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Miller could be bait to get a big man in draft
Brian Schmitz

The Orlando Magic, concerned they may receive the stiff-arm from other NBA
teams in their pursuit of free agents this summer, could trade rookie of the
year Mike Miller if a deal can assure them of landing a quality big man in
the June 27 draft.

Magic General Manager John Gabriel would hate to part with Miller, but he
said Thursday that the club would have to consider using Miller in a package
to trade up should high school stars such as Kwame Brown or Tyson Chandler
become available. Seton Hall's Eddie Griffin, a 6-foot-9 rebounder and
shot-blocker, also would tempt the Magic to deal.

Brown, Chandler and Griffin are expected to be long gone when the Magic pick
15th in the first round. It's doubtful Orlando can move up high enough even
by dangling Miller, the No. 5 pick in last year's draft, plus its Nos. 15
and 22 picks.

Gabriel has been looking hard at the draft to find a center or power forward
because he expects little, if any, cooperation from other teams the Magic
might need to broker free-agent sign-and-trade deals this summer. After
prying Grant Hill away from Detroit and Tracy McGrady away from Toronto in a
free-agent bonanza last summer, and after pulling off a few other shrewd
deals, Gabriel says, "We're a marked team. I don't think we're going to get
any help at all."

The Magic will make a run at Toronto forward/center Antonio Davis. But the
Raptors might not be in any mood to assist Davis in a possible
sign-and-trade with Orlando, given that McGrady left for the Magic. Gabriel
also acknowledged the Magic's 11th-hour decision to exercise an option to
receive Phoenix's first-round pick (which later was conveyed to Houston)
upset a few teams affected by the move.

Meanwhile, the Magic continue bringing in draft hopefuls for private
workouts. Iowa State point guard Jamaal Tinsley was the star in Thursday's
two-on-two game also featuring Ohio State center Ken Johnson, St. John's
point guard Omar Cook and former TCU forward Marquise Gainous, a Jones High
grad.

Gabriel said if there were no quality big men left and Tinsley was available
at No. 15 -- which isn't likely -- the Magic might pick him. Tinsley drew
praise from Magic Coach Doc Rivers after making one fancy drive and pass.

Like many NBA hopefuls, Gainous, 24, has taken a circuitous route. He
graduated from Jones in 1995, then played for Florida Community College at
Jacksonville and TCU. He was not drafted and played in France for L'Hermine
last year, averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds.

When Gainous stepped off a plane in France, he might as well have landed on
the moon. "A guy held up a sign that had my name on it," Gainous said, "and
that was the only English I heard for a while. I wondered what I had gotten
myself into. Now, being from Orlando, it would be a dream to play for the
Magic."