jmmagicfan

Doesn't go into effect until the 2019 draft, so this is the last year for "mega-tanking" for the highest odds (25%) of picking #1

If someone actually calls with that trade there should only be two possible responses: 1) Laugh, say "seriously, why did you really call", and then hang up the phone; or 2) Say, "no, no, and hell no", and then hang up the phone. Notice what both responses have in common - HANG UP THE PHONE.

I hope the dying is just figuratively, not literally!

We all do, but I think we have some cause for hope in our bench's improvement at the very least.

I seem to recall that Afflalo is actually a pretty decent defender, and he has apparently been working to get into top shape coming into this season 10-15 pounds lighter, so I'm not sure he isn't a positive versus last year as well. I think he is at least as good on the defensive end as Meeks was.

And rightly so, I'm afraid. How many franchises have loyalty to the players? And the players who do show loyalty by taking smaller contracts to help the team retain and/or bring in better FA never really make that money up. Look at Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki, and this year Kevin Durant. They gave their teams massive "home-town" discounts in the last 5 years; they are never going to recoup that money, but they did it because their owners have shown loyalty to them, and/or the chase for championship(s) have become more important to them, since they've already made so much money. It is the owners/gm's who have shown no loyalty, and no discipline; that can't stay within the salary caps that they helped establish that have had the most trouble, unfortunately, ours included. We all want our teams to spend, spend, spend to bring in the best players and win championships, but when they overspend on mediocre talent it makes bringing in top talent harder.

You absolutely do not need to trade him now, but you need to use the restricted status to work for you. You can try and extend him an offer and lock him up at a reasonable price now, or you can wait until the end of the season. If he has a great season it will boost his value and probably cost you more, if it is about the same then you might still lock him in reasonably. Even a break-out season doesn't guarantee that he will get a max offer. How many teams 1) will have that much space, 2) will be in the market for a PF/combo F, and 3) will be willing to take a chance on tying up their cap-space for a week while we decide to match? Look at how few RFA have gotten big offers lately, not because of lack of interest; but because the thought is their current team will match and you will miss out on other potential FA because the team with the RFA's rights locked up your cap space for a week and then matched. The trick is always communication. You immediately make the qualifying offer (unless he completely comes off the rails), and then start to negotiate in good faith. You even let it be known that you are planning on matching any offer, which may actually discourage other teams from making them. If you are pursuing other FA, and need to defer signing to work the cap space, you let him know; that respect can go a long way when it comes to the long-term with any player.

Trying to figure out why we waived Georges-Hunt, but still have Garino on the roster? Huh? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Sure you can-Dwight Howard did it at least four years here

Mentor for Mario, to try and get him out of his funk and on the right track?

Happy Birthday! Don't hold your breath on the Kyrie to the Magic news. Probably not going to happen, unless Gilbert is really p***ed off, and wants to "punish" Kyrie. Oh, maybe we do have a shot of getting him!

Irving should be careful what he wishes for - I can see him going to NYK for Carmelo. He and Channing Frye combined match up to within $50K for Melo. Throw Cleveland the option to swap firsts the next couple years and I think it's a done deal.

It was when his displeasure with management led to the will he/won't he opt in, and that turned into such a circus that I lost respect for him; and that was pretty much on him. I am pretty sure he made some demands for shots/touches, and that he wanted the offence to be more Dwight-centric; as that has been the report from every stop along his journey. If he had ever been satisfied to be the dominating defensive player that he was earlier in his career, he might have been one of the best ever. Unfortunately, he was never satisfied to concentrate on what he did best. You make yourself a star in the league by adding to your game, not by losing focus on what you do best. Dwight became so focused on becoming an offensive star, that his defensive game has suffered, to the point people forget he was once the best rebounder and defender in the league. Unless and until he regains that focus, he will always be more about what is "best" for Dwight, not what is best for the team; so no, I do not want him back on this team for that reason.

Thanks for the heads up; I thought he had already received medical clearance from his doctor, just not from the Miami team doctor. Too bad we can't do a contract with something like a "home-only" clause, where he could be based exclusively in Orlando until/unless he receives medical clearance from an NBA doctor. Oh well, it was just a thought.

We aren't going to win a championship this year. With the new two-way contracts you have 17 player slots, and even if he never gets medical clearance to play, the contribution he could make to Isaac's (and Gordon"s?) development seems "useful" to me. Imagine if he does get clearance, you can work him into shape and hopefully have that 10-15 minute guy. I don't expect that he will ever be the all-star version of Chris Bosh again, he is getting older and hasn't played competitively for a while now; so I really think the bench guy is our highest hope; but I think I would be satisfied even with just his intellect/mentoring our young bigs.

Here's a wild idea - sign Chris Bosh to a minimum veteran contract. At worst you get an unofficial assistant coach to mentor Isaac, and possibly a practice partner for him. At best, he gets medical clearance, you use him as that 10-15 minute a game backup/emergency starter; and you screw Miami in the process, cause now his remaining salary counts against their cap!

I like this idea, but I doubt Shard would want to come here; his last few years in the NBA were spent chasing championships. Look for him to try to sign a vet minimum with GSW or Cleveland.

Diaw is a great bench guy on a contender, but not sure about him on a rebuilding team. I seem to remember him getting very out of shape and lazy for a couple seasons when he was in either Phoenix or Charlotte. Granted that may be years ago, and maybe he is mentally better now, I just don't know about him with this young group. I love his game, but I think the interview would be heavy on where his head is at. On the plus side, if we are retaining Fournier, this is another Frenchman that he has probably got a rapport with, so maybe he would pass to him(?).

Any idea what's going on with Birch - it seemed like it was a done deal, but still haven't seen him listed on our roster, or any official announcements?

Just something to remember, our rookie Iwundu is older than both Hezonja and Gordon; so we need to keep that in perspective as far as how much more maturing their games are going to do. We still have a lot of guys on this team under 25. Biyambo 8/28/92 Fournier 10/29/92 Garino 5/17/93 Georges-Hunt 3/28/94 Gordon 9/16/95 Hezonja 2/25/95 Isaac 10/03/97 Iwundu 12/20/94 Payton 2/22/94 and both Ross and Vucevic are only 26 (Ross 27 in Feb, Vuch 27 in Oct) Even if you waive both Garino and Georges-Hunt, that still leaves us with 7 guys that are 25 and under on our roster, and you expect 5 or 6 to be in our main rotation.

All right, how about Biyombo and Augustin for Jackson, Marcus Morris, and Stanley Johnson.

So what if we offer Detroit Vucevic and Augustin for Reggie Jackson and Stanley Johnson. Who says no? The numbers work on the trade machine.

Thanks P4TW and Rock Legends (saw yours after)

Has anyone seen a summer team roster yet for any of the teams? The only thing on the page seems to be the schedule.

Josh Jackson is the hardest guy for me to figure out who is going to pull the trigger on him. He seems to me like a really good, all-around player. The kind that would make a great second banana. I just think there are enough players that are better at ONE thing, that when combined with the issue he had while in college, it will allow teams to talk themselves out of picking him. I think if he gets past the C's at #3, he may fall. If the Celtics hadn't just lost in the playoffs due to Offensive shortcomings, I would put him there; but they did, so I went with Tatum. I think he would be a good fit with Phoenix, but I think Isaac is a slightly better Defensive player, which they need more. The Kings really need a point guard, so I can see them debating hard, but ultimately choosing Fox. The T-Wolves have Wiggins, so I don't see him going there; I did debate Monk vs Markannen to them, since I like the small ball fit with Towns/Markannen/Wiggins up front, but decided on the extra backcourt depth there. I don't see NY taking him unless they are ready to move on from the Melo era, and Ntilikina seems like a real fit for the triangle. I'm not sure that there is enough of Nowitski's game in Markannen to convince the Mavs to take him over Josh Jackson, but I'm not sure there aren't enough for them to pass on Markannen. I don't think the Kings pass on him twice, hence him going #10.