When Tracy McGrady got clubbed in the back of the head by Charlotte's Jamaal Magloire on Tuesday, he balled his fist and almost retaliated.

But he stopped, and he walked away.

And he was smiling about it a day later.

"I'm not going to knock him for that. He was just trying to win. We need to be more like that next season," McGrady said Wednesday. "Maybe that's where we need to change. We have to be a more physical team. That kind of thing sends a message."

McGrady and his teammates went through their season-ending physical exams at the RDV Sportsplex on Wednesday with the hurt from a first-round playoff ouster by the Hornets still fresh on their minds.

Although Magloire was ejected from Game 4 -- then suspended and fined by the league -- he will return to play in Game 2 of the second round next week, while McGrady will be watching from home. That wasn't lost on McGrady or anyone else with the Magic.

Getting pounded by the Hornets just reinforced the fact that the Magic need to become a bigger, stronger and more physical team if they hope to climb the NBA hierarchy.

Their lack of rebounding, shot blocking and interior defense was a problem all season that reared its head again in the playoffs and likely will shape their direction this summer.

"We've got to do a better job at rebounding, playing defense, blocking shots, than we did," Magic General Manager John Gabriel said. "We need to fortify that area -- at power forward, center -- to get the job done, to compete with teams like Charlotte. I think a lot of things became evident in that series."

The Magic will be restricted by the salary cap in their efforts to restructure their frontcourt this summer. They had a player payroll of approximately $48 million this season, which was $6 million over the salary cap, and neither of those numbers is expected to change significantly next season.

The most money they can use to sign a free agent this summer is the $4.5 million middle-class exception that every team over the salary cap has available. But adding another player for more than one year would hurt their ability to create major salary-cap room for the summer of 2003, when free agents such as Antonio McDyess, Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd, Jermaine O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning become available.

Still under contract for next season are frontcourt players Don Reid, Andrew DeClercq, Horace Grant and Patrick Ewing. Both Grant and Ewing are considering retirement, although neither is expected to make a decision until later this summer. Their retirements would make the Magic more willing to use the $4.5 million exception.

Although there isn't a good crop of free agents available this summer, McGrady already has suggested veteran power forward Charles Oakley, his former teammate in Toronto who has a tough-guy reputation. Oakley, 38, finished this season with the Chicago Bulls, but they are rebuilding with youth and have no interest in re-signing him. The Magic tried and failed to swing a trade for Oakley early last season.

Besides Oakley, other free-agent big men who might provide some frontcourt help are the Timberwolves' Gary Trent, the Wizards' Popeye Jones, Scott Williams of the Nuggets and the Warriors' Dean Garrett.

The Magic still believe they will improve considerably next season, even if they make no major moves, which is another possibility. They think that Grant Hill will return after sitting out much of the past two years with ankle problems and that Steven Hunter will become a factor.

Hunter, the 15th pick of the 2001 draft, fizzled this season after making 21 starts. The Magic have him slated to be on two summer-league teams and will work with him closely. He could provide some of the frontcourt athleticism the Magic lack.

"I still think he's going to help us significantly next season," Magic Coach Doc Rivers said. "He will have an impact. We're going to count on him."

The Magic expect to re-sign free-agent forward Pat Garrity and free-agent point guard Troy Hudson. Entering the last year of their contracts are Darrell Armstrong, Reid, DeClercq, Jud Buechler, Ewing and Grant.

Landing a big man via trade is another possibility, except the Magic don't have a lot of commodities. Mike Miller is probably their most marketable player, although they rejected trade offers for him last summer.

They also will not get much help in the NBA draft with pick No. 18.

"I wish we had a Charles Oakley. We need to get that kind of mentality that he brings," McGrady said. "You get a guy like that, and it rubs off on everyone. He's a winner. I don't want to be one of those guys who takes six or seven tries in the first round to get to the next level."

This was the third time McGrady's team reached the playoffs and lost in the first round. His first try was in his last season with the Raptors. The Magic haven't gone past the first round since 1996.

"I want to do whatever it takes to get better," Rivers said. "Whether it's a killer instinct, making shots, getting taller or rebounding better. Making the playoffs isn't good enough anymore. I didn't come here to make the playoffs. I came to do something in the playoffs. We got beat by a team that was bigger and better than we were. Let's do something about that."