[ThyGreatOne]

its a done deal, WOW!!

HOOPSWORLD has confirmed through three independent sources involved in the discussion that the Orlando Magic have traded Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee to the New Jersey Nets for All-Star guard Vince Carter.

The move comes in the wake of the Magic's biggest Eastern Conference rival, the Cleveland Cavaliers, announcing that they have worked out a deal to land Shaquille O'Neal. Not to be outdone, the Magic have acquired an elite player at the one position where they didn't have one.

Lee, who is one of the best up-and-coming point guards in the NBA (and the last rookie standing from the 2008 NBA Draft) adds to a deep young talent pool in New Jersey, while Carter gives the Magic the one weapon they lacked against the Los Angeles Lakers: a scoring two who can create his own shot and keep Kobe Bryant busy on the defensive end.

This does not end the Magic's pursuit of free agent small forward Hedo Turkoglu, but it certainly makes it harder for Hedo to consider leaving town. The Magic have every intention of continuing their pursuit of Turkoglu.
The deal still lacks league approval, but has cleared all hurdles en route to New York offices.

Quick look at the dollars: This is a huge financial commitment from the Orlando Magic. It adds roughly $16 million to their salary commitments for both 2010-11 and 2011-12, when Carter will be approaching 35 years of age. It also adds a little over $2 million to their obligations for 2009-10, which is what will impact the money they have available for Turkoglu.

Remember, they can re-sign Turkoglu with his Bird Rights, but they have previously indicated they would only exceed the Luxury Tax level for the right set of personnel. Are Turkoglu and Carter together the right set?

For the Nets this saves them a little over $2 million in 2009-10 and obviously a ton more in the following two seasons. They can keep Lee for very cheap for three more seasons, and can save even more money should they choose to waive Alston, whose contract is not fully guaranteed.