ORLANDO, Fla. - The Orlando Magic officially have shipped shooting guard Keyon Dooling to the New Jersey Nets in a sign-and-trade deal that earned the Magic a trade exception and cash considerations, General Manager Otis Smith confirmed Monday.
The move ends Dooling's three-season relationship with the Magic that had intensified over the last month when the team offered the free agent an extension that was less than he was seeking on the open market.
Smith said the move will give the team some flexibility to make roster moves in the future.
"You still have to acquire assets to build a team," Smith told The Orlando Sentinel on Monday. "Anytime you can acquire an asset it will be good, particularly when you know a guy is not going to be on the team anymore. (Dooling) wanted more money and we got an asset for him.
"Whether we helped him out or not, he ended up getting a deal that worked for him."
Dooling is in line to receive a three-year deal averaging about $3 million per, with the first two years guaranteed.
The move is the Magic's third in as many weeks regarding free agents after signing shooting guard Mickael Pietrus to a four-year, $22 million deal on July 10 and point guard Anthony Johnson for two years and $3.8 million on July 15.
Dooling and the Magic seemingly had been headed for a split for most of the past month.
The Magic had offered the eight-year veteran a two-year deal worth about $1.9 million per season.
Dooling rejected it. His salary was $3.5 million last season. Any possibility of them reaching an acceptable deal evaporated when the club signed Pietrus and Johnson.
The trade was made possible by a $3.3 million trade exception that New Jersey acquired last season when it traded Jason Kidd to Dallas. That exception will be transferred to the Magic, who will have until February to use it, the Nets' original deadline.
Last season the Magic traded reserve forward Trevor Ariza to the Los Angeles Lakers for Maurice Evans and Brian Cook. The Magic used $2.6 million of injury relief for Tony Battie in that deal.
This exception will give the Magic more options for potential trades, allowing Orlando to acquire a player if salaries do not match. The Magic can't, however, use the exception on a free agent.
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