http://theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030802/NEWS/308020371/1011/ SPORTS04 Gooden Wants to Be Man in the Middle ORLANDO -- Drew Gooden, the Magic's all-rookie power forward last season, wants to play center. That's a little unusual. Most NBA players would rather play a position down from their size, not up. "I like to play center," the 6-foot-10 Gooden said Friday. "There was a question last year whether I was big enough to play power forward, so now it'll be about whether I can play center." Gooden's eagerness to play the game's most physically demanding position is a good thing for the Magic, who have gone through another freeagency period without adding a veteran to their weakest position. The Magic re-signed 6-10 Andrew DeClercq and drafted 6-11 Zaza Pachulia in the second round. The 19-year-old Pachulia will probably be on the roster. It seems clear that even if he doesn't start at center, Gooden will be getting plenty of minutes at that spot. Coach Doc Rivers has already named Tracy McGrady, Gooden, Juwan Howard and point guard Tyronn Lue as starters. "The fifth guy is to be named later, and it depends on which way we want to go," Rivers said. "I like having options." DeClercq, who started 21 games at center last season, is his most likely option. But against smaller Eastern Conference teams, Rivers may be tempted to slide Gooden and Howard up and start Pat Garrity or Gordan Giricek at small forward. Against teams with big centers, the Magic will again have serious matchup problems. General manager John Gabriel says the Magic's salary-cap exception of $4.9 million was not big enough to lure top free-agent centers like Brad Miller, Michael Olowokandi, Alonzo Mourning or Rasho Nesterovic. Gabriel maintains the need for a center "probably gets way overblown." That may depend on Gooden, who averaged 13.6 points and 8.4 rebounds for the Magic after coming from Memphis in a February trade. Excluding the center questions, it appears the Magic had a good summer. They signed Howard and Lue. They drafted 6-6 point guard Reece Gaines out of Louisville with the 15th overall pick and drafted two second-rounders (Keith Bogans and Pachulia) who will probably make the team. They got considerably younger and they stayed $4 millon-$5 million under the luxury-tax threshold, although they would have been willing to pay the tax if it meant getting a center. "We're still considerably under the tax number, so we have flexibility with contracts coming up over the next three years," said Gabriel. "Are we better than we were last year? I know that right now," said Rivers. With Horace Grant, Darrell Armstrong and Shawn Kemp gone, the Magic's oldest players are Howard, DeClercq and Grant Hill, all 30. The average age of the 12 players most likely to be on the roster is 24.3 -- almost exactly McGrady's age right now. Hill, recovering from his fourth ankle operation, will start season on the injured list and is not expected to play until late in the season. MAGIC NOTES Gooden and Gaines modeled the Magic's new PLAYDRY uniforms Friday. Made by Reebok, the new uniforms feature a "moisture management system" made from a "very breathable, very athletic material that won't go out of style," according to Chris D'Orso, vice president of marketing. Gooden, for one, approves. "It's plain and simple. It's saying we're here to go out and play, not for fashion," he said. "It's different, it's ours and it's rare. Kind of retro, kind of throwback-ish." . . .McGrady, who helped choose the material, models the new road uniform on the cover of August's Orlando Magazine. -- 挖咧....真是反常的状况...... 该高兴吗?? --

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