Orlando Shakeup

Excuse the lack of posts the past few days; work has started up and I haven't had enough free time to post what I've wanted to.  Yesterday was a pretty interesting sports day as Bowl season started. Josh Selby made his much heralded debut, and, the biggest story of them all, Orlando made two trades sending Rashard Lewis to the Wizards for Gilbert Arenas and Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus, and a 2011 first round pick for Jason Richardson, Earl Clark, and old friend Hedo Turkoglu. For me, this trade is reminiscent of the LeBron James era in Cleveland where Danny Ferry would work out elaborate multi-team trades but would retain the same amount of talent.  Unfortunately, that never worked out as Cleveland failed to win a championship, and, sadly, I don't see Orlando winning one either.  Let's see how this trade influences this team's schematics and the big picture in the East.
Rashard Lewis for Gilbert Arenas - Are Florida's gun laws as strict as they are in Washington?  If so, Arenas could be in trouble.  After Arenas signed that ludicrous $100 million dollar deal a few years ago, he ended up with a knee injury sidelining him for most of the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.  Things were finally starting to look up until last December, after a disagreement with then teammate Javaris Crittenton lead to Arenas bringing guns into the Verizon Center violating both NBA and D.C. laws leading to his 50 game suspension.  Overall, this trade seems like a win for the Wizards.  They get rid of the awkward presence that Arenas provided, kind of like having an ex-girlfriend in class with you or living in the same dorm... it's just a messy situation.  Besides, Washington had three point guards who were probably their best players anyway, and getting Lewis will provide more offense for a team that is 19th in the league in scoring and trying to build for the future.  Lewis saves Washington money, and, although they have Andray Blatche and Josh Howard at both forward positions, Lewis can't hurt a young team trying to find an identity.  With Arenas, Orlando gets a proven scorer who has had a history of shenanigans but can potentially help turn around there recent funk losers of six of seven.  The problem is Arenas needs the ball and with Nelson as their point guard I'm not sure how that will play out in the end.  JJ Redick again gets hosed and will have to sit behind J-Rich, Q-Rich, and Arenas even though he is the only player who understands how to share the ball.
Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Earl Clark for Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus, and 2011 1st round pick- The plus side is Orlando gets rid of what's left of Vince Carter and whatever it was he was doing out there on the court for the catalyst to their 2009 Finals run in Hedo Turkoglu.  Jason Richardson brings yet another guard and the Magic's second Richardson.  Turkoglu provides a point forward who was clutch in the fourth quarter averaging the most amount of points in the fourth quarter only behind who else but LeBron and Kobe.  This is an upgrade for Orlando but they lose a big and a defensive player and now have become smaller and not addressed their lack of D an inability to stop penetration.  Denver carved them up the other night and after losing to Philly last night I'm not sure any of the four players Orlando added can really help their frontcourt as Howard is now their only legitimate big. 
Orlando is currently trailing Miami, Boston, and Chicago in the East, and, with this new trade, they hope to rejuvenate a team that has looked slow of late and has not shot the three well this season (ranking 17th overall).  As Miami showed against the Knicks they are very capable defensively of shutting down your one big and forcing your shooters to beat them. And with Boston's size and depth, Orlando can't compete with their strength upfront.  Even Chicago with a healthy Boozer and Noah will give Orlando trouble and are a shooter away from being a serious contender in the East.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but, in my opinion, Orlando is no better today than they were yesterday.