TrueBlueDrew

I’m impressed that Dallas was able to pull that off. That’s seriously a good deal for them...IF...KP comes back healthy. If he’s healthy, he and Luka are a dynamic duo. Hardaway has been playing some good ball this year too.

I go into a meeting for an hour and this happens. What the heck haha

Can someone please explain to me how: Orlando Magic New Orleans Pelicans Atlanta Hawks Memphis Grizzlies Charlotte Hornets Washington Wizards Cleveland Cavaliers Dallas Mavericks Phoenix Suns LA Clippers Chicago Bulls New York Knicks Sacramento Kings Minnesota Timberwolves All of those teams seem to be consistently "development teams" for the rest of the league whenever free agency hits? How in the world can this be fair? I understand this is an issue in most professional sports, but it seems more extreme in the NBA. Just is frustrating that you can't have a balance in the league.

I think SGA is going to be the steal of this draft. We knew who Luka was going into it. I think Trae Young will either bust out or be mediocre, don't see him becoming a superstar. Ayton and Bamba will always be linked just because they're talented big men. Guess we will see who develops first. I desperately wanted the Magic to make a trade with the Clippers to get SGA during the draft. So so so so bad. SGA will be a solid guy to build around.

Who else besides Philly embraced tanking and had it work out for them? Cleveland? Look where that landed them. If Lebron doesn't come back, that team is still a disaster and Kyrie leaves whenever his contract is up. Atlanta? Hasn't really panned out. Sacramento? Possibly, but they made a really good trade with the Pelicans because Buddy is great next to Fox. Having the right PG does wonders for your team, which is why Fox is taking everyone and pushing them beyond probably where they would have been naturally (like WCS). Dallas? They still needed to make a move to land Luka, but they have a bunch of weird pieces. Not really a solid team. Knicks? Yeah... Phoenix? They landed Booker. Ayton isn't the dominant force everyone thought he would be. I remember hearing Dwight Howard comparisons at one point. Maybe he develops into that, but right now. That hasn't really worked out either. Memphis? They're about to blow it all up and trade Gasol and Conley if I had to bet. So hasn't really worked for them either. Point is this. Tanking doesn't necessarily mean anything. I just mentioned 8 other teams who could be considered "tanking" that means you have to OUT-TANK all of them to get in the top 3. Which is a dumb way to think about it but also makes the job harder and when you have decent pieces that can win you some games (like Vuc, Fournier, AG...) then you'll win a few and that bumps you up a little bit in the draft. 2018 -- Unless you can get Luka, no one else taken above Bamba looks like an absolute sure thing (although I bet JJJ will get it figured out soon) 2017 -- I think missing out on a opportunity for Tatum/Fox is painful but Isaac still has a lot of unwrapped potential. Could be a KD-type player with his length+shot (he says optimistically). 2016 -- Trading Dipo is our dumb move for this draft. If you tank, I guess you have a chance at Jamal Murray? 2015 -- I think this one really hurts because I think the Mario draft was a complete miss. Tanking may have helped but Minnesota had 6 fewer wins than us and still got the #1 overall even though Philly and LAL both had under 20 wins. So it's also the luck of the draw. Bottom line: Tanking isn't the answer. Drafting/Developing better is.

For me, it comes down to poor Front Office decisions (Otis) followed by a poor gamble (Henny) who was scared to stand up to a "seasoned" coach (Skiles) and because he was intimidated by him, then he scrambled to make other 'splash' moves which all backfired. Now we have new front office guys who have been trying to clean up the place from the previous managements poor decisions and then they will go from there. The Magic need to attack this on a variety of levels: 1) The Magic need to get in control of their finances, clear out the bad contracts, and continue to give good ones. (AG has a great contract, both for the player and the org I think) 2) The Magic need to rebuild their brand. Orlando should be one of the major marketable teams in the NBA. Obviously you don't have the history like the Lakers, Celtics, or 76ers, but you can build something worthy of respect (ex: OKC, GSW, MIL). There aren't many players/coaches/agents who probably look at the Magic very seriously, maybe more of a courtesy than anything else. We need to make the team one of those that you are always aware of. This is where the idea of "trading Vucevic" is difficult because, like I mentioned earlier, he could be an all-star and if you trade him that doesn't show that the Magic Org values its players very much. 3) The Magic need to assemble a team of players that can compete at a high level consistently. This is connected with #2 because if you have a name that is respected then players will start to seriously consider coming and playing here. (I think we're close to that, but the amount of double digit leads we have blown this season is concerning...almost like we're used to losing that when we get a lead, we don't know what it feels like to keep it or add to it) 4) The Magic need do a better job of drafting in the first round. No more gambles. No more long-term projects. Until the Magic have all the pieces they need in their starting 5, you can't really take that chance anymore. 5) The Magic need to start/continue pouring into their coaching/training staff as well as the players. We need a staff that commands respect as well as a training staff. We should have coaches that could be considered in head coaching positions elsewhere. We need former coaches (like SVG...not a serious suggestion just the first name of a former coach who isn't coaching currently) who will come be an assistant and help mold these young men into proper ball players. This can include guys like player coaches. I think Ross and Vince Carter would both be EXCELLENT additions to our bench if they'd be willing to come here. I think if you begin to focus on these 5 things you will see change. Now obviously this takes time, proper scouting, hiring, developing, negotiations, etc. etc. All the while, the fan base wants so desperately to be in the playoffs they'll cry for anything to happen in order to feel like we are heading in the right direction. I still believe we have the right Front Office for the job. I hope that Martins stays out of their way and lets them lead like they know how. Those guys had a major fingerprint over who Milwaukee and Toronto are now. Let's believe they can get it done here too.

I agree with EF. I just dont think he needs to be in our long-term plans. However, it's really hard to say that we are improving as a team when we say "there's no development in place" then we trade the first potential all-star we've had since 2012. I would almost rather resign Vuc for a 3 year deal (team option on the 3rd), if he will and let Bamba back him up while he develops. Get me a PG worth his merit, look to sign a SG and build from there. If we could also keep Ross as our 6th man and team leader...that would be critical for our development as a legitimate brand again.

Also can't draft guys that slide into the same positions because instead of playing them together naturally (Like Dipo/Harris for instance) you have to have one sub in for the other and they rarely see the floor together (Isaac/Bamba/Gordon). Until you commit one guy to the SF position (which I think needs to be Isaac), you're never going to really be able to see what that BIG lineup can be.

Yeah, I think our Front Office have made some really bad moves over the year. I think Henny had a chance to make something pretty special with Payton, Dipo, Harris, AG, Vuc which would've helped us recover since 2012. But they were too impatient and now we had to start over. It seems like this new FO is being super patient, which I'm glad about, I just want to make sure they know what they're doing moving forward. Can't draft all these great guys and not develop them into their full potential. A player development staff is just as important as drafting the right guys.

Also think about this... we added these guys in 2000. We also signed Tracey McGrady, had an injured Grant Hill and Chauncey Billups. We also just traded Ben Wallace for Grant Hill. And apparently would have signed Tim Duncan if Doc Rivers would've let Duncan bring his girlfriend/fiance on the team plane. #WhatCouldHaveBeen

1989 -- Nick Anderson (11), Michael Ansley (37) 1990 -- Dennis Scott (4) 1991 -- Brian Williams (10), Stanley Roberts (23), Chris Corchiani (36) 1992 -- Shaquille O'Neal (1) 1993 -- Chris Webber (1), Geert Hammink (26) 1994 -- Brooks Thompson (27), Rodney Dent (31) 1995 -- David Vaughn (25) 1996 -- Brian Evans (27), Amal McCaskill (49) 1997 -- Johnny Taylor (17), Eric Washington (47) 1998 -- Michael Doleac (12), Keon Clark (13), Matt Harpring (15) 1999 -- Laron Profit (38) 2000 -- Mike Miller (5), Keyon Dooling (10), Courtney Alexander (13) 2001 -- Steven Hunter (15), Jeryl Sasser (22), Omar Cook (32) 2002 -- Curtis Borchardt (18) 2003 -- Reece Gaines (15), Zaza Pachulia (42) 2004 -- Dwight Howard (1), Anderson Varejao (30), Antonio Burks (36) 2005 -- Fran Vazquez (11), Travis Diener (38), Martynas Andriuskevicius (44) 2006 -- JJ Reddick (11), James Augustine (41), Lior Eliyahu (44) 2007 -- Reyshawn Terry (44) 2008 -- Courtney Lee (22) 2009 -- 2010 -- Daniel Orton (29), Stanley Robinson (59) 2011 -- DeAndre Liggins (53) 2012 -- Andrew Nicholson (19), Kyle O'Quinn (49) 2013 -- Victor Oladipo (2), Romero Osby (51) 2014 -- Aaron Gordon (4), Dario Saric (12) 2015 -- Mario Hezonja (5), Tyler Harvey (51) 2016 -- Domantas Sabonis (11), Stephen Zimmerman (41), Jake Layman (47) 2017 -- Jonathan Isaac (6), Anzejs Pasecniks (25), Wesley Iwundu (33), Ivan Rabb (35) 2018 -- Mohamed Bamba (6), Melvin Frazier (35), Jarred Vanderbilt (41)

Did this once...the website automatically reloaded and I lost everything...so lets try it again: Notable transactions since Dwight: 2012-2013 July 2nd -- Andrew Nicholson signs multi-year deal July 11th -- Traded Ryan Anderson to New Orleans for Gustavo Ayon July 16th -- Jameer Nelson signs multi-year deal August 8th -- Kyle O'Quinn signs multi-year deal August 10th -- Traded Dwight Howard, Jason Richardson, Earl Clark, Chris Duhon traded to multiple teams for Aaron Afflalo, Mo Harkless, Nikola Vucevic, Josh McRoberts, Al Harrington, conditional 2015 2nd round, least favorable 2014 1st round, conditional 2017 1st round picks. August 15th -- Ish Smith signs multi-year deal February 21st -- Traded Gustavo, JJ Reddick, Ish Smith to Milwaukee for Tobias Harris, Doron Lamb, and Beno Udrih 2013-2014 July 7th -- Victor Oladipo signs multi-year deal February 25th -- Dewayne Dedmon signs deal June 26th -- Traded Dario Saric, 2015 2nd round, and conditional 2017 1st round pick to Philadelphia for Elfrid Payton June 27th -- Traded Aaron Afflalo to Denver for Evan Fournier and Devyn Marble 2014-2015 July 2nd -- Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon sign multi-year deals July 11th -- Ben Gordon signs multi-year deal July 14th -- Channing Frye signs multi-year deal September 29th -- Seth Curry signs deal 2015-2016 July 14th -- Traded Mo Harkless to Portland for 2020 second round pick. July 27th -- 2016 2nd round pick traded to Miami for Shabazz Napier January 12th -- 2020 2nd round pick traded to Cleveland for Joe Harris and conditional 2nd round pick. February 16th -- Traded Tobias Harris to Detroit for Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova February 18th -- Traded Channing Frye to Cleveland for Jared Cunningham and 2020 2nd round pick. June 23rd -- Traded Ersan Ilyasova, Victor Oladipo, and Domas Sabonis to Oklahoma City for Serge Ibaka. June 29th -- Least favorable 2019 second round pick to Detroit for Jodie Meeks 2016-2017 July 7th -- Evan Fournier, Stephen Zimmerman, DJ Augustin, Jeff Green, Bizmack Biyombo all sign multi-year deals. Shabazz Napier traded to Portland for Cash. July 15th -- Traded Devyn Marble, 2020 Cleveland second round pick to Clippers for CJ Wilcox February 14th -- Traded Serge Ibaka to Toronto for Terrance Ross and least favorable 2017 1st round pick. June 22nd -- Ivan Rabb traded to Memphis for 2019 second round pick. Anzejs Pasecniks traded to Philadelphia for OKC 2020 1st round pick and least favorable 2020 2nd round pick. 2017-2018 July 8th -- Shelvin Mack signs multi-year deal July 14th -- Jonathon Simmons signs multi-year deal July 25th -- Wesley Iwundu signs multi-year deal July 27th -- Marreese Speights, Aaron Afflalo, and Khem Birch sign multi-year deals February 8th -- Traded Elfrid Payton to Phoenix for 2018 2nd round pick June 21st -- Traded Jarred Vanderbilt to Denver for Justin Jackson and least favorable 2019 second round pick. 2018-2019 July 6th -- Signed Aaron Gordon, Mevlin Frazier Jr. and Isaiah Briscoe to multi-year deals July 7th -- Traded Bizmack Biyombo & least favorable 2019+2020 second round picks to multiple teams for Jerian Grant and Timofey Mozgov July 20th -- Traded Rodney Purvis to Oklahoma City for Dakari Johnson July 23rd -- Traded Dakari Johnson and Tyler Harvey to Memphis for Jarell Martin

Now when we think about the draft picks we've had since Dwight...let's remember some of this tragedy: 2012 -- Andrew Nicholson (19th overall), Kyle O'Quinn (49th) Notables: Fournier (20th), Jae Crowder (34th), Draymond Green (35th), Khris Middleton (39th) 2013 -- Victor Oladipo (2nd), Romeo Osby (51st) Notables: CJ McCollum (10th), Giannis A. (15th), Dennis Schroder (17th), Tim Hardaway (24th), Rudy Gobert (27th) 2014 -- Aaron Gordon (4th), Dario Saric (12th) turned into Elfrid Payton (10th) Notables: Gary Harris (19th), Clint Capela (25th), Bogdan Bogdanovic (27th), Spencer Dinwiddie (38th), Nikola Jokic (41st), Jordan Clarkson (46th) 2015 -- Mario Hezonja (5th), Tyler Harvey (51st) Notables: Emmanuel Mudiay (7th), Justise Winslow (10th), Myles Turner (11th), Devin Booker (13th), Terry Rozier (16th), Josh Richardson (40th) 2016 -- Domantas Sabonis (11th), Stephen Zimmerman (41st), Jake Layman (47th) Notables: Taurean Prince (12th), Caris Lavert (20th), Malcolm Brogdan (36th), 2017 -- Jonathan Isaac (6th), Anzejs Pesecniks (25th), Wesley Iwundu (33rd), Ivan Rabb (35th) Notables: Lauri Markkanen (7th), Dennis Smith Jr. (9th), Malik Monk (11th, Donovan Mitchell (13th), John Collins (19th), Kyle Kuzma (27th), Josh Hart (30th), 2018 -- Mohamed Bamba (6th), Melvin Frazier (35th), Jarred Vanderbilt (41st) Notables (I know they're rookies, but let's play what if...): Collin Sexton (8th), Kevin Knox (9th), Shai Glgeous-Alexander (11th), Hamidou Diallo (45th)

Worst season in recent memory? Let me give you the recent history 2011-2012 -- 37-29 (3rd in the SE Division, 6th in the East, 12th overall) 2012-2013 -- 20-62 (5th in the SE Division, 15th in the East, 30th overall) 2013-2014 -- 23-59 (5th in the SE Division, 13th in the East, 28th overall) 2014-2015 -- 25-57 (5th in the SE Division, 13th in the East, 26th overall) 2015-2016 -- 35-47 (5th in the SE Division, 11th in the East, 20th overall) 2016-2017 -- 29-53 (5th in the SE Division, 13th in the East, 26th overall) 2017-2018 -- 25-57 (4th in the SE Division, 14th in the East, 26th overall) 2018-2019 -- currently 20-31 (4th in the SE Division, 11th in the East, 25th overall) I don't think this is the worst in the last few years, I just think we've been showing promise in the last 3-4 and it just seems like we can't make the jump to that next level. I think the Magic finish above 30 wins this season and land about where we are now in the playoff race (10-12th). This season is difficult because of the hope of a better season but it isn't the worst in recent history because I feel like at least we have building blocks: possibly our first All-Star since Dwight and a bunch of talent we need to develop.

No I agree. They hold onto him at all cost. I think they keep hoping that Bridges and Monk will be enough to convince him to stay.

Yeah, I think I'd rather trade down to #2 and get RJ Barrett. Look I get it, Zion is a freak athlete. He's a high jumper. But I don't trust that jump shot and I'm not sure he's going to be "The Next Lebron" that everyone is claiming he will. Maybe I'm wrong. But I think RJ fits our team better and if you can get RJ Barrett and future picks & current solid players for that swap, that's something I would do. Similar to what Atlanta did last year with Trae...but lets just hope that RJ is the better NBA player vs what could have been with Luka in ATL.

For those of you who really wanted to see this. Found this online.

I agree with this. You give the Magic DSJ and Matthews. I don't see much past #10 in this draft.

NBADraft.net has us taking Reddish @ 7 Draftsite.com has us taking Morant @ 7 NBADraftroom.com has us taking Garland @ 9 Most of the sites I saw had us going between Morant/Garland/Langford If I'm the Magic, I'm either hoping we get lucky (which we never do) or we try and trade up for Barrett @ 2.

I was coming here to post this too. I think adding in the 1st is a BIT too much. But I wouldn't be upset if this trade went through. I think we need to package Grant for another trade. Maybe if we end up moving Vuc closer to the deadline? If I'm the Magic, I'd want my 3 PG to be DSJ, DJ, and Briscoe...although thats a pretty small PG group.

Everything I've seen is that the Mavs also desperately want to get rid of Matthews contract. So I would imagine that those are bundled together. I'm not sure I've seen a trade proposal with just DSJ.

Link Soooo... Fournier + Grant for DSJ + Matthews?

Another trade: Knicks get: Ross, Mozgov, 2020 OKC 1st (Top 20 protected), and 2019 Cle 2nd Orlando get: Hardaway Jr, Courtney Lee Would also do this, maybe not the 2020 draft pick if they'd accept that.

Found this trade on a website, would you consider it? OKC get: Ross, Love Magic get: Schroder, JR Smith (waive?) Cavs get: Mozgov, Patterson, Robertson, Ferguson, OKC 1, ORL 2 That gets us out from under Mozgovs contract. We get a decent PG. We could waive JR or he could fill the role that Ross played. We still have Fournier, Vuc to package if needed. And we keep AG, JI, Bamba together. Not the worst idea in the world in my opinion

I was thinking the same thing the other day. I think Culver would be a really good fit on this team and seems to be the type of guy that the FO would want. I think the kid from Murray is going to get a lot of hype now cause of the dunk so it'll be interesting to see if he lives up to that hype. What does everyone think of RJ Barrett? Can he run point? I wouldn't mind putting him as our PG. We would probably have to make some type of trade to get into the top 3 though.