FanHouse KeithBogans

Free-agent swingman Keith Bogans will sign a one-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs, sources confirmed Monday to FanHouse.

Bogans, a solid defensive player, is being looked at as an heir apparent to Bruce Bowen, who retired recently after being San Antonio's perimeter defensive stopper throughout much of the decade. The Spurs had been grooming Ime Udoka for that role, but they are electing not to bring him back as a free agent after he played two seasons with the team.

Bogans, who will sign a guaranteed deal worth the minimum of $1.03 million, last season averaged 5.6 points for Orlando and Milwaukee. He has a 7.5 average over six seasons.

Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue are reunited, and it feels so ... blech. The Magic's panic button teleported Lue from Milwaukee in exchange for doghoused Keith Bogans.

Florida Today's John Denton (linked above) intimates that the trade all but cinches that Jameer Nelson will (indeed) have season-ending surgery to repair his torn labrum; there had been (and possibly still is) a thimble of chance that Nelson would try to rehab and get back for playoffs, a la Dwyane Wade 2007.

Most tallied a downgrade as the Magic lost Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling over the summer while picking up Anthony Johnson and Mickael Pietrus. Pietrus, for one, has done well to buoy Orlando's stature. Johnson? Eh. But now the injuries (which avoided Orlando all of 2007-08) come, and things are dicey in the Magic backcourt.

Kyle Hightower of the Orlando Sentinel reports that Pietrus will miss three to five weeks with a torn ligament in his thumb. Keith Bogans broke his thumb last week and hasn't played since. Jameer Nelson has a hip flexor injury, and will be out at least another week. Hedo Turkoglu is your backup point guard (!) and none other than J.J. Redick will start at the two against the Pacers.

Injuries to starters always hurt the team, but this is most fortuitous of circumstances: if Johnson goes down at this point, then rookie combo guard Courtney Lee is getting the start, which isn't good. I don't need to tell you how important Rashard Lewis, Hedo and Dwight Howard are. And hey, you could do worse than Redick off the bench. If there's been one thread through J.J.'s nascent NBA career, it's been a lack of opportunity. Injuries beget opportunities, and Redick probably won't get a better one than he'll see beginning tonight.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Magic-Pistons game tonight.

1. Superman Vs. The Automatons: Chris Webber said on Inside the NBA after the Magic eliminated the Raptors that the Pistons would not choose to double Dwight Howard. That's a matter of some debate in the Pistons camp, and it looks like they have decided to bring the double. The thinking here is pretty clear. We shut down Dwight Howard, and this team is without competent weaponry. Howard has to be on his game for every single game in this series. He needs to take advantage when he gets a step, an opening, or a mismatch. He needs to control the boards at both ends of the floor. But most importantly, he needs to make the pass to the open shooter on the perimeter. From there the question gets a little more dicey for the Magic ...

2. .Better Be Good: If the Magic perimeter shooters aren't on target in this series, it could get out of hand very fast. They are going to get open shots. The Pistons are willing to accept shots from Jameer Nelson, from Maurice Evans, from Keith Bogans. As long as it's not Howard dunking on them or Turkoglu slicing to the basket, they'll take their chances with their ability to closeout and put pressure on shooters. Keith Bogans was 12 of 14 against the Pistons this season, and he has to keep up that kind of accuracy to force the Pistons out of the double-team.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Magic-Raptors Game 4 tonight.

1. As Go The Backcourts: So goes this series. In Games 1 and 2, Jameer Nelson, Keyon Dooling, and Maurice Evans were lights out, leading a three point barrage on the Raptors. In Game 3, the Raptors responded to the home cooking, and T.J. Ford scored 21, while Jose Calderon had 18 points. Calderon is also averaging 8.3 assists per game. Coach Stan Van Gundy is particularly worried about Calderon, stating after Game 3 that Calderon was playing the pick and roll as anyone in the league "this side of Steve Nash." If the Magic are going to retake momentum and deliver a deathblow to the Raps, Keyon Dooling is going to need to knock down three pointers and Jameer Nelson needs to have his back spasms better stay away. Or it could be another long day for the Magic in Toronto.

2. Howard Gets His: The tactics by Sam Mitchell suggest that the Raptors plan is to let Dwight Howard get his, and try and contain his teammates' ability to get Howard involved. Howard had a down night in Game 3, scoring "only" 19 points with 12 rebounds while picking up 5 fouls. The odds are not likely that they'll be able to keep Howard down again, but if they can keep Hedo Tukoglu and Rashard Lewis under 20 points and 5 assists each, it will allow them to more effectively bring the double team.

It turns out the desire to win a championship wasn't the only reason Grant Hill wanted to leave Orlando. Hill, a natural small forward, started at shooting guard out of necessity for the Magic last year. After the team committed big bucks to acquire stud small forward Rashard Lewis this summer, it was clear that Hill would again be asked to play out of position.

"They got a good, young stud in Rashard and he's exactly what that team needs," said Hill ... "I told them, I'm not a (shooting guard). I did it last year, but that's just not who I am. But there's no bitterness whatsoever."

Unfortunately, an out-of-position Hill was still better than any of the in-position options currently on Orlando's roster. So who's left? Re-tread journeymen Keyon Dooling and Keith Bogans are options, as is J.J. Redick, last year's first-round draft pick who played in just 42 games. Signing another free agent is technically still an option, but after Lewis' contract hits the books, the best the Magic can offer anyone is the veteran's minimum of about $1.2 million -- and you'd be lucky to find rotation filler for that amount, let alone a legitimate starter.