Orlando Targeting Pietrus & Maggette

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Orlando Magic president Bob Vander Weide attended Tuesday's clinching Game 5 in suburban Detroit and is a Michigan resident, but he couldn't stand the thought of being away from the basketball team on Wednesday.
And today, Vander Weide said he and general manager Otis Smith, head coach Stan Van Gundy and the Magic's basketball operations staff will go to work on improving the roster.

"When you lose in frustrating fashion like we did to the Pistons you look for something to grab on to and for me, at least, that's diving right back into trying to make the team better," Vander Weide said. "We'll look at what we can add in order to make this a better team."

Vander Weide admitted that addressing the team's hole at shooting guard is of the utmost importance this summer. Maurice Evans, Keith Bogans and Keyon Dooling split time at that spot this season. Evans and Dooling are unrestricted free agents, while Bogans has a player option for next season (for $2.9 million) that he isn't expected to exercise.

Orlando's spending spree from last summer, one in which it signed Rashard Lewis to a $118 million contract and inked Dwight Howard ($85 million) and Jameer Nelson ($35 million) to extensions, means it have only the mid-level contract (approximately $5.3 million) to spend on a free agent.

The Magic could have interest in Los Angeles Clippers guard Corey Maggette or Golden State's Mickael Pietrus in free agency. Maggette would have to first opt out of his contract. Restricted free agents Josh Childress and Luol Deng also could appeal to the Magic.

Evans was a pleasant surprise for the Magic after the trade that brought him to Orlando from the Los Angeles Lakers. And he made a case for himself to stick with the roster in the playoffs by averaging 9.0 points while hitting 41.7 percent of his 3-point shots.

"I don't have a clue what's going to happen," Evans said. "My stance, I've learned, is that things can change abruptly. I really enjoyed playing here and I enjoyed my teammates, being part of this and the things we accomplished here. Honestly, I can't tell you (if he will be back). I would hope so, but if not, I'd understand."

As for disgruntled shooting guard J.J. Redick, Smith said he has no plans of trading him -- for now. Redick has played very little in his first two NBA seasons and asked for a trade midway through last season. For now, he is an insurance policy in case the Magic lose Evans, Dooling or Bogans.

"He could easily go from the third guy to the first guy because the other guys could become free agents," Smith said. "So you have him there and he's a pretty good guard for us. But he's a backup (shooting guard).

"I think the (two) years that he's been on our team have been good for him and his third season with us will be a good season for him. I just don't think you reward playing time because we get an e-mail a day (from fans). I tell people we're not in the business of losing games and if a player can help us they are usually on the floor."</div>

Source: Florida Today