No one predicted the Dwightmare coming. No one saw (Dwight) Howard going from a kid who loved being Orlando’s ambassador to a big-market mercenary.

If (Kevin) Durant doesn’t fancy himself as a big-city guy, wouldn’t Orlando make sense? Retooling mostly through the draft, the Magic could have young pieces in place by then, if GM Rob Hennigan has his way.

Hennigan isn’t opposed to signing free agents — and the Magic have a history of spending money to grab them. But the new GM doesn’t seem as if he’ll ridiculously overpay for any…unless it’s a superstar package of talent and humility like Durant.

In the summer of 2014, the Magic will have roughly $36 million in cap space. The prospective free-agent class is stunning: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce.

None of those stars (several aging) are expected to leave their teams, although Pierce might go exploring. The Heat trio has the option to terminate its contracts…not likely.

Other ’14 would-be free agents: Pau Gasol, Amar’e Stoudemire, Zach Randolph, Andrew Bogut, Danny Granger and Andrea Bargnani. None of them — other than Granger, a good but not great player — seemingly fit the Magic plan.

via Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel