Magic Recipe?

Two years removed from an NBA Finals appearance in which they lost in five games to the eventual back-to-back World Champion Los Angeles Lakers, the Orlando Magic get a much needed makeover to go along with their new arena. Whether or not the pieces fit, is yet to be determined. With the Celtics continuing their dominance, and the Heat finally finding its groove, Orlando general manager Otis Smith worked his magic (no pun intended) in hopes of keeping up with the rest of the top dogs in the Eastern Conference. After an early season skid that not even 'Superman' Dwight Howard could stop from happening, dropping 5 games in a 6 game span, Smith traded Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat and Michael Pietrus to the Phoenix Suns for Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark.

The blockbuster moves didn't stop there, as Rashard Lewis was sent to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Gilbert Arenas. Though it may not be the biggest acquisition of them all, it may be the most surprising, as it seemed the Wizards couldn't give Arenas away after last year's gun incident that resulted in an indefinite suspension that saw the self-proclaimed 'Agent Zero' miss a good portion of the 2009-2010 NBA season. When being told about the acquisition of Arenas, Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy said he was unsure on how he'd fit him into the system, which may include him coming off the bench. With plenty of talent in the point-guard department with the likes of J.J. Redick and Jameer Nelson, that may not be a bad thing, leaving Stan Van with a number of options.

Although the lethal three-point shooting weapon of Rashard Lewis will be sure to be missed, the big man presence of Marcin Gortat has to be Orlando's biggest loss considering how much of a drop in size they'll suffer, making it easier for teams like the Celtics to utilize their bigs. The biggest addition on the other hand, is Hedo Turkoglu who played a key role in the Magic's Eastern Conference Championship in '09. Since leaving the squad, Hedo has run into some trouble with the organization he formally signed with last year as a free agent (Toronto Raptors), before being traded to the Suns where his numbers have only regressed. While it's unknown if Turkoglu can reincarnate himself back into stardom for Orlando, the deal was worth a shot considering how much of an upgrade they got in Jason Richardson over the elder Vince Carter.