Otis Smith apparently had everyone fooled. 

The GM of the Orlando Magic had Marcin Gortat fooled. He had Gortat's agent fooled. He had us media members fooled -- which isn't really that hard. 

But most important, he had the Dallas Mavericks fooled. 

Not only did Smith retain Gortat, the backup center coveted by nearly one-third of the league. He also stole young, improving power forward Brandon Bass away from the Mavericks, who made the same assumptions everyone else did about the Magic's finances, even though we had been told otherwise. 

Smith did this with both words and actions that created a fair amount of misdirection. Yeah, he lied a couple of times. But so does everyone at this time of year. He also took a couple of temporary economic stances that made his words seem genuine. 

What we all seemed to conveniently forget that at the conclusion of the NBA Finals, Magic COO Alex Martins -- whose position within the organization is a lot closer to owner Rich DeVos -- said the luxury tax "won't be a hindrance." 

Martins was answering a question about impending free agent Hedo Turkoglu. But when the Magic allowed Turkoglu to hit the open market without so much as a cursory offer for the sake of public relations, it seemed like Martins had been blowing smoke. 

Actually, it was Smith doing that. When Turkoglu suddenly changed his mind and chose Toronto over Portland, Smith maintained that the Magic would not work a sign-and-trade to get something back for Turkoglu. 

Gortat was a restricted free agent, so Smith smartly allowed other teams to set the market. The Mavericks did with a multi-year mid-level exception deal during the moratorium period. But the offer sheet couldn't be signed until July 8, which gave Smith a couple extra days to develop his plan. 

Having made no attempt to re-sign Turkoglu, the belief was Smith would not match the offer on Gortat due to luxury tax concerns. If the Magic weren't going to incur the tax for a borderline All-Star, why would they do so for a guy who could be the next Jim McIlvaine? 

When asked about the offer Gortat received, Smith continued his ploy. 

"He actually did himself good by going out and getting an offer that size because there aren't a lot of centers left," he said during the seven-day window. "They've turned all the centers into power forwards and so the few centers that are out there are getting that kind of offer or something pretty close to it."

Gortat's camp was totally convinced. His agent, Guy Zucker, told PBN that he believed DeVos would not loosen the purse strings for his client. 

Even Gortat, making an appearance at Orlando's Summer League, told media members, "I don't think they're going to match my offer if they don't want to give me a larger role, so it's on Otis. We'll have to see." 

Meanwhile, Smith's misdirection play continued with purported interest in cheaper options Rasheed Wallace and Bass, whom the Mavericks now considered extraneous with the belief that they had Gortat locked up.  

Then Smith partially reversed his stance on Turkoglu, working a sign-and-trade that actually involved the Mavericks and landed a trade exception from the Raptors believed to be worth at least $8 million, plus some loose cash. 

The trade exception is good for a year but cannot be swapped directly for a player. If Smith were to use it, he would have to include an asset, such as a draft pick. 

"You have to put something in it, but it doesn't have to be a player," he said. 

And for the first time, Smith indicated that re-signing Gortat remained an option.  

"That's a good argument. Sure," he said. "It's a possibility. Everything is open. Can't close the door on that." 

While the clock ticked on Gortat, Smith focused on Bass and landed him with a four-year, $18 million contract. This was misread by just about everyone as Smith's final surrender - by Gortat's camp, the media and the Mavericks. 

The next day, Smith stunned everyone by announcing the Magic would match the offer to Gortat, pushing the payroll more than $9 million over the luxury tax threshold with two players yet to add to reach the roster limit. 

What was it Martins said about the luxury tax not being a hindrance? Maybe we should have listened to him. 

Before the Finals began, Martins said 2,700 new full season-ticket holders had signed up during the team's postseason run. Every home playoff game is believed to generate at least $1 million, and Orlando hosted 12, six more than a year ago. And with a new arena opening in 2011, the Magic have the current and future revenue streams in place to address the bump in payroll. 

And Smith may not be done, either. He knows he overpaid to keep his backup center, but he also knows there is plenty of interest in him. Once December 15 arrives, he can trade Gortat to a team desperate for a big man and take back a shorter contract.  

Smith has two roster spots to fill and also has the trade exception that will carry into the early stages of next summer's free agency, which could allow the Magic to become a player in the market via a sign-and-trade.  

Oh, yeah, Smith also has a starting five of three All-Stars, Vince Carter and Bass, with a bench of Gortat, Mikael Pietrus, Anthony Johnson, J.J. Redick and Ryan Anderson. 

Meanwhile, the Mavericks landed neither Gortat nor Bass, leaving them very short on bigs with 15 players already under contract. Money rarely has been an issue to Mark Cuban, and the Mavs have some options in re-signing free agent James Singleton, offering summer league big Ahmad Nivins a contract or take a flier on Ben Wallace. 

But Dallas is scrambling, while Orlando is sitting pretty. 

And after we all get over our initial disappointment at being duped, we should give Smith some credit. 

This was a hell of a Magic act. 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.