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Source: AFP,

ORLANDO, Florida – Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard gained a new supporting cast Saturday (Sunday, in Manila) with hopes 2 major trades will lift the NBA club alongside Miami and Boston as an Eastern Conference title contender.

The Magic, 16-9 but losers in five of their past six games, added Turkish forward Hedo Turkoglu and playmaker Jason Richardson from the Phoenix Suns and controversial long-distance shooter Gilbert Arenas from the Washington Wizards.

"We needed a little bit more punch," Magic president Otis Smith said. "All those guys coming in have an ability to move the ball. After looking at our team through 25 games, we were missing a little something. I thought change was needed."

Orlando traded Rashard Lewis to the Wizards for Arenas, best known for being banished for 50 games last season for bringing guns into the Wizards locker room and faking an injury to avoid playing in a pre-season game last October.

"We have a tendency not to forgive people in this country," Smith said. "We have a tendency to hold onto things a little bit longer, particularly if they play professional sports."

Arenas has struggled with knee injuries and the suspension that have kept him to only 47 games over the past three seasons, but he has averaged 17.3 points and 5.6 assists a game this season.

Arenas scored a season-high 31 against Orlando three weeks ago.

Orlando's major reshaping came by obtaining Richardson, Turkoglu and Earl Clark from the Suns in exchange for US veteran Vince Carter, French guard Mickael Pietrus, Polish center Marcin Gortat and a first-round pick in the 2011 NBS Draft plus three million dollars.

The Magic, trying to entice fans to their new 18,500-seat arena, have fallen from first to fourth in the Eastern Conference, with the Miami Heat, 20-8, and Boston Celtics, 21-4, surging on double-digit winning streaks in December.

Turkoglu has averaged 12.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists a game in 10 NBA seasons and played a key role in helping Orlando make the 2009 NBA Finals but was traded to Toronto last year in a move that proved to be a blunder.

"I don't think it's admitting a mistake," Smith said of reacquiring Turkoglu. "I don't regret breaking up the finals team. I think it was the right decision at the time."

The Wizards gladly ditched Arenas, enabling the team to make this year's top draft choice, John Wall, their focus and escaping their former star's pricey contract.

"We're totally in a rebuild," Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. "We've said that. We were in a situation where we had three of our top players play pretty much the same position in John and Gilbert and Kirk (Hinrich)."

The Suns, 12-13, added height and defensive skill to try to compete with the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers and NBA win leaders San Antonio and Dallas in the Western Conference.

"Carter and Pietrus give us a great defensive presence on the perimeter and they should be extremely dynamic offensively," Suns president Lon Babby said. "And Gortat is really someone that we've had our eye on."

Losing Gortat leaves the Magic without a true backup for big man Howard.

"We think it was worth the gamble," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.