The Orlando Magic on Friday waived Hedo Turkoglu, who likely will become a free agent. Turkoglu was in the final year of a contract paying him $12 million this season. However, only $6 million was guaranteed. GM Rob Hennigan saved the other $6 million by waiving Turkoglu by Jan. 7, the day all contracts become fully guaranteed. Waiving Turkoglu moves the Magic approximately $5 million under the cap and makes them a potential player leading up to the trading deadline as a
After jettisoning Dwight Howard in August 2012, the Orlando Magic fully embraced a rebuilding plan, starting over with two young prospects in Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless and a veteran contributor in Arron Afflalo. After a surprisingly strong 12-13 start which had some folks around the NBA wondering if they could make the playoffs, the Magic floundered to the finish, losing 49 of their final 57 games. Along the way, they lost Glen Davis to two injuries – one which would
Dear Rob, I am writing this letter to you to apologize for my excessive criticism when I rushed to judgement. [Read more…]
There are three NBA teams with new coaches for the start of the 2012-13 season, and no one is expecting any of them to work miracles. In fact, ownership and management appear to be expecting just the opposite. The Charlotte Bobcats and Orlando Magic both are undergoing massive rebuilding projects and don’t seem overly concerned with winning. Both teams have hired inexperienced coaches with strong backgrounds in player development, which means they also have strong backgrounds in patience. It remains to be
Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard will not be ready for the team’s preseason opener due to ongoing issues with his surgically repaired back. On Thursday night, the team confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that Howard – the prize acquisition of the NBA offseason – is not expected to be ready when the Lakers open camp Oct. 2 or when they play their preseason opener five days later vs. Golden State at Fresno. The timetable is actually more optimistic than one laid
Let’s face it: Orlando Magic GM Rob Hennigan got fleeced in the Dwight Howard trade. Put over a barrel by the demands of a petulant, wishy-washy superstar, he was the only executive who did not acquire an All-Star in the four-team blockbuster. Hennigan’s net take for Howard and some extra parts was Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Moe Harkless, Nikola Vucevic, Christian Eyenga, Josh McRoberts, three highly protected future first-round picks and two second-round picks. Unless Hennigan does some more wheeling and dealing
// The blockbuster went down today, and Dwight Howard is going to the Lakers. Who won? Who lost? We’ll take it team-by team: LOS ANGELES LAKERS — They are replacing the best center in the Western Conference with the best center in the Eastern Conference. And let there be no doubt — Dwight is twice the player that ‘Drew is. Howard has 41 career 20-20 games (scoring at least 20 points and grabbing at least 20 rebounds), with his last one coming in what
Things remain pretty quiet in the NBA today, as everyone in the sports world is focused on London and the Olympics. For coverage of all the basketball that will be going down over there, check out Chris Sheridan’s predictions, as well as the odds for basically everything you could possibly bet on. For more NBA-centric news, we’ve got Moke Hamilton’s list of the five biggest winners in NBA free agency, and Chris Bernucca’s preview of what could happen if the Magic