HoopsHype.com Rumors

Tony Ronzone, the former assistant GM in Detroit and Minnesota, also is a free agent and sources say he'd be amenable to joining a revamped Magic front office with Bower in the lead role. Thus far, Martins has not reached out to any potential candidates as he settles into his new role, but sources believe the direction of the team -- and Howard's fickle approach when it comes to staying or leaving -- could prime the pump for sweeping changes. CBSSports.com

Orlando Magic, Trade, Jeff Bower, Otis Smith, Alex Martins, Tony Ronzone, Bob Vander Weide 

Alex Kennedy: Dwight Howard was encouraged after meeting with Magic CEO Alex Martins. Martins wants to change culture in ORL and give Howard more input. Twitter

Orlando Magic, Dwight Howard, Alex Martins 

Brian Windhorst: Magic CEO Alex Martins met with Dwight Howard this morning. Said team remains optimistic they will be able to convince Howard to re-sign. Twitter

Orlando Magic, Dwight Howard, Alex Martins 

While the agent for Orlando center Dwight Howard was given permission to talk with the Lakers, Nets and Mavericks about a possible trade on Friday, Magic CEO Alex Martins told SI.com that the team was still considering filing tampering charges regarding an alleged meeting with New Jersey officials. With indications growing that Howard would ask for a trade to the Nets this week, sources told SI.com on Friday morning that the Magic were investigating the alleged meeting between New Jersey owner Mikhail Prokhorov and Orlando's franchise player on Thursday in Miami. NBA.com first reported that the Magic were considering tampering charges against two unnamed teams, and ESPN.com later reported that Nets general manager Billy King and business associates were also at the alleged meeting. Because teams are not authorized to speak with another team's players without permission, any such meeting would be considered tampering and the Nets could be subject to fines and the loss of draft picks. SI.com

Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, Trade, Dwight Howard, Mikhail Prokhorov, Billy King, Alex Martins 

Martins, reached via phone late Friday night, said the alleged meeting was still being investigated and reiterated that the matter would be taken seriously. "They did not have permission to talk to him," Martins told SI.com. "We're continuing to gather the information based on the stories, and we'll evaluate whether we're going to take any action once we have all of our information." SI.com

Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, Trade, Dwight Howard, Mikhail Prokhorov, Billy King, Alex Martins 

Fegan said he met with King this week to discuss a deal for Nene, another client. “Tampering is a non-issue,” Fegan told Yahoo! Sports by phone Friday night. Yahoo! Sports

Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, Trade, Dwight Howard, Dan Fegan, Mikhail Prokhorov, Billy King, Alex Martins 

Sam Gardner: Alex Martins: "The only thing that'll change (in Orlando), someday soon, is that we'll be holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy above our heads." Twitter

Orlando Magic, Alex Martins 

The question is can he and Smith influence Dwight to stay and keep the arena full? "We're going to give Dwight every opportunity, every asset and every reason to be here for the rest of his career," Martins says adamantly. "… But in the end, it's his decision." Martins knows the stakes. He was with the Magic on the day Shaquille O'Neal was drafted — and on the day Shaquille O'Neal departed. He assures Magic fans that Dwight will not be a Shaq sequel. This time, the Magic will trade their franchise player if they have to. "Shaq's departure was not something that was a highlight for this community or this organization," Martins said, "and we certainly don't want to see that happen again. But I would commit to you that it will not happen again. Our goal is to make sure Dwight is here for the rest of his career, but, regardless, we won't have another situation that is the same as when Shaq left." Orlando Sentinel

Orlando Magic, Dwight Howard, Alex Martins 

Mike Monroe: Congrats to new Magic CEO Alex Martins; some of us recall when he was very young media relations guy (and ace horse handicapper) Twitter

Orlando Magic, Alex Martins 

Alex Martins has been promoted from team president to CEO. Orlando Sentinel

Orlando Magic, Alex Martins, Bob Vander Weide 

Martins said Vander Weide's decision to step down has nothing to do with Howard, who can become a free agent after the 2011-12 season. Martins said Vander Weide had been planning to step down for months but wanted to wait until the NBA's labor dispute was resolved. Orlando Sentinel

Orlando Magic, Alex Martins, Bob Vander Weide 

Pat Williams: Alex Martins named 3rd most powerful person in ORL. In Orlando Mag July issue Martins cracks top 5 as highest-ranked private citizen listed. Twitter

Orlando Magic, Alex Martins 

Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos was wheeled into the entrance to the team locker room Tuesday night. The wheelchair stopped short and DeVos managed to get up, with the help of a cane and some friends, including Magic President Alex Martins. DeVos then walked in to give his boys a quick pep talk. "That's an example of what you can do the rest of the way," DeVos told them. "Hang tough." Orlando Sentinel

Orlando Magic, Alex Martins, Rich DeVos 

We bring our story to a conclusion with a look at what the Amway Center in Orlando has done to achieve Gold LEED certification for their new facility. For more information on the LEED certification process, link here! For the Magic, the decision to earn LEED certification was made at a very early stage. "We actually decided that we wanted to achieve LEED certification before we even put the first shovel in the ground on the building," Orlando Magic President Alex Martins tells HOOPSWORLD. "Our goal was to achieve baseline LEED certification, but as we went through the process and as we continued to explore the opportunities through the certification, it became clear that we had the opportunity to strive for Silver and potentially even Gold LEED certification. Fortunately, through the work of our architects and construction team we're able to achieve that Gold certification." HoopsWorld

Orlando Magic, David Stern, Alex Martins, Owners 

Orlando Magic president Alex Martins: We've had great players in our franchise, like Shaquille O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Nick Anderson, Penny Hardaway, but I have no doubt when I say Dwight Howard is the most important player in the Orlando Magic history. Dwight is the best among a lot of great players we've had. Solobasket

Orlando Magic, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwight Howard, Tracy McGrady, Penny Hardaway, Alex Martins 

Fran Vazquez, currently playing with Regal FC Barcelona, was drafted by the Orlando Magic in the 2005 Draft (11th). Will he ever play in your franchise? Alex Martins: We think so. Otis Smith has followed him and has frequently talked with Fran. I think he could be really close to coming to the NBA. His contract with Regal FC Barcelona ends this season and we hope he can make a decision, to know if he is ready to move to Florida. We keep his rights and if he's available, we want to see him in our roster next season. Solobasket

Orlando Magic, Fran Vazquez, Otis Smith, FC Barcelona, Alex Martins 

How to build an NBA arena. This comes from Magic president Alex Martins, who presided over the design and construction of the new 18,500-seat Amway Center in downtown Orlando. "It starts far ahead of putting the shovel in the ground. The research and design started 10 years ago. We visited and studied just about every arena facility in North America, and some outside North America. We wanted to structurally determine what kind of sight lines and seating bowl we were most interested in from a fan perspective, primarily for basketball, although our charge was to create a building that was flexible enough to host any event. We also wanted to find the best elements that were out there in terms of fan amenities. We wanted to know what to do and what not to do, what worked and what didn't work. SI.com

Orlando Magic, Alex Martins 

The Orlando Magic will put their title hopes into the hands of coach Stan Van Gundy and General Manager Otis Smith for a while longer. The Magic will announce Wednesday that Van Gundy and Smith have had their contracts extended through the 2012-13 season. The extensions were first reported on OrlandoSentinel.com. While technically the general manager, Smith has a new title: president of basketball operations. The club also has promoted Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins to team president and his contract runs through 2012-13. Orlando Sentinel

UPDATE: Official release, Alex Martins promoted to Team President, Otis Smith promoted to President of Basketball Operations. All contracts run through 2012-2013. UPDATE 2: Stan Van Gundy did not make the presser, but Bob Vander Weide was present and provided some insight on his leadership team. More to come. Orlando Sentinel

Orlando Magic Chief Executive Officer/Vice Chair Bob Vander Weide has announced that Alex Martins has been promoted to Team President and Otis Smith has been promoted to President of Basketball Operations. In addition, Head Coach Stan Van Gundy has agreed to a multi-year contract extension. All contracts run through the 2012-13 season. Per team policy, other terms of the deals are not disclosed. “Alex, Otis and Stan have brought great energy, dedication, leadership and vision to our organization,” said Vander Weide. “As a team, both from a basketball and business standpoint, they have us moving in a very positive direction and toward our ultimate goal of winning an NBA Championship.” NBA.com