State of the Cap: Orlando Magic

[headliner]

2006/07 Orlando Magic Payroll: $53 million
2006/07 Estimated NBA Salary Cap: $52 million
Roughly: $1 million over cap

The Good: For a lottery-bound team with some horrid front office moves in the past, there is, surprisingly, a lot of good news for Orlando. Steve Francis was not the team-leading star they were looking for, so him and his fat contract were shipped to the Knicks for Penny Hardaway's expiring deal worth $15.7 million. Who'd have thought that Penny would pay off for the Magic in the long run?

Dwight Howard doesn't just look like an excellent prospect in the post, he appears to be one of the best big men in the game, period. Howard is a rebounding monster at 12.4 a game, good for second in the league. He upped his scoring average to 15.5, blocks shots, and shoots over 52% from the field. The future is blindingly bright for this kid and the Magic will have him for at least two more seasons at the rookie pay scale. Since the Magic are now devoid of large, long-term contracts, it shouldn't be difficult to sign Howard to an extension real soon.

It appears that Howard will have a young running mate in Orlando's front line after the trade to free Darko Milicic from the Detroit Piston's bench. Darko is finally getting minutes and turning heads, especially with his shot blocking. In 21 minutes per game, Milicic is averaging a team best 2.3 blocks. Actual court time is the only way young players will learn and develop their skills. Just look at Dwight Howard. Darko is only 21 years old and with the Magic he will get the experience he needs. Besides, if he still turns out to be a bust, the team will save $5.2 million off the cap after next season.

The absence of Francis has allowed Jameer Nelson to flourish. The second-year player can really shoot the ball well from the field and from downtown. Nelson appears to be Orlando's future at point guard. He will be with the team another two years for an extremely cheap price of $1.2 and $1.9 million, respectively.

The Bad: Just when things were turning around for Grant Hill (again), disaster struck in the form of an injury (again). The Magic will have to pay Hill $16.9 million dollars next season, injured or not. Since joining the team, Grant has played in 135 games? over 5 seasons. That's 27 games per year. Orlando was paying him max contract money the entire time. Grant is a nice guy and a well-respected person, but the Magic will be thrilled to get rid of his contract after next season.

Tony Battie recently signed a contract extension for four more seasons at roughly $5 million dollars per year (exact terms unknown). Assuming this is true, the veteran post player isn't exactly earning his keep. Tony is playing about the same as Darko without any of his blocked shots. At this point in his career on a young team like the Magic, Tony needs to be contributing a lot more.

The Future: Despite the fact that the Magic have no cap room next season, they are in excellent shape. They have a lot of good, young talent to develop and abundant cap room for the summer of 2007. The Magic came together and went on a hot steak towards the end of the season, winning 11 of 15 games from March 10th to April 7th, where they beat the incredible Detroit Pistons.

Hidayet Turkoglu is the only long-term contract on the roster besides Battie and his deal averages $6.5 million over four years. Turkoglu isn't perfect (doesn't rebound enough for a 6'10" player), but he did improve his shooting and all-around play a little from last year. He has even become a veteran leader for this young squad. The Magic could use another veteran leader, but for now, they just need patience. They have positioned themselves very well for the future, with their salary cap and their roster. Keep an eye on them as a playoff contender for next year.

Bonus Points? for trading for Darko Milicic. A lot had been written about the young Serbian, and not much of it was positive. However, the Magic recognized an opportunity where they couldn't lose. There was a reason Darko was drafted #2 overall and the Magic wanted to see if that potential still exists. If it doesn't, they can save some money. If it does, then the Magic got a steal. At the very least, they can use Carlos Arroyo, the other player acquired in the deal, as a nice backup point guard. Not a bad trade for Kelvin Cato, huh?

Grade: A-[/b]

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[Josh]

That much/long for Tony Battie? Yikes.