The Orlando Magic have signed 33-year old point guard Jason Williams to a 1-year deal. Williams last played during the 2007-08 season with the Miami Heat. He played in 67 games (53 starts) that season for the Heat averaging 28.1 minutes, 8.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Williams has now played in 679 games (649 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 31.2 minutes, 11.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Williams will back up Jameer Nelson for the Magic during the 2009-2010 NBA season.

The Magic have signed 28-year old SG/SF Matt Barnes to a 2-year deal. Barnes played in 77 games (40 starts) for the Suns last season and he averaged 27.0 minutes, 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Barnes will either be the sixth man for the Magic or the starting small forward depending on if Rashard Lewis starts at small or power forward. Barnes has now played in 363 games (104 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 20.3 minutes, 7.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. This was another really good signing for the Magic who are gearing up for another run at the NBA Championship this season.

The Magic have matched the Dallas Mavericks’ offer sheet for Marcin Gortat at 5 years and $34 million dollars. The 25-year old Gortat played in 63 games (3 starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 12.6 minutes, 3.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Gortat was upset that the Magic matched his offer as he was looking forward to being a starter so they will have to watch his attitude. Gortat has now played in 69 games (3 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 12.1 minutes, 3.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. This was a good move for the Magic as Gortat really stepped up in the playoffs last year.

The Orlando Magic have signed 24-year old power forward Brandon Bass to a 4-year, $18 million dollar contract. Bass played in 81 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 19.4 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. The Magic like Bass’ upside as he really improved his game last season in Dallas. Bass has now played in 210 games (5 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 17.0 minutes, 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Bass could develop into a starter in the very near future for the Magic.

The Orlando Magic have traded 30-year old small forward Hedo Turkoglu to the Raptors. The Raptors received a $10 million dollar trade exemption plus cash in this trade. This should give the Magic the ability to add another piece to the puzzle as they try to win the NBA Championship this season. Dallas acquired Shawn Marion, Kris Humphries, Nathan Jawai and Greg Buckner in this trade. The Grizzlies received Jerry Stackhouse, cash and a future 2nd round pick from Toronto. The Raptors got Turkoglu, Antoine Wright and Devean George in this trade.

Turkoglu played in 77 games (all starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 36.6 minutes, 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. The Magic are hoping that Vince Carter will put up even better numbers than Turkoglu did last season.

The Orlando Magic have acquired 32-year old shooting guard Vince Carter and 21-year old forward Ryan Anderson from the Nets in return for 32-year old point guard Rafer Alston, 33-year old center Tony Battie and 23-year old SG/SF Courtney Lee. Vince Carter will give the Magic another weapon on offense. He played in 80 games (all starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Carter has now played in 777 games (770 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 37.7 minutes, 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Ryan Anderson played in 66 games (30 starts) as a rookie last season for the Nets and he averaged 19.9 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. The Magic need to work on shot selection with Anderson as he only shot 39.3% from the floor but he has a nice upside.

Rafer Alston played in 29 games (28 starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 29.5 minutes, 12.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. With the return to health of Jameer Nelson the Magic really didn’t need Alston anymore. Tony Battie played in 77 games (3 starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 15.6 minutes, 4.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Battie is nothing more than a backup center so the Magic shouldn’t miss him too much. SG/SF Courtney Lee had a solid rookie year for the Magic last season. He played in 77 games (42 starts) last season and he averaged 25.2 minutes, 8.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He’s the only player with much upside the Magic gave up in this trade so it looks like a steal for the Magic.

The Magic have signed G/F Jeremy Richardson to a 1-year deal. The 24-year old swingman played for three teams last season (Grizzlies, Spurs and Hawks) but he didn’t stay anywhere too long. Richardson played in 27 games (1 start) last season and he averaged 4.9 minutes, 1.5 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. Richardson has the look of a 12th man if he even makes the Magic’s final roster. He has now played in 33 games (1 start) in his NBA career and he has averaged 4.6 minutes, 1.5 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

The Magic have signed 25-year old C/F Dwayne Jones to compete for backup minutes along the frontline this season. Jones is a big guy at 6’11″, 251 pounds and he has little game outside of the paint. He played in 56 games (0 starts) for the Cavaliers last season and he averaged 8.4 minutes, 1.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Jones has never really got the big time minutes to show what he can really do and he won’t again this season unless the Magic have a huge rash of injuries. Jones has now played in 74 games (0 starts) in which he has averaged 7.8 minutes, 1.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

The Magic have signed 29-year old point guard Mike Wilks to a 1-year contract. Wilks played in 15 games (0 starts) last season for three teams (Nuggets, Wizards and Sonics) and he averaged 12.5 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Wilks has never really got an extended chance to show what he can do in the NBA and that likely won’t change in Orlando as he will be the #3 point guard. Wilks has now played in 229 games (11 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 9.5 minutes, 2.5 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.2 assists per game.

Pat Garrity has decided to hang up the sneakers and call it a career. Garrity played in 31 games (0 starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 9.2 minutes, 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Garrity played in nine seasons for the Magic and he did a decent job off of the bench for them. He played in 513 games (98 starts) for the Magic and he averaged 20.5 minutes, 7.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. The Magic probably won’t miss Garrity much as his role on the team was getting smaller every season.