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Orlando Magic Daily
Fansided

Orlando Magic News & Notes Redick Stays, Barnes’ Decision

By Andrew Melnick

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Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel says Orlando’s decision to match Chicago’s offer for J.J. Redick goes beyond money.

"Magic General Manager Otis Smith admitted the Bulls’ offer was higher than expected and added, “When you figure in the tax, it is a big number to chew off over the life [of the contract].”But along with talent, Smith saw intangibles in Redick that outweighed financial implications.“When it came down to it, when we’re talking about what we’re trying to do here, it came down for me to pedigree, DNA, things that most people don’t think about,” Smith said.“It was less about the money for me, being a basketball guy, and more about keeping a guy around that we’ve had in our organization the past four years.”"

You can read that story here.

Otis Smith and the Magic matched because they want to “win now.”

"Ultimately, though, the biggest concern was not the financial picture but rather how Redick fit with the team’s mission of winning a championship next season.“I would think our fans should be excited that we’re doing everything we possibly can to win and not necessarily looking at it from other areas and not necessarily looking at it from the other end,” Smith said. “Teams say we’re holding money for the year 2012 free agency, but we’re trying to win right now. If I’m a fan I’m more excited about that."

You can read the story here.

Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post has notes from Friday’s media availability here.

George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel gives Rich DeVos a thumbs up for paying to match Redick.

"And no, keeping Redick won’t give the Miami Heat a buzz kill over their recent signings (you may have heard…). The Axis of Evil remains alive and well in South Florida, chasing world domination.But the Magic will be in the fight to win the Eastern Conference.You can argue that the Magic have spent money unwisely, but at least the team has the guts and the gumption to spend money to try to field a team that can be as competitive as possible.Redick isn’t a primary piece, but he is important."

You can read that story here.

Redick is “happy” and “flattered.”

"Life, without question, was good for the Redicks.“Honestly, I’m flattered. I’m flattered Chicago was willing to give me that much money in the first year and basically tell me that I was going to start. And I’m flattered that Orlando thought enough of me to bring me back,’’ Redick said. “I have had a lot of critics and doubters through the years, but last season I was very consistent and what I have done is earn what I’ve gotten through a lot of hard work.“I’m satisfied, but I’m not anywhere near content,’’ Redick said. “I think I’m entering my prime of my career and I have a lot left to improve upon from an individual standpoint. And from a team standpoint, we can win a championship and that’s what drives me.’’Redick, 26, will chase that championship in Orlando, the franchise that drafted him in 2006, resisted trading him when he career started slowly and gave him a platform to blossom as a shooting guard in 2009-10. Redick notched career highs in points (9.6), assists (1.9) and minutes (22) this past season while playing key minutes in the regular season and playoffs."

John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com has that story here.

Otis Smith said the Magic now will look to find a third point guard. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel has a few suggestions here.

Smith says he did not offer Matt Barnes a contract and Friday he explained why.

"So, why didn’t the Magic make an offer? A reporter posed that question to Smith this morning, and Smith indicated that Richardson will upgrade Orlando’s small-forward spot.“Well, we looked at everything as it relates to our team and the areas of how we can get better,” Smith said. ”We looked at that as it relates to Quentin, as it relates to Matt, as it relates to J.J. and tried to improve our talent in other ways. So, it really came down to, out of those three, which are the two we were going to bring in?“Quentin is a little bit better skilled player with similar toughness as Matt has and will fit. And, then, J.J. and all of the things I said before [about J.J.]. We like Matt for what he brought to the table, but sometimes you have to make decisions that’s best for your club long term.”"

Robbins has that story here.

Barnes was supposed to announce his decision on where he was going to play Friday but he delayed the announcement.

Former Magic Penny Hardaway would like to return to the NBA to play for the Miami Heat. Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel isn’t a fan of that move but has some other ideas here.

Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing was surprised by LeBron James’ decision to join the Heat.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor on the Fansided Front Page. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Twitter to follow him daily and you can get the HTD app here).