pogiro

Think.

Actually, in 5 years, I think it's a safe bet, that the team that is least likely to be locked in mediocrity of the four teams involved in the trade, is the Magic.

Peace.

What's so complicated about... Dwight: Trade me, please. Rob: No ? Seems to be the least complicated explanation if anything... since it's what the Magic actually did all last year.

That's oversimplifying it. Hennigan is looking for the best option, that's the bottom line, if you want to summarize all the complexities of the situation in one sentence.

Yup. Don't know how many times people have to be proven wrong until they realize they do not have a good pulse on what's going on. I've lost track of how many times I've discussed with people that I think keeping Dwight through this season is more of a possibility than most people think... and for them to come back saying something to the effect of "you're delusional, he's going to be gone any moment now". And it's usually the people who also go on emotional rants about Dwight. Hennigan has said it himself, you have to take emotion out as best you can and try to find the best option. And if Dwight still being here is a sign that keeping him this year is the best option, then I agree if the reported deals are as good as it's going to get.

If the offers are deals like Lopez, Brooks, and a few picks... or a Lamb, a pick, Morris, and they take Jrich... how serious would you be about trading Dwight? Point being, Hennigan may not be serious about trading Dwight, but that could very well be a result of the offers he's getting.

The Magic have to make them overpay. The Rockets won't have another chance at a player of Dwight's caliber. Sure they will have cap room, but a chance at a player like Dwight does not come around often. Right now they're one of two teams that are serious contenders for Dwight. This summer, they'll hardly be a factor. They have the opportunity now, and if they are too cheap in their offers for the best big man in the game, then they could find themselves out of contention for both Dwight and Bynum. IMO, they need to make sure they trade for one... they need to be made to give what they can. Three 1st rd picks, Lamb, Parsons is more than fair. If I'm Hennigan, I don't settle for much less. Maybe two 1st round, Lamb, Parsons if anything.

What is hilarious is people who think they know what will happen in a year from now... especially given what's happened in the past with Dwight already. I wrote a lengthy post saying why our chances aren't so bad one or two pages back, if you want to have a real discussion about it then read that.

Not talking about sign and trade. I'm talking signing him to keep him. I was talking about if he's still a diva after he signs long term, and in that case if he's unbearable you trade him.

I want the Magic to keep Dwight for the Magic's sake, and not because of who Dwight is. Ever since maybe 2008, I've been questionable about Dwight's character. But all the charater flaws you bring up can be said about a lot of NBA stars. Yet we still cheered for him. So I'm not going to act like I won't be able to cheer for him again if he stays. I don't really see him much different than before. And him staying would erase whatever changed in my mind about him. I just don't look to NBA players to be the upstanding citizens that they sometimes try to play they are. And when they're not, I don't hold it against them, I just respect the ones that do things right in a higher regard. That's why I've been a pretty big fan of Jameer over his career. But even Jameer, I don't know everything, so wouldn't surprise me at all if it turns out to have a questionable personal life too. That's just because of trends you see in professional athletes. The reason I want the Magic to keep Dwight is because I want the Magic to be the team that breaks the trend of these SuperFriends teams forming in the NBA. I want the Magic to have some courage, play hardball with their superstar. Courage is the big factor for me, because I can respect what the Magic are doing. And if they want to trade Dwight for a decent return, I can respect that too. Now something I can't respect, is the idea of needing something in return, thinking we can't just lose him for nothing. The idea that we lost Shaq for nothing, so we gotta trade Dwight, no matter how crappy the deal. Lets say the Nets deal is the deal that gets done. I'm going to have a hard time being as intrested in the Magic as I've been ever since I've been a fan. Because then we take a very shaky return, something that doesn't necessarily put us in a better position for success. And we give our diva superstar what he wanted. And in the event that the Magic are able to keep him long-term, and he's still acting up? Trade him. A re-signed Dwight will have a hell lot more value than he does now. So the prospect of having to deal with this diva personality doesn't really worry me. The fact of the matter is, even if we tank, and we get numerous top 5 picks, the likelihood that any of those players end up at Dwight's level is very slim. If we were talking about Blake Griffin or Carmelo Anthony, to me those guys are replaceable. And in my opinion, Dwight's been the 2nd or 3rd most valuable commodity since he got into the league behind Kobe and LeBron. If there's a chance you keep him, then you try your damndest to do so. And you especially don't let things like personality flaws have too much of an effect in your decisions. Because the NBA is driven by superstars, and it's rare to find any NBA greats that don't have red flags in their personal life.

Oh. Misread and thought you said the Magic should be happy with the 2nd option. Yea, probably the most realistic and best option is a 3-way with Houston. But I think Houston is going to get greedy and try to lowball their offers. Right now I'd take Lamb, Parsons, 3 picks, don't even care to get rid of contracts since we can just let them expire as we're not trying to compete soon anyways. But the most legit reports I've seen has been a pick, Lamb, and taking a contract. That doesn't sell me. Thing is, that's the offer for Dwight. I don't see Houston offering the same for Bynum. And thing is, Orlando would be getting the same back whether Houston gets Bynum or Dwight. So unless Houston changes their tune, I'd just stay put if I were Hennigan. And you described the Magic as being beggars in this situation. I think that's way off. I think Houston and the Lakers are more desperate for this deal than the Magic. They especially are in more of a rush than the Magic. For one, Houston needs to bring in another star, and who better to pair up with Jeremy Lin than either Dwight or Bynum. If I were them, I'd send out whoever to get Dwight to Houston. Jeremy Lin and Dwight is a duo you can build around. Jeremy Lin, Lamb, Parsons, Montiejunas... ehhhh. That'll get you 4th, 5th seed in the West eventually, at best. And they're more pressed for time because the later they bring in Dwight, the lower their chances are to keep him. The Lakers? I see no evidence of it really, but I bet they're still worried about Bynum's injury history, and the only enthusiasm they have in signing him to a long-term max contract, is because they have no other choice because they have no other way of bringing in a player of his caliber. And if they bring in Dwight, they want to do it before the season starts, because once the season gets going, those are games Bynum could get hurt in, and if that were to happen, forget whatever deal that would be brewing. And with Kobe and Nash on their way out, I don't think they believe Bynum will be a player that you can build around and have success up to their standards. With Dwight, they can come closer to that. Which is why they're going for Dwight. Because it's one last push for championships with Kobe, and Dwight can carry them when Kobe's gone. The biggest beggar in the situation is Dwight. Brooklyn can't sign him, L.A. can't sign him, the only options other than Orlando are Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, and Cleveland, and whatever less appealing team with cap space. If Dwight wants to go to Brooklyn or L.A., it's because the Magic are ok with it. He can go sign outright with the others, but he won't be as happy. The Magic are very far from being the beggars here. The Magic are the ones with the player everyone wants and probably have the least pressure on them to make a deal sooner than later.

Tell me one thing, and give it your most honest answer to this question. Say the Magic trade for Bynum, and he does not have any long-term contract signed and he tests the free agent market. How much better are the chances that Bynum stays with Orlando when he has options like Dallas and Cleveland coming after him? And try to see through media BS and see the situations for what it is based on facts and history, and try to come up with your most realistic evaluation of the whole drama and just realistically see how the situation would play out. In my opinion, the odds of keeping Bynum are better, but not that much better than the chances of Dwight re-signing. And then, like I said, take into consideration the drop in talent level going from Dwight to Bynum, and the risks in committing to Bynum's injury issues, and the loss of attachment with the Magic sending out the headliner of our team for the past decade, and going to Bynum, who's had 1 good year... not worth it to me. You talk about rebuilding OKC style... what core player from OKC was brought in on a max contract another team? Even if trying to keep Dwight ends up with the Magic getting nothing in return, I'd rather start with a clean slate than try to build around Bynum. A big reason Hennigan was brought in was because of his ability to find talent and draft. I don't see anything in his history saying he was brought in to build around other team's stars.

The Magic shouldn't trade Dwight just to trade Dwight. It needs to be a deal that is worthwhile. A deal good enough that Hennigan gives up the opportunity to keep him next year. I don't care how certain anyone is that Dwight is leaving, even if it's Dwight himself that claims to be 100% certain he wants to leave; A LOT can happen in a year. And Dwight's side has already shown that his mindset is heavily influenced by the situation. TODAY, it's easy for him to claim he's never coming back to Orlando. Just like it was easy for him to claim that all year last year. Then come the deadline, he got gunshy, and when the Magic forced his hand, the Magic won. It's the same deal this year, except now we don't have Brooklyn able to sign him outright, which is a huge factor. Now the alternatives are not so appealing. There's Dallas with an aging Dirk, and Atlanta. And I've never seen him express much interest in the Hawks and IMO, I don't see him reaching any levels that he didn't already reach in Orlando, with them. At least with Orlando, he has the appeal that he can be seen as a Superstar that decided to stay which has motivated him in the past, and no matter what facade he's trying to put up to force his way out of Orlando, when he is forced to make the decision of whether to stay or leave, I would think that's still a factor in his thought process. Those are the two serious suitors, but none of them come anywhere near what Brooklyn with Deron Williams were offering. Even if you don't believe Dwight stayed because he's emotionally tied to Orlando, if you think it was strictly a business decision... if Dwight was not willing to give up that extra year and $30 million overall on his next contract for the Nets, then why am I supposed to think he'll leave that on the table for Atlanta and Dallas? If we still have him next summer, I can see a scenario where Hennigan is able to show Dwight that we have a brighter future than Dallas and Atlanta. I'm not saying it's likely. But I can see it. Now back to the beginning... if the Magic trade Dwight, it should be a deal that is worthwhile to give up the chance to keep Dwight. And to me, Bynum straight up is not worth that. If we bring in Bynum, and he doesn't have an already signed extension, then we're in the same situation with a lesser player, and with a player that has no history with Orlando. And if he is locked in long-term, there's the risks that come with committing to Bynum and his injury history to a brand new long-term contract where he's taking up maximum money of your cap for 4-5 years, we all remember how crippling having an injury proned player taking up all that cap space can be. If it's the Houston deal, I don't think 1 pick, Jeremy Lamb, and taking a bad contract is worth it. There is a deal I'd take from Houston, but from the sounds of it, they're not offering it. And if the Nets find their way back in it, I'd rather let Dwight walk away for nothing than take Lopez's contract. I think the Cleveland deal is better than most people think, but still, not worth it to me. Lastly, I think a lot of people overrate the need to get something back for Dwight. Letting Dwight leave for nothing is a viable option, and I think the Magic would recover just fine with Hennigan at the helm. And at least with that option, there's the opportunity the 2nd best player in the league stays with the Magic long-term. And I don't need to explain the upside if that scenario became a reality.

The year after was pretty awesome, too. Finshed the regular season 20-3 with the 2nd best record in the league. Swept through the first two rounds including sweeping the Hawks with unprecedented dominance. The Magic looked amazing. Granted, all this just made the fall against the Celtics that much more painful. Just bringing it up because it seems to be a forgotten season.