Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Sullinger, Wolves, Magic

October 7th, 2012 at 10:33pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Sunday night:

Doc Rivers is formulating a plan to best utilize Celtics rookie forward Jared Sullinger this season, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press writes that the new offseason additions the Timberwolves made will help ease the loss of Ricky Rubio, who continues to rehab from a torn ACL.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel writes that, after a strong preseason debut, E'Twaun Moore may have the inside track on winning the spot of backup point guard for the Magic.

Southeast Notes: Afflalo, Haywood, Wade

October 6th, 2012 at 4:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

All five Southeast Division teams open preseason play tomorrow, with four of the teams squaring off against each other. The Wizards will play the Bobcats in Charlotte, while the defending champion Heat travel to take on the Hawks. The Magic will be in Mexico City to face the Hornets. That's a matchup of Mexican center Gustavo Ayon's current and former teams, and we heard last night that while Ayon is drawing interest from overseas, he'll remain with the Magic this season. Here's today's Southeast Division scuttlebutt:

Arron Afflalo wasn't expecting a trade when the Nuggets shipped him to Orlando in the Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum mega-deal, but is looking forward to the chance to become the Magic's No. 1 option on offense, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer believes the Bobcats got a fair deal on their amnesty waiver claim of Brendan Haywood, who brings experience and a high basketball IQ to the center position in Charlotte. Haywood will make an average of $2.05MM over the next three seasons.
Dwyane Wade was among the players featured in a video the NBA released to demonstrate what will draw fines under the new anti-flopping policy this year, but with no in-game penalties, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel thinks the Heat star shouldn't stop trying to fool the refs.

Odds & Ends: Dirk, Smith, Johnson, Vucevic

October 5th, 2012 at 11:00pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Friday evening:

Dirk Nowitzki wants to play beyond the two seasons remaining on his contract, writes Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW.com.
J.R. Smith tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com that he would rather start than come off the bench for the Knicks this season.
Stefan Swiat of Suns.com writes that Wesley Johnson has looked strong in training camp. The third-year guard was acquired by Phoenix from the Timberwolves in a three-team deal in July.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel speculates that Nikola Vucevic, acquired from Philadelphia in the Dwight Howard trade, will replace Howard as the Magic's starting center.
Raptors coach Dwayne Casey tells Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun that he expects John Lucas to be a contributor this season.

Gustavo Ayon Draws Interest From Spain

October 5th, 2012 at 7:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

Center Gustavo Ayon is under contract for at least the rest of this season with the Magic, but he isn't ruling out an eventual return to Spain, where he played before signing with the Hornets last December, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports (All four Twitter links). FC Barcelona apparently wants to be prepared should he choose to return overseas, and is close to an agreement to acquire his Spanish rights from Baloncesto Fuenlabrada, according to the Spanish website El Contraataque (translation via HoopsHype).

El Contraataque also indicates FC Barcelona wants to sign Ayon sometime this month, but Robbins confirms via Twitter that Ayon will remain with the Magic this year. Orlando has two team options on Ayon's contract: one for $1.5MM that covers 2013/14, and another for $1.875MM for 2014/15, so it could be a while before Ayon goes anywhere. Still, the status of the Mexico native is up in the air beyond this season, and he addressed that uncertainty with Robbins.

"It doesn't depend on me," Ayon said, when Robbins asked him whether he wanted to remain in the NBA. "It depends on the opportunities that I have in basketball. At that time I'll see if I have any other options. For right now, I'm with Orlando and I think I'll be here this year and many more to come. But after this year it's not my decision."

Ayon is set to make $1.5MM this season after scoring 5.9 points and grabbing 4.9 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game with a healthy 16.7 PER as a rookie for the Hornets last year. He came to the Magic over the summer as part of Ryan Anderson's sign-and-trade deal.

Odds & Ends: Dwight, Lakers, Warriors, Bucks

October 3rd, 2012 at 11:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

The news continues to improve for Dwight Howard and the Lakers, as five-on-five scrimmages appear to be the only part of practices in which the big man in not participating, as Mike Trudell of Lakers.com writes. "As much as he’s practicing, to me he’s back," coach Mike Brown told reporters. "Just waiting for the doctors (and) trainers to clear him. When that happens, he’ll go full tilt. But he looks good out there." There's more on the purple-and-gold and others tonight as training camps continue.

The Lakers are not for sale, but Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, whose name has come up as a candidate to buy the Warriors and the Grizzlies in recent years, says they're his favorite team and hinted to CNBC's Robert Frank that he might like to own them someday (hat tip to RealGM.com).
The Warriors are taking a cautious approach with Stephen Curry in training camp as the team tries to assess his health as the October 31st deadline for an extension looms, reports Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group (via the Charlotte Observer).
Thompson also sizes up the candidates to start at small forward for the Warriors, concluding Brandon Rush is the most likely to nail down the job.
It's a jumble at the three spot for the Bucks, too, with Tobias Harris, Mike Dunleavy and Marquis Daniels competing for the starting gig, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel examines.
The agent for free agent guard Maurice Evans doesn't expect his client will sign anywhere soon, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
We passed along reaction to the league's new flopping policy earlier this evening, and Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News adds word from reputed flopper Manu Ginobili.
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel checks in with Arron Afflalo, who figures to take on a larger role for the Magic this year than the one he played with the Nuggets.
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle and Ken Berger of CBSSports.com provide more detail on the psychological struggle Royce White faces as he remains absent from Rockets camp. Matt Moore of CBSSports.com and Tommy Beer of HoopsWorld take it a step further, writing about their own anxiety disorders.

Eastern Notes: Blatche, Pacers, Allen, Nelson

October 3rd, 2012 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic were ripped by fans and pundits alike when they dealt Dwight Howard and failed to receive a true impact player like Andrew Bynum in the trade. However, as Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes today, the team's decision not to take on Bynum and his balky knees is looking better now than it did at the time. The former Laker, who has been ruled out for three weeks, may end up being fine, but it's something of an ominous start for the Bynum era in Philadelphia, says Bianchi. Here are the rest of the morning's notes out of the Eastern Conference:

Former NBA head coach John Lucas believes the Nets' signing of Andray Blatche could be the "steal of the summer," as Howard Beck of the New York Times writes. Of course, Lucas may be a little biased — Blatche spent three months this offseason working out in Houston under Lucas' tutelage.
The Pacers are keeping an "open mind" about whether to carry 15 players into the regular season or whether to keep an open roster spot, according to GM Kevin Pritchard. Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star says he would be "shocked" if Sam Young didn't earn a place on Indiana's roster.
Ray Allen spoke on the Dan LeBatard Show in Miami about how Pat Riley influenced his decision to sign with the Heat, and Eric Schmoldt of Sports Radio Interviews has the transcript.
Raymond Felton will get the first shot to start at point guard for the Knicks, and fellow free agent signee Jason Kidd doesn't mind assuming the backup role, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (Sulia link) explains why the Magic re-signed Jameer Nelson this summer and looks at whether they'd consider trading him later in the season.
The Bulls' bench may include plenty of new faces, but Taj Gibson doesn't want to retire the "bench mob" moniker. Adam L. Jahns of the Chicago Tribune writes that the team's new additions are looking to be just as productive as last year's second unit.

Eastern Notes: Bynum, Celtics, Daye, Magic

October 1st, 2012 at 9:05pm CST by Michael Pina

Here are a few pieces of news from around the Eastern Conference.

Pistons guard Will Bynum appears much more comfortable heading into the second season with Lawrence Frank's system in Detroit, writes MLive.com's David Mayo.
The Celtics aren't worried about their lack of a true back up point guard, writes ESPNBoston.com's Greg Payne.
The Detroit Free Press' Vince Ellis writes that Pistons forward Austin Daye is headed into what could be the third make-or-break season of his three year career.
Kyrylo Fesenko passed up more than one other offer to join the Bulls training camp, tweets RealGM.com's Shams Charania.
To the untrained eye, it would appear the Magic are a franchise in rebuild mode, but as the team prepares to begin training camp, Orlando head coach Jacque Vaughn says the word "rebuilding" isn't allowed around his team, writes the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins.

Odds & Ends: Morrison, Turkoglu, Lin, Ginobili

October 1st, 2012 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's round up a few odds and ends from a busy day around the NBA….

Blazers coach Terry Stotts told the media today that summer signee Adam Morrison has a "legitimate" chance to make the team, according to Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge (Twitter link).
Hedo Turkoglu says he'd like to finish his career with the Magic, tweets Joshua Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
Asked about the Knicks' decision to let Jeremy Lin walk in July, GM Glen Grunwald told the media that the Rockets made a commitment to Lin that New York wasn't prepared to make, and that Raymond Felton was a better fit for the Knicks. Marc Berman of the New York Post has the quotes.
Manu Ginobili expects to return to the Spurs if he continues playing when his contract expires at season's end, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal poses five burning questions facing the Cavaliers heading into the 2012/13 season. Among Lloyd's five: Whether Dion Waiters was the right choice in June's draft, and whether Anderson Varejao will finish the year with the Cavs.
Ben Wallace won't be in camp with the Pistons, since the team doesn't want to put him a position where it may have to cut him, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
Appearing on KJR in Seattle, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he didn't think any NBA owner would stand in the way of the city of Seattle getting another NBA franchise (link via Sports Radio Interviews).
Former NBA veteran Jayson Williams tells ESPN.com's Matt Wong that he's healthy and misses the NBA, but stopped short of saying he's interested in making a comeback.

Southeast Rumors: Hawks, Wallace, Lewis, Bobcats

September 30th, 2012 at 12:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

There was plenty of change throughout the Southeast Division, as the Magic, Hawks and Wizards pulled off significant trades while the Heat upgraded with Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. The Bobcats are banking heavily on No. 2 overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to help turn the team around, and we have news on him and others from around the division.

Some in the Heat organization are concerned about the long-term health of Dwyane Wade, who could miss all of the team's preseason games as he hopes to get his ailing left knee ready for the regular season opener, writes Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald. The team will give Allen occasional off days during the regular season, as the Spurs have done with Tim Duncan, Goodman adds.

Earlier updates:

Hawks coach Larry Drew believes it will be a tall order for his team to replace the production of Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams this season, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. "Both of those guys were very key and big pieces to our puzzle," Drew said. "This opens up opportunities for new guys, guys who have been here, guys who are coming in. It doesn’t happen overnight. We are going to have to lace it up and really go to work and try to, as a team, try to step up. Everybody has to step their game up now."
Vivlamore also shares in his piece that Drew isn't sure how he'll rotate guards Devin Harris, Jeff Teague and Lou Williams. Harris and Teague, the two natural point guards, are both entering contract years.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel speculates that Ben Wallace could be a fit for the Heat. Wallace is reportedly seeking a contract after going back-and-forth about retirement this summer.
Lewis hopes he'll start the season as a reserve instead of as a starter for the Heat, as he told Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida (Sulia link).
Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap is working with Kidd-Gilchrist to improve the shooting touch of the University of Kentucky product, writes Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald-Leader. Tipton also shares praise from Purdue coach Matt Painter about Hornets second-round pick Darius Miller and Shelvin Mack, who could start the season at point guard for the Wizards in place of the injured John Wall.
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel outlines a list of the top priorities for the Magic as they begin training camp.

Magic Sign Armon Johnson, DeQuan Jones

September 29th, 2012 at 11:47am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 29: The Magic confirmed the signings via press release.

SEPTEMBER 19: The Magic expect to sign Armon Johnson and DeQuan Jones to contracts, according to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter). The additions, if and when they become official, would brings Orlando's roster to a total of 19 players.

Johnson, 23, was said to be seeking an NBA roster spot earlier this summer. He'll likely be on a non-guaranteed deal with the Magic and will face an uphill battle earning a spot on the roster, but given the team's lack of point guard depth, he should get a long look in training camp. The 6'3" guard has appeared in 47 games with the Trail Blazers and Nets over the last two seasons after being drafted 34th overall in 2010.

Jones, a 6'8" forward, was part of the Magic's summer league roster in Orlando this summer, averaging 6.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in four games. The 22-year-old went undrafted in June out of the University of Miami, where he played just 17.3 minutes per contest in his senior year.