After missing out on Rasheed Wallace, who the Magic were apparently never in a real position to acquire, the Magic are after his former Piston teammate, PF Antonio Mcdyess.
"Magic general manager Otis Smith is in pursuit of another center/forward type who can supplement an Orlando frontline that features only Howard, Rashard Lewis and Anderson now. The Magic never were in serious contention for Rasheed Wallace, who committed verbally to the Boston Celtics, and Smith said Monday he has little-to-no interest in Boston restricted free agent Glen “Big Baby” Davis. Smith has talked to representatives for Brandon Bass and he is expected to begin talks soon with Antonio McDyess about potentially signing with the Magic."
The Florida Today’s John Denton has the full story here.
McDyess is no spring chicken. He is 34 years old and will be 35 by the opening tipoff on opening night, but he is still an effective player. McDyess is 6’9 and has a big frame at 245 LBs. He was a very effective player for Detroit last year, averaging 9.6 PPG and 9.8 RPG. He stepped up his scoring in the playoffs, going for 13 PPG in their first round loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. McDyess had an injury plagued career keeping him from being the big time player that he could have been. He played in just 62 games last season, starting 20, but he had 78 starts in 78 games in 2007-08 and played in all 82 games in the previous two seasons.
McDyess would bring a much-needed toughness to the Magic. He can’t step back and hit the three like his former teammate, Rasheed Wallace, but he is a very good shooter from inside the arch. Plus, he won’t lose his temper and cause the headaches that Wallace would. It would be a very good signing provided that the Magic don’t have to spend too much money on him.
Brandon Bass still seems to remain the main focus but he has expressed some desire to stay in Dallas. I’m not sure if that’s possible after the agreement that Magic C Marcin Gortat has made with the Dallas Mavericks. The Magic are not going to match Gortat’s offer, so Dallas will be paying him in between $5.6 and $5.8 million a year, probably leaving Bass as the odd man out. He has also expressed interest in the playing for the Magic.
Another player that good be on the Magic’s radar is a former payer of their’s – Spurs PF Drew Gooden. Gooden is Orlando at the moment but this is where he spends his offseasons. Gooden, who along with Gordan Giricek was traded to Orlando during his rookie season for Mike Miller. He helped the Magic nearly knocked off the eventual champion Detroit Pistons, taking them to seven games. He was selected to the All-Rookie team after averaging 13.6 PPG and 8.4 RPG in Orlando.Gooden’s averages dropped to 11.6 PPG and 6.5 RPG the next seaon. After spending a full season in Orlando, he was traded to Cleveland along with Anderson Varejao in exchange for Tony Battie. His first year in Cleveland was best NBA season. He averaged 14.4 PPG and 9.2 RPG, playing in all 82 games and starting 80 of them. Gooden averaged a solid 11.9 PPG and 7.1 RPG for the Bulls, Kings and Spurs last season. Gooden has a decent jump shot and is a pretty good rebounder. He has never really put on the weight he needed to be effective inside the paint. Gooden has never really lived up to his lottery pick billing, but could be a solid acquistion for a team desperately in need of help at PF. He has solid career averages – 12.0 PPG and &.9 RPG.
The Magic may be able to snag McDyess for the Veteran’s Exception, allowing them to sign both McDyess and Bass. Bass would probably receive the Mid Level Exception and he would more than likely only sign a multi-year deal. See more on Bass and why he would be a good fit here. This would be the optimum scenario. Being about to rotate these two with Dwight Howard, newcomer Ryan Anderson and their probable starter at SF, Rashard Lewis at PF would be huge for a team with such a need inside. Subsituting Gooden for either player wouldn’t be terrible either. The Magic would still be a contender in the east and may even have the tools to once again beat both the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Magic need to bring out the full court press on both McDyess and Bass so that they can stay competitive within the now very powerful Eastern Conference. The Magic also must hurry on Mcdyess because Adam Wojnarowski is reporting that the Spurs are the leaders for his services.
"Wojnarowski reports that the Magic are one of the teams that has offered McDyess the full mid-level exception. Orlando is also on the list of teams that has had serious discussions with Tony Dutt, Bass’ agent. If the Magic miss out on McDyess, that might make Bass their top free-agent priority."
In other news, former Magic G/F Grant Hill, who some believe the Magic have some interest in, has been offered a contract by the New York Knicks. It looks unlikely that he will even be in contact with the Magic. His suitors are New York, Boston and San Antonio.