TrueBlueDrew

What value does he have?? I still havent seen anyone defend Hezonja other than to say he was a 5th overall pick and he has potential. Would you rather waste a spot on a guy with potential but no traction and no connection with current coaching staff, or pick from a group of players (Kentucky or not) who have proven they can make a valuable addition to an NBA roster. I dont see value in Hezonja and I think its a stupid move to let him sit on the bench and play the "What If" game.

I'm also asking a lot of other people for names of potential people to finish the roster...yet no one is giving me anything. So before you troll, how about you contribute to the conversation. Thanks.

Are you holding on for something because so far I haven't seen a dang thing from him yet. He looks good in a suit, thats about it. At least send him to the G-League and let him develop there or get his confidence back because right now he is not fitting on an NBA roster other than being able to fit in the seat. OrlandoMagicDaily.com literally has a few articles on him titled "What Went Wrong with Mario Hezonja" and "Mario Hezonja prepares for his last stand in Orlando" Compare that to Alex Poythress who has been averaging 18 pts 7 rbs 1 bk 1 st in his time in the G-League. Was even called up to the 76ers to play a few games and performed well enough to get a summer league play where he again played the perfect role player. His first NBA game against the Toronto Raptors https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at1gd0EjCgc Highlights from the 16-17 season (check out some of those blocks around the 1 minute mark) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr7oQvo6nzA

I counted 13, according to ESPN. They still had Rudez on our roster which is why I included him earlier. We still can consider signing Iwundu too. I personally hope we clear out some of the log jam at SG if we sign Iwundu. Georges-Hunt seemed to have a good summer, but waive Garino. How about this. Payton//Mack//DJ Fournier//MGH//Iwundu Ross//Simmons//Allen//Poythress Gordon//Issac//Jones Vucevic//Biz Cut Garino Cut Hezonja. Let him go back to Europe and be the superstar. His game just doesn't seem like it translates. Sign Tony Allen with the MLE Sign Terrance Jones to a one year 1.5 million dollar contract Sign Alex Poythress to a one year 1.5 millon dollar contract In the offseason, you added a decent backup PG, explosive SG/SF who plays with heart and passion, a gritty defensive minded Vet, a SF/PF who will hustle and grind on defense, and a PF who wants to prove he can stick. Every time Jones is given a chance, he contributes. Averaged 12 pts and 7 rbs for 2 consecutive years for Houston, then they shoved him in the back of the rotation. Then signs with New Orleans and averages 11.5 and 6. He could help us.

That's a good catch. I didn't look at any stats, just thinking back on the games i've seen him in

Who are some of the names that come to mind when you say big/hybrid. I can't really think of any (I guess focusing on the hybrid part). As I said before, Noel is a name that I wouldn't mind seeing us connected with but he is a RFA and I'm Dallas will match anything we can offer. Kyle Wiltjer was released by the Clippers after being traded from Houston. He's super slow on defense and can't rebound, but he can shoot threes. Not what we need. Any other names? Roy Hibbert is on the market. He has a connection with Vogel. Kinda goes against the Small Ball mentality but maybe Vogel can bring something out of him. Gerald Henderson Jordan Hill Terrance Jones Alex Poythress (check out the Sixers summer league highlights. He always makes solid plays, won't shine but will be that locker leader guy like Patrick Patterson)

That tweet was from 6 hours ago. So apparently there is still some connection post-Simmons. I think he got lost in MIN behind Wiggins, LaVine, and KAT. I know he was a contributor, but here I think he could be a valuable depth piece with a potential of breaking out since we don't have a clear star yet. Not saying he is a star, just saying he could play above what I think his ceiling was in MIN.

And Apparently we are connected to Shabazz in someway Also saw that Afflalo is still unsigned. He was a good addition to our team a few years back, maybe now he can be that veteran that we need to mentor the young guys?

When we look at the roster, where do you see holes that need to be filled? What is most pressing? PG - Elfrid Payton (6'4) // Shelvin Mack (6'3) // DJ Augustin (6'0) SG - Evan Fournier (6'7) // Marcus Georges-Hunt (6'5)// Patricio Garino (6'6) SF - Terrence Ross (6'7) // Jonathon Simmons (6'6)// Mario Hezonja (6'8) PF - Aaron Gordon (6'9) // Jonathan Issac (6'10) // Damjan Rudez (6'10) C - Nikola Vucevic (7'0) // Bismack Biyombo (6'9) Wesley Iwundu (6'7) -Not Signed ___________________________________________________________________________________ Looking at that roster, I'd say that we still need offense and rebounding. Maybe Issac will be a better rebounder than we all expect but I really don't think he will cure everything. I think it's time to move on from Vucevic and embrace small ball. We could use guys who create their own shot and who aren't afraid to get after it on defense. What about these players? Shabazz Muhammad Tony Allen Nerlens Noel I know we don't have any cap room and most of these guys would be 1-3 year deals on minimum money, but I think they could help us out.

So Bleacher Report did a list of the top 25 Players under the age of 25 for the 2016-2017 season: Honorable Mention: Elfrid Payton #25 -- Aaron Gordon #23 -- Victor Oladipo #21 -- Tobias Harris #10 -- Andrew Wiggins #1 -- Anthony Davis #25, #23, #21 were all on our team at one point. Oh what could have been. I think Henny made some massive errors in breaking up that core. Debate between Dipo and Evan all you want, that's still a good nucleus.

Good explanation of the talent divide between the two conference LINK

I was interested to see how we are looking on the draft-pick front for the upcoming years. According to this website, we have 6 picks in the 2019 draft? (5 of them are 2nd round) 7 picks in the 2020 draft (Two first round, 5 of them are 2nd round) Can anyone confirm this?

Yeah, I can see your point. I think people would want to give Rose a shot because "what if he turns into the MVP type player again" but there is something to be said about playing in a warmer climate, maybe his body will react better to it. This is a GREAT article that I think sums up our offseason approach really well

This is just who is currently under contract. Not assuming anything yet. I agree we'll make moves just was looking at who was currently being paid by the Magic. Would you give any consideration to Derrick Rose?

Our roster is kinda depleted though, look at who is under contract for the 2017-2018 season: PG - Payton/Augustin/Watson/Georges-Hunt SG - Fournier/Ross/ SF - Gordon/Hezonja/Garino PF - Isaac/ C - Biyombo/Vucevic I can only imagine that we will eventually sign Iwundu. I like what I've seen from him so far. Like, common haha that's just kinda laughable.

Yeah, I loved what I saw from that guy this past season. Not the best shooter in the world, but he will play with heart and passion and I think that's something this team could feed off of, instead of the laid back attitudes of Vuch/Payton. Let's get some excitement going.

Yeah, that's what I hope we become too. But what moves can we/will we make to get our team there? Because I don't think we will get there with Vuch or Payton. I'm still holding out hope on Payton but it is fading pretty quickly. Like any of the names I mentioned? I think most of those guys (maybe minus Evans) would fit that mold.

I have mixed feelings on our offseason so far. Not being connected to any of these free agents has been frustrating and it has been equally frustrating to watch all the talent leave the East and go to the West. In a perfect world, we would scrap everything and do the most epic NBA draft of all time and redraft every single team to rebalance it out. But that'll never happen, so I need to look somewhere else to be optimistic. I'm now optimistic in our front office (minus Martins). I'm optimistic in the coach (don't know much about the assistants but I like Vogel a lot). I'm less optimistic about the team, but I do like that we aren't just throwing money at people hoping to form some sort of competitive team. I think we bring Gordon and Fournier together and tell them that they are the core we want to build around. Sit Hezonja down and show him endless clips of Jamal Crawford/Manu, let him become a valuable 6th man. Then figure out our identity as a team. Are we going to be the gritty defensive team like Memphis and Pacers? Or do we want to be the versatile athletic run-n-gun team, trying to keep up with the Warriors and Thunder? We need that identity or we will never really be able to move forward. With D12, we knew we have a dominant big man. Surround him with 3&D guys and give him the ball. We need that clear identity again. With all that being said, I'd still like to see us go after a few free agents. Here are a couple I'd be interested in: Tim Hardaway Jr (RFA) Jonathon Simmons Tyreke Evans Kelly Olynyk Andre Roberson (RFA) Nerlens Noel (RFA) Here's hoping we make some moves and start to shape an identity and culture for this organization.

Not sure if this article has been posted before but I read this today and thought it gave some really good insight into the type of upper management that we seem to be building. That Martins essentially is giving these guys the reigns to the organization (easy to say it now, hopefully we will see that be the case later on) because he wants to hire people who are basketball smarter than him. I love the investment in upper management and hope that this is a sign that we are going to do what we need to, to build a culture that works here. We don't need to be San Antonio. We need to be Orlando. Hopefully our two new guys can handle the opportunity in front of them! LINK -- Orlando Magic Prepared to Invest in Returning Pride to the Team.

I personally think we just need to cut our losses from the EP experiment and go after a top free agent PG and then draft Fox. Some like Holiday? Teague? -- PG - Holiday/Fox SG - Fournier/Simmons/Bacon SF - Ross/Hezonja PF - Gordon/Adebayu C - Vuch/Biz/Motley Pick 6 -- Fox Pick 25 -- Adebayu Pick 33 -- Bacon Pick 35 -- Motley Free Agent -- Sign Jrue Holiday + Johnathan Simmons. Maybe Put EP+Ross+Vuch in some sort of package? I wouldn't mind taking a look at Tony Snell either. Meaning we can get him cheap :) if we can get him away from S.A.

ESPN has Monk as a #2 potential steal. Isaac #1. Here is the link

Monk is more than a 3pt shooter, but that's all he is known for. I think he could be a jamal crawford type player but he has the ability to be a jr smith, guy who is known for his offense but occasionally locks it down on defense too.

So getting back to players and away from conspiracy theories: I haven't watched that much on Smith, but watching that highlight video of him...he kinda reminds of me Kris Dunn. Am I just making that up or has someone else seen that too? Has a better vertical than Dunn but still thats the vibe I got. Whoever said Smith @ 6 Bam @ 25 Diallo @ 33 Swanigan @ 38 or whever the next pick it. I'm good with that. I honestly think those players would be good fits. I think Bam could be a poor mans Ibaka at some point. Especially defensively. Diallo, I just don't know. He never played at Kentucky so the only video I have seen was him in practice. But he is going up against Fox and Monk and Briscoe in practice every single day, so that has to be good for him. He is freakishly athletic. Like Andrew Wiggins athletic. No idea what his shot looks like though.

DeAaron Fox!!! Hope this guy lands with us!!

I saw that too. That is exactly what this is. Dad ran his mouth and companies are now avoiding this guy like the plague because of the circus that comes with the Ball last name. I will not be surprised if Ball drops out of the top 5 either because of his dad. Teams might not want to deal with it, not to mention that the kid is a really good passer but the jump shot form is horrendous and he can't play defense against quick guards like DeAaron Fox, even if you slid him to SG or SF. He can't guard those positions either. His footwork is horrible. That is what happens when your offense in high school is equivalent to an all star game without the all star talent. You pick up horrible tendencies and if those arent corrected (which they werent in his 1 year in college), then you carry those with you to the NBA. I think this guy is a bust waiting to happen.