Earlier Saturday, the Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards agreed on trades that sent tons of pieces moving.
- The Orlando Magic sends out guard Vince Carter, center Marcin Gortat, wing Mickael Pietrus a first round pick and $3 million (the maximum amount allowed in a trade) to the Phoenix Suns and forward Rashard Lewis to the Washington Wizards.
- The Phoenix Suns send wing Jason Richardson, forward Hedo Turkoglu and forward Earl Clark to the Orlando Magic.
- The Washington Wizards send Gilbert Arenas to the Orlando Magic.
Winners
Ken Berger -- Hedo Turkoglu: He was lazy and inconsistent in Toronto, and didn't fit in at all in Phoenix. So what does he get to go with his $45 million? He gets traded to a contender, of course. And not just a contender, but the contender whose style and surroundings fit his game and personality. I don't know if Hedo can just flip the switch and go back to being the 2008-09 Hedo, but I know this: No knock on Jay Triano or Alvin Gentry, but Turkoglu will be held to a higher standard by Stan Van Gundy. Stan knows what an engaged, motivated Hedo can do, and he won't accept any less. And Hedo would be embarrassed if he gave any less to the organization that was gracious enough to have him back after he bolted on them for free agency, where the grass most definitely was not greener. Royce Young -- John Wall: He's been quietly waiting for the keys to the car and now he finally gets them. Ernie Grunfield and Flip Saunders tried to convince people Gilbert Arenas and Wall could co-exist in some kind of super-backcourt. And really, they probably could've, but this was more about the symbolic gesture of handing over the reins to Wall. He was never looking over his shoulder at Arenas, but now there's no question as to what's going on in Washington. It's full on rebuilding around Wall and that's got to make the top pick feel good about where he's at and where his team is headed. Matt Moore -- Jason Richardson: Richardson shot a lot of threes in Phoenix. He'll shoot a lot of threes in ORlando. But now he'll do it on a team with the best center in basketball, and be in a position to be the guy down the stretch on an Eastern Conference Finalist team. While the Magic don't run and gun like Phoenix and Golden State have, he excelled in Larry Brown's Charlotte too. This gives him the ability to make the most of his prime and he should get plenty of looks. If he can run the pick and roll to any degree with Dwight Howard, he could be looking at the best year of his career. Ben Golliver -- Marcin Gortat: There's nothing worse than watching a talented, agile, physical big man rotting away on the bench, and that's exactly what was happening in Orlando, as Gortat rode the pine behind MVP candidate Dwight Howard for the first four years of his NBA career. There was talk that Gortat would get pried away in free agency, but the Magic chose to retain him, and it probably felt to him like he would never get a shot. Instead, Gortat is headed to a team that desperately needs his defense and rebounding and is sure to give him plenty of playing time. He's also uniting with an elite point guard in Steve Nash, who will make his life easy on offense. Surely, Gortat's patience is about to pay off in a big way. Losers
Ken Berger -- Alvin Gentry: The Suns' coach goes from scaring the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals to losing Amar'e Stoudemire to now losing J-Rich. But hey, he gets to coach Vince Carter. (Vince is a nice guy, but he's just playing out the string.) Who's next to go, Steve Nash? Well, yeah, he could be. If the Suns are in rebuilding/cost-cutting mode, I wouldn't rule anything out. Gentry deserves better. Matt Moore -- Ernie Grunfeld: That's it? We know Gilbert Arenas was untradeable. We forgive you for that. But to not get a pick or cash? Here's a question. Has Grunfeld won any trade in the past three years? Have they improved with any decision he's made outside of drafting John Wall, which was un-screw-up-able? Wizards fans weren't going to win in this trade, but Ted Leonsis may want to take a look if this is a business move, why they didn't really make that much money overall on it. Ben Golliver -- Rashard Lewis: First, the prep-to-pro's talents and numbers fell off a cliff, and now he goes from Orlando, one of the league's championship contenders, to the Wizards, a Southeast Division basement dweller. Expectations for Lewis are starting off abysmally low and his fit is questionable, as Washington's frontcourt includes Andray Blatche, who plays heavy minutes, and rookie forwards Trevor Booker and Kevin Seraphin, who will need playing time going forward if they are to develop. Washington also has youngsters on the wing, so a full-time shift of Lewis to the small forward position isn't particularly ideal for rebuilding efforts either. Given the length of his contract, he is sure to be the bane of Wizards' fans existences, which is no fun, because he was able to hide out reasonably well in small-market Orlando, thanks to the team's winning and the large shadow cast by Howard. Royce Young -- Steve Nash: Nash has already expressed some level of disappointment with Jason Richardson leaving for Orlando on Twitter, saying, "Everyone wish [Richardson] the best in Orlando. Great player and great teammate! He will be missed. Damn." But now it's clear the Suns are trying to begin some sort of rebuilding project, something the 36-year-old Nash can't be excited about. The Suns almost made the NBA Finals last season behind the quality scoring of Richardson and now they get a near washed-up Vince Carter. Can't feel good for Nash right now as he sees his window closing quickly.
