For Magic it’s title or bust
ORLANDO (AP) – Rashard Lewis stood up and addressed his teammates the first day the Orlando Magic gathered this season, delivering a message that gave the happy-go-lucky session a more serious tone.
“It’s championship or bust,” he said.
It was a fitting way to begin a pressure-packed season with such high expectations.
After falling short in the NBA finals, Orlando is hoping a series of offseason moves – highlighted by the addition of Vince Carter – will be enough to bring the franchise its long-sought first title. The defending Eastern Conference champions are stacked with four All-Stars and a deep bench. With so many new players, the overriding question entering this season is will it all work?
“What I tried to express to the team was that with as much talent as we have around here, the word this season will be ‘sacrifice,'” said Lewis, beginning the third year of his $118 million, six-year deal.
“I might make the most money of anybody on the team, but I’ve sacrificed for the good of the team each of the last two years. It’s not about you or how many points you can score. It’s about the team winning games. I just feel like if I could go out there and sacrifice then anybody can do it. So sacrifice will be a big word for us this season.”
So will chemistry.
While the Magic kept their All-Star trio of Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson and Lewis intact, some major contributors departed. None might be missed more than Hedo Turkoglu, the do-it-all small forward whose unique combination of size and ballhandling skills made Orlando a matchup nightmare.
The Magic parted ways with Turkoglu, now with Toronto, and opted to trade for Carter from the Nets in exchange for promising rookie Courtney Lee, point guard Rafer Alston and power forward Tony Battie. Orlando also received forward Ryan Anderson in the deal, and signed free agents Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass and Jason Williams.
Blending all that talent could be tough.
“Chuck Daly had one of the best lines ever when he talked about players in the NBA. He said they all want 48 minutes, 48 shots and $48 million,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said, referring to the late Detroit Pistons coach. “Guys on our team, no doubt about it, are going to have to sacrifice for the good of the team, but we think we have a collection of high character guys who will do what it takes to win.”
It won’t be any easier this time around.
Cleveland acquired Shaquille O’Neal to play alongside MVP LeBron James. Boston has a healthy Kevin Garnett again and added Rasheed Wallace. If the Magic can somehow get out of the East, the Los Angeles Lakers now have Ron Artest and return almost everybody from the team that ousted Orlando in five games in the finals.
“The pieces we added were the pieces we thought we needed to win a championship,” Magic GM Otis Smith said. “We’re not content with just getting back to the finals. That’s why we made the moves we made.”
Those decisions will be tested immediately.
Integrating a new roster will be an even bigger challenge with Lewis suspended by the league for the first 10 games after he tested positive for an elevated testosterone level. Bass and Anderson will fill the bulk of those minutes at power forward, with Barnes also moving up at times from small forward.
There are plenty of other unknowns.
Nelson is healthy again after he tore the labrum in his right shoulder in early February and had what was then-called season-ending surgery. It’s also unclear how Marcin Gortat will be used – or if he’s traded midseason – after the Magic signed the backup center to a $34 million, five-year deal in the offseason.
If there’s one thing Orlando believes it can count on, it’s another year of growth for Howard, 23, who was the defensive player of the year and became only the fifth player to lead the league in blocks and rebounds last season.