Upgrade?

The preseason is not even over yet, but I wanted to highlight something I have noticed: The Magic may have upgraded going from Darko Milicic to Adonal Foyle:
Not only has Adonal not gone on any profanity laden tirades, he also appears to be doing much better statistically, too.
Here are their per 40 minute averages for the preseason, so far:
Adonal Foyle
16.6 points
2.3 blocks
13.2 rebounds
57.1 fg%

Darko Milicic
9.6 points
2.8 blocks
8.5 rebounds
35.4 fg%

Granted, this is the preseason, but the difference there is pretty noticeable. I don't think there is a GM in the league that would take Darko over Adonal based upon those numbers, unless maybe he was already stacked with veterans in the middle and could afford to gamble on Darko's potential.
I will be honest, I do believe Darko has potential. It isn't just a matter of if he has the ability, it is a question of if he can tap into his ability. Mentally, I am not sure if he can pull it together. I really think the guy is a headcase. I hope I am wrong. . . but if you have viewed the transcript of that he said about those FIBA refs and their families. . . well, you wouldn't want him around your family.

Speaking of Wang. . .

From Hollinger's column at ESPN.com:
"• Van Gundy offered effusive, unsolicited praise for China's Wang Zhizhi, which given that a) Wang played for Van Gundy in Miami, and b) Orlando has a glaring need for another frontcourt player, certainly raised an eyebrow or too. "I enjoyed seeing Wang Zhizhi again," said Van Gundy, who added that the two exchanged gifts. "He's a very good player and a great, great person. I hope our paths will cross again some time.'"
Let it be. . .

New Season, Fresh Start!

And all that jazz.
A new season is nearly upon us and so I have decided to revive the old Orlando Magic blog (after cleaning some things up, etc.) and start fresh (close enough.)
Right now I am watching the Orlando Magic take on the "China All Stars"- you gotta love DVR and having NBA TV. This brought to mind a few thoughts:

1. Does a 7 foot tall man with the name, "Wang" get made fun of much in an American locker room?
2. A Chinese locker room?
3. How is it that Wang Zhizhi is better than Yi Jianlan and gives Yao a run for his money with the Chinese National team, yet could not cut it in the NBA?
4. How can a player be as inconsistent as Hedo Turkoglu?

Now don' t get me wrong- I love Hedo. There are few players in the NBA whose name opens the door to more puns than Hedo Turkoglu's, and to an English nerd such as myself that is just plain fantastic. The problem is, the guy kind of reminds me of a crazy ex-girlfriend: up one day, down the next, mysterious illnesses, never quite living up to your hopes and expectations. I think even once knew a girl who claimed to have Turkoflu (which Healtho claims he is no longer stricken with.) The guy will go off one night, shoot 10-15, and then the next night hit 2-6. It is remarkably rare for him to put together two solid games in a row. It is such a tease to see the guy shoot the lights out one night, and bomb the next.
The reason I bring all this up is I have been watching him closely. I really think either Hedo or JJ Reddick needs to be a consistent third option this season for the Magic to be anything more than an average team. Sure, Rashard is supposedly a reliable scoring option, and Dwight seems to have added some jump shooting to his repertoire ( do you think JJ gave him a free copy of his instructional video? ), but there are going to be plenty of nights where Dwight gets himself in foul trouble being over-eager on defense, and/or Rashard's shot just is not falling. I don't even think Tim Donaghy (or MJ for that matter) would take odds on Turkofluke's shot falling on those nights when needed most. (by the way, I just watched Hedo miss two free throws, his new name is Hedo Chokeoglu. Or maybe Freethrow Chokeoglu if you're really reaching.)
I relent. I actually have a real soft spot for Hedo, he is one of my favorite players. I constantly read other people saying that he should be trade-bait to pull in a legit power forward or shooting guard to augment the Magic's perceived weakness at each of these positions, but I am content with a potential starting lineup of Dwight at center, Rashard and Hedo at the forward positions, Jameer at point, and JJ/ Ariza/ Bogans at guard, at least at this point. JJ and Ariza are both young prospects who still have the potential to breakout.
This actually reminds me of another thing about Hedo: people say the guy cannot defend. I don't buy into that. I have watched him defend some pretty impressive players one on one and hold his own.
I suppose only the start of the regular season will tell, but at this point I like Hedo as a third option for this team- if he can pull it together. If not, I say we sign Wang Zhizhi so I have a different person's name to make fun of. Actually. . . that isn't a bad idea. Could he be a worse option off the bench than James Augustine (guy looks serious nervous when he gets on the floor- like Anthony Avent nervous) and Marcin Gortat?

Get a Lawyer

So, apparently the Orlando Magic are going to make Billy Donovan obtain legal representation and go through the legal process to break the contract he signed and decided to break the next day. Welcome to the NBA, Billy. I am actually happy the Magic are doing this. It might seem a bit petty, especially when they already know he has no plans on coaching their team regardless, but I think it is a lesson Donovan deserves to learn. He is a grown man. Grown men can commit to a decision for more than 24 hours. Now he may be spending as many hours in court.

Where is a timely poll on the arena deal?

Waking up this morning, I decided to make my usual internet rounds, which always include checking out whatever Orlando Magic news has been posted at orlandosentinel.com. I happened upon an article entitled $1B deal? Let public talk, says Jacobs. The article refers to Orange County Commisioner Teresa Jacobs suggesting that more direct public input is needed before approving a new plan that includes a new arena for the Orlando Magic along with a downtown arts center and renovations to the Citrus Bowl. Further searching on the site shows that four days prior, on March 5, there was a Sentinel article entitled Do you back 3 venues? City, County, don't know. As a Magic fan, these subjects are certainly very important to me. My question, however, is this: If the Orlando Sentinel has no problem posting polls asking questions such as "Is Shaq worth the money?" and others involving star players such as Penny Hardaway and Tracy McGrady, polls which ultimately lead to an alienation of these players, why doesn't the Sentinel step up now with a poll about the arena deal? Ok, you are writing articles about polling public opinion with no attempt to gauge public opinion. Their polls regarding the Orlando Magic always seem to get a great response, one way or the other. Why is it the Sentinel has no problem running off star players but refuses to help usher in a much needed new arena?