European Invasion!

With only a day left before players can officially sign with teams in the NBA, we are doomed to at least one more day of focusing on the summer league.

Last night JJ Redick went happy-go-jacky on the big white guy like a donkey eating a waffle, as he scored 30 points and the Magic clubbed the Nets. Augustine had 10 points on 5-6 shooting, but had only 5 rebounds and shot 1-4 at the line. The Magic's only draft pick in Milovan Rakovic didn't play due to a boo-boo, and the rest of the players just sorta blended together into a big blog of nothingness. Marcin Gortat took the early advantage in the Darko replacement category by getting a double double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Speaking of Marcin, with a lack of news the past few days it is GORTAT FEVER! Today Tim Povtak of the Sentinel wrote an entire article on him. For the most part it was stuff that we already knew, but one thing stuck out in my mind:

There still isn't much polish to his game offensively, and he still needs more muscle, but his talents are obvious. He moves more quickly than most centers in the NBA."I can bring my energy, and I can do that well. My hustle is how I scored most of my points in Europe,'' he said. "I've got a lot to learn, but I'm excited to learn it.''

A center that could run the floor would be a huge asset to a team that seems hellbent on running this upcoming season. The thought of Gortat flying like a hare past the tortoises of Yao Ming and Shaq in transition is certainly is a neat thought. I was fully prepared to have Gortat on last year's team, but that was not in Brian Hill's plans. This year, if he doesn't make the teams with numbers like those he put up in his first summer league game, one might wonder if we ever will. This is definitely his best shot so far.

In other news, the Magic's love of European players has extended beyond their lone draft pick, their dealings with Darko, and their attempts to get Fran over here from Spain (wow, that's a lot of Euro love!): The Magic apparently would like to sign Unicaja Malaga playmaker Carlos Cabezas, the player's agent has confirmed. (Carlos is the guy in the red in the photo)

"It's true that the Orlando Magic are interested in Carlos Cabezas," Cabezas' agent Gorka Arrinda said to PA SportsTicker. "We are right now looking at numbers to see if that move is feasible before we sit down and begin negotiations. Like many Spain internationals, Cabezas has a big buy-out clause. In his case, it is 1.7 million euros (2,316,000 US dollars)."

The Magic are the only club currently interested in him at the moment. Some other tidbits on Carlos Cabezas: He is 6 foot 1, plays point guard, apparently was jammed in the eye during a play and had to have surgery on it (yikes), and has what might be the Guiness World Record for largest eyebrows I have seen in a while. Only the Great Wall of China and Carlos Cabezas' eyebrows can be seen from space. Look at those things. They are like two huge forehead moustaches.

Hopefully these European players translate well into the NBA and into our rotation. An attention to detail with overseas players has kept the Spurs in contention for many a year, and if we make the right choices it could pay dividends.

And for some non-European news, the Magic are interested in some guy named Darius Rice too. He is a guy who blew up in the NBDL, scoring 50 points at times. His face reminds me of some guy I used to know named "Penny"...interesting.

Darius Rice scored 19 points against the San Antonio Spurs in the Cavaliers' first game of summer league action, and that was enough to get NBA front office people talking. HOOPSWORLD learned on Monday night that the Milwaukee Bucks are 'very close' to offering Rice a contract if the Cavaliers don't do so soon. The Orlando Magic are sending scouts out to Las Vegas on Tuesday to get a closer look at Rice, and if the Magic don't take care of business, the Heat are also interested in Rice, a graduate of Miami.It looks like Rice will have an NBA contract soon.

No idea if this guy will actually translate into anything, but I do love that the Magic and Heat are linked in almost every single move this offseason. Should be a very fun matchup next year!

Anyone's guess who we actually bring aboard, but it's good to know there are at least some options.