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Dwight Howard and some combination of Glen Davis, Chris Duhon, Jason Richardson, Quentin Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu won't be members of the Orlando Magic much longer.
One of Orlando's main goals in trading Dwight Howard is to rid themselves of bad contracts.
Why does Orlando need cap relief so badly?
Once you see where they stand cap-wise, it's pretty easy to figure that out.
Gustavo Ayon, PF/C (one year, $1.5 million) - Ayon's contract is fully unguaranteed so the Magic can get rid of his salary, but he's fairly young (27) and was productive in his rookie season (5.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.9 blocks in 20.1 minutes per game while shooting 53.6% from the field). The Magic should probably hang on to Ayon.
Earl Clark, PF (One year, $1.24 million) - Clark initially decided to opt out of the second year of the two-year deal he signed before last season, but changed his mind after seeing their wouldn't be much of a market for him (Sources say he believed he was on his way to Oklahoma City, but things changed when they signed Hasheem Thabeet). Clark doesn't have any offensive game, but he's young, cheap and athletic.
Glen Davis, PF/C (three years, $19.4 million) - Davis came on late last season, but that doesn't excuse the terrible overall season he had. Davis averaged 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and shot 42.1% from the field. He did, however, become a fan favorite because of how hard he plays and isn't nearly as bad of a player as he showed throughout most of the season. Still, he has a pretty bloated contract for a team that is attempting to rebuild.
Chris Duhon, PG (two years, $6.75 million) - Duhon is owed $3.5 million in 2013, but that salary is unguaranteed so he can be bought out for $1.5 million. Duhon was awful last year. He shot 41.9% from the field and averaged 1.3 turnovers in 19.5 minutes per game. He even had issues simply bringing the ball up court. Orlando would love to dump Duhon.
Justin Harper, F (one year, $762,195) - Harper has a qualifying offer worth $1,059,293 for the 2013-14 season. Harper appeared in just 14 games during his rookie season and is attempting to make the transition to small forward this year. He has great size (6'10, 225 lbs.) for the position, but is really going to struggle defending NBA level wings. He'll have to prove himself this season.
Dwight Howard, C (one year, $19,536,360) - Everyone knows his story.
Jameer Nelson, PG (Three years, $25.2 million (reportedly)) - We don't know the exact details of Nelson's new three-year deal, but it is reportedly worth $25.2 million. Nelson is 30, so that seems like a lot of years and money to give to Nelson. The first two years are worth $8.6 million each while the final year, worth $8.0 million, is only partially guaranteed. General manager Rob Hennigan values his leadership ability. Nelson had a rough start to the season, but played well as the season progressed. He avereaged 11.9 points and 5.7 assists per game last season.
Andrew Nicholson, PF (two years, $2,900,160) - Nicholson has team options in in 2014 and 2015 worth $1,545,840 and $2,380,593, respectively. He also has a qualifying offer worth $3,394,726 in 2016. Nicholson looks like a very promising rookie and rookies have great contracts. Nothing more to see here.
Kyle O'Quinn, PF/C - O'Quinn was a second round pick, so he has nothing guaranteed. However, second rounders are cheap and O'Quinn looks like he can be an NBA player. The Magic are expected to sign him.
J.J. Redick, SG (one year, $6.19 million) - The last year of Redick's deal was unguaranteed and the Magic made the only move they could in guaranteeing that final year. Redick is a very productive player who had a frontloaded, so it's not a big cap hit. Because his deal is expiring, Redick is now a very valuable trade piece. He averaged 11.6 points per game while shooting 41.8% from beyond the arc last season.
Jason Richardson, SG (three years, $18,605,000) - The last year of Richardson's deal is a player option. Most questioned Richardson's contract when he got it and those questions continued throughout the season. The 31-year old averaged only 11.6 points per game, a career low, while shooting 40.8% from the field, also a career-low. Shipping Richardson out of town may be Orlando's top priority.
Quentin Richardson, G/F (two years, $5,436,000) - At 32, age and injuries have caught up with 12-year veteran. The last year of Richardson's deal is a player option, but you'd have to think with his drop in production (4.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game last season), he'll definitely pick that last year up.
Hedo Turkoglu, SF (two years, $23,815,850) - Despite the hue number next to his name, Turkoglu's contract may not hurt quite as much as some of the other Magic players. The last year of Turkoglu's deal is partially unguaranteed, meaning he can be bought out. However, the Magic would still love to include Turkoglu in any Howard deal because he was terrible last year. He averaged 10.9 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting just 41.5%f from the field and 35.3% from beyond the arc.
Second year guard DeAndre Liggins did not receive a qualifying offer and is an unrestricted free agent. The Magic do have some interest in bringing him back.