| | Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Heart and hustle will only carry a team so
far in the NBA.
Championships are won with talent, and the Orlando Magic felt
they took a significant step toward title contention Thursday night
when Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady joined them in two sign-and-trade
deals.
|  | | Tracy McGrady (left) is happy to be home in Orlando, while five-time All-Star Grant Hill likes his chances of finally seeing the second round of the playoffs. |
The Magic endeared themselves to fans last season with a
relentless, scrappy style of play that produced a surprising .500
record, despite the absence of a marquee name on a roster of role
players.
Hill and McGrady both signed seven-year, $92.8 million contracts
before being sent to Orlando from Detroit and Toronto,
respectively.
The Magic sent free agents Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins to the
Pistons and the Raptors got a future conditional first-round draft
pick.
The Magic also addressed the need for a power forward to replace
Wallace by trading Matt Harpring to the Cleveland Cavaliers for
Andrew DeClercq.
Hill is a five-time All-Star who averaged 25.8 points, 6.6
rebounds and 5.2 assists for Detroit last season. McGrady, drafted
out of high school three years ago, is coming off his most
productive season -- averaging 15.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.3
assists.
Hill never led the Pistons past the first round of the playoffs,
but he looks forward to the challenge of helping the Magic
accomplish a goal of getting back to the NBA Finals without
Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway.
"I don't really look at it as pressure. I look at it as
opportunity. I had six years in Detroit. There were great times. I
had a lot of great relationships," Hill said.
"I think sometimes to embrace the future, you have to let go of
the past. The good and the bad that's happened, it's time to move
on. ... I'm looking forward to establishing new relationships and
establishing and accomplishing new things with this organization."
The sign-and-trade agreements with the Pistons and Raptors
enabled the Magic to cement the deals, however the team wound up
committing more money to Hill and McGrady than general manager John
Gabriel anticipated it would take to land the two.
The maximum first-year salary the players could receive was
raised from $9 million to $9.6 million and by moving to Orlando via
trade, instead of signing outright as free agents, Hill and McGrady
will get annual raises of 12.5 percent rather than 10 percent.
Hill initially sought a four-year deal, which would allow an him
an opportunity to renegotiate a more lucrative contract after his
10th season in the league. McGrady originally intended to sign for
six years and $72 million.
"I kind of felt all along that if I was to leave Detroit, this
is where I wanted to go," Hill said. "I've been a big fan of this
organization from afar. But I think coming down here, the first day
and just being around the different players, it was really
impressive."
The signings capped a year of wheeling and dealing by Gabriel,
who gutted the roster last summer to create salary cap room after
deciding the best way to rebuild the Magic into a championship
contender was to basically dismantle the team and start over from
scratch.
Doc Rivers was hired as coach, inheriting a team returning one
starter -- Darrell Armstrong -- to training camp after Gabriel traded
Hardaway, Horace Grant, Nick Anderson and Ike Austin.
The moves left Orlando with a roster full of role players who
embraced Rivers' "heart and hustle" philosophy and parlayed it
into a 41-41 record that brought the former player and broadcaster
coach of the year honors.
Gabriel began the busiest offseason in franchise history by
selecting Florida sophomore Mike Miller with the fifth pick in the
draft, then launched an all-out effort to recruit Hill and Tim
Duncan to become the new cornerstones of the franchise.
When Duncan opted to stay with the San Antonio Spurs, the Magic
focused on getting a commitment from McGrady, who grew up in nearby
Auburndale and wanted to play close to family and friends.
"My heart is here. There's no place like home," McGrady said.
The Magic also announced the signing of Dee Brown, a teammate of
McGrady's the past three seasons in Toronto. The team plans to
re-sign two of its own free agents -- forward Bo Outlaw and center
John Amaechi -- by the end of the week.
Brown has lived in Orlando during the offseason for several
years and Amaechi spurned a more lucrative offer from the Los
Angeles Lakers to remain with the Magic. With Wallace committed to
leaving for Detroit, re-signing Outlaw also became a higher
priority.
"All of this is gratifying, but we're not finished," Rivers
said. "Now we've got to go out and win."
| |
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 The Orlando Magic announce sign-and-trade deals for Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill.
RealVideo: 28.8
 Grant Hill enjoyed his stay in Detroit, but looks forward to playing with the Magic.
wav: 218 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Tracy McGrady is excited to be back home in Orlando.
wav: 174 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Coach Doc Rivers and the Magic are just getting started.
wav: 202 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
GM John Gabriel and the Magic had one goal in mind.
wav: 74 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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