Diabeticwonder
Bench
Magic bolster defense by getting Christie from Kings for Mobley, Bradley
[font=Times New Roman,Serif]BY JOHN DENTON [/font]
[font=Times New Roman,Serif]FLORIDA TODAY [/font]
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ORLANDO -- Clearly not content with their standing as the NBA's weakest defensive team, the Orlando Magic made a bold move Monday by sacrificing some offense for a tough-minded stopper.
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[font=Times New Roman, serif]The Magic acquired four-time all-defensive pick Doug Christie from the Sacramento Kings in a trade for shooting guard Cuttino Mobley and reserve power forward Michael Bradley. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]Magic general manager John Weisbrod initiated the trade talks with Sacramento GM Geoff Petrie last week and consummated the deal Monday afternoon after several more hours of talks. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"We were putting a lineup on the floor where four or five of the guys all considered themselves the focal point offensively,'' Weisbrod said. "But we were also having trouble keeping the ball out of our basket and we felt we had to do something about that.'' [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]While the deal undoubtedly gives the Magic the shutdown defender they sorely needed and opens up more playing time for blossoming star Hedo Turkoglu, it threatens to corrupt the chemistry of the team.
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[font=Times New Roman, serif]Mobley spent the past six seasons playing with point guard Steve Francis and center Kelvin Cato, and the trio are extremely close friends. The three were traded to Orlando from Houston this summer in exchange for Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]Clearly affected by the trade of his friend, Francis struggled through Monday's 119-101 loss to the Celtics in Boston. The enigmatic point guard picked up his ninth technical foul early in the first half. He wore a No. 5 sweatband on his biceps and Cato wore one on his calf muscle as tributes to Mobley. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"For us, not just myself but everybody, we were pretty much just emotionally drained," Francis told the Associated Press after the game. "You don't wait 30 minutes before a game to tell a guy he's traded."
But Weisbrod feels that Francis will benefit immensely from the trade. When the two played together in Houston there was a feeling in the Rockets' organization that the two guards needed to be separated because of their tendency to depend too heavily on one another. Weisbrod admitted that factor, a touchy, taboo subject around Mobley and Francis, certainly factored into his decision to make the trade. He said he did not consult Francis before pulling off the deal.
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[font=Times New Roman, serif]"I truly believe that Steve and Cuttino being apart, being separated is in the best interest of both of them,'' Weisbrod said. "Steve will be a better player for it and when they get past the emotion of being together for six years that will shine through. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"They've been together for a long time and they like one another, but that doesn't necessarily mean that their games are ideally fit for each other. We're trying to get Steve into a totally new way of playing basketball, in a five-man outlook. And that becomes difficult when you have someone that you are so accustomed with. Sometimes with his familiarity with Cuttino, it was a bit of a crutch for him.'' [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]The Magic will likely be shorthanded when they play in Minnesota on Wednesday, but Weisbrod is hopeful that Christie, 34, will join the team Friday in Detroit. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]The Magic are giving up 101.4 points a game, most in the 30-team NBA team. They have given up at least 105 points in seven of the past 15 games. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]Christie is averaging 7.3 points, 4.9 assists and four rebounds a game. He has been named to the NBA All-Defensive first or second team for four consecutive seasons (first team in 2002-03; second team in 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2003-04). He has ranked among the NBA's top five in steals in seven of the last eight seasons and is the only player to rank in the top five in each of the past four seasons. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]As it turns out, Magic forward Grant Hill played a big role in the acquisition of Christie. He told Weisbrod last summer that he really enjoyed watching Christie play because of his "high basketball IQ,'' and Weisbrod took notice. After watching Christie play with Sacramento, Weisbrod felt he could help solve the Magic's defensive woes. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"No matter how good our chemistry is and how good we feel about our guys, if we think we're just going to mosey into the playoffs with 36-year-old Stacey Augmon being the only guy thinking about defense, then we're kidding ourselves,'' Weisbrod said. "We needed to fill some of the nooks and crannies that we don't have. Right now we have a whole lot of guys putting the ball in the basket and not many thinking about keeping it out.'' [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]There was also a financial aspect of the trade to consider. Mobley, making $5.8 million this season, was expected to opt out of his contract after the season. He will likely demand a six-year contract at $6-$7 million a season, something the Magic wanted no part of with him set to turn 30 next September. Christie is making $7.5 million this season and $8.2 million next year before he becomes a free agent. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"He was definitely going to opt out and whether he would have come back to us or gone somewhere else I don't know,'' Weisbrod said. "Whether we would be willing to give a 30-year-old player a five or six year deal, I'd be lying if I said the fact that he was becoming a free agent wasn't a factor in this.'' [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]Mobley averaged 16 points a game in 23 games with the Magic. He ranked fourth in the NBA in 3-point percentage (46.4 percent) and 18th in 3-pointers made (58). He missed eight games early in the season because of a strained groin muscle. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]The trade opens up more playing time for Turkoglu, the sweet-shooting forward who the Magic signed to a six-year, $39 million free-agent deal in July. Turkoglu has played well of late, scoring 22 points in Friday's win against Charlotte and 19 on Saturday against New Jersey. Christie will likely be the starter at shooting guard, but Turkoglu's minutes should increase in the future. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"One of the reasons we did this deal was because I want Hedo to get more minutes,'' Weisbrod said. "The most convincing statistical correlation you can make between our lineups and us winning is Hedo. We win when he plays. He was obviously playing a lot while Cuttino was hurt, and since (Mobley) has been back, it's been hard to get enough minutes for Hedo. That will happen now.'' [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]Magic forward Grant Hill said recently that the Magic needed to focus more on their defense. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"Early in the season we put all of our focus on the fastbreak and when teams slowed us down we really had nothing to fall back on,'' Hill said. "I think we've finally realized that we have to shift our focus toward defense. If we never run a play I still think we have enough offense to get 100 points. But maybe the best thing to come out of our bad streak was the realization that we have to play better defense. When we play just a little bit of defense we win.'' [/font]
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[font=Times New Roman,Serif]BY JOHN DENTON [/font]
[font=Times New Roman,Serif]FLORIDA TODAY [/font]
[font=Times New Roman,Serif]
ORLANDO -- Clearly not content with their standing as the NBA's weakest defensive team, the Orlando Magic made a bold move Monday by sacrificing some offense for a tough-minded stopper.
[/font][font=arial,]
[/font][font=Times New Roman, serif][/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]The Magic acquired four-time all-defensive pick Doug Christie from the Sacramento Kings in a trade for shooting guard Cuttino Mobley and reserve power forward Michael Bradley. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]Magic general manager John Weisbrod initiated the trade talks with Sacramento GM Geoff Petrie last week and consummated the deal Monday afternoon after several more hours of talks. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"We were putting a lineup on the floor where four or five of the guys all considered themselves the focal point offensively,'' Weisbrod said. "But we were also having trouble keeping the ball out of our basket and we felt we had to do something about that.'' [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]While the deal undoubtedly gives the Magic the shutdown defender they sorely needed and opens up more playing time for blossoming star Hedo Turkoglu, it threatens to corrupt the chemistry of the team.
[/font][font=arial,]
[/font][font=Times New Roman, serif][/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]Mobley spent the past six seasons playing with point guard Steve Francis and center Kelvin Cato, and the trio are extremely close friends. The three were traded to Orlando from Houston this summer in exchange for Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]Clearly affected by the trade of his friend, Francis struggled through Monday's 119-101 loss to the Celtics in Boston. The enigmatic point guard picked up his ninth technical foul early in the first half. He wore a No. 5 sweatband on his biceps and Cato wore one on his calf muscle as tributes to Mobley. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"For us, not just myself but everybody, we were pretty much just emotionally drained," Francis told the Associated Press after the game. "You don't wait 30 minutes before a game to tell a guy he's traded."
But Weisbrod feels that Francis will benefit immensely from the trade. When the two played together in Houston there was a feeling in the Rockets' organization that the two guards needed to be separated because of their tendency to depend too heavily on one another. Weisbrod admitted that factor, a touchy, taboo subject around Mobley and Francis, certainly factored into his decision to make the trade. He said he did not consult Francis before pulling off the deal.
[/font][font=Times New Roman, serif]
[/font][font=arial,]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"I truly believe that Steve and Cuttino being apart, being separated is in the best interest of both of them,'' Weisbrod said. "Steve will be a better player for it and when they get past the emotion of being together for six years that will shine through. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"They've been together for a long time and they like one another, but that doesn't necessarily mean that their games are ideally fit for each other. We're trying to get Steve into a totally new way of playing basketball, in a five-man outlook. And that becomes difficult when you have someone that you are so accustomed with. Sometimes with his familiarity with Cuttino, it was a bit of a crutch for him.'' [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]The Magic will likely be shorthanded when they play in Minnesota on Wednesday, but Weisbrod is hopeful that Christie, 34, will join the team Friday in Detroit. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]The Magic are giving up 101.4 points a game, most in the 30-team NBA team. They have given up at least 105 points in seven of the past 15 games. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]Christie is averaging 7.3 points, 4.9 assists and four rebounds a game. He has been named to the NBA All-Defensive first or second team for four consecutive seasons (first team in 2002-03; second team in 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2003-04). He has ranked among the NBA's top five in steals in seven of the last eight seasons and is the only player to rank in the top five in each of the past four seasons. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]As it turns out, Magic forward Grant Hill played a big role in the acquisition of Christie. He told Weisbrod last summer that he really enjoyed watching Christie play because of his "high basketball IQ,'' and Weisbrod took notice. After watching Christie play with Sacramento, Weisbrod felt he could help solve the Magic's defensive woes. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"No matter how good our chemistry is and how good we feel about our guys, if we think we're just going to mosey into the playoffs with 36-year-old Stacey Augmon being the only guy thinking about defense, then we're kidding ourselves,'' Weisbrod said. "We needed to fill some of the nooks and crannies that we don't have. Right now we have a whole lot of guys putting the ball in the basket and not many thinking about keeping it out.'' [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]There was also a financial aspect of the trade to consider. Mobley, making $5.8 million this season, was expected to opt out of his contract after the season. He will likely demand a six-year contract at $6-$7 million a season, something the Magic wanted no part of with him set to turn 30 next September. Christie is making $7.5 million this season and $8.2 million next year before he becomes a free agent. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"He was definitely going to opt out and whether he would have come back to us or gone somewhere else I don't know,'' Weisbrod said. "Whether we would be willing to give a 30-year-old player a five or six year deal, I'd be lying if I said the fact that he was becoming a free agent wasn't a factor in this.'' [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]Mobley averaged 16 points a game in 23 games with the Magic. He ranked fourth in the NBA in 3-point percentage (46.4 percent) and 18th in 3-pointers made (58). He missed eight games early in the season because of a strained groin muscle. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]The trade opens up more playing time for Turkoglu, the sweet-shooting forward who the Magic signed to a six-year, $39 million free-agent deal in July. Turkoglu has played well of late, scoring 22 points in Friday's win against Charlotte and 19 on Saturday against New Jersey. Christie will likely be the starter at shooting guard, but Turkoglu's minutes should increase in the future. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"One of the reasons we did this deal was because I want Hedo to get more minutes,'' Weisbrod said. "The most convincing statistical correlation you can make between our lineups and us winning is Hedo. We win when he plays. He was obviously playing a lot while Cuttino was hurt, and since (Mobley) has been back, it's been hard to get enough minutes for Hedo. That will happen now.'' [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]Magic forward Grant Hill said recently that the Magic needed to focus more on their defense. [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, serif]"Early in the season we put all of our focus on the fastbreak and when teams slowed us down we really had nothing to fall back on,'' Hill said. "I think we've finally realized that we have to shift our focus toward defense. If we never run a play I still think we have enough offense to get 100 points. But maybe the best thing to come out of our bad streak was the realization that we have to play better defense. When we play just a little bit of defense we win.'' [/font]
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