Hooped Up

Team USA is official and here are the members selected by the USA basketball comitee.

Carmelo Anthony
Carlos Boozer
Chris Bosh
Kobe Bryant
Dwight Howard
LeBron James
Jason Kidd
Chris Paul
Tayshaun Prince
Michael Redd
Dwayne Wade
Deron Williams

This is an awesome squad but, who is going to take a back seat to who and who leads this team?

Dwight Howard believes that the Orlando Magic need to step up in order to put themselves in the same conversation as the best in the Eastern Conference, according to The Ledger.

“They say Detroit, the Celtics, and then Cleveland, and it’s like we’re a forgotten team in the East. So we’ve got to step it up when we play those guys,” Howard said.

“Nobody is looking at the Magic as any playoff or championship contender team, which is good. Every team that I’ve been on has always been looked at as a team that everybody could beat. But you know, we know how to play basketball, and one day we’re going to get the respect that we deserve from everybody,” Howard added.

The Ledger

Orlando’s Dwight Howard won perhaps the best dunk contest in NBA history to close a memorable All-Star Saturday, as reported by the Associated Press.

Howard scored perfect 50s from judges on his first two dunks before the contest was turned over to fan voting for the first time in the final round.

The Magic need a true power forward, a rebounder and defender, preferably. If they can get a starter — hello, Kurt Thomas — they can move Rashard Lewis back to his natural small forward spot and slide Hedo Turkoglu to shooting guard. Lewis is frustrated and can’t play power forward forever, trying to defender bigger guys inside. Turk can play shooting guard, although he’ll take on quicker players defensively. But the Magic have to find some rebounding help for Dwight Howard.

Orlando Sentinel

Former Orlando Magic cheerleader Royce Reed, has given birth to Dwight Howard’s first child. Orlando Magic All-Star center Dwight Howard acknowledged Friday that he has become a first-time father of a baby boy born recently in Orlando. Howard, 22, told the Orlando Sentinel after the team’s shootaround in Denver that he was the boy’s father. “I’m not going to deny it. Yes, I have a son,” Howard said. “It’s just my personal life. Yes, I’m excited about it, but I’d like to keep my personal life personal.”

Hooped Up

The Orlando Magic and City of Orlando civic leaders unveiled design plans for the Orlando Events Center on Monday, showing a $380 million facility that will feature four concourses and more than two times the square footage as the Amway Arena the franchise has played in since 1989. The arena is slated to be built in downtown Orlando at the corners of Church Street, Hughey Ave., South Street and Division Ave. Construction will begin this summer and the arena is slated to open in the fall of 2010 and be ready for the 2010-11 NBA season.

Florida Today

The Orlando Magic have been searching for a big man to replace the injured Tony Battie and have found their man.

On Tuesday, the Orlando traded forward Trevor Ariza to the Los Angeles Lakers for forward Brian Cook and guard Maurice Evans.

To make room on the roster, the Magic released forward Bo Outlaw.

The Magic used their $2.6 million injury exemption, from the Tony Battie injury, to make the deal work.