Category: Orlando Magic Blog

Orlando Magic guard Jason Williams will undergo arthroscopic surgery tomorrow on his left knee, General Manager Otis Smith announced.  Williams is expected to miss approximately four weeks of action.

Williams (#44, 6’1”, 190, 11/18/75) played in all 82 games last season for the Magic, averaging 6.0 ppg., 3.6 apg. and 1.5 rpg. in 20.8 minpg., while shooting .380 (84-221) from three-point range.  He started in 18 outings, averaging 8.6 ppg., 5.1 apg., 2.7 rpg. and 1.11 stlpg. in 29.6 minpg. during that span.  Williams ranked seventh in the NBA in assists-to-turnover ratio (3.43, 298/87).  He also appeared in all 14 playoff games, averaging 2.6 ppg. and 1.6 apg. in 13.7 minpg.

Originally selected in the first round (seventh overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft, Williams has played in 761 career NBA regular season games with Sacramento, Memphis, Miami and Orlando, averaging 10.8 ppg., 6.0 apg., 2.3 rpg. and 1.21 stlpg. in 30.1 minpg.  He has also played in 67 career playoff contests, averaging 8.3 ppg., 3.3 apg. and 1.9 rpg. in 25.9 minpg.  Williams was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1998-99, currently stands as Memphis’ all-time leader in assists (2,041) and helped Miami capture the 2005-06 NBA Championship.

Mark Schlueb of the Orlando Sentinel reports:

Since the $480 million arena’s conception, Magic and city officials have made technology an integral part of the project, from the 1,100 flat-panel video screens throughout the building to an advanced telecommunications network not much different from the one that controls America’s air traffic.

The state-of-the-art technology means more flash for fans, who will be bombarded with images and sound before they even walk in the door. And just as important for the team’s owner, it also means more advertising cash for the Magic.

“The Magic and the city have the ability now to generate dramatically more revenue than they ever have before,” said Karl Williams, a vice president for Harris Corp., the company responsible for much of the technology.

Perhaps the best example is the video screens, so many that they’ll be unavoidable. They will be hooked to a sophisticated IPTV — Internet Protocol Television — feed that will allow the Magic and the city to control what’s seen on the screens to an extraordinary degree.

If there were a need, technicians in a sophisticated behind-the-scenes control room could make every screen in the building display a different image. More than that, each screen can display multiple different feeds — a sort of picture-in-picture on steroids, with a mosaic of images, video, animation and text.

The Orlando Magic have named Adonal Foyle as director of player development, President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith announced today.  In his role, Foyle will provide support for the overall development of the players, act as a conduit between players and management, and give assistance to the basketball operations department.

Originally selected by Golden State in the first round (eighth overall) of the 1997 NBA Draft, Foyle (6’10”, 270, 3/9/75) appeared in 733 regular season games during his 13-year NBA career with Golden State, Orlando and Memphis, averaging 4.1 ppg., 4.7 rpg. and 1.63 blkpg. in 17.8 minpg.  Foyle remains Golden State’s all-time franchise leader in blocked shots with 1,140.  He spent the final three seasons of his professional career with the Magic before retiring in August 2010.

Born on March 9, 1975, Foyle grew up on the small island of Canouan (population 1,000 and 3.5 x 1.25 miles in size) and did not play organized basketball until the age of 16.  During his time in the NBA, he was extremely active off the court.  In the summer of 2001, Foyle founded “Democracy Matters,” a non-profit political organization that encourages grass-roots involvement in the campaign finance reform movement.  Democracy Matters currently has more than 70 chapters on college, university and high school campuses in 23 different states.  In 2006, he established the Kerosene Lamp Foundation, named after the type of light Foyle used to study at night on an island with no electricity, with the goal of empowering youth of the Eastern Caribbean and the United States to take control of their future. All of Foyle’s off-the-court activities can be found on his personal website – www.adonalfoyle.com.

Foyle has been inducted into both the Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame and the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Hall of Fame. He also served as first vice president of the National Basketball Players Association.

The Orlando Sentinel reports:

The Orlando Magic have promoted longtime assistant athletic trainer and performance enhancement specialist Keon Weise to the head athletic trainer’s job.

Magic spokesman Joel Glass on Monday confirmed the move.

Weise, 31, will replace Tom Smith, who was let go after four seasons as the team’s head athletic trainer.

The Orlando Magic have signed forward Stanley Robinson, President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith announced today.

Robinson was originally selected by Orlando during the second round (59th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Robinson played on the Magic’s summer league team in the 2010 AirTran Airways Pro Summer League, where he averaged 5.4 points and 5.2 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the floor.

Robinson (6’9”, 210, 7/14/88) appeared in 126 career games (103 starts) at the University of Connecticut, averaging 9.8 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 1.0 apg. and 1.03 blkpg. during his four-year collegiate career. As a senior (2009-10), he averaged 14.5 ppg., a team-high 7.6 rpg., 1.0 apg. and 1.21 blkpg. for the Huskies. Robinson helped UConn reach the NCAA Final Four in 2009.

The Orlando Magic have re-signed free agent guard Jason Williams, General Manager Otis Smith announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

“Jason (Williams) played very well for us last season,” said Smith.  “He provides veteran leadership to our backcourt and knows what it takes to win.  We are happy to have him back on our team.”

Williams (#44, 6’1”, 190, 11/18/75) played in all 82 games last season for the Magic, averaging 6.0 ppg., 3.6 apg. and 1.5 rpg. in 20.8 minpg., while shooting .380 (84-221) from three-point range.  He started in 18 outings, averaging 8.6 ppg., 5.1 apg., 2.7 rpg. and 1.11 stlpg. in 29.6 minpg. during that span.  Williams ranked seventh in the NBA in assists-to-turnover ratio (3.43, 298/87).  He also appeared in all 14 playoff games, averaging 2.6 ppg. and 1.6 apg. in 13.7 minpg.

Originally selected in the first round (seventh overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft, Williams has played in 761 career NBA regular season games with Sacramento, Memphis, Miami and Orlando, averaging 10.8 ppg., 6.0 apg., 2.3 rpg. and 1.21 stlpg. in 30.1 minpg.  He has also played in 67 career playoff contests, averaging 8.3 ppg., 3.3 apg. and 1.9 rpg. in 25.9 minpg.  Williams was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1998-99, currently stands as Memphis’ all-time leader in assists (2,041) and helped Miami capture the 2005-06 NBA Championship.