Sometimes, it’s the moves you don’t make that define your team. The Magic reportedly received “lots of interest” in guard Arron Afflalo, this summer, but ultimately decided to hang on to him. They’ve been handsomely rewarded for rebuffing the advances of other clubs as Afflalo is putting up 21.7 PPG – more than double his career average. Tonight’s look at the Southeast Division..
- Pistons forward Josh Smith told 92.9 FM that the Hawks never came to him with a contract offer this summer, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “No, there wasn’t,” Smith said when asked if there was a contract offer. “During free agency, during that period, there were a lot of guys out in L.A. that were meeting with various teams. I was one of those guys. That’s where I work out in the summertime as well. The only time I saw the Hawks during free agency was when they came to one of my workouts just to say hello. I think they were meeting with Dwight Howard that day. They never came in or sat down with me during the free agency period to offer me anything.”
- Veteran point guard Jameer Nelson is less-than-thrilled about his playing time situation with the Magic, but he’s refusing to blow it up into a major issue, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The 31-year-old wants to contribute, but at the same time, he wants to remain with Orlando for years to come.
- Guys like Afflalo and Nelson have trade value, but their stocks will be even higher around draft time after logging productive seasons, tweets Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.