More from RealGM
 Orlando Magic WiretapMagic LinksNews Archive
NBA News
Magic banking on youth and athleticismFor the fifth consecutive season, the Orlando Magic begin training camp with so many new players that the coaches might need to call roll before practice. If there's one thing the Magic have been willing to do lately, it is change. They do this because of Grant Hill's injury hardship, as well as their philosophy to tie up long-term cap space only to the right players. For all the change, however, the identity of the franchise has remained the same. They have been smarter than most teams but lacking overall in athletic talent. They have scored plenty but relied too heavily on jump shots. They have failed to show the toughness -- mental and physical -- required of a true contender. So much change for so little change. This season has the potential to be different. When Magic Coach Doc Rivers opens camp Tuesday for players with less than four years of experience, he will begin the process of trying to mold a younger, more athletic and more versatile unit. The Magic are not exactly oversized and brute, but this should not be the same old team. A change in personnel finally should result in a change in the overall product. "Size-wise, we're as balanced and equipped as we've ever been under Doc," Magic General Manager John Gabriel said. Everyone must wait to see if difference equals victories, but after three straight first-round exits in the playoffs, something had to be done. In the off-season, Orlando added six players to the roster. By the time training camp is over, a seventh new face, probably another point guard, likely will join the group. This squad will be the youngest in team history. The average age of the 14 players with guaranteed deals is 24.9. Even by season's end, that number will increase to only 25.5. Final rosters have not been set, but the Magic are projected to be one of the five youngest teams in the league this season. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Magic sign Harvey to boost frontcourtThe Orlando Magic strengthened their frontcourt Tuesday by signing former Florida Gator Donnell Harvey, who played 77 games last season with the Denver Nuggets, averaging career highs with 7.9 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Harvey is expected to play at both small and power forward for the Magic. Harvey, 23, played just his freshman season at Florida, helping the Gators reach the NCAA championship game in 2000. He came into the NBA as the 22nd pick of the New York Knicks, who traded him immediately to Dallas, where he began his career. Last season Harvey played alongside Juwan Howard, the Magic's marquee free-agent signee. The team hopes Harvey can become a physical, defensive stopper behind projected starters Howard and Drew Gooden. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Gooden works at growing up fast for MagicFrom inexperience, the Orlando Magic now speak. "I can't say I'm a veteran," power forward Drew Gooden said by telephone last week. "I've played only one season. I only played 26 games in Orlando. I feel like I'm still new." Gooden will celebrate his 22nd birthday Wednesday. It almost qualifies him as elderly on this team. One week before training camp, all you see is youth around the Magic. They are two tiers of young: young and really young. In an astonishing upset, the Magic improved their athleticism, toughness and basketball savvy this off-season -- and got younger. It cost them a few million dollars as well as some cookies and milk. After Gooden's birthday, the average age of the 13 players with sure roster spots will be 24.9. Subtract the injured Grant Hill, and that average is 24.5. The Magic figure to sign forward Donnell Harvey, 23, soon, and he will put them at 24.4. They're inexperienced, too. Seven players (Harvey would make eight) have less than three years of service. And, lucky them, they must conquer this franchise's latest impossible challenge: The young Magic can't be young, especially Gooden. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Magic Sep 2003 Archive
|
