Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Given the three-guard rotation of Mobley, Steve Francis, and Jameer Nelson, and Grant Hill able to play any position, there are very few ticks available for another backup, let alone two. Keith Bogans has apparently won out over DeShawn Stevenson for the 5-10 leftover minutes, and Stevenson is apparently on the trading block. One scout that's been watching him is former Magic GM John Gabriel, now plying his wares for the Portland Trail Blazers. One of Gabriel's last acts had been to get Stevenson. Could Portland be Stevenson's next stop?
Portland has long been looking for a shooting guard it could add to its mix of players and though they seem to have 15 players on their official roster, not to mention three unsigned draft picks, Orlando would prefer not to take a contract back and instead to pick up however many second-round picks Stevenson's market value would bring.
Given the Magic don't want a player back in trade, and still sticking with the unsubstantiated presumption that Portland is interested, perhaps this means they will finally have to unload Shareef Abdur-Rahim on somebody? Such a move would clear up a roster spot, reduce their payroll, and mitigate the pressure to play one of their power forwards at the small forward position.
This will likely resolve itself over the weekend.
NEXT GAME
The Orlando Magic (4-3 in the preseason) tip-off their new season on November 3rd, at 7:00pm Eastern, when they host the Milwaukee Bucks. Could the Magic be this year's Bucks, an outperforming team that makes the playoffs? The game will be broadcast on the Sunshine network and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinel notes: The Magic had four double-figure scorers in the preseason: Steve Francis (18.1 points per game), Mobley (15.4), Dwight Howard (12.9) and Hill (10). Howard tied Francis for minutes played (210). Francis also led in blocks (9), steals (16) and turnovers (21). . . . If only Francis could snap his fingers and instantly age Howard, a rookie power forward. "It's hard to tell an 18-year-old to grow up quick," Francis said. "But we kind of need him to be more aggressive, offensively and defensively. It will come in time."
INJURY UPDATE
ThoughGrant Hill(ankle, ankle, ankle, ankle) seems healthy, the Magic are being very cautious with him, especially in the second of back-to-backs. "The two things we want," head coach Johnny Davis toldThe Orlando Sentinel, "are for Grant to start the season and to finish the season."Andrew DeClercq(right knee) andMario Kasunwill start the season on the injured list, and it looks like ifDeShawn Stevensonisn't traded, he might come down with some virus or another as well.
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: Keith Bogans is safe and DeShawn Stevenson appears to be the odd-guard out as the Orlando Magic huddled Thursday to finalize their opening-night roster. The Magic are looking to trade Stevenson, a fourth-year guard who was acquired from the Utah Jazz last season for Gordan Giricek.While Stevenson has a movable contract -- $8.5 million over three years -- the Magic would rather take back draft picks instead of players. They have 15 guaranteed contracts, counting Stevenson's.
Ken Hornack ofThe Daytona Beach News-Journalwrites: DeShawn Stevenson has gone from being a starting guard for the NBA's worst team last season to not playing at all in two of the four victories the Orlando Magic had to conclude their preseason.By 6 p.m. Monday, he could simply be gone... Former Magic general manager John Gabriel, who now works as a scout for the Portland Trail Blazers, attended two preseason games at the TD Waterhouse Centre. One of Gabriel's last moves before being replaced by John Weisbrod was the acquisition of Stevenson, leading to speculation that the fifth-year veteran might be headed back to the Western Conference.