FFS i'm happy today, Lewis gooooooooooooooone thank FK. i expected a shake up, but not this huge lol, i think VC will be good at the Suns with Steve Nash.
The Orlando Magic capped a blockbuster day of wheeling and dealing by trading one franchise cornerstone for another, sending Rashard Lewis to the Washington Wizards for Gilbert Arenas on Saturday.
That trade followed news of a deal that sent Vince Carter to the Phoenix Suns in a six-player swap that returns Hedo Turkoglu to the Magic.
The Magic, losers of five of their last six games, also get Jason Richardson and Earl Clark from the Suns in exchange for Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus, a 2011 first-round pick and cash considerations.
"We're very excited to welcome these three players to our family," Magic president Otis Smith said in a statement. "Jason is a tremendous athlete who runs the floor, can shoot the ball and loves to compete. We're obviously familiar with Hedo. He is a great shooter and is a player that has flourished in our system. We liked Earl in the draft a few years ago, and he will help fortify our frontcourt. Vince, Marcin and Mickael did a lot for our organization and we wish them great success in the future."
The Arenas-Lewis deal doesn't include other pieces.
"Gilbert is a proven All-Star in this league and we're excited to add him to our team," Smith said in a separate news release. "He is one of the top scoring guards in the game, he can create scoring chances for his teammates and he is as tough as they come. Rashard was important in helping our franchise get to the next level, and we wish him and his family all the best."
The Magic and Wizards had been discussing a deal involving Arenas off and on since last summer.
Arenas and the Wizards have been open to parting ways since Washington landed point guard John Wall with the No. 1 pick and thereby providing a new face for the franchise.
Arenas was suspended last season for the final 50 games by commissioner David Stern after a locker room incident involving gun play with former teammate Javaris Crittenton came to light last Dec. 23.
The changes in Phoenix prompted an immediate wave of speculation that the Suns might continue the overhaul by finally starting to field trade proposals for star guard Steve Nash, but Suns owner Robert Sarver moved quickly to dispel that notion.
"This deal has nothing to do with [trading] Nash," Sarver told ESPN.com's Marc Stein via e-mail. "We have no intention to trade him."
The fact that the Suns were forced to give up the popular Richardson for the ability to trade away Turkoglu and his onerous contract is sure to be greeted with disappointed in the locker room, but Phoenix management is clearly hoping that the arrivals of Gortat and Pietrus can provide a much-needed boost of size and defensive toughness.
The acquisition of Turkoglu as a primary replacement for departed free agent Amare Stoudemire clearly wasn't working out for the Suns, who have been more vulnerable defensively and on the glass than they've ever been in their years of small-ball success.
"Everyone wish @jrich23 the best in Orlando," Nash said via his Twitter account Saturday afternoon. "Great player and great teammate! He will be missed. Damn."
The Magic used lucrative pieces to close both deals, including Lewis' contract with 2½ years remaining on the original $118 million for six years. It lines up with Arenas' backloaded contract -- which still has about $60 million left.
Arenas was at Washington's morning shootaround but did not speak to reporters.
Smith has been a close friend and mentor to the Arenas going back to their days together at Golden State, when Smith was in the front-office and Arenas was a young player. Smith has said in the past that Arenas' troubles, which, in addition to last year's 50-game suspension, included faking an injury to sit out a preseason game this year, are not a concern.
Arenas, a three-time All Star, has had several knee problems that limited him to 47 games over the previous three seasons. But while playing alongside -- and often behind -- Wall this season, Arenas has showed flashes of his old self.
He has averaged 17.3 points and 5.6 assists per game this season, including a season-high 31 points in a loss against the Magic on Nov. 27. The Magic have made strong pushes to acquire Denver's Carmelo Anthony and New Orleans' Chris Paul, but with those talks showing little progress, they might be forced to make another move.
Orlando has lost five of its last six games, including a frustrating 1-3 West Coast trip, falling from first to fourth in the Eastern Conference. The Magic were set to host Philadelphia on Saturday night, and Washington was hosting Miami.
"I circled the West Coast trip on our schedule a long time ago," Smith said earlier Saturday. "The West Coast trip, to me, was going to decide whether or not we're going to either fix our woes or continue down the same path. I don't think we've played particularly well leading up to the West Coast trip. So, we were on the West Coast trip and some of our woes continued, so you start to explore opportunities that are out there."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5932861
