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NBA

Will the Magic Make a Play For Vince Carter?

Posted Feb 19, 2007 6:05PM By Matt Watson (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Magic, Eastern, NBA Rumors

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Vince CarterBy now it almost seems like a foregone conclusion that the Nets will make a major trade by Thursday's trading deadline, likely moving Jason Kidd or Vince Carter. The Kidd rumors (is he going to the Lakers? the Warriors?) seem to have more legs, perhaps in part because Carter has the option of becoming a free agent at the end of the season. That said, at least one team has been linked to Carter, and that's the Orlando Magic. From the Chicago Tribune:
The Nets seem on the verge of a breakup with Vince Carter eligible to be a free agent after this season. The Magic has been hiding in the weeds as a potential destination for Carter with Grant Hill's expiring big contract and several expendable young players such as Darko Milicic, J.J. Redick and perhaps Hedo Turkoglu.

"I've heard the talk," said Tracy McGrady, Carter's cousin who used to play for the Magic. "I don't know what he really wants to do. But he's built a house down there, he grew up 25-30 miles away from there."

Teaming Carter with Dwight Howard "would make them a great contender in the East for years to come," McGrady said.
With Hill's contract coming off the books this summer, the Magic have the option to pursue a big money free agent or re-sign restricted free agent Darko Milicic -- but probably not both. (It's hard to put a finger on Darko's value, but he's 7-feet tall and just 21 years old -- despite his "bust" status as the No. 2 pick of the vaunted 2003 draft, he should easily garner at least $8 million a year from some NBA team this summer.) If the Magic were thinking about going after Carter this summer, they may as well give up Darko now since they won't be able to afford him later.

Of course, it's not even clear if the Magic want Carter. From the New York Post:
Orlando has been strongly mentioned as a possibility but that is highly doubtful. The Magic likely won't have the resources but also, league sources said, Orlando brass fears Carter might impede the progress of rising stud Dwight Howard.
Howard is a force to be reckoned with down low, but his offensive game is still unrefined and he's barely better than a coin flip at the line. The Magic clearly need another reliable offensive option, especially late in the game, but at the same time the front office can't be terribly excited about pairing their young and impressionable star with a me-first persona like Carter.

This week should be interesting -- I'm not at all convinced the Magic (or any team, really) will gamble their future with Carter, but Orlando GM Otis Smith must have something up his sleeves if he's going to keep his team in playoff contention this year.

(via Ben Maller)

Tags: Darko+Milicic, DarkoMilicic, Dwight+Howard, DwightHoward, Grant+Hill, GrantHill, New+Jersey+Nets, NewJerseyNets, Orlando+Magic, OrlandoMagic, Vince+Carter, VinceCarter

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