The Magic selected center Martynas Andriuskevicius in the second round (44th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft, then traded his draft rights to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for a 2006 second round draft pick and cash considerations.  

Later, Orlando obtained the draft rights to forward-center Marcin Gortat (57th overall) from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for cash considerations.

In its least surprising move of the offseason, the Magic today announced Otis Smith and Dave Twardzik as Assistant General Managers.

Twardzik and Smith together will be responsible for overseeing basketball operations, including player acquisitions via the draft, free agency and trades, player development, scouting and salary cap management.

This announcement comes on the heels of former GM John Weisbrod's resignation last month, who left to pursue opportunities in hockey.

Twardzik brings 15 years of experience in various front office positions around the league. Those include two years as Golden State's head man, from 1995 to 1997.

Otis Smith, whose previous title with the team had been the director of player development, was a player on the franchise's inaugural team in 1989. Smith has several years of front office experience with the Magic, as well as a season in Golden State.

The duo will make up only the second co-GM pair in any of the 4 major leagues in the United States, and first such in the NBA. Baltimore Orioles' tandem of Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan had been the only one so far.

The Orlando Magic are looking at a huge luxury tax payment and they might waive disgruntled guard Doug Christie's $8.2 million salary to save millions of dollars in payments.

"According to Scott Herring, the Magic's director of basketball administration, Orlando's payroll is estimated at around $72 million, well over the projected luxury-tax threshold of about $54 million."

For every dollar the Magic are over the thresold, they must pay a dollar-for-dollar penalty would be about $18 milllion.

However, if they waive Christie, the Magic would only have to make $8 million in payments rather than the $18 million.

Christie's expiring contract was considered a valuable asset this offseason but with no revenue from a new arena pouring in, this could very well happen.

"It's certainly an option," Herring said. "We'd look at it."

The Magic believe the cost to move up in the draft is too high so they plan to stick at #11, where they have likely narrowed their choice to five swing players.

Hakim Warrick (Syracuse) and Joey Graham (Oklahoma State) Charlie Villaneuva (Connecticut)  Antoine Wright (Texas A&M) and Martell Webster (Seattle high schooler).

There was surprisingly no mention of North Carolina power forward Sean May, who the Magic are rumored to be high on.

The Magic would love New Mexico forward Danny Granger or Arizona center Channing Frye to be on the board at #11 but that is getting more unlikely by the day.

"Magic Player Personnel Director Dave Twardzik said the Magic are "looking for a guy who can play, period," regardless of position, and believe they can find one at No. 11."

The Orlando Magic are reportedly serious about moving to grab Illinois point guard DeRon Williams that they had him in for a workout on Saturday despite only having the 11th pick.

"If you're going to move up, you're going to have to give up something," Magic player personnel director Dave Twardzik said. "Our pick is attractive, but you are going to have to throw in a future pick, cash or a player on your roster. It can be done, but it's difficult."

Some assets mentioned in a possible move for a top-4 pick include Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu, DeShawn Stevenson and possibily the expiring contracts of Doug Christie and Kelvin Cato.

A fight broke out after the Mike Tyson-Kevin McBride boxing match and plaintiffs Akbar Muhammad and Nafis Muhammad-Baker are accusing Steve Francis and company of beating them unconscious.  Ahmad Muhammad is still in intensive care.

The police are still investigating the incident; however Francis? agent Jeff Fried is skeptical of the charges.

Fried referred to it as "a shakedown of a high-profile athlete," saying the fact a civil suit was filed before the investigation was complete suggests this is nothing more than a cash grab.

Current Orlando Magic guard and former Maryland Terrapine Steve Francis is allegedly under investigation for his involvement in a nightclub brawl in Washington, DC. Francis, who is from the Washington area, was in town to watch the Mike Tyson fight.

The incident in question apparently sent three men to the hospital after one of them made a comment about a woman Francis was with.

Commandeer Thomas McGuire of the Maryland Police Department, District I confirmed that there was "a celebrity involved in this incident," but wouldn't reveal its identity.

Francis' agent Jeff Fried called the allegations "ridiculous" and said his client was not involved in a brawl.

The Orlando Magic have named Randy Ayers and Tom Sterner assistant coaches, President/CEO Bob Vander Weide announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the deals are not disclosed.

?Randy (Ayers) and Tom (Sterner) are two of the hardest working coaches in the business,? said head coach Brian Hill.  ?They are known for their attention to detail, the way they prepare for a game and for helping players reach their full potential.  We are very excited to have them as part of the Magic family.?

Ayers spent six-plus seasons as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers? coaching staff and served as head coach of the Sixers in 2003-04, posting a 21-31 record (.404).  As top assistant under then-coach Larry Brown, Ayers helped guide the 76ers to five consecutive playoff appearances, including a trip to the NBA Finals in 2001.  Known for his pressure-defense mindset and up-tempo style, he joined the Sixers as the physical conditioning coach in June 1997 before earning a spot as an assistant coach in July 1998.

Sterner?s coaching responsibilities have included detailed game and opponent preparation, as well as individual player development.  While the top assistant in Golden State, he helped the Warriors improve on both ends of the court.  In 2003-04, with Sterner acting as ?defensive coordinator,? Golden State was the most improved defensive team in the NBA, allowing 9.6 fewer points per game than the previous season.  He was in charge of the team?s offense in 2002-03.  The Warriors ranked second in the league in scoring that season, averaging 102.4 points per game.

WOFL Fox 35 sports anchor Thomas Forester is reporting that the Orlando Magic have fired assistant coach Clifford Ray.

Forester reported that the firing happened at the NBA's Pre-Draft camp.

While many expected new head coach Brian Hill to bring on his own staff, many thought he would retain Ray as he played a huge part in developing rookie forward Dwight Howard this past season.