Magic Trade for Vince Carter, Give Up on Hedo Turkoglu

Worried that signing free agent Hedo Turkoglu would handcuff them with the luxury tax for several years, the Orlando Magic turned instead to the New Jersey Nets and consummated a trade for Vince Carter that will be announced later Thursday.

According to multiple NBA sources, the Magic would be sending Tony Battie, Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee to New Jersey.

Earlier in the week, the Magic also were talking with Houston about re-acquiring Tracy McGrady, but they opted to pursue Carter instead. Although Carter will make considerably more next season than Turkoglu -- who is looking for a five-year, $50 million contract -- he has only two guaranteed years remaining, paying him $16.3 and $17.3 million, respectively.

More Coverage: Where Will Turkoglu Call Home Now?

Carter will give the Magic the kind of late-game playmaking ability that Turkoglu has provided the last two years in Orlando. He also will leave the Magic with more roster flexibility in the future. Carter, for several years, has talked about his desire to play for the Magic. He grew up in nearby Daytona Beach and already has a home in Orlando.

Turkoglu, a key player in the Magic's run to the NBA Finals, is expected to be pursued by Detroit, Portland and Memphis in free agency, pushing his value higher than the Magic wanted to pay.

Carter, 32, is a seven-time All-Star who averaged 20.8 points and 5.1 rebounds in 80 games last season. The Magic expect the trade of Carter, the former UNC star, to lesson the backlash that is sure to follow their decision to give up on Turkoglu, who was one of their most popular players.

Turkoglu, 30, is coming off his best two NBA seasons. Although the Magic had said they were willing to pay the luxury tax for the first time to sign him, they are hoping to avoid another long-term contract like the one he will command in free agency.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

6-25-2009 @ 6:10PM

Lakergregg said...

Not sure if it was Stan but seems like somebody sure panicked in Orlando.

6-25-2009 @ 6:43PM

karatekid8296 said...

Amayzing. How many players can the Nets give away for bad players in return. I live in New Jersey and might smash my head in now

6-25-2009 @ 9:15PM

Alistair Azimuth PSN: johnnynumber5 said...

It's actually pretty simple. They only have Battie and Alston under contract for one more year and it wouldn't be surprising to see one of them (Battie) bought out and re-sign with Orlando. Also, the addition of Lee gives them a young player that has proven he can be a man stay at SG for the next 10 years. It's similar to the Devin Harris acquisition for Jason Kidd. They get a budding star who will get the minutes to shone and makes one of the best young backcourts in basketball.

They will also have lots of cash for the big summer of Lebron in the next offseason in which Carter wouldn't of given them. This trade actually makes sense for both teams all things considered.

I wouldn't call this a panic move from Orlando, either. I'm a huge Magic fan and it pains me to see Lee and probably Hedo leave our team that made the finals. But, all things considered they made a trade that filled a need. Somehow, if they manage to re-sign Hedo then Orlando has to be the favorite not only from the East but in the entire league to win a championship. However, looking long term A big rumor is that Bosh wants to play with Howard and he is eligible to opt out after next season. Depending how things shake out with next summers free agents he may take that player option in hopes of getting dealt to a contender. For the Bosh factor alone I don't see Orlando re-signing Hedo to a 5 year deal as it would handcuff the franchise.

6-25-2009 @ 6:55PM

stuartmd said...

Why in the world would the Nets do such a stupid thing? That was their best player. I guess they want to be in the draft lottery for many years to come. Unfortunately, they'll probably trade their drafts away also.

6-25-2009 @ 7:00PM

bobd said...

thats a bad trade for the magics, they gave up courtney lee for vince carter
feels like the devon harris for jason kidd trade all over again

6-25-2009 @ 7:20PM

tuckybill said...

Lee is a future star! Why trade off your future for a older player? Dumb dumb dumb.

6-25-2009 @ 7:50PM

BADAOUI said...

how many years does vince carter have on his contract

6-25-2009 @ 9:16PM

hey has two years left on his deal as in next season and the season after next.

6-25-2009 @ 9:04PM

imshortyk said...

The Magic gave up Courtney for an already proven, dangerous, all-purpose scorer. Courtney needs to mature, the Magic don't. They're making another run at the Finals, which is why they did this. I, being a Magic fan, was a bit stumped about it at first, but it makes sense.

6-25-2009 @ 9:13PM

gpurri said...

Rafer carried them in the playoffs! And they gave up Courtney who played great as a rookie! for old vince??

Cheap Magic think we will forgive them for losing their best and most popular player in Hedo - for a guy the is from central FL -who cares where vince is from! Hedo drove the Magic offense. Panick. Cheap. burning my MAgic flag...

6-25-2009 @ 9:42PM

Then you were never a fan to begin with. Hedo was the one that opted out of his final year with a player option when he was guaranteed 7.5 million dollars. He made his decision and the Magic had to make theirs. I'll take Vince for two years instead of Hedo for 5 which would handcuff the franchise. I actually think this trade makes us a better team all the way around. I don't like trading Lee but I understand why it was necessary. The offseason isn't over yet and we could resign a smaller mid-level type of SG so that we can keep Pete coming off the bench where he thrived in the playoffs.

6-25-2009 @ 9:45PM

John said...

vince carter will make the magic like 95-96 bulls and win close to 70 games.his experience will make believers in magic.

6-25-2009 @ 9:59PM

Haha, I would love for that to happen, John, but I dunno about 70 games. They'll definitely be top 2 in the East though. I think they really need to get a true power forward, though. They got a power forward from the Jersey trade, but I doubt he'll get much playing time. This offseason has become quite interesting . .

6-25-2009 @ 10:13PM

I agree with you. The only thing Orlando is missing is a true PF than can clean up the glass opposite of Superman and get some easy clean up garbage points. A player that would be perfect for that roll in this draft would be Dejuan Blair. I'm not sure if Orlando wants to give up future picks for him but I would love that trade.

You never know if this will be the time they finally bring Fran Vasquez over from Spain whose rights they own from a draft a few years back that signed to play in Spain. That would be pretty neat to see because we wouldn't have to give anything up in exchange.

6-25-2009 @ 10:16PM

One more thing ... In a perfect world I would love to see Orlando acquire David Lee ... I know it's a pipe dream but it could have happened if Hedo didn't opt out. Whatever ... a man can dream.

6-25-2009 @ 10:00PM

dxxy4u said...

Hedo Turkoglu IS the Magic. It was he, not Howard that carried the Team. Why on earth can the Magic sees Carter bringing to the game MORE than Turkoglu. The Cavs will do better by getting him than Shaq. Hell, Shaq is going to spend most of his time sitting on his lazy ass on the sideline. Turkoglu can bring you a whole Hi-Octane game if needed. Not Shaq.

6-25-2009 @ 10:08PM

Carter is the same as Hedo but even better because unlike hedo he can get his own shot at any time without a pick and roll or off from ball movement. He can be everything Hedo was and THEN some. Not only that but he won't handcuff our cap flexibility for years to come like the Hedo deal would have. Also, this sets up nicely for a run at one of the big time free agents in that summer of 2011. If the Carter experiment doesn't work next season it's still not a big deal because he will have an expiring NBA contract which is the most valuable NBA commodity.

6-25-2009 @ 10:23PM

Without Turkoglu the Magic isn't going anywhere. Compared to Hedo, Carter is WASHED UP. Carter is not going to give you the Hi-Octane minutes like Hedo. Unions (I'm Union) are the SAME, they keep washed up workers on the Job, when they should be shown the door. Like Carter, Shaq, etc. Name ONE of these washed up players that's made a difference to the Team. Name one.

6-26-2009 @ 4:27AM

KINGGIE BABY said...

shaq and vince ARE NOT washed up. you will see them make big contributions to their teams. the magic gave up a lot but they got alot. cavs got one of the best centers to ever play the game (irrelevent). there are few centers in the game today better than shaq (very relevant). when the cavs play the elete teams with elete bigs (lakers, celtics, nuggets, magic) they will now have a elete big of their own and wont have a lossing record againts them.

i'm happy for lebron now he has a player on his team that can match his BEAST. cavs may need one more foward to win it all.

BIG BEAST--lebron is the little beast
PRINCE SHAQ--king james
jor-EL--now that dwight howard is superman