jmmagicfan

Redick interviewing for a head coaching job does seem a bit presumptuous considering he has never coached before; however, he did have some really good coaches, was a premier college player who couldn’t get off the bench his first few seasons in the NBA, and turned in the effort to become a valuable player with a reasonable career. Would I hire him as a shooting/development coach, absolutely. Would I hire him as a 1st or 2nd assistant, probably. As a head coach, maybe not.

There should be some scenarios already planned, such as potential trade packages depending on what happens. What will you consider giving up to trade for a top pick; or what will you expect to be offered if you get a top pick? Is #1 untouchable? #2 or #3? What are your starting points to even talk? Is there a Weber for Hardaway plus picks deal to be done? A Trae Young/Luka Doncic type trade package? I would bet money the Front Office is working on all kinds of scenarios right now. Those kinds of deals don’t just happen at the last minute on draft night. They are worked for hours, days, or weeks ahead and only finalized at the end. If they aren’t already planning, then there is a big problem!

Anthony Edwards had enough of a breakout season that he is probably untouchable now. Minnesota might trade Gobert or KAT, but Antman would cost as much as they gave up to get Gobert. Kuminga for Okeke plus the Magic's pick would possibly do it, but I doubt the Bull's pick would. I'm on the fence about Kuminga, actually. He came in as a hot prospect, but he has cooled off for me. I might prefer Hendriks or Gradey Dick.

Except, TRoss wasn't really getting any minutes in the last 15-20 games with us unless someone was out injured. We had committed to playing our younger players, so we bought him out to give him the chance to sign on with a contender. It was a move to a) reward him for his years here, 2) open up a roster spot for us to evaluate/bring in Goga, and 3) make us look good to other players/agents going forward.

Either their scouting team is ridiculously good, or (as a Magic/Celtics fan it hurts to say this) Pat Riley is a really good GM.

No trading for another player that has missed more games than he has played due to injury.

This is what makes me anxious to see what (if anything) our guys add to their games over the course of the summer. The good players continue to work on their strengths, the great ones recognize and work to improve their weaknesses. I'm not a fan of Lebron, but this is part of what has made him a great player. Without that self-assessment and commitment, you have a Carmelo Anthony; with it you have a Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, Lebron, or Kobe. I think Trae is on the Carmelo track, of a very good player who works on his strengths, but lacks the self-awareness and commitment to work on his weaknesses.

Having grown up in Maine, I was a big Celtics fan back in the day (Bird, McHale, etc); so they are my 2nd team, but I hate the Heat and the Lakers.

Every Magic fan’s nightmare, Miami and the Lakers both leading their series. Argh!!!

Depends on where we’re drafting, and what we’re trading for him, but I wouldn’t hate it. I do like him.

Philly officially has given up all claims to the City of Brotherly Love. Not one, but two attempts at groin shots by their all-stars. Embiid should have been tossed. And then they tee up Claxton for that flexing. I’m not a fan of either team, but WTF is that crap?!? Disgraceful!

Best case scenario is Bulls win the coin flip, but their pick stays at 11, so it becomes ours; and we manage to win the lottery and our pick is top-4. Worst scenario is Bulls win a top-4, and keep their pick; while three other teams jump up as well, leaving us with only pick 10, and the Bulls pick next year, which probably will be out of the lottery completely.

We’re pick 6, the Bulls pick depends on a coin flip with OKC for 11/12. That’s pre-lottery, of course.

Nope, the only thing that could change is if they beat Miami for the 8th seed and/or if OKC makes it in. If they beat Miami, then they would then be out of the lottery and would have the 15th or 16th pick; since they would have the worst record of the playoff teams or in a coin flip if OKC makes it in. If neither OKC or Chicago makes it into the playoffs, then the coin flip is for 11/12 (pre-lottery). Obviously, if one makes it in, they are out of the lottery and the other gets 11. The other would be 15, as the worst record of playoff teams.

I'm really hoping that we can pull Cason Wallace and one of the wing shooters. I think that would probably be both the BPA at our projected spots (6-8, 11-12), and also the best fit for our team. To me, fit becomes the final factor; way after ability and mental/character, but if you are reasonably equal on everything else, then fit comes into play.

The draft lottery is held on May 16th. After the lottery, we will know what pick(s) we have. We will then have about six weeks for the front office to finalize some roster decisions prior to the draft/free agency. 6/29/2023 Admiral Schofield 2023-24 Club Option $1,997,238 6/29/2023 Michael Carter-Williams 2023-24 Club Option $3,051,144 6/30/2023 Bol Bol 2023-24 Guaranteed $2,200,000 6/30/2023 Cole Anthony 2024-25 Qualifying Offer $7,744,600 6/30/2023 Gary Harris 2023-24 Guaranteed $13,000,000 7/01/2023 Markelle Fultz 2023-24 Guaranteed $17,000,000 Spotrac hasn't updated it but Goga's Club Option is also 6/30. And Moe Wagner becomes a Free Agent on 6/30 as well(we have Bird rights).

We wouldn't have to sit out free agency, but we would have to make some roster space. If we guaranteed G Harris, Bol, Bitadze, and re-signed Moe to about $3M, that would still leave us with $17-18M in Cap Space with the new cap of $134M. The problem is, that only leaves the two roster spots for our 1st round picks. By waiving Bol (sorry, TMF) we open a roster space and have about $20M in space. Waiving Bol and G Harris gets us to about $33K with two open spots. (All assuming we don't keep Schofield and MCW, or convert K Harris or Scrubb; though I don't know why we would). I like Bol, I just don't think he can defend in the post, and everyone in the league knows it. We will see countless picks to get him switched onto PF/C in the lane. I just think Moe and Bitadze are better fits/more valuable to the team as a whole. Having said that, I think a lot of decisions are going to happen fast after the lottery.

It seems like they are going with what I originally thought - keeping JI through the beginning of the season and making the "final" decision closer to his guarantee date in Jan'24, where his salary jumps from the $7.6M currently guaranteed, up to the full season of $17M guaranteed. I'm not completely surprised, but I'm also not convinced they will stick to that if we get the first pick/Wemby. I think that would change everything.

I would tend to agree. Every time I have watched Luka play, I have come away impressed with his ability, but appalled at his attitude. He comes across to me as whiny and petulant. There’s a reason he is among the leaders in technical fouls. I’m not sure he is the leader you want without a strong veteran presence to “offset” that attitude and keep it from pervading the rest of the roster.

Mr Hollinger, Shaquille O'Neal is on the phone for you, and he doesn't sound very happy. Something about you dissing him?!?

You rock TMF!!

I actually think Gradey Dick will probably still be available at #9 and Wallace at #11. I just hope Gradey doesn't suck, the irony of it with his name would be too much!

All of these are fair points, I just feel bad for the young man. I'm sure that the multiple injuries have gotten into his head, leaving him much less confident in his body and his game; which has made him somewhat tentative on the court, and probably in practice as well. I like Chuma, and I really hope he can get his mind and body straight. It may well be time for us to move on from him; but it is a shame. Here's hoping that being physically able to play the 30+ minutes last night without injury will start a turnaround in his psyche. I think these next two games are very important for him, maybe more so than for anyone else on the "normal" bench group.

He played 32 minutes in only his third game back, I’m not surprised he looked out of sync. I don’t know when the last time he played that much was, but I bet it wasn’t in 2023. We really didn’t have a cohesive squad in the game. Other than Suggs, Moe, and Goga, none of the other guys had played at all in more than 3-4 of the last ten games, and none normally get more than 10-15 minutes per game. Are they supposed to be ready, sure, but we know that there is nothing like real game conditioning and consistency. I think you might be reading too much into a bad game from a player who is just coming back. I’m actually surprised that they played him that much so soon.

I’m watching, but I’m not good at splitting my focus to type and watch at the same time.