Friday’s Magic Word

• Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “One of the biggest stars of college basketball past has some advice for John Wall and other NBA hotshots who were drafted Thursday night: Check your ego at the door, if you can get your big head through it. The league will knock the cool right out of you. J.J. Redick knows the feeling first-hand. [...] Redick never was blessed with Wall’s athletic gifts, but he, too, emerged as a decorated star from a big-time program at Duke. Redick also was a lottery choice, selected by the Orlando Magic at No. 11 in 2006. He came in with armfuls of awards, a dead-eye shooter’s confidence and a heaping helping of swagger. The NBA rolled its eyes and shrugged, not impressed in the least. The league has a way of humbling you, be you a Redick or a Wall.”
• More from Schmitz: “[Marcin] Gortat, making around $34 million for cameo appearances, could be part of any blockbuster deal. The Magic have been linked to Chris Paul and Luol Deng in various trade rumors, although General Manager Otis Smith again squashed any Paul dream scenario. [...] You know the Magic are serious when word from point guard Jameer Nelson‘s camp is that not even Nelson — [Dwight] Howard‘s buddy — is safe. And really, it might take another hefty deal this summer to make the Magic better than the Los Angeles Lakers or whatever team LeBron James graces with his presence. But it’s clear that the Magic are fishing, offering up anyone not named Howard and sparing no feelings in quest of a championship.”
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “[Daniel] Orton said he expected that he would go a little higher in the draft. One reason he might have fallen, in addition to his limited playing time in college, might have been a knee injury that forced him to miss much of his senior season at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School. But Orton said his knee is completely fine. Smith said Orton’s knee was not a concern because the Magic had done their research. Now, Smith expects Orton to get into the Magic weight room and work with team trainers to get into the best possible shape. Smith likes the potential he sees. He said he watched Orton play in-person twice during the 2009-10 season and liked Orton’s hands and feet.”
• More from Robbins: “Want to watch Daniel Orton and Stanley Robinson play for the Orlando Magic in the Orlando Pro Summer League? Get your TVs ready. All of the games will be televised for the first time in the summer league’s history. Turner Sports publicists said each game will air live on NBA TV. Basketball fans can watch No. 2 overall pick Evan Turner and No. 3 overall pick Derrick Favors make their professional debuts. Turner’s Philadelphia 76ers and Favors’ New Jersey Nets will play each other at 1 p.m. on Monday, July 5. The Magic’s summer-league team will have Orton and Robinson in its lineup when it faces the Indiana Pacers at 3 p.m. on July 5. [...] The Magic broadcasted the games live over the Internet in recent years. Team spokesman Joel Glass said the Magic have asked league officials for permission to stream the games online once again but haven’t received a response yet.“
• The bolded part means that Dante & Galante might not be broadcasting games on the internet this year, which is something they said was a possibility when I interviewed them last week.
• General manager Otis Smith denies having a conversation with the Chicago Bulls during the draft about Luol Deng.
• Is there a possible Hedo Turkoglu reunion on the horizon?
• Don’t underestimate the Magic’s ability to develop Daniel Orton as an NBA center: “Magic general manager Otis Smith said the opportunity to develop a blossoming center who didn’t have to play a primary role right away was appealing. Smith said he thinks that Orton would have been a lottery pick had he returned to Kentucky and entered next June’s NBA Draft. [...] Orton’s debut in Magic blue and black will come in two weeks when he plays with the Magic Summer League squad in Orlando. The Magic are eager to get Orton in the weight room with strength and conditioning coach Joe Rogowski to work on trimming and strengthening his body. Orton has worked out with former Magic assistant coach Bob Hill in San Francisco since declaring for the NBA Draft. ‘I’ll do whatever I have to to get on the floor, whether it’s working with strength coaches or assistant coaches or whatever,’ Orton said. ‘I know I’ll pretty much be around the facilities a lot. Staying in the gym has never been a problem for me because I’ve always been a gym rat. I just love basketball and have a passion for it, so I know that I’m going to be a great player within the next two or three years.’ ”
• Trey Kerby of Ball Don’t Lie proposes nicknames for all 60 NBA rookies.
• Derrick Favors, a smaller version of Dwight Howard? Head coach Avery Johnson thinks so: “I just think he can be a smaller version from a physical and athletic standpoint to Dwight Howard, but have a better jump shot and more of a touch around the basket.  I think he will be able to block shots and rebound and in time be able to move to about 16 feet.  He has a left handed jump hook, a right handed jump hook, and he’s gonna be craftier.  Just a smaller version of Dwight Howard once he puts on the weight.”
• Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “[Orton] just looks like an NBA center, at 6’10″ and with a wide frame. He did some defensive cleaning up for the Wildcats in the paint. He was a little hard to judge because injuries and the deep front line at Kentucky meant not a lot of minutes. But he can at least be a good defending/rebounding role player.”
• Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post has some draft-related goodies that are worth salivating on — media availability with Smith, analysis on Daniel Orton and Stanley Robinson, and more.
• Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus uses his SCHOENE projection system to pump out similarity scores of the top 60 NBA prospects. Orton compares favorably to Robin Lopez and Robinson, well …