Orlando Magic general manager John Gabriel and head coach Doc Rivers sat on opposite sides of free-agent signee Juwan Howard on Wednesday trying their best to balance contrasting emotions.

It was indeed a tenuous juggling act -- smiling while also biting the tongue, displaying the happiness that Howard was finally on board, while simultaneously coping with the lingering bitterness over what might have been.

The Magic made it official with Howard on Wednesday, signing the 6-foot-9, 260-pound power forward to a six-year deal worth $38 million. But because the NBA denied the franchise a $4.9 million medical salary exception to soften the blow of losing Grant Hill yet again, Orlando's hopes of also landing talented center Michael Olowokandi were dashed.

Olowokandi eventually signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. The former No. 1 pick of the 1998 draft agreed to a three-year, $16.2 million deal, well below the salary he was thought to have commanded when free agency opened on July 1.

Pairing the 7-foot, 270-pound Olowokandi with Howard and promising forward Drew Gooden would have given the Magic arguably the best frontline in the Eastern Conference. But those dreams died late Tuesday night when the NBA handed down its ruling on the medical exception, a decision the team will likely fight in the coming weeks.

"You knew some guys might fall, like Olowokandi did," a clearly frustrated Rivers said. "That's where you can make the case where not getting the exception really hurt us. We get that exception and you're talking about Juwan and Olowokandi. I think we could have made one hell of a sell to (Olowokandi). But knowing that we didn't have the exception, we were screwed out of getting him."