This can’t be true, can it?

Jerry West, perhaps the greatest talent evaluator in NBA history, getting bilked and bamboozled by the Orlando Magic?

Or maybe he just felt he owed one to O-Town as a makeup call for the Great Shaq Robbery. West, of course, was the general manager for the Lakers when they pulled off the grandest NBA heist of all time, convincing Shaquille O’Neal to leave Orlando and head for Hollywood.

Granted, getting Drew Gooden for Shaq is a little like Mexico losing Texas and getting Albuquerque as a consolation prize. But getting Gooden and Gordan Giricek for Mike Miller and Ryan Humphrey qualifies as the steal of the century for the Magic.

The way the Magic’s deals have been going lately, I half-expected GM John Gabriel to call a news conference Wednesday and announce he was trading Tracy McGrady to the Warriors for Nate Thurmond.

Instead, Gabriel announced what may be the shrewdest deal of his tenure. And it’s a good thing. Because on the same day the trade was announced, the worst deal of Gabriel’s tenure deteriorated even more. That’s right, Grant Hill revealed Wednesday that his left ankle is cracked, and he may need surgery for a fourth time.

My question: Who exactly is Hill’s surgeon — Dr. Doolittle, Dr. Seuss or Doc Severinsen?

Maybe that’s why Gabriel made this trade — because he could sense the restlessness of the team’s shrinking fan base. Gabriel has taken some hits in recent weeks, but give him credit. He got the best of West.

He took advantage of West’s love affair with Miller and did something that is traditionally very, very difficult to do: He got a big player for a small one. He got the Magic what they needed most — size and athleticism under the basket.

Former Kansas University forward Gooden was the fourth player picked in last year’s draft — a 6-foot-10, 230-pound rookie who is averaging 12.1 points and nearly six rebounds per game.

Not only that, but the Magic essentially got two potential starters for one. They also picked up Giricek, another promising rookie who was averaging 11.2 points for the Grizzlies.

In return, the Magic gave up Miller and Humphrey, a rookie who hasn’t played in 15 of the past 22 games. The $93 million question, of course, is not how much the Magic franchise will miss Miller, but how much the Magic’s franchise player will miss Miller?

It’s no secret Miller is McGrady’s closest confidante on the team. The two young players became fast friends when they both signed with Orlando three years ago. There is some concern that McGrady will resent Magic management for trading Miller. I don’t think so.

If McGrady wants to win — and he does — then he will realize this is the Magic’s best chance of getting better under dire fiscal circumstances. Not to say Gooden is the second coming of Shaq, but at least he brings something to town that sorely has been missing in recent years: Size, strength . . . and hope.