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Why we have resigned some of them first... there was a time this summer that the renovation of Ross seemed entrenched to the Vuc's one. I like more the role/contract of Ross, but if it was a 2x1, just let go both.. I mean, since they were resigned, we know coach Clifford philosophy and he was clearly going to build around them and give them the majority of shots. I could understand that way of thinking, but it was so evident that it was going to be a bad idea... Look at some of the team that are above us in the east, and are also pretty good to watch. Indiana is still without Dipo, and has made good moves to stay on top. Toronto has lost MVP, but they're exciting and with a great record even with a ton of injuries (actually, a lot more bad luck than us) The Nets are above us even without KD and with other health problems. Miami was as mediocre as us and made a move to change that situation. Boston was going nowhere but they keeped faith in their young guys developing. Should I have to go on? Not all of them have/had better talent then us, but they chosed to improve by trades, signings, have faith in young guys giving them a central role, or just letting go some other players that were not worth the contract/risk. And more of that, a lot of those teams just play hard. Something you're not going to achieve when you've guys like Vuc or Fournier in your roster..

Don't know about under the radar but there are a few role players I'd be good with having: Royce O'Neale - always seems to be in the middle of it with Utah and he hasn't hit big money yet. Good shooter. Monte Morris from Denver could be ok, I like watching Denver Luke Kennard ?? - I dunno what Detroit's deal is but the guy seems to be a good shooter, ok producer and that team just goes nowhere (kinda like us!) Derrick White ?? - not sure why Spurs would part with a young guy though. Landry Shamet could be useful if LAC wanted another vet for their run. Terence Davis from Toronto has nice numbers. And I think we've all been jealous of Washington for what we've seen from the surprise that is Davis Bertans this year...

We're bad. I think deep down I've known this for years but my blue tinted glasses gave me blind optimism. I'd tell myself after every season 'we're not that bad, if only we had x we'd be a really good team' the next season it would be 'if only we had y..' I didn't realize the whole time we needed uvwxy and z.

DJ Ughgustin has to be one of the worst players in the league this year that’s still getting minutes. He’s killing us every night and Clifford is playing him like he’s our 3rd best player

Pretty sure that New Orleans could get more for JJ than Aminu and Melvin Frazier... now, maybe Evan and Augustin for Demar would be somethin SA would bite on if we just did a 2 team deal

I want to be very clear about something. This is mostly about not wanting to give up certain players.In the last 8 years, hardly any of our players have warranted never give up status. Going all the way back to that Tobias trade, the idea was sound. We got a stretch 4 and a point guard, we needed both. We just chose poorly, got unlucky that the point guard was washed up. Ersan just torched us 2 nights ago, he was a good piece. Mostly we have chosen to develop players instead of moving the pieces around. What if we would have kept Tobias and Dipo but decided to trade Evan,Vuc and all those forwards we had.It's not crazy i remember at the time a lot of people on various boards thought they were all mediocre and we should keep shooting our shot until we got someone special.Other teams have done it with Philly being the most obvious, they gave up on MCW,Noel an Okafor right away. No waiting around to see if they "turn the corner". And this is not about tanking, some teams just evaluate and develop better.I just don't understand how we didn't see Elfrid was a bust soon enough. Actually we did see, our team management didn't. I don't see how we didn't get a veteran point guard in the early part of the decade. Other teams scooped up Lowry,Dragic,Thomas,Bledsoe when their original teams were not using them correctly. This isn't hindsight, i remember discussing all of those players years ago.And finally even though this post is about letting go of mediocre players, maybe we aren't using them correctly.This is my problem with Gordon right now. I don't know if he is what he shows or have we used him incorrectly.It seems everybody in the media wants us to trade the poor guy, maybe they see something. TL;DR. Why don't we make trades, develop players better.

I think I've pinpointed why the decision to play Jefferson bothers me so much. It doesn't really have to do with his minutes, because he didn't play much and didn't really "hurt" us per se. It just makes me think that the coaching staff is pressing or panicking. Something with the decision making is off. They realize the team has problems but they're reaching for answers that don't have to do with the original question. This version of the Hawks is the perfect team to go small against. Outside of Len, they have 0 true bigs that can hurt you; Damian Jones and Bruno Fernando aren't going to light you up. They commit the most turnovers in the league. They rank last in opponent points off TOs and 21st in opponent fast break points. They're 28th in defensive rating. This should be a team you pressure defensively and cause to make mistakes, which you then turn into points. Instead, we ran a Jefferson/Bamba lineup twice. There is no explanation as to why the answer to this puzzle was "let's play our slow, non-contributory 4th string center at PF". None! If the (stupid) plan was to go big for some reason... your 3 centers that regularly see minutes are all available! Why reach for Jefferson like he's some secret weapon? The more I think about it the more confused I get. It just doesn't make sense on any level, and I feel it shows that people's heads aren't on straight at the moment.

You can not build a team around role players. You get a star and build around star. It’s been about a decade since we had one.

Just boggles my mind why we have Iwundu, Aminu, Frazier on the same team. Basically the same useless guy And it’s not like our main players can shoot the ball to cover for them

Hilarious

Isaac only touched the ball to grab an offensive rebound and to inbound the ball. F this s

Don’t understand the fixation with the Augustine/Fultz lineup.

My issue is we know the ceilings of DJ, Fournier, Ross and Vooch... And these guys get us the 8th seed. Why are we still building around them? Why are they getting the majority of the shots? What’s our goal?

You are the ultimate glass half full fan and here we are...This game certainly doesn't help my be patient stance I've had for the last couple days. I apologize to you all. Freak out! Demand trades! Do whatever! I was wrong you guys were right!

Bad Fournier is back

At least we have Kevin Durant’s tweet!

We actually have No choice. Need to trade out Vooch, Ross, Evan and DJ and if we have to take bad contacts with draft picks attached just bloody do it. NOW

All I want for 2020 is Isaac getting Augustin’s usage

Time to blow it up...

In the preseason before their first season, the Magic played the Heat at the Ocean Center in Daytona. I took my son to the game, he was five at the time. He was one of the loudest ones there.

Love that you’re here

Cheer up! The Magic will win this one this evening! Well that's if they don't lose I mean.

Vuc for Dinwiddie confirmed

See how you feel when you are 66 :)

Have we applied for a copyright on slow starts?

I've been thinking for a while about why we are so inconsistent on offense right now, and why Clifford takes the ball out of Fultz's hands when DJ is on the floor - and I think I am finally beginning to see it. He is playing for the end of the season, looking to close as we did last year. It all comes down to point guard play and the continuity/familiarity with the guys on the floor. We talked about the fact that we brought so many guys back this year, but we have ignored the major change, which is the point guard position and who is initiating the offense, and playing with whom. DJ spent last year, and training camp playing with the starters, and that meant the majority of his minutes were focused on how to play with Fournier, Gordon, Isaac, and Vucevic. Fultz didn't play last year, or in training camp, and there haven't been a lot of full practices since the season started. He is now starting, and Clifford has him focusing on how to play with the rest of the starters. DJ is now having to learn how to play with the bench players, who all have different strengths/weaknesses than the starters; and who need the ball in different ways/positions. I think Clifford is focusing on getting DJ those reps now, since he didn't get them previously. I don't think it is so much taking the ball away from Fultz, as it is trying to acclimate DJ to his new role, and who he is on the floor with. I think the injuries to MCW and Aminu have thrown his rotations, and that we would see a lot less of Fultz and DJ together if MCW/Aminu were healthy. Not having Aminu means less of Gordon with the bench guys, and not having MCW throws off his PG/wing rotations. Less Gordon/no MCW means the secondary ball handler/offensive initiator is missing from the bench squad. I am beginning to think he is avoiding some short-term, "obvious" moves because he is trying to build for his longer-term roles.

We have everything we need to be a 6 or 7 seed in the East. We are certainly not playing well enough right now for that though. Injuries are really keeping us from putting together a better record. Just because we didn't get the start we hoped for and we are inconsistent right now, it doesn't mean that anyone who feels we're capable of much more are wrong. Our young players are the ones who determine how much we're going to improve and they have improved, but they are not great scorers or shooters who are ready to carry us. If we simply make the playoffs, that is an accomplishment when you look at the past decade. No shame in losing to the Bucks. They do this to everyone. Actually, they beat most by 20-30 on a nightly basis. This year is going better than last actually. Hopefully the right move coms along at the deadline and we can pick up a piece to spark another second half run. This season could go either way. If this team is not good enough to improve on last season I'd rather find out this season than next, that way we can make changes sooner than later. We have to remember that the road to a championship is rarely a straight line or a straight uphill climb. There are going to be ups and downs, and we might have to get worse or change directions before we improve. Even if we know what we need to get better, it takes time to get the pieces we need. This FO is well aware that this team is not a finished product and there are changes on the horizon, even if we finish the season better than last year. If someone expects us to beat the best and be a serious contender now or a year from now they will be disappointed and they shouldn't watch. Improvements from our young guys and ending the season in a better place than last year are the goal of this team. It's not just wins and losses that matter necessarily. Learning how to get better and doing those things to succeed in future seasons is the real key. We are playing the long game unless a star becomes part of the team or one of our guys breaks out.

The draft lottery (extreme luck) or building a winning team that is attractive enough for a star to come to via trade or FA.

Hi Boss. I couldn't help but laugh when I read the last part of your post. I'm giving you a "love" vote. The way you put it all together was poetic but funny (to me). I wanted to insert my "little boy, falling over laughing" meme. But apparently, some people don't like it. GOOD STUFF!!!. . . I LOVE IT!

I think the fact that we seem content to be locked into the 8th seed is pretty lame. So the goal is basically to make the playoffs and get destroyed? That’s why we resigned Vuch and Ross? Pathetic

I hope we lose! I am tired of fraudulent wins that make people think we are better than we are. There were some fools at the beginning of the season that thought we could be a top 4 seed in the east. Those people should have their fandom revoked. We will never go anywhere until we have a true star. Everything else is bull **** and a waste of time!

What fantasy world are you living in? Stars come to play with other stars and we have none. I have been a fan since 89 and tired of chasing mediocrity and having no real direction. Some of you newer fans were so happy making the playoffs last year and that was cute. But we are and have been a franchise that chases rings!!

I think our whole team is bad at basketball. Remember before last year we had 3 years straight where we were legit trying to win and still had about the 3rd worst record in the league. You watched the games, they were all out there trying to win while several teams were hardcore tanking.We still could barely beat out the 3rd worst record in the league. I like Vooch and Isaac, i am sad about Gordon and Dj. Evan is an asset to me, Bamba is an asset to me. Blow it up!