The Magic must target somebody else’s superstar now, and be ruthless in trying to lure him to Orlando to team up with Dwight Howard. This is the way the game is played now in the NBA.
If Howard says he will stay if the Magic sign Derrick Rose, Deron Williams or Chris Paul — the best free agents available in 2012 — then that’s the mission.
They do this, of course, only if they have a 100 percent guarantee from Howard that he will re-sign.
Can the Magic pull it off? We can go for paragraph after paragraph about the CBA ramifications, salary caps, payroll, luxury tax, Gilbert Arenas’ contract, etc.
But GM Otis Smith has to figure out a way — maybe starting with Thursday’s trade deadline — to line up his ducks for 2012.
Now that Carmelo Anthony has joined Amare Stoudemire in New York, and the Knicks are eying one of those point guards, the Magic have to prepare to go fishing.
The Magic must go after those stars, much to the chagrin of their present teams, if they want to compete for titles with the Miami Heat and Knicks and Bulls.
And if they want to keep Howard in town.
