They all quietly think the same thing.

If we can just get out of the first round.

Most members of the Orlando Magic have shared the same playoff pain the past two seasons. Those scars unite them like the brands of frat brothers.

After years of roster instability and restructuring, the Magic are building a core, a group of players fans can bank on being here from year to year, players who are building identity and team pride and establishing a history together.

When the Magic begin training camp Tuesday in Jacksonville, the players can look at each other and say, "Hey, you ready to do this?" instead of the formal "Hello, my name is . . ." introduction.

Nine players return from last season's team. Six of these players are entering their third season together.

Disregard it and take it for granted all you want, but for a franchise whose players have been so nomadic recently, this is significant.

Continuity is a staple in all championship-caliber teams. Every great team has a group of players who get together, experience heartache, learn, grow and then excel.

Of the Magic's nine returning players, five make up a core of proven players the Magic would like to keep on a long-term basis: guard Darrell Armstrong, forward Pat Garrity, forward Grant Hill, guard Tracy McGrady and forward Mike Miller. Forward/center Horace Grant is also part of the core group even though the Magic had to talk him out of retirement to play one final season. Post players Andrew DeClercq and Steven Hunter and guard Jeryl Sasser are the returnees who still need to prove their worth.

The four new additions -- rookie forward Ryan Humphrey, forward/center Shawn Kemp, forward/center Olumide Oyedeji and point guard Jacque Vaughn -- also have a chance to establish themselves.

"There's a lot to be said for the pride you take in an organization when you play for a franchise for a while," Garrity said. "When you have that continuity, it also gives the players security. A guy doesn't have to worry about just himself and how he's going to stick with this team. Now, hopefully, we're all thinking about wins and restoring prestige to this organization."

No longer does the door revolve with such freedom in Orlando. The Magic are finally focused on keeping players around while adding better parts around them instead of replacing and reshuffling and trying to create salary cap space for major free agents.

They still have some building to do -- such as finding long-term frontcourt help -- but they are finally moving in some direction.

"We know we can make the playoffs," Armstrong said, while explaining what this current group has already been through. "There's no doubt about it. We know we can win on the road now in the playoffs. Now, the next step is finishing the first round. It's going to be funny because once we finish the first round, I think we're really going to take off. Sometimes teams have trouble with getting certain things off their backs. Ours is getting out of that first round. I guarantee you, once we get out of that first round, watch how we just take off."

It has been quite a task getting to this point. In the summer of 1999, the Magic cut ties with an old era. They traded Nick Anderson and Penny Hardaway, two lingering members of the 1995 team that went to the NBA Finals, within two days of each other. Fifty-five transactions involving 51 players later, they had created enough salary cap room to invest $186 million during the summer of 2000 in star free agents McGrady and Hill.

But the Magic missed out on San Antonio power forward Tim Duncan that summer. They also lost their own big man, Ben Wallace, in free agency. Hill could have masked some of these problems, but he has played only 18 games the past two seasons because of a troublesome left ankle.

Though the Magic added significant star power and improved the overall roster that summer, they didn't find the balance of having a great post player. The Magic are not done building until this problem is solved.

And unless they get lucky in the draft, the solution will be expensive. For the past two years, that dilemma has hovered over the organization.

The Magic had a plan to create enough salary cap flexibility to be a major player in next summer's free-agent class, which will be a banner one that could feature many desirable big man, including Duncan and Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal.

But the current state of the salary cap (it is decreasing instead of increasing) will likely hinder those plans.

"The days of significant cap room for us or any other team are short," General Manager John Gabriel said.

The Magic are now more focused on keeping the good players on this team together and adding pieces that fit into their developing chemistry.

This is the way Coach Doc Rivers likes it. He wants to build a team instead of building hope for the future.

If the Magic had developed a reputation of not wanting to retain valuable role players over the past few seasons, they started to change that perception this summer by signing Garrity to a five-year, $15 million contract that will eat into the summer 2003 cap space. It's a move that angered some fans who want to keep the Duncan dream alive, but it had significance in terms of stabilizing the franchise.

"For the first time, we have a team that has been together, minus Grant [Hill], who has been hurt," Rivers said. "That's going to help us a lot. You can't really quantify what that's worth, but it's very important.

"People look at us and talk about what we didn't do this off-season. They look at us as a team with no big man per se, but we're putting something together. A lot of teams might look better on paper because of the moves they've made, but paper doesn't play the game."

Tom Enlund of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the Bucks have added some veteran depth to their roster. The team announced that they signed free agents Cedric Henderson and Laron Profit on Wednesday. As per club policy, terms of the contracts were not announced.

Henderson is a 5-year NBA vet who has a reputation for playing tough defence and played 12 games for the Warriors last season. Over his career he has averages of 7.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 260 games.

Profit played in Italy last season after being cut by the Magic in training camp. He played two seasons for Washington, averaging 3.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

The Orlando Magic have signed free agent forward-center Obinna Ekezie, General Manager John Gabriel announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Ekezie (6?9?, 270, 8/22/75) played in 29 regular season games with the Los Angeles Clippers last season, averaging 1.9 ppg. and 1.2 rpg. in 5.2 minpg. He scored a season-high 11 points on Feb. 26 @ Houston.

Originally selected in the second round (37th overall) of the 1999 NBA Draft by Vancouver (now Memphis), Ekezie has appeared in 101 career games with Vancouver, Washington, Dallas and the Clippers, averaging 2.8 ppg. and 2.0 rpg. in 7.8 minpg. He played college basketball at the University of Maryland, where he averaged 9.9 ppg. and 5.7 rpg. in 118 career outings.

The Magic will hold training camp at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville from October 1-6.

Orlando's roster now stands at 19.

The Orlando Magic signed two free agents Monday in guards Omar Cook and Corey Benjamin, General Manager John Gabriel announced.

Cook (6'1", 190) played in 35 games last season with Fayetteville of the National Basketball Development League, averaging 12.2 points, 7.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.51 steals a game. He led the NBDL in assists, ranked seventh in steals and ninth in three-point field goal percentage (41-107, .383).

Cook was named to the 2001-02 All-NBDL Second Team. He also set a league record for most assists in a game, dishing out 19 on Feb. 8 vs. North Charleston.

The Magic originally selected Cook in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft. The team traded Cook?s rights to Denver for a future first-round draft pick.

Benjamin (6'6", 205) spent the 2001-02 season in Italy with S.S. Sutor Montegranaro and in the ABA with the Southern California Surf. He was originally selected in the first round (28th overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft by Chicago.

Benjamin has appeared in 144 NBA regular season games during his career, all with the Bulls, averaging 5.5 points and 1.6 rebounds a game.

As much of an optimist as Doc Rivers can be, even the coach of the Orlando Magic admits that Shawn Kemp will never again average 19 points and 11 rebounds like he did in taking the Seattle SuperSonics to the NBA Finals.

"Shawn Kemp is not ever going to be the Shawn Kemp he was five years ago," Rivers said.

But despite Kemp's weight being "in the 310 area," according to Rivers' estimate, heading into training camp, the Magic hope the six-time all-star can be the sort of offensive threat they haven't had at center on a consistent basis since Rony Seikaly.

The Magic were interested in signing Kemp even before Steven Hunter, their top pick in the 2001 draft, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee last month at a camp in Bradenton.

"He (Kemp) can shoot the hell out of the ball," Rivers said. "He's a phenomenal passer, which is something I've been looking for in a big (man) for three years."

But questions about Kemp's stamina could make him little more than a younger and heavier version of Patrick Ewing, who retired Tuesday after contributing little to the Magic last season. Kemp played an average of only 16.4 minutes in 75 games with Portland a year ago.

"Even if we get him in shape, I still don't know how many minutes he can play at the shape that he's in," Rivers said. "I just know that he can still play basketball. He's pretty functional when he's on the floor. We'll see."

DEEPLY DEVOTED

Mike Miller continues to be an icon within more than the immediate radius of his hometown of Mitchell, S.D.

The night before he attended the wedding of Pat Garrity in North Dakota, Miller rented a high-school gym for the sole purpose of practicing his shooting. Rivers said that local newspaper accounts the following day estimated 500 people showed up in the stands to watch Miller, whose deep bone bruise and sprained left ankle that incapacitated him in March and April seem to have healed.

From what little Rivers has seen of the intrasquad five-on-five games at the RDV Sportsplex this month, Miller has been playing the best of anyone. Although Miller has connected on almost 40 percent of his 3-point attempts in two years with the Magic, Rivers has had a hard time getting him to shoot more often.

"I'm still trying to get Mike to seek out shots," he said. "I've always thought of him as a reluctant shooter. If I had his jump shot, you'd have to put handcuffs on me."

CAMP CUSHY?

When training camp opens Oct. 1 at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, there will be at least one noticeable change. Rivers claims he will not subject his players to the grueling series of sprints that he has ordinarily made them run the first day of practice.

The Magic plan to practice twice a day for the first four days before holding a free public scrimmage Oct. 5 at the UNF Arena at 6:30 p.m.

The oft-troubled and oft-traveled Shawn Kemp was a member of the Orlando Magic less than 24 hours when the questions starting flying fast and furious.

No subject, seemingly, was off limits. And, much to his credit, Kemp calmly answered all the queries -- ranging from his weight issues to his past drug problems, his willingness to play a lesser role with the Magic to his rapidly dwindling athleticism.

Then, Kemp cocked his head back, flashed a crooked smile and stated the obvious.

"I'm sure," he said, shaking his head now, "this is a risk for the Magic. But it's a risk for me too, career-wise."

Or more correctly, what's left of Kemp's once-promising basketball career. There was a time when the sky seemed to be the limit for the freakishly talented 6-foot-10 power forward affectionately nicknamed "The Reign Man." But in the end, maybe that just made his fall even harder and more precipitous.

Now 310 pounds, a two-time offender of the NBA's anti-drug policy and coming off embarrassingly low scoring and rebounding averages, Kemp's arrival in Orlando earlier this month seemed more like an end rather than a new beginning.

But here's the true kicker: The Magic, dangerously thin along the frontline after ridding themselves of an aging Patrick Ewing and an undersized Don Reid, needed Kemp just as much as he needed them. Some might say this was more a mismatch than some sort of match made in heaven.

"The way I see it, this is a situation that's going to benefit both of us," Kemp said of his new team. "Other teams offered deals, but this was the most intriguing. Talking to them, they know who I am now. They've done their homework and talked to certain people out there. The question in their minds was, 'Does he still want to play?' That answer is yes."

The Magic are hardly the first team to take a chance on a player with a questionable background, hoping that the demons of the past will stay there. Predictably, some have worked out, while others have failed miserably.

At this time last summer, the Phoenix Suns were more than happy to unload All-Star Jason Kidd after his ugly arrest for spousal abuse. They traded him to New Jersey, figuring that Stephon Marbury was a younger, more explosive guard with less baggage.

A season later, Kidd was a model citizen while reviving the Nets and getting them in the NBA Finals. Marbury, meanwhile, feuded most of the season with Penny Hardaway, was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol and flopped on the floor as a playmaker.

Some teams, such as the Portland Trailblazers, Miami Heat and Seattle Supersonics, are still paying for their mistakes in judgments. Portland traded for Scottie Pippen in 1999, feeling the six-time champion was the final piece that would get the Blazers to the NBA Finals. That never happened, and Pippen -- clearly on the downside of his career -- is set to make approximately $20 million this coming season.

Pat Riley took a similar gamble in Miami, luring guard Eddie Jones and power forward Brian Grant to South Florida with matching seven-year, $92.88 million contracts. As it turns out, both are fringe stars at best and have failed to produce superstar numbers since joining the Heat. Despite having three players making more than $10 million last season, Miami missed the postseason for the first time in Riley's 20-year NBA career.

The silver lining in the Magic's signing of Kemp is there was little financial risk involved. Kemp, who forfeited $15 million of the $46.5 million owed to him by the Blazers to become a free agent, signed a one-year, $1.03 million deal with the Magic. That's the minimum for a player with at least 10 years service in the NBA. And, under the league's collective bargaining agreement, half of Kemp's salary is paid by the NBA.

"If he can get his weight down and beat his addiction then we have us a really big guy who can give us something down low," Magic coach Doc Rivers said. "If he can't get past his problems, then he needs to get some help and we really haven't lost anything."Gambles pay off

Some gambles, of course, do pay off for teams willing to risk the most.

Mark Cuban's free-spending ways often get the most attention in Dallas, but it's Donnie Nelson who might be most responsible for the resurgence of the Mavericks. Thanks to Nelson's pleading, June 24, 1998 may go down as one of the most important days in franchise history.

Nelson, then an assistant coach under his father, head coach Don Nelson, convinced the team to pull off a draft-day deal for German power forward Dirk Nowitzki and trade for point guard Steve Nash.

But the moves certainly didn't come without a few tense moments. Don Nelson won just 16 games his first season in Dallas (1997-98) and came under fire that summer when the Mavs traded away massive power forward Robert Traylor for Nowitzki, the little-known German star. Four days after the trade, the younger Nelson stepped up to defend his father and asked for patience from the fans.

"When people see (Nowitzki) play, they'll understand," Nelson predicted at the time. "People just aren't educated about this guy. To Mavericks fans, he's just a name. When people see him play it'll all make sense."

Later the next season, fans were wondering about Nelson's senses when Nash was floundering as the Mavericks' point guard. Playing with a bad back, Nash struggled with his shot and failed to live up the comparisons to Kidd -- whom the Mavs had traded away two years earlier. As infuriating as the calls for his father's job were, the boos and jabs directed at Nash, who is now one of the game's finest playmakers, were just as frustrating.

"I never heard anything so asinine," Nelson said. "Steve's never been a player driven by money. Money-driven people get lazy, but that's never been Steve. I knew it was just a matter of time before things worked out."Making Magic

Orlando's luck with gambles has been hit and miss. Without a doubt the biggest came in 1993 when the Magic traded away top pick Chris Webber for the aforementioned Hardaway. While Hardaway's stint in Orlando ended mostly in bitterness -- for both the Magic and Hardaway -- it's still hard to argue that Orlando didn't get the better end of that deal.

Hardaway was a two-time first-team All-NBA player during his prime and helped the Magic reach the 1995 NBA Finals. Webber, meanwhile, has helped build the Sacramento Kings into a powerhouse and has become a perennial all-star, but he has yet to reach a NBA Finals.

Filling the center position since Shaquille O'Neal bolted for the Los Angeles Lakers has been a source of constant headaches for the Magic. The Magic thought they had filled their void in the middle in 1998, signing Ike Austin to a free-agent deal. But Austin's weight problems of the past resurfaced in Orlando and he was traded away a season later.

Orlando gambled last July that Ewing had something left in the tank. But the 17-year veteran strained a hamstring just prior to training camp, hurt his calf and Achilles' tendon midway through the season and was hardly a factor. Before retiring, the Magic bought out Ewing's contract to avoid another embarrassing season in Orlando.

"When you have players who are starting over, there are different ways to look at it. There's a chance for both opportunity and risk," Magic general manager John Gabriel said. "In the case of Shawn (Kemp), this is a good addition for us. It's up to the player to make it work. It's up to Shawn now to get to work, fit in with our team and get himself oriented very quickly."

Mike Miller tugged at his shirt, still soaked from a morning workout, and showed off his new tattoo.

"That's his name right there -- Mason Ace," he said. "That's my little buddy. Mason Ace Miller."

Miller rubbed across the new ink on his chest. It is a card, an ace, with "Truly Blessed" written over the top of it.

Mason is six weeks from being born. Miller is already making plans. Mason is expected to enter this world on Nov. 4 if everything goes as planned. By then, the child might be prepping himself for a 10-day NBA contract. Soon thereafter, Mason should be a two-sport star because his mother and Miller's fiancee, Jennifer Keene, is a former University of Florida volleyball player.

"My girl is more of an athlete than I am, so hopefully he'll get her genes," Miller says.

Whether Mason is a small forward or an outside hitter doesn't really matter. Miller and Keene have a bigger game plan -- to teach Mason right from wrong; to teach him the value of hard work; to teach him honesty and fairness and respect.

All that grown-up stuff.

Mike Miller is a man now. He is about to become a father. The leniency of adolescence has left him and will now be transferred to his son. Miller now takes on a higher responsibility, one even greater than showing that a skinny kid from South Dakota can make it to the NBA, even greater than trying to help the Orlando Magic rebuild and return to the NBA Finals.

"You always fear that you're not going to be a good dad and you're not going to teach him the right things," Miller says. "That's part of it. There are fears in basketball, too. You got to overcome those fears.

"You've got to understand that you've got more responsibility now. You are the father to something. I'm the father to my son. Everything I do off the court and on the court represents him. I think it's going to help me a lot. It'll be a stepping stone. I won't put so much pressure on myself on the court. I know I'll come home, and he'll still be happy with me."

Listen to Miller now. Hear the maturity. Hear the confidence, real confidence, not the trying-to-prove-I-belong variety. Hear the reality that now entrenches him.

Live the summer that Miller has lived. That's how to get this perspective. He has learned so much this summer. A three-month journey has taken him so far. From South Dakota to Shanghai, China, he has experienced and learned. From fledgling young basketball star to expectant father about to enter this third professional basketball season, he has grown and learned.

Miller opens his eyes now and everything makes sense. He no longer appears to be the promising young prospect who left Florida two years early and often looks trapped within his own ability. He no longer appears indecisive and struggling between who he thinks he is and who he should be on the court. And, most important, the grimace painted on his face during last season's playoffs is gone. He is healthy now. His left ankle has mended.

Miller is ready to show that he can be a consistent, dominant player in the NBA.

"I'm starting to figure it out," he says. "Coming in, I put a lot of pressure on making all of my shots and things like that. And now I'm starting to understand all the parts of this game. I'm not going to make every shot, even though I want to. Now, I've learned to get someone else a shot, or getting rebounds and doing other things like that is more important. This year, I think you're going to see that out of me. I'm going to create a lot more for teammates. I'm going to rebound a lot more. I'm going to score a lot more.

"I'm just excited because I'm starting to understand the whole aspect of the game. It's a learning process. It's taken me two years. And it will take me until I'm done before I really understand it. This year, I think the game seems like it's in slow motion. When I'm out here playing, it's like it's moving in slow-mo for me."

Painful start

Summer diary entry No. 1: RDV Sportsplex, May 1. The limp is so noticeable. And now there is a gash across his eyebrow to go with it. Mike is packing up for the summer, leaving with Udonis Haslem, his former teammate at the University of Florida. The Charlotte Hornets had finished off the Magic in four games a day earlier, literally beating up the Magic with their physical style. Miller, who was averaging 16.3 points and 4.7 rebounds before the left ankle sprain caused him to miss 14 of the final 20 regular-season games, scored 4.8 points per game in the Hornets series. He vows to get healthy and return to form next season. Whether it will be in a Magic uniform is the question.

Miller should get his name legally changed to "Michael Lloyd Miller Is He Going To Be Traded?"

Whenever there are trade rumors involving the Magic, Miller is sure to be included. Some of it is media speculation. Some of it is true. Some of it is an idea that another general manager or agent breathlessly floats at Magic GM John Gabriel and goes nowhere.

Nevertheless, Miller was sitting at home on June 26, draft night, wondering whether the Magic were trading him to Washington for the No. 11 pick and Jahidi White for the chance to keep Cypress Creek high schooler Amare Stoudemire in town. "He was really nervous around the draft," teammate and friend Tracy McGrady said.

Stoudemire wound up going No. 9 to Phoenix. There goes that one.

Then, Miller is about to go to Chicago for Marcus Fizer or Jamal Crawford or both. Or he's going to Atlanta, or Golden State or somewhere, anywhere. Pick a city.

Tom and Sheryl Miller, his mother and father, would always be asked where Mike would be playing next season by friends and other residents in their hometown of Mitchell, S.D., a town of 13,798.

For the second straight summer, Mike Miller listened and worried. Then, he grew up. He stopped listening and focused on improving his game. The trade talk has since silenced.

The Magic believe in Miller's talent. They say he has never been on the trading block. Then again, McGrady is the only player the Magic wouldn't trade, and Grant Hill will not be traded because he is injured.

But Miller is still here. The Magic want to build a core that Miller is very much a part of. If he improves, plays better defense and fits comfortably alongside McGrady and Hill, Miller could become the unstoppable third option that the Magic would be foolish to trade.

"I'm excited," he said. "You look at this team and look at what it's capable of doing. I think we have a chance to win a lot of games. And I want to be a part of that. I want to be a part of the team that goes to the Eastern Conference Finals and goes to the Finals. I know I want to be a part of those teams. But there's always going to be talk. I've gotten to the point where I've understood it. I've grasped it."

Home sweet home

Summer diary entry No. 2: Mitchell, S.D., June 16. He's home, at last. And he can concentrate on basketball, away from Orlando, away from the expectations and the speculation. It's family, a basketball and a gym. The simple life. It has always suited Mike, no matter how much he has changed and experienced. Now, he can rebuild his game. Coach said Miller needed to return in better shape and more confident in his abilities. That's what Miller is charged to do.

Miller dares anyone to outwork him. It's an open challenge. He hasn't found the man yet, and part of him hopes he does so that he can find reason to work even harder.

Magic Coach Doc Rivers has a good Miller story. In July, the night before teammate Pat Garrity's wedding in South Dakota, Miller rented a gym and shot jumpers late into the night. Word spread that Miller was in the gym, and 500 people showed up for his workout.

"He should've charged admission," Rivers said. "He could've gotten back the money he paid to rent the place."

Miller has had three workout sessions a day this summer. Last summer, he gained 15 pounds for strength. This summer, he has lost 10 pounds and reduced his body fat from 13 percent to less than 7 percent. He is leaner, quicker. He looks comfortable in his body.

The reason Miller works so hard goes beyond his will to push his basketball talent as far as it will go. He also fears evaporation of his skills. Wayne Hall, the personal trainer who works with Miller and McGrady, focuses as much on getting Miller to slow down as he does provoking him.

As much as Miller has always seemed motivated by those doubting his small town, near folk-hero existence, he also sometimes puts too much on himself. He is motivated by the possibility of failure, but that has repercussions. To know that failure exists means that fear is possible.

So Miller's confidence has never been as unbreakable as he lets on. He is prone to slumps like all basketball players, and he has a harder time understanding them because perfection is his standard.

Rivers calls Miller "a reluctant shooter," even though he has one of the prettiest jumpers in the NBA. He has yet to become the player who could go zero-of-seven in the first quarter and win the game in the fourth. Then there is another struggle. The Magic coaching staff wants Miller to use his fundamentals and shooting ability and become a more exact, polished player who plays a more sound game. Miller wants to play a more hip game, slashing and dunking and throwing pretty passes.

"I think Mike's next step is really understanding who he is," Rivers said. "It's nice that he can drive. It's nice that he has a post game. But I want him to shoot the ball."

Different world

Summer diary entry No. 3: Shanghai, China, Sept. 1. As crazy as basketball is to Mike sometimes, there are rewards. You get to go to China on adidas' dime, with Golden State forward Antawn Jamison, to make an appearance at the 2002 Asian Street Finals. Street basketball in China? Yes, Chinese basketball knowledge is not limited to Yao Ming. And, yes, the people have forgiven Mike for dunking over their own Wang Zhizhi last season.

Everything is starting to make sense.Jennifer is expected to have her labor induced Nov. 4 so that Miller will be there to see their son born and not miss any games.

Miller can see this summer's work. He gets compliments from Jamison as the two venture around Shanghai, uneasy about drifting too far because of the language barrier in this foreign land and all the other uncertainties. Life isn't the same here. Miller can feel the Communist influence. He has a sense that people are not as free. He sees poverty and overpopulation, and it hits him harder than it would in the States. Thousands of miles away, there are problems. Everywhere, there are problems.

"It was just different," Miller says of Shanghai, located on the coast of the East China Sea. "You see a different way of life. They live so much different than us. It's something good to see, I think. For me, it was one of those things that put in a little bit of a reality check, saying, 'Thank you for what I've got.' "

Miller realizes what he has. He has a woman he loves, a woman he wants to marry next summer. She will give him his first child in November. Mason will never have to worry about money. Miller is a basketball player who is noticeable, who people think and wonder about. He has the talent to become an NBA all-star. He doesn't have to get to that level in one season, or one game, or one shot. There is time. He just has to work and comprehend. Slow down, and watch the game get slower.

Knock off that chip on your shoulder and be free.

"I've had it great as far as the situations I've been in," Miller says. "Now, have I had a lot of doubters? Of course. I think a lot of people have doubters. That's for them to do and for me to prove. Everyone's going to have their opinions. At the end, when you're standing tall, hopefully their opinion changes. But if it doesn't, you know you can look in the mirror and say, 'I've done all I can. I believe in myself.' "

Man, oh, man. Mike Miller just might be ready for fatherhood, after all.

ORLANDO -- Doc Rivers looked on Tuesday as Tracy McGrady worked diligently with a specialist to strengthen his back and also saw a confident and sturdy Grant Hill twice beat a defender off the dribble for dunks.

The question marks dogging the Orlando Magic, at least in Rivers' mind, might not be the ones you'd think of right off the bat.

"The Grant Hill concerns, Tracy's back problems and the point guard situation, to me those aren't questions for this team," said the Orlando Magic coach. "The thing I don't know is who our bigs are(power forward and center) going to be."

That problem, of course, is nothing new to a Magic team that was battered physically most of last season and was knocked out of the playoffs by the bigger and stronger Charlotte Hornets. While luxury tax concerns kept them from pulling off a blockbuster move this offseason, the Magic did make several changes to their frontline.

Gone are Patrick Ewing (contract buyout), Don Reid (traded to Denver) and, at least for six months, Steven Hunter (torn knee ligament). In their place the Magic will head into training camp with Shawn Kemp, Horace Grant, Andrew DeClercq and Olumide Oyedeji.

Orlando talked Grant, 37, out of retirement and back for a 16th NBA season. Kemp, all 310 pounds of him, negotiated a buyout in Portland and hopes now to get beyond his drug and weight troubles and revive his career in Orlando. Oyedeji might be the wild card of the group. Already, some in the Magic organization are comparing him to a young Ben Wallace after his hustling, shot-swatting style of play in the summer earned him a free-agent contract.

"If we can just have a year where Tracy, Grant and Mike Miller are healthy, all we need is one of our bigs to have a good rebounding year or defensive year," Rivers said. "They don't have to be All-Stars, but just solid. If that happens we could have a sensational year."

Orlando's training camp opens Oct. 1 at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. The Magic will play an intrasquad scrimmage that's open to the public Oct. 5 in Jacksonville and open the preseason Oct. 8. The regular season tips off Oct. 29 in Orlando against Philadelphia and star guard Allen Iverson.

To this point, the Magic have been downright giddy over the progress Hill has made since having a third surgery on his troublesome left ankle. Hill, who signed a seven-year, $93 million free-agent deal with the Magic in August 2000, has played just 18 games the past two seasons because of a slow-healing fracture and bone spurs in his ankle.

But Rivers said Tuesday that the Hill he's watched work out the past couple of weeks is beginning to once again resemble the six-time All-Star he was prior to his ankle troubles. Hill has been playing in five-on-five pickup games at the team's headquarters for the past month and has reported no pain or stiffness in his ankle.

Hearing that was one thing. But seeing it this week was a totally different confidence builder for Rivers. He said he is more confident than ever that Hill will make it through this season injury-free.

"I think this is really the first time since he's been here that he's had that explosion and quickness again," Rivers noted. "He's walking with that swagger again. You can see that he really thinks that he's fully healthy again."

While Hill has worked with Miller this summer in an attempt to build chemistry, McGrady has spent much of this offseason trying to strengthen back muscles that slowed him down in the playoffs last season. McGrady is again working with Canadian-based trainer Alex McKechnie, who managed to relieve some of his back pain last season with a variety of stretching exercises.

"You don't ever go from having a bad back to having a good back," said Rivers, whose NBA career was cut short by back problems. "You have a functional back and that's what Tracy has now. At 23, I'm sure it's hard for him to imagine that he has back problems. But he's done a good job this summer of doing the right things and he looks great physically."

One major change this season will be the Magic's emotional leader, Darrell Armstrong, coming off the bench. Jacque Vaughn, signed away from Atlanta as a free agent, will likely start at point guard. At 34, Armstrong can no longer play extended minutes, and like in 1999 -- when he won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player awards -- Orlando is hoping Armstrong can provide life off the bench with his high-energy style of play.

Rivers also said he'd like to use Grant off the bench in an effort to conserve his energy for the fourth quarters of games. That, of course, is dependent on how much Kemp can be counted on.

Kemp did have five double-doubles and two 16-rebound games last season for the Trailblazers. But for the most part he was buried on the bench behind Rasheed Wallace and Dale Davis. And for a second consecutive season, he was suspended by the league for a violation of the anti-drug policy.

Rivers said the goal is to get Kemp down to "between 290 and 300 pounds." The 6-foot-10 power forward has been drilling in Los Angeles with Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, father of Lakers' star Kobe Bryant, and is expected to return to Orlando next week to work out with his new Magic teammates. Rivers said Kemp was impressive during the one workout he watched, but for now he's reserving judgement on the oft-troubled former star.

"The question is what can he be where he's at physically?" Rivers said. "He still shoots the heck out of it and he's a phenomenal passer from the post. And he's a rebounder because of his size. But the key right now is can he get up and down the floor? I'd love to say he's going to be great, but I can't answer that now."

The Associated Press reports: Miles Dabord, wanted by the FBI in connection with the disappearance of his brother and former NBA player Bison Dele, was under arrest but comatose in a San Diego-area hospital Thursday night.
Dabord was checked into the hospital by an unidentified person as a "John Doe," but the Chula Vista police department ran his fingerprints and his identity was discovered. Chula Vista is a small city south of San Diego.

Meanwhile, divers in Tahiti searched waters off the South Pacific island of Moorea as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Dele, police officials said.

But the divers in the Maharepa lagoon, on the island's northern coast, where Dele and his girlfriend, Serena Karlan, spent time before they vanished July 8, failed to find any clues Wednesday, the officials said. Bertrand Saldo, a French skipper sailing with the couple, also is missing.

Dele, who used to be called Brian Williams, was a member of the Chicago Bulls' 1997 NBA championship team.

Citing police records, The Washington Post reported that Dele's mother told police that Dabord is "capable of extremely violent behavior" and has had problems with alcohol and illegal drugs.

According to the Post report, Patricia Phillips, Dele's mother, told investigators for the Phoenix Police Department early this month that she was concerned for Dele and that Dabord's behavior becomes more aggressive when he takes steroids to treat chronic asthma.

Dabord was arrested Thursday by the FBI on a fugitive warrant out of Phoenix but remains hospitalized. According to William Gore of the San Diego FBI office, the federal fugitive charge will be dismissed on Friday and Dabord will remain in custody while he awaits extradition to Phoenix.

Dabord, also known as Kevin Williams, was originally charged by the Phoenix police with fraud after he was allegedly discovered using his brother's identification. Dele was previously know as Brian Williams. The federal warrant is on a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Dabord is also wanted for questioning in the disappearance of his brother and two others.

Prosecutors in Tahiti made the decision to open a murder investigation into the disappearance of former NBA player Bison Dele based on comments from the former girlfriend of Dele's older brother, the Los Angeles Times has reported.

The police official told the newspaper that Erica Weise told the FBI that Dele's older brother, Miles Dabord, informed her in a telephone conversation of a struggle aboard Dele's boat, the Hakuna Matata, that resulted in the deaths of Dele, his girlfriend, Serena Karlan, and the boat's captain, Bertrand Saldo.

Dabord reportedly deflected blame from himself, claiming during the phone call that the fight was started by Dele, the Times reported.

The call was reported to the FBI and the Sonoma County, Calif., Sheriff's Office. Sonoma County deputies confirmed they had received a phone call and forwarded the information to the FBI.

On Tuesday, Tahitian officials upgraded the investigation from a preliminary inquiry to a premeditated murder investigation. A premeditated murder investigation is the most serious level of any homicide charge under French law, the chief prosecutor for the territory of French Polynesia, Michel Marotte, told the Rocky Mountain News.

Dele, Karlan and Saldo have been missing since they left Papeete, Tahiti's capital city, aboard Dele's boat July 4. The boat was later found -- repainted and renamed -- in a private slip on Tahiti. Witnesses have said Dabord was seen docking the empty boat on July 15. He left the island two days later.

Dabord is wanted on two arrest warrants issued in connection with his allegedly posing as his brother to buy more than $150,000 in gold coins in Phoenix. Dabord is still at large and was last spotted in Tijuana, Mexico.

Meanwhile, an international team of five investigators continued their examination of the boat. Investigators wearing masks and dressed in white head-to-toe suits searched the boat for 90 minutes Tuesday.

"No evidence of anything unusual was discovered on their initial survey of the boat," Marotte told the Rocky Mountain News. "But it's still possible that they could find something in their more detailed investigation as they clean up the boat."

A cursory search conducted earlier by French authorities found no blood stains or other signs of foul play, police officials have said.