A Magical Offseason

Orlando Times:

With the recent tanking scandal, things were looking very bleak for the Magic. That is until the Magic got some luck to go along with hard scouting to give this team a new identity. In Free Agency they made a huge splash and in this season's draft, they were definitely one of the winners and arguably had the best draft out there.

First, they got their guy with the 6th pick in Boris Diaw. Magic GM coltsguy510 had this to say about the young frenchman "We believe that Boris can be the foundation to a new era of Magic basketball. He, in the the organizations view, is a top 3 defender in the draft and can become one of the most versatile players in the NBA." Strong praise from the GM. If getting Diaw wasn't enough, the Magic had the top PG in the draft slide to them at the 8th pick, in the form of Luke Ridnour. Ridnour was the best defender in the draft at the PG position and could shut down opposing PG's for many years. The Magic had their guys at SF and PG, but they very much needed a strong defender at the SG position. They got him. Mickael Pietrus was rated by most scouts as a top 16 pick in the draft, but he continued to slide and slide, with some help from miscommunication between the Commissioner and opposing GM's. The Magic had tried to trade up as much as 9 spots in the draft to collect their hardware, but he was gift wrapped to them at the 20th pick.

This seasons Free Agency class has been one of the most stacked in recent memory and the Magic got got 2 of the best players available in Larry Hughes and Brian Grant. Here is what coltsguy510 had to say about these signings, "This organization believes that we have been blessed with two undeniably talented players. Some people may say that we overpaid for Mr. Hughes, but we think that he is one of the bright young stars in this league. He is a lockdown defender and can get to the rim at will. With Brian, we got that veteran presence we much needed. He is a vicious rebounder and is a premier defender in the league. I personally believe that his dreadlocks have special powers." The Magic are not done yet though, with a rumored offer to Shawn Bradley, they could add even more to their already incredible offseason.

This offseason has provided a new hope and future for the Magic and it's fans. They have one of the bright young teams and things are looking up. Maybe they can make a playoff run with this new core of young, talented players. It truly has been a magical offseason.