PennysRUs

Mario was good today. The only thing I would have liked to see more of, is more activity when he's off the ball. A lot of the time he's just standing there. I know it's only Summer League, but for how good of a shot he has, he needs to be more active off the ball. Gordon impressed me early. Elf was okay -- needs to knock down that open 3 consistently. Marble was alright. I thought Harvey was impressive for a 2nd rounder, definitely didn't shy away from the ball though.

If the Magic are a part of this -- I would want it to be something like the Magic get #2 and #6, Lin and Randle while only giving up Vuc, Harkless and #5. To me that helps the Magic just as much as it would help the Kings and Lakers. Anything less than that, the Magic should stay on course and draft whoever at #5.

LaMarcus Aldridge has already made it pretty clear he wants to re-sign in Portland. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11193525/lamarcus-aldridge-portland-trail-blazers-wait-extend-contract-next-summer

Not sure what the contract would look like, but someone in the other thread said what if they front loaded it. I think the way the CBA works they can have annual decreases at 7.5% percent. If that were the case Frye would make close to 9 mil this year ($8,857,143) and 7 mil in his final year ($7,142,857). That wouldn't be a bad contract for a big guy that can shoot. Plus his contract is not bad enough that Orlando couldn't trade him in his last two years if needed. I don't personally like the signing and I haven't exactly liked much of the off-season, but I'll give the moves a little time before I consistently ***** about them.

Not going to rate any international player except Exum because I really don't know a whole lot about them. I don't personally like Saric, but I'm intrigued by the two big men (Porzingis and Tavares) talked about recently but I can't exactly rate them fairly against guys I watched all year. Exum is the exception because his quickness and size have me wanting the Magic to draft him if Parker/Wiggins cannot be had. 1. Jabari Parker 2. Andrew Wiggins 3. Dante Exum 4. Joel Embid 5. Aaron Gordon 6. Marcus Smart 7. Julius Randle 8. Noah Vonleh 9. Gary Harris 10. James Young 11. Elfrid Payton 12. Adreian Payne 13. Nik Stauskas 14. Doug Mcdermott 15. P.J. Hairston 16. Tyler Ennis 17. TJ Warren 18. Rodney Hood 19. Zach LaVine 20. Jerami Grant My Talent Tiers: Tier 1: Wiggins, Parker, Embid, Exum Tier 2: Gordon, Randle, Smart, Vonleh Tier 3: Harris, Young, Payton, Tier 4: Payne, Stauskas, Mcdermott, Hairston, Ennis Tier 5: Warren, Hood, LaVine, Grant

Since when did MVP automatically go to the best player in the league? Dwight Howard was the most valuable to that Magic team that year and the year prior. I'm not trying to argue that. However, he wasn't the 2nd best player in the league. Lebron, Wade, Durant, Paul, then Dwight and at 5 he had competition from Rose and Carmelo. He was a great player for the Magic. Hell he's probably 1 of the top 3-4 players to ever put on a Magic uniform. I'm not saying just because he left he was garbage with Orlando. I'm saying quite the opposite, I'm saying he was one of the greatest to ever call Orlando home, but he started that off-season with complaining and I felt that unless the Magic did something to bring in a guy on the same level play wise as Dwight, they would need to trade him or risk losing him. I never wanted him to go, I was actually a huge Dwight fan just like the rest of the people on here before he became the dwightmare. But at that time, I didn't think we'd ever get out of the ECF with Dwight as the only star. Not that I wanted it that way, but I felt we were only going to go backwards.

Who thought he was the second best player in the league? Best center? Sure, but 2nd best player in the league? No, definitely not at that time and definitely not now. They obviously didn't "just trade" the guy and I'm not saying it would have been the right decision at the time either. However, I felt, at that time, that if the rumors were true -- about him grumbling about the players around him and that he wanted to win championships -- that they should explore trading him while his value was high instead of waiting until the Magic were handcuffed. Luckily they fired Otis and they brought in a competent GM that netted them solid pieces for the future.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but the trade value of Dwight was high after 2009-2010 ECF and I thought if the Magic couldn't trade for a legit star they should have moved him. That didn't happen and we all know what then ensued. :panicworker: As for trading Vuc... I'm not really on board with that, even if I feel he's a tad over valued by Magic fans. I like Embid, I think he's a very good player when healthy. I don't like however, the fact that the majority of big guys that have injuries whether it be back or knee injuries, tend to suffer more and more injuries throughout their careers (Greg Oden, Andrew Bynum, Andrew Bogut, -- There are more, but those were the 3 that quickly popped into my head). Will Embid be that or will he be like Tim Duncan who stayed relatively healthy for most of his career? I'm not sure, but it is a lot to risk on the potential top 3 pick, in a very loaded draft class. The first question is that If he's cleared, works out for the team, and they still feel high enough to draft him at 3, are they are making the statement that Embid is going to be our center of the future? If that answer is yes then the second question has to be where do we see Vuc fitting in? Can he play the 4 and be successful enough that we're willing to pay him 10M a year? If he's not, do we think Embid can play the 4? (I think he's a back to the basket Center and I find it a little weird pairing the two) Those are all questions that the GM and Coach are going to have to answer before drafting this guy. If they do take Embid though, I would almost certainly trade Vuc and the same goes for Tobias Harris if the Magic draft Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker. The only player in the top 4 that they won't have to ask that question about is Exum because he plays a position of need and by the scouts assessment of him is a top 4 or 5 talent in this years draft. For me, the draft board should be Wiggins, Exum, Embid, Parker. This obviously goes out the window if we fall to 5 though. I'm also hoping the Magic move Afflalo to a team like Chicago who needs a 2 guard badly for their 2 picks in the draft. That would give them the option to take all 4 picks, or move 12/16/19 to move up into the top 10 and snag a guy like Vonleh.

Yeah basically using Utah's love for Parker against them and grabbing an extra pick. Who knows if Exum is still there, but any way that we're in the top 3 and Utah is not could potentially net us an extra pick if we value Exum over Parker. I would really love to see the Magic draft Elfrid Payton if they don't get either Smart or Exum. (Not that I see that happening because Exum/Wiggins has to be 1-2 on their draft board I would assume). Payton is a guy that I like, although I will admit he has question marks, but he is only 6 Months older than Ennis and a month older than Smart and had 3 years of college playing time. A couple of games vs better teams: vs Baylor - 20 Pts/9 Reb/7 Ast vs Louisville - 12 Pts/5 Reb/10 Ast vs Creighton (NCAA Tourny) - 24 Pts/8 Reb/3 Ast

How would you guys feel if this scenario played out: 1. Milwaukee -- Andrew Wiggins 2. Orlando -- Jabari Parker (Traded to Utah for rights to Exum and #23) 3. Philadelphia -- Joel Embid 4. Utah -- Dante Exum (Traded to Orlando with pick #23 for Jabari Parker) 5. Boston -- Julius Randle 6. LA -- Marcus Smart 7. Sacramento -- Noah Vonleh 8. Detroit -- Gary Harris 9. Cleveland -- Rodney Hood 10. Philadelphia -- Doug McDermott 11. Denver -- Tyler Ennis 12. Orlando -- Aaron Gordon Now I could see Gordon going earlier (Denver, Sacramento, Maybe even as early as Boston if he jumps up draft boards), but if the Magic could swing Exum and Gordon to pair with Oladipo, Harris, Vucevic, as the core. As well as trying to move Afflalo, I really like that result. I wasn't a huge fan of Aaron Gordon but the thought of getting him at #12 would be a very good draft IMO.

Does anyone think that the Magic could move #12 and get an additional pick in the first round? I think Phoenix is one of those teams that might be willing to say part with 14/19 to move up to 12. They would still have two picks in the draft 12/27 while also giving the Magic a nice option to maybe snag Payne at 19.

Charlotte's pick is top 10 protected, so if they go out of the top 10 it goes to Chicago. This move makes their pick in jeopardy already, I would think they have to use the rest of their cap space now. I don't think a "big" fish is going to Charlotte, but I do think they could get Ellis though. Charlotte should amnesty Tyrus Thomas, move Ben Gordon, and sign Ellis. They'll be a lot more competitve than they've been in the last 9 years and would likely make the playoffs next season. If Orlando can get in on making Charlotte better, I'm all for it. Aaron Afflalo and Big Baby for Ben Gordon and Detroit's 2014 pick. That would be glorious and I think it makes Charlotte a pretty good team in the East. They won't be competing for a championship, but they'll make the playoffs. PG: Monta Ellis/Kemba Walker/Ramon Sessions SG: Aaron Afflalo/Gerald Henderson SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist/Aaron Afflalo PF: Cody Zeller/Glenn Davis C: Al Jefferson/Bismack Biyombo

If the Pelicans add Evans on top of acquiring Holiday, do they really need Greivis Vasquez? Could be a nice addition and would fill the PG slot. Will be a RFA after next season, but an extension can still be put on the table to avoid that. I actually really like Vasquez, despite his vulnerability on the defensive end.

And no one is saying draft MCW ahead of Smart. I think Smart is the obvious pick for the Magic at #1 or #2. However if the Magic dropped further in the draft I would take him.

He's not a bad defender at all really and he has the 3rd best SPG average in the nation. I'm not saying he's a lockdown defender, but he's at least average. His shot needs work, but he has excellent vision and is a good rebounder for a guard. I think he has huge upside. I'm not saying the Magic draft him and I do like Smart as well but something about him intrigues me. I also watch Syracuse a lot, so I may have a bias.