Chris Duhon Intentionally Hit By a Car

Orlando police investigators said a driver intentionally hit a man with his car in the middle of a Plaza Parking Garage in Downtown Orlando around 7 p.m. Saturday. It turns out, the man struck by the car is former Orlando Magic Guard, Chris Duhon. According to the police report, Duhon and his brother-in-law, Julio Hernandez, were walking on the level 2C of the parking garage when the driver of a black Lexus started honking at them to get out of the way. Hernandez told police as the Lexus passed by, the driver rolled down his window and some words were exchanged. Then, police said driver stopped, got out of his car and argued face-to-face with Duhon. Hernandez told officers that he separated the driver and Duhon and that he and Duhon kept on walking and the suspect got back into his car. As Duhon and Hernandez got about twenty feet away from the Lexus, Hernandez told police the driver accelerated towards them. Hernandez said he was able to get out of the way, but Duhon was hit. My FOX Orlando

Orlando Magic, Law, Chris Duhon
According to the report, Duhon landed on the hood of the car and his head hit the front windshield. The former Magic player was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center by ambulance. Police said when they questioned Duhon about the incident, he didn’t remember anything. They said he plans on pressing charges against the driver of the black Lexus if he is caught. My FOX Orlando

Looking back McGrady says he wishes he stayed in Toronto

He didn’t stay, of course. McGrady, who grew up in tiny Auburndale, Fla., fled to nearby Orlando only months after his 21st birthday, and his return trips to the Air Canada Centre would be accompanied by the vicious boos of a jilted populous. But more than 13 years later, in the days since he announced his retirement from the NBA last month at age 34, McGrady has been looking back fondly on his time in the NBA’s Canadian outpost. “In hindsight, looking back, obviously I wish I had stayed in Toronto,” McGrady was saying in a recent telephone interview from his home in the Houston area. “There’s no doubt we could have contended for a championship. I think about that often. But if ‘if’ was a fifth, you know?” Toronto Star

“There’s no doubt we would have won that series if I would have been there,” McGrady said. “We had incredible camaraderie. You can’t duplicate that, man. Big brothers, little brothers — we had a mix. And me and Vince were in the perfect situation. You’ve got the two young superstars and you’ve got these old vets. They were our force field. They protected us from anything that happened on that basketball court. They did all the dirty work. And all we had to do was just concentrate on putting the ball in the hoop and guarding who we were guarding. It was just such a great time in my career. “Had I been a little older and wiser and knew what was ahead of me, I would have stayed, no doubt, with those guys. But that was some of the best times of my life, man. Being with (Charles) Oakley and Kevin Willis and Antonio Davis, Muggsy (Bogues), Dell Curry, Dee Brown. Man. I still talk to a lot of those guys to this day. Because I appreciated how they looked out for me. They were all professionals.” Toronto Star

Mcgrady says if it was T-Mac and Shaq instead of Kobe it wouldn’t of ended the way it did

Tracy McGrady was one of the most elite scorers in the NBA during his relatively short-lived prime. He averaged 26.1 points per game over an eight-year span with the Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets, but injuries sent his career downhill in a hurry. Despite that, T-Mac recently hinted that he believes he was as good as Kobe Bryant during his best years. “Numbers don’t lie. I was in the conversation of being one of the best in the league,” McGrady told FOX Sports Radio’s Jay Mohr Sports on Wednesday. “Whether I was better than Kobe, or he was better than me … I was in the conversation and it didn’t matter at the time. I was playing at a high level and was very confident when I was on the court.” Larry Brown Sports

If T-Mac feels that his game was comparable to Kobe’s, that must mean he believed he could have won multiple championships with Shaquille O’Neal as well. “We would have had a great run,” he said when asked about Shaq. “I don’t know how many but, I know it would have never ended like it did with he and Kobe. I have a great relationship with Shaq. We would have never clashed heads like that. Two Alpha dogs going at there will always be (something going on).” Larry Brown Sports

Tracy McGrady announces his Retirement From The NBA

Leaving open the door to play overseas, seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady retired from the NBA on Monday. “It’s been 16 years playing the game I love. I’ve had a great run but it’s time for it to come to an end,” McGrady said on ESPN’s “First Take.” ESPN.com

Asked to clarify if he is considering playing in China, McGrady said: “Officially retired from the NBA. Door’s still open.” ESPN.com

McGrady was drafted out of high school by the Toronto Raptors in 1997, and went on to enjoy a productive career that saw him average 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He enjoyed his strongest campaign in 2002-03, when he led the NBA with 32.1 points per game for the Orlando Magic.

Back and knee injuries limited his effectiveness later in his career, and he appeared in just six games – all in the postseason – for the San Antonio Spurs last season.

Despite his limited role with the Spurs, McGrady told First Take he believes he can still contribute – and may do so overseas.

The 34-year-old appeared in 938 regular-season games for the Raptors, Magic, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and Spurs. TheScore.com

Harrington to the Wizards? Says Wizards are making the Playoffs

Once he made the decision last Saturday that he wanted to join the Wizards, veteran free agent forward Al Harrington shared the news with John Wall via text message. “The first thing he said was, ‘Help me get to the playoffs,’ ” Harrington recalled Wall telling him. Harrington is confident that he can help Wall make the playoffs for the first time in his career — and also end the Wizards’ five-year postseason drought. Washington Post

“I’m excited and I feel like this team is definitely going to make the playoffs,” Harrington said in a telephone interview late Monday night. “And I don’t care. I’ll go on record saying that. I feel like if this team is healthy, it will be one of the top eight teams in the East, for sure.” Washington Post

“It was points last year — I didn’t tell many people this — but I thought about retiring and not playing anymore because of the pain I was having and just didn’t feel like I would ever get back,” Harrington said. “But God is good. He had a plan for me, and I just went out and worked. I’m feeling better, and I just want to go out and play.” Washington Post

Harrington had two years and nearly $14.7 million left on his deal, but only half his contract was guaranteed. Orlando decided to waive him after being unable to trade him or reach a buyout agreement. “I’m not giving nobody no money back,” Harrington said with a chuckle. “I feel like I earned the money anyway. Once they knew that and they knew I was no dummy, they knew they just had to honor the contract that they acquired when they traded for me.” Washington Post

Pending a physical, 14-year NBA veteran, Al Harrington, will indeed join the Washington Wizards and is already going on record saying the team will “definitely” make the playoffs this season. The east keeps getting competitive, should be interesting to see which teams will be in the top eight of east. Who do you have?

Don K

Anthony Tolliver to the Bobcats

Power forward Anthony Tolliver has agrees to a one-year deal with the Bobcats. Six other teams (Knicks, Bulls, Lakers, Jazz, Spurs, Magics) were interested in the FA forward Anthony Tolliver, but ultimately decided to take his talents to Charlotte. terms of the deal has not been disclosed.

Don K

Magics Waive Harrington

The Orlando Magic have announced that they have put Al Harrington on waivers.

Al Harrington says this on Instagram: It’s Official… Orlando has waived me! I just want thanks all the Orlando Fans that embraced me in my short stay there. It was my pleasure playing in front of you guys. Also wanna thank Coaching staff and medical department for helping me get back on court to do what I love the most. And that’s to Hoop with the Best! Now that I’m almost 110% back healthy I’m so excited for my immediate future. Let the phone start ringing. I’m ready!!!!! Instagram

Summer League Rookie Standouts; Poised for 2013/14 Season

Victor Oladipo – ORL – AVG: 19 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 5 APG – Efficiency Rating:
+17.25

Victor Oladipo has been one of the consistent bright spots for this year’s
NBA Summer League. He has embraced the point guard position the Orlando
Magic has attempted to try him out with and he did not disappoint.
Obviously as a rookie he still has a long way to go in terms of elevating
his entire game. With the Magic in a rebuilding season Oladipo is
defiantly a start in bringing back excitement to the city and pass the
along with the likes of Maurice Harkless and a young core team. As for
this upcoming season its more than likely they will try Victor as a PG,
because he has already showed his versatility and athleticism. Both of
which are keys to a young team like the Orlando Magic, being successful as
they strive for relevancy.

Cody Zeller – CHA – AVG: 16,3 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 1.5 APG – Efficiency Rating:
+17.25

Although Cody Zeller was only able to play four games due to the tournament
style of the Summer League, he put up great, and more importantly,
consistent numbers. He has shown his potential to being a regular
double-double player in the league. He will defiantly bring life back to
the Charlotte franchise, but does not make them a playoff team by any span
of the imagination.

C.J McCollum –POR – AVG: 21 PPG, 4..0 RPG, 3.4 APG – Efficiency Rating:
+12.40

Similarly to last season’s Rookie of the Year, and now teammate Damian
Lillard, McCollum is a player that creates instant offence and scoring into
the lineup off the bench. If he is able to continue playing at a steady
higher pace C.J will see himself having more playing time and creating a
high scoring one-two punch with Lillard.

Kelly Olynyk – BOS – AVG: 18 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.4 APG – Efficiency Rating:
+21.40

The Canadian native Olynyk was a significant piece of the offence for the
Boston Celtics. Being a 7-footer who can run the floor and shoot the money
ball, he can play as a center for the Celtics, but would fit better as a
stretch power forward and create mismatches for opponents. Due to the
departure of the most significant weapons in the Boston offence (Garnett,
Pierce and Terry) it would only make sense that Olynyk gets immediate
playing time as the Celtics also enter into their restructuring process.

Akim B

Raptors in the Mix For Bledsoe

The Toronto Raptors have joined the Orlando Magic at the head of the list of known suitors for Los Angeles Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe, according to sources close to the process. ESPN.com

The Raptors have been openly shopping forward Andrea Bargnani for months and would try, sources say, to include Bargnani in any deal for Bledsoe, which wouldn’t necessarily dissuade the Clippers, given their longstanding need for a big man who can stretch the floor. But sources add that Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan is the Raptor most likely to tempt the Clippers, which falls in line with L.A.’s interest in Arron Afflalo in their Bledsoe talks with Orlando. ESPN.com

Some rival executives believe that the Raptors are prepared to part with DeRozan — recipient of a $40 million contract extension last October — in the wake of Rudy Gay’s arrival and the front-office change that ushered out Bryan Colangelo (who authorized DeRozan’s new deal) and ushered in Masai Ujiri. ESPN.com

Magic To Pick Oladipo?

High confidence from other lottery teams that the Orlando Magics will take Victor Oladipo with the No. 2 pick. Still the Magics are discussing trade scenarios for the No. 2 pick…