You probably guessed what this is about already, but I feel like we should look into bringing back Sweet Lew if he gets amnesty-ed by the Washington Wizards. This summer looks like it will be an "active" one for us (at least we hope) to help build a true contender around Dwight Howard. Our biggest chips in terms of trade are: Jameer, JJ, Bass and Ryno. Personally, I think Ryan may be gone this summer, and Rashard (if bought out) could bring back that stretch-4 that Stan loves. Rashard is a great guy both on and off the court. I personally would like to see him finish his career here in Orlando. Hopefully Washington will use him for their amnesty situation if the NBA decides to go with it prior to next season.

This year was crazy but it went by very quickly and here we are the evening right before 2011. Although we had a good season and play-off run last season, this year, we have better pieces to contend for the gold. I hope this year, we take it all.

Here's to 2011, the year JJ wins a 3-point shootout trophy, SVG becomes Coach of the year, Superman Howard becomes the MVP/Finals MVP, and Orlando wins it's first championship (knocks on wood/crosses fingers).

To the members and editors/writers of OPP, from my family to yours, Happy New Year!

GO MAGIC!!!!

Not too long ago, I posted a thread about a similar situation with an employee asking about the whereabouts of this black beauty. Tonight after tonight's game I learned that the black alternate is set to arrive on the first week of Dec. in both the authentic and swingman versions.

Just a little update for those of us wondering. I personally cannot wait to get mine, swingman of course. Paying $275 for a jersey is insane.

During my tour of the new facility this afternoon, I made my way into the official team shop (located on the NE wing of the building, corner of Huey and Church) and got to talking with an employee. We talked alot about the new Revolution authentics and other adidas related matters, etc. In the store, I found one of those neoprene-sleeves made for keeping drinks cold with the black jersey's likeness displayed on it, so I asked the question we've all been wondering for a few weeks:

"When, the hell, are these bad-boys going to be available for purchase?"

He mentioned that he asked management the same thing a few days ago and that the target arrival date of the new uniforms to be delivered to the team shop was a little before New Year's eve. He said that their store (since it's the official team shop)would be the first to receive them and could be the first to sell them when the Magic (supposedly) are to start rocking them during the first few games in the year 2011 (this Jan, not next season). So think of it as a "late" Christmas gift. Better later than never right?

We all already know him as "Superman", "D12", "Daily Double", "Beast of the East", "Beast", "Man-Child", etc...

Well, in  lieu of our shiny, brand-spankin-new, state-o-thee-art facility, I am proposing a new nickname for dear DHoward: "The Amway - Center".

Now I already mentioned this in a response in a recent Fanshot, but I was so proud of this that I thought it deserved it's on thread. Thanks for your time in advance.

Pretty self-explanatory. We didnt see them at the draft, and we have yet to see a press conference of some sort with them here in Orlando like the other NBA teams. Is there something I'm missing? Could this have something to do with an upcoming trade with the 2 included? During the draft, I noticed the new fitted draft caps and didnt notice til later on that we didnt see what our draft cap looked like. Thoughts?

Recently I've been seeing several rumors of Otis possibly wanting to move up the draft ladder via trade. With what we have to offer (Gortat, Bass, Anderson, JJ, 29th pick, 59th pick, VC [crosses fingers], etc), just how far do you think we could move up? Obviously, getting into the top 10 would help alot, but do you see any of those teams possibly taking our bait (more specifically Gortat)?

Realgm.com Magic Message Board rumor

Last season, Washington gave up their 5th overall pick to Minnesota for Randy Foye, and more seemingly Mike Miller's expiring contract. With the Starting-calibur players along with the 2 draft choices that we have to offer, could Minnesota at #4, Sacramento at #5, Golden State at #6, or even Philadelphia at #2 bite at the possibility of Gortat or Bass since they could use a true starting C/ More bigs? Whatever Otis is up to, I trust him, it'll be interesting to see how this off-season unfolds beginning draft night.

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=322972

If the Raptors decide that they will void his contract and he agrees to re-sign for the mid-level or lower, why the hell not? Maybe Vince Carter could go back to TOR and finally retire. We obviously missed Hedo all series long, maybe a reunion tour is in order. I would take him back, and Dante and Galante could have the " What Did Hedo Just Say?" segment back...hmmm...

No, I don't mean the hit late 90's song by Mark Morrison, I mean Tracy McGrady wanting to come back to Orlando.

He was quoted last night after a loss in POR about a possibility in returning to Orlando next season. I don't know about you, but for the right price, I just think it's right to bring Tracy back home even more than how Iverson was welcomed back to Philly.

____________________________________________________________________________________

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/mcgrady_would_welcome_return_to_anQ0o1YtZZNVrS10yjN4RI#ixzz0jqdL8pfc

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Tracy McGrady said he would love to sign next season with Orlando, where he hails from, and ripped the former Magic president who traded him.

"Of course because it's home, that's home," McGrady said yesterday before the Knicks' 118-90 loss to the Blazers at Rose Garden. "I hated it that I left. I hated I left because I established myself there and made a name for myself. It was a situation where the GM [John Weisbrod] that was there made a huge mistake."

Weisbrod, whose has since been fired, traded McGrady in 2004 in a deal for Steve Francis.

"They got him out of there because he was out of his mind," McGrady said of Weisbrod.

McGrady said he is still unsure of team president Donnie Walsh's intentions, but feels he will still be "great" next season when he has a full summer of strengthening his legs.

"I think it's possible they'll get back to The Finals," McGrady said. "And if you add me to the mix, I like Orlando. We'll see."

____________________________________________________________________________________

     With all the rosters that GM Weisbrod and GM Gabriel put together that didn't work out to be winners with Tracy on the roster, I personally feel like he could fit in here and finally have the quality players around him to be successful. Obviously, he's had some injuries and he's having one HELL of a season with HOU/NYK but I think a reunion here (as well as with his cousin Vince Carter) would be a good one as long as the price is right.

     A look at back 200-2004: The Magic went 21-61 with Lue/McGrady/Giricek/JHowarc/DeClerq (starting) and a supporting cast of Strickland/Stevenson/Hill (sometimes)/Gooden/Hunter on the bench. When Juwan Howard is your team's next best player, there might be a problem. At the time, GM Weisbrod also criticized Tracy for being heartless and selfish (wish I personally did not see) and traded him away for the Houston boys (Francis/Mobley/Cato). At the time, we also drafted a young Dwight Howard, whom, none of us really saw becoming the beast that he is today. It's true, Tracy wanted out because we didn't get Okafor, who at the time was fresh off of an NCAA championship with the UConn Huskies. If anything, I don't blame T-Mac for wanting Okafor instead of a young HS prospect, but I think Tracy should have at least tried to stay for half a season and then request for a trade. All in all, I just think he deserves to finally have the quality supporting cast that the didn't have around him back then.

     To be honest, I don't really know where he'd fit in considering the fact that VC is the starter and JJ is a very good substitute at that position. At the SF, we have Barnes and Pietrus being the defensive and physical players that we need. That leaves us with the always shaky PG position. Nelson is going to start for us make no mistake but Tracy has proven that he can be a very serviceable play maker and at 6-8, we could very well have the mismatch that Hedo created (a tall play maker). The NYK have tried him out at the PG position and he has done well at that position.

I know it's too early to talk about this but I've been a fan of his all these years (no homo) and I personally would like to see him come home for one last run, maybe this time things will be different.

This is a question for BQR or Eddy. I just wanted to know if any of you two (or anyone else here) can shed some light on the rumors of a possible black alternate uniform for next season. I read on some other Magic blog that the reason why Orlando is sporting the old-school blacks pinstripes as a pre-lude to next season's uni? Anyone know if there is any truth to this?

It seems recently that Marcin Gortat hasn't been getting as many minutes as he used to (and as he would like) and has expressed that he is unhappy with it. It really just seems that Gortat will be a goner possible (and hopefully only after) after this post-season. It's no secret that several teams are looking for a starting center that is of Gortat's skillset, but what would it take to make Otis happy to let him go? What would it take to make YOU as a fan happy (or at least satisfied) with what we could recieve in return? C'mon, it's just for fun.

For this scenario, I will be using the ESPN-NBA.com's Trade Machine to try to match salaries and PER.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ylh6dk4

This link is not working for some reason but I suggested that:

MGortat/ AJohnson/ AFoyle/ BBass

in exchange to LAC for:

MCamby/ STelfair/ possible fillers

- Camby is getting up there in age (35) but the dude can still rebound and swat shots with the best of them. Sebastian Telfair (to me) is a poor man's Jameer Nelson, both in size, age and playing style. Marcus Camby has 1 yr left on his current contract which will expire after this season. If Marcin Gortat and the boys were traded for Camby during this current season, we would have $9.1M off the books. Obviously if this traded happened in the offseason, we could probably have a sign-and-trade deal in which we might be able to sign the veteran Camby to a lesser-decent sized contract to back-up Dwight Howard. I included Bass into the scenario not only to match the salaries but I feel like he just does not fit as well in our system (my opinion only). LAC would also need a young PF to back-up Blake Griffin.

- Sebastian Telfair would be a decent back-up for Jameer Nelson. He runs the floor in a similar manner and can score the ball as well. AJ would be sent in the deal because he has a contract that will match and we would have too many PGs on our team (if we keep JWill).

- In the end, there may be better scenarios than this but we would have an athletic defensive minded C who can hit the mid-range shot (at a decent price) and a solid back-up PG who is somewhat similar to our starting PG. LAC gets a young center to usher in the Blake Griffin era in Clipper Nation, a few expiring veterans, and a solid young back-up to Blake Griffin. Gortat would get his playing time and a big city (which he likes) and Bass gets quality reserve time behind their best player.

ORL: Nelson/ Carter/ Pietrus/ Lewis/ Howard -- Telfair/ Redick/ Barnes/ Anderson/ Camby -- Williams

LAC: Davis/ Gordon/ Thornton/ Griffin/ Gortat -- Collins (Johnson)/ RDavis/ Butler/ Bass/ Kaman -- Foyle/ Jordan

Thoughts?

*** This thread is a re-post from my reply from/to JoeyBarz thread "Wade's Comments" ***

This thread/re-post was created out of boredom and insomnia, these were just my thoughts from this morning. It may just sound like hype and anxiousness from a Magic fan but I felt like expressing my thoughts on the situation. They have some edited/added parts that differ from the other thread that I forgot to mention.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

We’ve all read the comments but maybe we aren’t really getting what he’s saying.

1. "If I could pick one player in the league today to play with — and most people think I’d say LeBron James — I would pick Dwight Howard," said Wade.

- Thats a pretty straight to the point comment. Take out that part about LeBron and Wade is pretty much saying, "The only player I want to play with in this league is Dwight Howard". There is no way to get more straight to the point than that, Wade wants to play with Dwight.

2. "I’d love for that to happen at some point. Dwight is already close right here in Orlando. People who say it couldn’t happen (us playing on the same team), they don’t know. I’ve learned in this league that anything is possible."

- Wade says "I’d love….for that to happen". Love is a strong feeling, no homo, but he obviously feels strongly about this. "Dwight is already close right here in Orlando", this sounds like someone who already thought about this sometime in his spare time away from the media. Possibly thinking about the friends he made in MIA, I know he has 2 young sons(7yrs, 2 yrs), that may be contemplation of possible stay in the same school, keep the same childhood friends kind of deal. This could also mean that maybe he wants Dwight to move to MIA (unlikely and it won’t happen while Wade is in his prime either, Dwight is here for the next 3 seasons, Wade would be 31).The most important part of this section is "People who say it couldn’t happen (and there have already been several on this thread: http://www.thirdquartercollapse.com/2009/11/27/1175514/wades-commets), they don’t know". "I’ve learned in this league that anything is possible". You might think I’m crazy or I just want this so much that I am seeing beyond the words or whatever but, Wade says "anything is possible" and that sounds like someone open to any situation (trade, sign, etc) to get to play with Dwight.

3. "I’ve played with a dominant center before, and there’s nothing like it. It changes the whole game. It’s why I’d LOVE to play with Dwight. He’s a phenomenal center who has only just scratched the surface of where he’ll be,’’ Wade said. "And he’s the type of guy you’d really like to be around."

- Another straight to the point comment. He acknowledges his accomplishments and advantages on the court with Shaq back in MIA and he says "LOVE" yet again about the chance to play with Dwight Howard, just like any player in the league would say minus LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Mo Williams, etc….

4. "I said from Day One that I wanted to be in Miami, that maybe I could get certain players to come to Miami, but at the same time, this is my only chance at free agency,’’ Wade said. "There are a lot of possibilities out there. And nothing is impossible."

- Lastly, Wade says "that maybe I could get certain players to come to Miami". This may be him reflecting on this past summer's failure for the Heat to acquire Carlos Boozer and Lamar Odom whom Wade tried to convince to play in MIA amongst other possible FA from this past summer. Wade continues by say that this may be his only chance in FA meaning that if he re-signs with MIA, he’s probably stuck there until the end of his career (unless his next contract ends in 5/6 years and he decides to "Starbury-it" to a championship team for one last hurrah), this kinda sounds like Wade thinking that his job in MIA is possibly done (Championship in 06,team scoring records, Finals MVP, #2 pick in the draft, etc) and would like to play in another city and that he wants to win now while he can. MIA obviously has pieces to contend and yes, they have money to sign Wade and bring in another star player to piece beside him next season (Stoudemire, Bosh, Johnson, etc) but at the end of the day, would Wade/Stoudemire, Wade/Bosh be enough to put MIA over the hump? None of those 3 mentioned have gotten to the Finals and with O’Neal, Haslem, Richardson, Arroyo and Magloire (being key players in MIA ) coming off the books, would MIA really have a team to put around Wade to truly contend in the next 3-5 seasons?

Plus, the SVG factor don't forget that he was Wade's first NBA coach...and the new arena...and the possible black alternate uniform for next season...Stuff...The best fans in the NBA....The best basketball site for the Magic EVER...etc.

Like Wade says yet again, "nothing is impossible."

I don't really know what Otis is willing to give up to acquire Wade (and hopefully you all help me here with that) but this is what MIA and ORL may look like if the deal happens or not (and if MIA keeps Jermaine after next season).

Chalmers/Wade/Beasley/Stoudemire/O’Neal – Best case scenario for MIA

Nelson/Wade/Pietrus/Lewis/Howard – Possibly ORLs line-up with Wade (Carter, Gortat, fillers, picks to MIA)

Just about 6 seasons ago, former Orlando Magic and disgruntled G/F Tracy McGrady was traded to HOU along with F Juwan Howard, G Tyronn Lue and G Reece Gaines. After suffering a 21-61 season record in the 03-04 season, ORL had the #1 pick in the 2004 NBA that brought in Magic F/C Dwight Howard. Apparently Tracy McGrady did not want to wait for Howard's potential and he was already having problems with font office management (particularly former ORL Magic GM John Weisbrod.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQKfqfN2k7U&feature=related

What was supposed to be a dynamic 1-2 combo alongside Houston Rockets C Yao Ming has turned into a nightmare for Houston fans. They started off fast almost defeating the Mavericks in the 04-05 playoffs but then came up short. In the following seasons Tracy McGrady's career had been plagued by injuries in almost every part of his body.

Today as I was reading through my daily NBA headlines, rumors, etc. I ran into an article from Yahoo! Sports that had this on it:

"The confrontation had been building for weeks, sources say, and underscores a lingering uneasiness between the organization and McGrady. Adelman and McGrady had a dispute last February over the way McGrady informed the team that he had chosen to undergo season-ending knee surgery. Instead of telling them directly, McGrady released the information to the public. At the time, sources say, McGrady felt betrayed in the belief that members of the organization were publicly and privately doubting the validity of his injury.

[The trust has broken down between them,]a source close to McGrady and Adelman said. [There’s some work to be done there.]

McGrady, 30, is in the final year of his contract and is being paid a league-high $23.2 million this season. He’s had a history of injuries with Houston and questions about his toughness and leadership have always been debated inside and outside the organization. In his six seasons with the Rockets, McGrady has missed 125 games because of back and knee problems. Once the Rockets advanced to Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals without McGrady last season, there came evidence that the Rockets employ a more balanced lineup capable of wining without him.

Sources say McGrady has started to wonder whether the Rockets want him back with this team, or whether they’ve been motivated to let him sit and collect on insurance money. Assuming that McGrady is covered under the NBA’s Temporary Total Disability (TTD) insurance policy, Houston can start to collect up to 80 percent of his prorated per-game salary after he’s missed 41 consecutive games. McGrady sat out his 42nd straight game Wednesday in Minnesota, and the league insurance plan would reimburse the Rockets for any additional missed games."

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-mcgradyinjury112009&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

With McGrady becoming a FA in next year's 2010 offseason, could he take the Vince Carter route and come back home for the MLE? Would fans want him back home after admitting that he quit on the team in the 03-04 season?

I personally feel like he COULD come back and be that guy for us that Hedo was. He provides height, playmaking ability, shooting/scoring skills, underrated defense and veteran leadership abilities. The problem with McGrady as anyone may attest is his heart and willingness to win games as well as his health, although this passed offseason he has been recovering from what is said to be a very successful microfracture surgery and he has since been working out in Chicago with world renoun trainer Tim Grover of Attack Athletics who has treated players such as Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade amongst many more names.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGNf4DLBmaU

If he takes the step back and just plays team defense and makes the correct plays without wanting or having to score 30+ ppg, could he be the missing piece for us? I feel like Van Gundy can harness his attitude and maybe VC can get him to play the way he can with this team. With the Howard factor opening up oppotunites for McGrady, I feel like he can be a very affective player in our system.

With the good feeling we have had from a W in the last 2 preseason games, and great playing by all our new comers, I think it's safe to say that we're all pretty happy about the team's turnout thus far. Bored today, I check our team's page on Orlandosentinel.com and saw this nice little article. Apparently Matt Barnes won a bet by swishing in a full court shot today at practice and some of our guys ended up paying him a good amount of cash. I am sure as hell excited for this season and watching these guys bonding and happy together put a smile on my face (no homo).

Even coach SVG got a little excited about it in the video towards the bottom of the page. Check it out!

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2009/10/matt-barnes-swishes-a-fullcourt-shot-at-practice-controversy-ensues.html

What's up fellow Magicians and posters of this amazing website? The title of the thread says it all. Me and another fellow member of this site, Bandrewg08 (who actually is my cousin) will be in attendance for tonights match up against MIA. Just wanted to see if anyone wanted to meet up before the game and have a beer or two and hangout pregame. I will check this board before I leave later on. I think E is gonna be there, hopefully I can meet the man behind the work too, no homo. Looking forward to a good game 2nite.

I'm just as excited as anyone else here that the new season is beginning it's preliminary stages with tonight's first preseason game vs. DAL. Does anyone know if the game can be watched anywhere online or on NBATV? I just wanted to see if there was any way to watch the game tonight instead of settling for Eddie Griffin: Going for Broke tonight on VH1 and of course Monday Night Football.

Anyone know?

As the NBA offseason lingers on more and more everyday I figured maybe now would be a good time to bring up this topic. Everyone knows that after every huge Dwight Howard dunk the PA plays the Superman theme song. Everyone also knew that after every Carlos Arroyo dime or layup they would play some sort of cheesy salsa music on the jumbotron.

I wanted to know if our own Paul Porter will be so inclined to scream "DID YOU SEE....VC?!!!!" after a VC dunk this season. Also during the video posted below, after every VC 3-Pointer, the PA announcer screams "Veeeeee Ceeeee Threeeeeeeee". My guess is probably not but do you think VC will get some sort of special saying or song after a dunk?

At 1:30 right after VC smashes over Kaman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqe0_IQAOuQ

So I tried my very amateur hand at photoshop and this is what I came up with. These were originally the white uniform and I was lucky enough to make them black with white stripes. Maybe someone with better photoshop skills can alter these pics and make them better, I dont mind. Hopefully E or Ben can pass this on to management or maybe if we get a high enough "liking" to them on this site, maybe our local media will see our feed back to it. Anyway, without any further a due, I present the black alternate uniform....enjoy.

http://s470.photobucket.com/albums/rr62/Magic12ball/?action=view&current=BlackMagic2.jpg

and a poor try at this one....

http://s470.photobucket.com/albums/rr62/Magic12ball/?action=view&current=BlackMagic.jpg

Has anyone here heard of the Magic having some sort of team policy about not wearing headbands? A few seasons ago my cousin had the chance to speak to Otis with any questions in mind via a live chat session and he asked if it was a team policy. I think I remember Smith saying that it just makes the team look cleaner because some players wear headbands as a fashion statement more than for the reason they were created (DeShawn Stevenson, crown headband style). Its really not a big deal but I was just wondering if that rule was broken now that CLee was given the chance to rock it last season. 

Another question, I heard a rumor at the beginning of last season about a possible black alternate uniform for next season when the new arena comes about? Ben or E, have you heard anything about this? I heard that a team can establish an alternate uniform after at least 2 seasons after donning a new uniform design.

Matt Barnes has been a "Magicman" for almost 2 days now, but does anyone know if he's signed the papers yet? I dont know about you, but I think this is a really big addition to our team and I just dont want to get Hedo'd by Barnes in case he chooses to change his mind at the last minute. I read somewhere that it could be as early as today for the formal introduction. Does anyone have any news on this matter?

      With our back-up center position safe and secure (with Gortat's return to the Magic and the ability for Brandon Bass to play the back-up center position when needed), obviously that cuts down our to do list to mainly 2 things: a 3rd PG and a possible servicable wing player. In my opinion, I think Otis will go with the kid on our summer league team ( I think his name is Russel or something) and hopefully he'll look into seriously acquiring Matt Barnes (PHX).

      I personally think Barnes somewhat matches Pietrus' play style and I would welcome his addition to the team. However now with Gortat back, I really dont know what our cap situation is looking like. I read somewhere that CLE had wanted to sign him to their wing but as we know they just signed TORs Anthony "My sister is so hot" Parker and they still have a large array of wing players at their disposal. I also think that BOS will likely not make a move considering they broke their piggy bank in signing Wallace to the squad.

      My main questions is: with limited resources (a piece of the MLE I believe left) and a need for us to find another wing player, what are the chances we land Barnes in Orlando?

http://www.nba.com/draft2007/profiles/MilovanRakovic.html

Milovan Rakovic was the Magic's 60th overal draft pick from the 2007 NBA draft. His rights were traded to Orlando from Dallas in exchange for Reyshawn Terry, originally ORL's 44th overall pick in that same year's draft. With Fran definitely staying over seas for at least another season, I was wondering if maybe we could bring this dude over to fill up the lane in garbage time. From what I understand, he's a big body that hustles and rebounds, kinda like Gortat. What gives?

Personally, I pretty much like 'Sheed's total game. IMO, I think he would fit well with our system and possibly push us over the top into NBA history as champions just like many people believe. My question is: with our limited financial resources to sign such a player, will a player like Rasheed or McDyess really be willing to take a somewhat pay cut in order to help us next season? Or, do San Antonio and Boston have a better chance. I read somewhere, I believe it was E who said that 'Sheed's main choices were SA and ORL. Thoughts anyone?

I love the name that we have for this site but I think it'd be cool if we could change it to something for positive. Whenever I refer people around Orlando to this site, they always seem to laugh because of the name and then ask WHY its called that. I always explain and many of the ppl that I have referred to this site have said that a name change may be needed since this site is so big around Orlando. The name that I'm proposing is "The Magic Kingdom", I know its kinda corny and we've heard it a lot of times before but I think that if any change is made, it should be something like that. If no change, then that's cool too. Either way this is a pretty sweet site.

I'm desperately trying to sell this new in box item to pay for my classes. Nothing wrong with them at all. 100% authentic and in great shape. I paid $340 and only wore them when I was trying them on in the store. I have the original receipt still. Please dont reply to this message if you are not interested. This proceeds are going to further my education.

email me if youre interested: K1Pacamalan@GMail.com

I live in Winter Park, FL but I will ship the item to the highest bidder.

Just like I mentioned quite a few Fanshots ago, Courtney Lee will develop into a Rip Hamilton like player. With his above average defense, quickness, ability to hit shots off of screens, and very similar athletic ability, Courtney is starting to look like the Rip Hamilton that we saw in the 03 playoffs that came back and won after we were up 3-1. Courtney has shown us all that he was the right choice for us in last year's NBA draft (especially myself, who hated the draft pick of Lee instead of Arthur amongst other names of post players in the draft). I have never been so happy to be so wrong about a draft pick and I take back everything I have said in the past.

Also, If his size, athleticism, and other playing style hasn't convinced you yet, check this out: according to ESPN.com .....

"Lee was injured in Game 5 of Orlando's first-round series against Philadelphia on an inadvertent elbow by teammate Dwight Howard. Lee will have to wear a protective mask if he returns."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4131666

Looks like my comparison is becoming more and more true. I certainly hope the best for CLee11 and I hope he brings that Rip Hamilton game back to our team very soon.

THOUGHTS?