Magic Close With Matt Barnes? What’s Next?
Matt Barnes has been widely discussed among Magic and Cavaliers fans over the last week or so. Many thought he may be Cleveland bound, but according to Cleveland beat writer Brian Windhorst, through his twitter, this is not true.
"Now in Vegas for summer league. Tho there has been contact, Cavs are not talking contract with M. Barnes right now. A. Parker signed today."
Steve Kyler of Hoopsworld.com, believes that the Magic have already offered Matt Barnes a contract.
"They (Orlando) have been after Matt Barnes… I think he’s gotten an offer from Otis, not sure they are ready to accept it… Aaron Goodwin met with Otis in Orlando last week so of the two Barnes seems to be the guy the Magic want."
The Magic hopefully will sign Barnes in the next few days. This would be great news for the Magic. Barnes is a very solid player. He could potentially start at SF, allowing Rashard Lewis to stay at PF if the Magic do indeed want to use Brandon Bass off of the bench. He would also be a good spark off of the bench with his excellent defense and 3-point shooting. Barnes played in 77 games for the Suns last year and averaged 10.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 27 MPG for Phoenix. He’s just 29 years old and his decent size at 6-7 and 226 lbs. Not only would he help the Magic, but it would prevent him from going to Cleveland. This would, at the very least, match the Cavs signing of Anthony Parker. Barnes would be an excellent fit with Cleveland as well so he could be a guy that pushes one of the teams over the other.
Otis Smith has said that the next priority on the Magic’s list is a PG. Whether they are going to sign one of the guards from their summer league team or find one on the market is unknown. One name that has floated around in the Magic rumor mill is Knicks PG Nate Robinson. Robinson is reportedly weighing an offer Olympiakos, a team based out of Athens, Greece that has former NBA player Josh Childress on their roster. Alan Hahn of News Day is reporting that Robinson may accept the deal.
"Nate Robinson may be getting a big fat Greek payday. Newsday has learned that Olympiakos, the Athens-based team that last summer lured Josh Childress away from the NBA, has offered the Knicks’ 5-9 guard a two-year contract.Robinson, 25, a restricted free agent, could earn $10 million in the deal, according to a source. Knicks president Donnie Walsh said Tuesday that he had no information about the offer from Olympiakos other than the initial report by a Greek media outlet Monday night.Robinson’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, said he had no comment about the offer.Walsh and Goodwin are expected to talk again Friday about Robinson’s future with the Knicks. Walsh has said his initial plan is to try to sign Robinson, but other factors suggest he may eventually seek a sign-and-trade."
If Robinson does indeed sign a one-year deal in New York, he could be had in a trade, possibly before the season even starts. They could still potentially sign him outright but that seems highly unlikely, especially with all of the new acquisitions the Magic have made. I’m not a big Robinson fan. He is a bit off a hot-head, but he could provide some much needed scoring off of the bench. I’m just a little nervous about what the defense would look like with Robinson manning the point.
I like Anthony Johnson as the backup PG for another season. He did a good job last season and is more than capable of doing it again. The Magic should just find a 3rd PG.
Here are some of the options.
Miami Heat PG Chris Quinn is on the market. He could probably be had for a more than reasonable price. He’s a good 3-point shooter but his lack of defense could scare the Magic away.
Former Magic PG Carlos Arroyo, who spent last season playing in Israel for Macabbi Tel Aviv, is close to signing with an NBA team according to Hoopshype.com. There are rumors that this team could indeed be the Magic. Carlos Arroyo had some solid games for the Magic and even challenged Jameer Nelson for the starting PG position, but his inconstancy lost him his place on the team. If Arroyo knows that he would no longer be battling Jameer Nelson for the starting job, then the experiment could work. I’m not sure I like this possible move. I think the Magic need more of a floor general rather than a shoot first PG. Some rumors have tied Arroyo to the Boston Celtics.
Bobby Jackson has lost his speed and quickness, but he’s still a decent player and could help out.
Mike Wilks was supposed to be the 3rd PG for the Magic last year before suffering a season ending injury. It is unknown if Wilks can even make it back to the NBA.
Tyronn spent half of last season in Orlando but is unlikely to return. There have also been rumors about Lue going to Boston.
Brevin Knight is an interesting name but averaged only 2.4 PPG. He is still a solid defender and a good leader. I really like the way he would fit in with the team.
There’s nothing new on the Von Wafer front. If the Magic do indeed sign Matt Barnes to play SF, it is unlikely they will sign Wafer. Not only would he not get the playing time that he desires, they wouldn’t be able to afford him. With Barnes as a SF, Mickael Pietrus would be able to spend most of his time at SG like he did last season. Pietrus, along with JJ Redick would backup Vince Carter.
In other Free Agency news, Marc Stein of ESPN.com is reporting that the Lakers have pulled their 3-year offer to Lamar Odom. Odom is seeking a 5-year deal. Dallas is rumored to be in pursuit after they lost Brandon Bass and essentially lost Marcin Gortat to the Magic. Even with the acquisition of Ron Artest, the Lakers need Odom’s length, ball handling, and shooting if they hope to repeat.
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger.Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily. Check out his ACC Coastal Division Football preview here.)