Everywhere you read about the Orlando Magic these days, or any team for that matter, someone will have an opinion about the Coach, GM, starting lineup, who the team should trade or trade for and which dancer is the hottest. But the talk of starting lineup changes are heating up for the Magic. Even the "legit" media outlets are starting to speculate on who might be replaced and for what reason. So, why should OrlandoMagicFan.com sit around while all the experts throw out hunches.
First, the power forward spot. Tony Battie is doing a decent job - I don't think anyone can question his desire, effort and focus in helping this team win. But, we can question whether we would get the exact same Tony Battie from the starting lineup or off the bench. Personally, I believe Batie will play just as hard and it won't matter a lick to him one way or the other. He'll still come in and knock heads with anyone and everyone.
So, the logical move here is to get Darko Milicic, perhaps part of the Magic future, into the starting five to see where things stand. Is Milicic a major factor for this young team in the years to come, or is he just another young player that can't find his niche in the NBA. I think Milicic will thrive in the starting role, providing more consistent production. And the guy coming off the bench for him? Well, Battie will give any team a headache in any role he plays.
Grant Hill is not a shooting guard. Let's stop with that experiment. Grant Hill is a small forward, so let's fix that right now. At the same time, we fix the Hedo Turkoglu problem. Hedo is probably one of my favorite players. I think he plays hard 95% of the time. He'd be my favorite player not named Howard, if he put 110% like Trevor Ariza. So, what are stuck with. Grant Hill starting at small forward, Hedo Turkoglu playing off the bench in both small forward and power forward positions depending on the opposition.
That leaves the only questionable spot on our rotation. Shooting guard. Let's see, who can play shooting guard on this team. I know there has to be someone who was the Naismith College Player of the Year. Or maybe someone that is the all-time leading scorer in the ACC. How about a guy who scored the most points in a season for a school that has produced some pretty special NBA players. Ooh. I know. How about we have three of those guys play the shooting guard position? How? J.J. Redick. That's how. Ok, I'll admit it. He's not ready. But we have a capable Keith Bogans and when healthy, Keyon Dooling, to help start things off. Honestly, by this part of the schedule, I expected Redick to be competing for the starting job. Instead, he's barely getting minutes. Moving Hill and Turk around, opens up minutes in the shooting guard position.
Like Darko, we need to know what JJ brings to the table. We know Bogans, Dooling, Pat Garrity, Bo Outlaw, Travis Diener and probably Carlos Arroyo are all role players. Guys that can be changed out and not affect the chemistry of team too much. But we need to know whether Milicic and Redick are compliments to Nelson, Turk, Ariza and Howard or if they are interchangeable parts. I'm definitely not saying these small changes will make the team better. What do we have to lose? We don't need a lot of changes - just some tinkering to see what we have for next year. The team roster is becoming stable. You'll always lose a couple players every year, but the core needs to be together to build trust and chemistry. Let's see what we got.
By the way, regarding the trade rumors and what the Magic are willing and not willing to do. Don't be fooled by the news of not trading Grant Hill. As I've said before, I don't want Grant to go anywhere. But, his expiring contract is a very attractive to teams. There might be a small trade to clear a roster spot for a draft pick or something minor like that. But any big deal is certain to involve Hill. If the Magic wait until summer, I'm afraid the free agent options will be limited and they'll have no trade leverage.
