The Orlando Magic have acquired 29-year old SG Jason Richardson, 31-year old small forward Hedo Turkoglu and 22-year old power forward Earl Clark from the Suns for 33-year old SG Vince Carter, 26-year old center Marcin Gortat, 28-year old small forward Mickael Pietrus and a first round pick in 2011.  Jason Richardson was the key to the deal for the Magic.  Richardson played in 25 games (all starts) for the Suns this year and he averaged 31.8 minutes, 19.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Richardson was also shooting 41.9% from three point range, giving the Magic another weapon from the outside.  Richardson has now played in 696 games (684 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 35.0 minutes, 18.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Hedo Turkoglu played his best basketball in Orlando and they hope a return will give him a spark.  Turkoglu played in 25 games (16 starts) for the Suns this year and he was averaging 25.2 minutes, 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.  Turkoglu is shooting 42.3% from three point range so far this year and the Magic hopes he keeps up the good work.  Turkoglu has now played in 777 games (459 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 28.1 minutes, 12.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.  Earl Clark was a first round pick of the Suns two years ago but he hasn’t played up to his ability as of yet.  Clark played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Suns this year and he averaged 8.0 minutes, 3.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  He has now played in 60 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 7.6 minutes, 2.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.

Vince Carter played in 22 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he was averaging 30.2 minutes, 15.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.  Jason Richardson should be a nice upgrade over Carter.  Marcin Gortat played in 25 games (2 starts) for the Magic this year and he was averaging 15.8 minutes, 4.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  This is the only guy in this deal that I think the Magic are going to miss.  Mickael Pietrus played in 19 games (0 starts) for the Magic so far this year and he is averaging 22.0 minutes, 6.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. 

I like this deal for the Magic as Jason Richardson & Hedo Turkoglu should give them some offensive firepower from the outside.

The Magic have acquired 28-year old SG/PG Gilbert Arenas from the Wizards for 31-year old “power” forward Rashard Lewis.  Arenas played in 21 games (14 starts) for the Wizards this year and he was averaging 34.6 minutes, 17.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  Gilbert “Agent Zero” Arenas has now played in 486 games (453 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 37.2 minutes, 22.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  It will be interesting to see if Arenas plays shooting guard or point guard with the Magic.  Either way, he’s going to make teams pay big-time for doubling Dwight Howard in the paint.

Rashard Lewis played in 25 games (all starts) for the Magic at power forward this year and he averaged 32.4 minutes, 12.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He was softer than a roll of Charmin so the Magic just got a lot tougher by sending Lewis out of town.

The Magic have signed 32-year old power forward Malik Allen. Allen played in 51 games (3 starts) for the Nuggets last season and he averaged 8.9 minutes, 2.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He has now played in 460 games (125 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 15.4 minutes, 5.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Allen will likely be nothing more than a big body at the end of the bench for the Magic.

The Magic have re-signed 34-year old point guard Jason Williams to a 1-year, $1.35 million dollar deal. Williams played in 82 games (18 starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 20.8 minutes, 6.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. I’m surprised that Williams re-signed with the Magic after they signed Chris Duhon as Williams will be the #3 point guard in 2010.

The Magic have signed 30-year old SG/SF Quentin Richardson to a multi-year deal. Richardson played in 76 games (75 starts) for the Heat last season and he averaged 27.4 minutes, 8.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He has now played in 677 games (465 starts) in his 10 years in the NBA and he has averaged 28.0 minutes, 11.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. You have to wonder if the Magic are going to match J.J. Redick’s offer sheet as Q-Rich is more than capable of replacing him.

The Magic has signed 27-year old point guard Chris Duhon for a 4-year, $15 million dollar deal. Duhon played in 67 games (59 starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 30.9 minutes, 7.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. He has now played in 446 games (296 starts) in his six years in the NBA and he is averaging 28.5 minutes, 7.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. I’m not a big fan of Duhon but I think he will be o.k. as a backup for the Magic. But if he has to start too many games the Magic will be in trouble.

The Magic have released shooting guard Morris Almond. Almond was caught in a numbers game with the Magic as too many players were ahead of him on the depth chart. He is still young enough to hook on with another team but the Magic won’t miss him at all.

The Orlando Magic have invited 24-year old shooting guard Morris Almond and 29-year old forward Linton Johnson to training camp. Almond was a first round draft pick for the Utah Jazz just a couple of years ago. He played in 25 games (1 start) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 10.2 minutes, 3.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Almond has now played in 34 games (1 start) in his NBA career and he has averaged 8.6 minutes, 3.1 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Almond has the reputation at least coming out of college of being a offensive minded player. The Magic will give him a shot to win a job on the bench for this season. Linton Johnson played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Bulls and Bobcats last season and he averaged 5.5 minutes, 0.9 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Johnson has now played in 151 games (27 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 14.0 minutes, 3.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. The frontcourt is loaded with quality depth so Johnson will likely need a injury to two to make the Magic’s roster.

The Orlando Magic will be better than they were last season, mark my words. Will that be enough to win the NBA Title? Only time will tell on that one. The Magic knew that they were going to lose Hedo Turkoglu so they essentially traded him to the Raptors for nothing. But, the trade that brought Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from the Nets for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee more than replaced the firepower that Turkoglu took with him. The Magic then matched a huge offer for C/F Marcin Gortat so that they could keep him in town. That was a good move despite the fact that he wants to start. The Magic signed PF Brandon Bass away from the Mavericks as a free agent and he will likely share time with Gortat at power forward. Matt Barnes was signed to add some firepower to the bench. Jason Williams and Adonal Foyle were also signed as free agents but they will have to earn any minutes they get.

FRONT OFFICE GRADE SO FAR THIS OFF-SEASON: A

The Magic have re-signed 34-year old center Adonal Foyle. Foyle played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 6.6 minutes, 1.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. Foyle has now played in 91 games (0 starts) for the Magic over the last two years and he has averaged 9.2 minutes, 1.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Foyle might be able to give the Magic a couple of decent minutes off the bench but don’t expect much more than that.