OnlyFranz

Lol fair enough. Whatever the Magic end up doing I just hope it benefits us in the long run and we get to finally enjoy watching this team again in the playoffs.

That’s a 5 game sample size and again a playoff series is completely different than the regular season. What’s the point of being on a message board if we don’t discuss the Magic even if we differ in opinion?

None taken. It’s clear as day this is what would happen. Teams do it now to us and it’s just the regular season. You think when the intensity and focus is turned up on us that things would be different?

All I’m reading are a bunch of what if’s from your post. That’s all we’ve been waiting for the last several years are the same players to get healthy. Imagine what an actual pg who can shoot would do to Banchero and Franz’s game. It would open up the whole teams offense and wouldn’t let the opposing team key in on Paolo and Franz. Don’t get me wrong I like Fultz but not making a trade because of what if’s is how you continue to be a bottom feeder in this league. Why do you think the Nuggets, Heat, Boston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia’s of this league stay relevant and are always at the top of the standings? Because they aren’t afraid to make moves to acquire players who improve their roster. Bringing in one player who is an upgrade at a position of need will not destroy a whole teams locker room and the chemistry they’ve built. If anything it would help integrate that new player faster because they wouldn’t want to mess up what is clearly a strength of this team. Take Joe Ingles for example he’s new to the team this year and yet everyone embraced him from the beginning and he didn’t mess any of our chemistry up. Nobody should be pulling for this team to lose but if we are serious about making the playoffs and actually competing when we get there we need a starting pg who can spread the floor. If we can do that by only trading away expiring contracts and a few draft picks that’s a no brainer situation for any organization that is serious about taking the next step. People on here seem to forget that the playoffs are a completely different game/atmosphere than the regular season. It’s a 7 game series and the opponent is watching tons of film on the team they are going up against. Meaning they know guys tendencies, the sets coaches draw up, and make game to game adjustments. Anyone who plays us will just clog the paint and dare us to shoot from outside. Our guys won’t learn anything from playing poorly in the post season and getting swept in the first round.

I guess you’re ok with a mediocre product. You don’t win in today’s NBA without being able to shoot the 3 ball with consistency much less be considered a contender to win a championship. Yes we have some promising pieces and Paolo/Franz are great building blocks. However if you think this team as constructed is competing for an NBA Championship you are going to be sadly disappointed waiting for that to happen. The time for evaluating players on this team is over. We need guys who are going to be available to play because waiting and hoping for someone to stay healthy is not a winning formula. Look at the last few years as an example.

No thank you to those trades. Giving up a first especially 2025 which is supposed to be a deep draft for Kevin Huerter is terrible asset management. Trading WCJ for Valanciunas makes this team worse and doesn’t address our shooting concerns.

Great point because we had Fultz starting who’s an actual PG. If he could shoot and stay healthy we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.

Don’t speak truth on here some people may get offended because this team is a contender if everyone stays healthy.

Of course it has everything to do with PG play. When you don’t have someone who can initiate the offense and rely on Paolo and Franz to do it on every possession this is what happens. Anyone that knows basketball realizes this lol.

Or maybe we’re tired of the same excuses and every year complaining about needing better shooters.

It’s going to be the same outcome until we get an actual pg who can space the floor and run an offense. We don’t need to evaluate this roster anymore we know what we have and which area we need to improve.

You hit the nail on the head. We can’t keep hoping that the same players who are always injured stay healthy. Even if we miraculously stay healthy for the rest of the year come playoff time this team will struggle in a 7 game series if we don’t have a pg who can reliably stretch the floor and keep defenses honest. We need to get rid of our expiring contracts (Fultz and Harris) and should also include Anthony if necessary to make a trade. I’m tired of management taking the easy route and simply evaluating this team instead of being proactive and addressing the glaring issue this current unit has with our horrible 3 point shooting.

2 observations from this game that have really stood out to me. When WCJ plays in the paint he’s much more effective than when he’s out playing on the perimeter. He’s been doing a great job on the defensive end and on the glass as well. The other observation is that Cole Anthony really has a low basketball IQ. He doesn’t know how to play within himself and is always forcing things on the offensive end which usually leads to bad shots and turnovers. I really hope we get another guard before the trade deadline so he is no longer in the rotation.

The Hawks making Murray and Capela available tells me that they are ready to start over. Will it happen who knows but the Magic need to do everything in their power to get Murray if it’s a possibility.

That article you posted tells you exactly why Murray had beef with Paolo. It had everything to do with the game and how he felt disrespected by Paolo during the game. Who wouldn’t want that type of fire and competitor on their team? If they become teammates I can assure you it would all be water under the bridge and it probably is already. Having a pg who can get to the basket at will, create their own shot, and not be a liability on defense and who is apparently available on the trade market doesn’t come around too often. We can’t deny that our inconsistent guard play is part of the reason why we are losing games. The time for evaluating this team is over we need to take this opportunity to upgrade our roster and stop playing 2nd and 3rd string guys heavy minutes.

Murray just makes too much sense not to try and go after him. If the asking price is only 2 firsts and salary to match I’m not sure why he isn’t on the team already. He would be the best pg we’ve had in a while and this team is seriously lacking good guard play outside of Suggs.

Murray or Simons would help this team out more than keeping WCJ would. Goga is the least of our worries right now especially since he is a cheap option at C and has clearly proven he can start for this team. Our guard play is atrocious and getting any kind of upgrade there is going to help us get in the playoffs. Clearly management feels the same way about Goga and our guard situation or they wouldn’t be exploring a trade for WCJ.

Murray or Simons for WCJ and some fillers. Get it done Weltman, let’s save this season before it’s too late.

I hope this team works on their free throw shooting the whole offseason. It’s ridiculous how many points we leave at the line every single game.

He’s a PG that can also play SG when needed. If anything that means he’s versatile because we can move him to the 2 due to matchups or injuries. He’s only playing SG with the Hawks because Trae is their PG. That wouldn’t be the case anywhere else he played. This all happened during Pro Am games. When have you ever seen him act like those clips you just showed in an actual NBA game? There’s nothing wrong with playing with some fire which is something this roster has often lacked outside of Suggs and Mo. Add to the fact he can get into the paint at will, finish, and also hurt you from deep. I don’t see the problem with brining a guy like that here as long as the FO does their homework and Paolo signs off on it. Now I wouldn’t mortgage our future for Murray but it seems like the Hawks are wanting to reset and that’s usually when you can get really good players at a discount. We should be looking to take advantage of those type of trades and upgrade our roster and not be content with the mediocre guard play we’ve been used to in years past. Thank God Jalen has found his shooting touch in year 3 or we’d be in big trouble with how the rest of our guards have been playing.

Crazy to think this is only year 2 for him. Once he puts it all together he is going to be unstoppable and will bring this franchise its first championship.

Can’t give Cole credit when he continues to force things and commit stupid turnovers.

Blackhole Cole back at it.

Agreed, Paolo would need to be on board or else I wouldn’t want Murray here either.

He said he felt disrespected by Paolo and let him know with his play and with a little trash talking. I wouldn’t mind that grittiness on this team, it’s better to play with someone like that than against them. Unfortunately you can’t expect to win at any level by being the nicest guys on the court. We need guys who take things personal and know how to turn it up when needed.