The Magic trade

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

  I just wanted to pass on this brilliant piece of analysis from Mark Murphy 
in Sundays Herald:


A nice Magic trick?

A whole lot of crowing has been going on in Orlando in the wake of last 
week's trading deadline deal, which sent Mike Miller and a first-round pick 
to Memphis for rookie power forward Drew Gooden, a fine shooter named Gordan 
Giricek and $500,000 in cash.

It's not every day that a team can claim victory over Memphis general manager 
Jerry West - one of the savviest GMs in this or any other age - and so Magic 
types have already ordered up a case of champagne.

And in some respects they might be right. Gooden had trouble fitting in with 
the Grizzlies, considering that Gasol, the 2001-02 Rookie of the Year, plays 
Gooden's natural position at power forward.

Gooden, as a result, was stuck playing as an ill-suited small forward. 
Miller, rookie of the year from two years ago, is a much better fit on the 
wing.

Which leads one to wonder just how, exactly, Magic general manager John 
Gabriel comes off as the winner in this deal, beyond the fact that Gooden was 
indeed West's inaugural first-round pick in Memphis. Only Rick Pitino passes 
off first-rounders this suddenly.

But in truth, Orlando types may actually be whistling past danger in this 
one. For dovetailed with that trade announcement was the news that Grant Hill 
- again living up to his role as a perennial heartbreaker for the Magic 
community - may once again need ankle surgery.

That raises all sorts of chemistry questions for the Magic, which might as 
well be waiting for Godot, they have been left on ice with Hill for so long. 
Miller, a huge fan favorite, was also considered Tracy McGrady's best friend 
- an issue that coach Doc Rivers had to address immediately by calling in his 
star for a heart-to-heart talk about why the deal was necessary.

So Gooden is expected to shore up the Magic under the basket. But is this 
really a triumph over West, who now has two former Rookies of the Year in his 
starting lineup?

The Magic, now minus Miller and most likely Hill, are weaker on the perimeter 
than ever.

If nothing else, it's not a move that bodes well for Orlando's immediate 
playoff aspirations, though Rivers tried to diffuse those fears when he said, 
``This doesn't mean we're taking a step backwards and not trying to make the 
playoffs.''

http://www.bostonherald.com/sport/celtics/nbant02232003.htm 


Murphy goes through the entire trade mentioning Giricek only once and then 
insists that the Magic are weaker on the perimeter after the trade.  I guess 
he doesn't realize that Giricek is actually a better outside shooter than 
Miller?  Or did he forget about him altogether.