September 2005 Archives

The Orlando Magic have signed free agent forward Matt Freije and guard Felipe Lopez today. Freije, 6'10" and 249, played last season in New Orleans, averaging 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Lopez, 6'5" and 195 pounds, has played with Vancouver, Washington and Minnesota; averaging 5.8 points., 2.4 rebounds. and 1 assist per game over his career. The signings fill out the roster for training camp.

The Orlando Magic have signed free agent forward Bo Outlaw. This will be the second stop in Orlando for Outlaw after stops in Phoenix and Memphis. Long-time fans will remember Outlaw best for his energy on and off the floor and his defensive work ethic. Outlaw has career averages of 5.7 ppg., 5.1 rpg., 1.7 apg. and 1.40 blkpg. while playing 23.7 minutes per game.

Today, the Orlando Magic signed free agents Ken Johnson and Terence Morris. Johnson, a center at 6’11” and 240 pounds, was drafted in 2001 by Miami and played last season overseas. Morris is a forward, 6'9" and 221 pounds, who played with Steve Francis at the University of Maryland.

Training camp opens October 4th for the Orlando Magic. The Magic will be holding camp at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL. On October 8th, there will be an open practice session for the fans. Admission is free. I don't have the actual time, but I believe it usually starts around 6 or 7pm and lasts for about 1 hour. The open practice allows the fans to get an early look at how the team is shaping up for the season. Pre-season games begin the following Tuesday, October 11th.

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has affected a great deal of people from all areas of the world. While I would love to express my thoughts on the entire subject, I will only cover how the events have affected the NBA. For one, a lot of Hornets staff and players families are now homeless or possibly even jobless. Secondly, the Hornets already had one of the lowest attendance figures in the NBA. Now they will have to relocate for the majority, if not all, the 2005-2006 season. How will this affect the franchise down the road?

The Magic have not made any significant player moves this summer. The key acqusition was Keyon Dooling and the key release was Doug Christie. The NBA draft produced one runaway draft pick and the other, Travis Diener, will be competing for time at the point guard position against Jameer Nelson, Steve Francis and Dooling. DeShawn Stevenson can also fill time in the one or two position.

Although Dwight Howard played in the summer leagues for the Magic, his play was limited to 25 minutes to give the coaches an opportunity to look at other young players. One thing noticeable about Howard during the summer league was his offense. Howard looked more comfortable away from the basket and the coaching staff gave him plenty of touches. In 25 minutes per game, Howard averaged 19 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Towards the end of the season last year, we had a few players that were hurt and unable to play. We will try to update you with the latest news, but the summer has been pretty quiet so far. With training camp starting in another month, you can expect the activity to pick up very soon. Here is what we know so far.