to win now! they don't want to take a backseat to miami. Bringing in Billups and Anthony and Nene makes them suddenly great favorites along with the heat to win the east. The key to this trade for the magic, is dumping lewis' contract which still has 3 yrs at about 20 a year left on it. Billups is older (34) but can still play at a high level and brings great leadership. Nene next to dwight to closeout games forms the best frontline in the nba. Another little twitch to the trade, Nene and Billups both have 2 years left on their contract, combined with getting rid of lewis and gortat conrtacts, that gives them potential for a lot of cap room in 2012 when Chris Paul will be a free agent, and perhaps (just saw yesterday) deron williams of the jazz might opt out. something to think about, this trade puts at an elite level right now, while also helping us for the future.

just in case you were wondering the Magic's depth chart would like after the trade:

PG- Billups/Duhon/Williams

SG- Carter/Redick

SF- Anthony/Richardson/Robinson

PF- Anderson/Nene/Orton

C-Howard/Nene/Orton<(possible sign a veteran big man)