New-look Magic begin camp with lofty goals

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)—Orlando general manager Otis Smith only had to look at the Eastern Conference championship banner that hangs above the team’s practice facility if had any regrets about overhauling a roster that got the Magic to the NBA finals last season.

Just another sign that Orlando wasn’t good enough.

Smith had a summer full of bold moves for a team fresh off a finals appearance—moves that will either be a big payoff or just a big bust for the Magic. Orlando’s architect isn’t backing down from his decisions, arguing change is necessary to remain a contender.

“Mark my words right now: When we win the NBA championship, the chances are pretty good, almost guaranteed, that I’m going to change the roster again,” Smith said.

“So write it down right now. It’s probably going to happen again.”

Though Smith says “when,” not “if,” the franchise will win its first title shows where the Magic feel they belong. Getting there is something else.

Tuesday’s practice was somewhat of a meet-and-greet session, considering all the moves the Magic made during the offseason.

The biggest acquisition was getting Vince Carter(notes) from New Jersey in a trade that sent promising rookie Courtney Lee(notes), point guard Rafer Alston(notes) and power forward Tony Battie(notes) to the Nets. Orlando also parted ways with forward Hedo Turkoglu(notes), who led the team in scoring in the finals and was perhaps as important in last year’s run as center Dwight Howard(notes).

The Magic gave backup center Marcin Gortat(notes) a $34 million, five-year deal and acquired Matt Barnes(notes), Brandon Bass(notes), Jason Williams(notes) and Ryan Anderson(notes) among others. Quite an overhaul for a franchise that made it to the finals for the first time since 1995.

“You’re always looking to get better,” Smith said. “You have to try. You can’t stay the same if you want to make it back to the finals. You have to tweak some things. You have to do some things a little different. You have to make some tough decisions.”

That makes developing team chemistry a training camp priority.

The Magic, like the Los Angeles Lakers the year ago, are already using their finals loss as motivation to win it all. Watching the Lakers celebrate their title on Orlando’s home floor is something that still sticks in the minds of Magic players.

“We got a taste of it, and that’s not good enough,” Magic point guard Jameer Nelson(notes) said. “Getting a taste of it was a tease. The team that we have, we all want to win, and we know we have a chance to win it all.”

For a team with four All-Stars in their starting lineup, there will be plenty of challenges for coach Stan Van Gundy.

The coach even showed a notepad that ran out of room for scribbles after the morning practice, joking that there were about “100 turnovers” in a “sloppy” session.

Van Gundy’s first test will be integrating a new roster with forward Rashard Lewis(notes) sitting out the first 10 games of the season after being suspended for testing positive for an elevated testosterone level. Then there’s replacing Turkoglu, who the Magic ran their offense through when it counted most last season.

That’s where Orlando hopes Carter is the missing piece.

Now 32, the eight-time All-Star may be past his prime. But his ability to create his own shots, especially in the final seconds, is an element the Magic have been missing.

“There’s nobody in this world that can put pressure on me,” Carter said. “My job is to get ready to be the player they thought they were getting.”

However, no matter how well Carter plays the Magic will likely only go as far as Howard will take them.

Orlando’s 23-year-old center made big strides last season, becoming the youngest player to win the defensive player of the year award. Howard also was only the fifth player to lead the league in blocks and rebounds in the same season.

He still struggles with free throws, missing a pair in the finals seconds in Game 4 of the finals that could have evened the series. And he has yet to become a go-to scorer at the end of games because of that.

Howard has spent the offseason thinking of missed opportunities and has vowed to not make the same mistakes again.

“Every day I think about it, my friends and I talk about it and my teammates talk about it,” Howard said. “We knew we had a chance to win a championship and we let somebody take it away from us. We want to get back.”