Vince Carter to Phoenix, J-Rich and Turkoglu to Magic: Fantasy Impact

Magic Acquire J-Rich, Hedo In Blockbuster That Lands Vince Carter In Phoenix

The Orlando Magic have pulled off a blockbuster trade that has netted them both Jason Richardson and former player Hedo Turkoglu.

The Magic have agreed to send Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus, Marcin Gortat, a 2011 1st round pick and $3 million dollars in cash to the Phoenix Suns for Jason Richardson, Earl Clark and Hedo Turkoglu.

This deal is a coup for the Magic who have landed themselves two players that will be tremendous fits in their system and should propel them back into the NBA’s elite after losing five of their past six games.

The Suns main impetus for this deal was financially motivated but Gortat will help provide some much needed big man depth.

Vince Carter should be revitalized playing beside Steve Nash.

However the Suns clearly lost this deal and one has to wonder if the Suns will continue to force Steve Nash to play out his career in a losing situation.

Steve Nash cannot be a happy camper right now.

Maybe this deal is a sign that they have concluded that it is time to blow it all up and rebuild…because it is.

Fantasy Impact:

Vince Carter gets a major fantasy value boost as he is heading to the up-tempo Phoenix Suns where he will be leaned on very heavily to be the teams top scorer. VC should return to an 18 ppg range after averaging only 15 ppg this season for the Magic.

Hedo Turkoglu is the big winner of this trade as he rejoins a Magic squad that knows how to maximize his his skill set. He will not return to pre-Raptors numbers but he will make both the Raptors and Suns look inept for not being able to work him into their lineups. Hedo is a must-add if he is sitting on your wire.

Jason Richardson looks like he is the big loser of this trade from a fantasy perspective. He should step in as the Magics starting small forward but will not be taking the same fifteen shots a game which will cause his 19.3 points per game scoring average to take a nose dive to the 15-16 range.

J.J Redick takes a major hit to his already inconsistent fantasy value and his role will be marginalized just nights after breaking his career high in points. He is droppable is most leagues.

Steve Nash’s value should remain relatively the same once he gets acclimated with his new teammates. We are hoping the Suns organization does right by him and trades him to a contender.

Mickael Pietrus may be able to carve out a sixth man role with the Suns due to his defensive upside and if that happens he will be roster worthy in deeper leagues. For now he is someone to add to your watch lists.

Hakim Warrick’s value gets a mini boost as he should, and I said should, be promoted to the starting lineup following Hedo Turkoglu’s departure. With that said he is best served as a big off the bench due to his lack of size. He is someone to add where available while we watch how thre rotation unfolds with Marcin Gortat figuring to eat some minutes up front as well.

Also see our Gilbert Arenas for Rashard Lewis Fantasy Analysis.