Orlando (Detroit of the Southeast)

Key to the Magic rebuilding is not necessarily Hill and McGrady. They just provide the foundation around which Gabriel will build.

It appears that some of the deals they struck on draft night resulted in prime 1st round draft picks over the next few years. Some of the players lining up for the lottery will then be available for them; giving the Magic a prime source of talent from the next few year's drafts.

A couple of big men in high school are getting a lot of press; including Tyson Chandler out of California and Eddy Curry out of Chicago. Orlando is well positioned to grab some of this talent from upcoming drafts.

Comparing them with Detroit is probably fair for this year, but the draft picks I believe that they accumulated (from teams like the Clippers) could be keys to whether or not they can build a serious contender to the throne.

Being a Bulls supporter, acknowledging this is painful . . . but I think Gabriel's doing a great job.

But, the summer ain't over yet! Hopefully Krause has a few tricks up his sleeve . . .

Well, if I remember correctly, all those draft picks Orlando recieved are lottery if not top three protected. I don't know if the real impact players would be available out of the top three or top eight. Still, it is good to have first round picks.

If I'm not mistaken, the lottery protection phases out over a period of years. The Magic have the luxury of waiting...

Someone posted a list at draft time that showed a bunch of 5th or later draft choices (since we picked 5th this year.) There were some mighty good players listed, including Kevin Garnett and Vince Carter. I'm sure those teams hated to miss out on those top three players and get stuck with Garnett and Carter!