jmmagicfan

It seems like a pretty thin hope to actually put another two years of planning in on.

I am pretty sure they are capped out, so the only way they can "replace" him is to either re-sign him or sign & trade him. They either have to re-sign him, or start a fairly major overhaul on the fly; and we all know that doesn't usually work out too well.

I definitely get why we would be interested in KD, just not sure what makes you think we can steal him from OKC. He seems pretty settled in there, and they continue to be one of the top 4 teams in the league. If they significantly decline, or start to Otis the team, then maybe; but so far they seem pretty well run, and they can offer him more years/money than anyone else. I won't say there is no chance because it is a couple years away, but I think it is between slim and none, and Slim is looking for the exit.

Easily one of, if not the most talented free agent this summer - unfortunately he does seem to be a head-case.

There are people who like Gordon better than either of them, but yes, I agree that 5-7 will probably be Randle, Vonleh and Gordon in some order. The Lakers might surprise us and grab Smart instead of one of them, so I guess there is an outside chance one of them might be there at 8, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

I figure that Wiggins, Embiid, Parker and Exum will go in the first four, and I would guess that Gordon, Vonleh, Randle, and Smart will probably be in the next four. Not necessarily in those orders, but I think those are your first eight taken. So, could one of them be there at 8 or 9, maybe, but not likely. Edit: obviously one of them would have to be there at #8, since there are only eight of them mentioned, I meant Vonleh and Randle specifically. Doubtful they will be there at 8, even more doubtful at 9.

But you wouldn't have Afflalo - you already traded him to get the 9th - and I don't think Utah goes for the 9th + 12th for the 5th?

Not sure who would take that package, probably not Utah; Boston or LA, maybe; Sacramento @ 8, probably not. Not sure who would be available to us at #9 - Vonleh, Randle, Gordon, Smart might all be gone there; so do you go with McDermott or maybe Saric? Both seem to be projected as 3/4 tweeners, with McD more a 3 and Saric more of a 4. And if you go with one of them, do you go with a wing at #12, or do you reach for Payne as the next PF option?

I would rather have the deal with Utah, though I might try to squeeze them to include the #23 and pick up a little extra wing depth, like LaVine, Early, Hairston, Anderson, McDaniels or Robinson. Exum/Nelson/Price Oladipo/LaVine/Moore Harris/Harkless Vonleh/O'Quinn/Maxiel Vucevic/Dedmon

What is it with all of you losing control of bodily functions in your pants?

I have seen a lot of people talking about saving our cap space until 2015, but I am not sure who/what we would be holding it for. ESPN's list of potential free agents for 2015 didn't really strike me as that impressive? Edit: I did notice LaMarcus Aldridge, but with the improvement in Portland this year, they may be able to lock him back up before then.

Cool, thanks!

I can't find this on Bleacher, do you have a link?

I didn't think any of you were that impressed with Randle? Now if we can trade AA and wind up with Exum, Randle and Hood/Young you are ready to poop yourselves?? What changed?

I would be too - but I am seeing a lot of "trade AA for #8 or 9 and grab Gordon, Vonleh, or Randle". I actually like us with #4 and #12.

I'm okay with that too.

Not my ideal, I would rather see us make a more aggressive move for a star, I'm just not sure there is one I like available this year. On the other hand, we would still have Nelson and Maxiel as solid veterans to mentor, Bledsoe as a 4-5 year veteran to integrate/build our young core around, and a ton of cap space for 2015. Everyone seems convinced we aren't making any major moves this year anyway. Edit: Why we're supposedly holding our cap space for 2015 I don't know - ESPN's list of FA for 2015 is kind of underwhelming to me?

Here we go - how about this one: Magic trade Afflalo, Nicholson and #4 to Phoenix for: Eric Bledsoe, #14, #18, and #27 (I know Bledsoe is a RFA, so it would have to be some sort of sign & trade, maybe even split into two trades) You draft #12 Nik Stauskas #14 Tyler Ennis #18 Adrien Payne #27 Cleanthony Early Waive Lamb, don't guarantee Price, re-sign Moore cheap; this gives you Bledsoe/Ennis/Nelson Oladipo/Stauskas/Moore Harris/Harkless/Early O'Quinn/Payne/Maxiel Vucevic/Dedmon

All we need is Love, ya da da da da. All we need is Love, ya da da da da. All we need is Love, Love; Love is all we need. (Actually, I'm not sure if I would want Kevin Love, I just couldn't resist because of the Lennon photo.)

Not sure if he is from LA originally, but I know he went to UCLA. I agree that AA next to a healthy Kobe shores them up, but everyone seems to think they are after a PG.

Obviously we will get one of those guys with #4, presumably Wiggins, Parker, Embiid, or Exum. I'm just not sure if any of those next four is going to be more valuable than AA, and realistically you will probably not have your pick of them, it will be whoever is left; I don't see Utah, or LA trading their picks for AA, they already have Hayward and Kobe. Boston @ #6 and Sacramento @ #8 might trade. If you look at the attached link for number 8 through the last 20 years, there are links for each number on the page. I attached the #8, since Sacramento has been mentioned a lot as willing to trade for a "win-now" reason, but I didn't see very many players at #8 that I would trade AA for over the years. There are actually as many or more that were picked #9 and #10. Historically speaking that is. http://www.mynbadraft.com/nba-draft-picks/8th-overall/80509/

This is actually a very good argument, and I actually agree with you that Afflalo is not superstar material, and he is one of those mediocre contracts.(Please, someone give me a "mediocre" contract like that!!!!) So, the obvious question then becomes, how do we get a couple of those max/near-max guys. The answer is that you draft them; create cap space and sign them out-right as free agents; or you do a sign and trade for one in free agency; or you trade for one who is not happy with their current team/situation. We have already said that we probably aren't going to be in the running for a max/near-max guy in FA this summer; so that means we either have to make cap space for next summer, or trade for one. In either case, I think AA's value stays high up to the trade deadline, and possibly beyond. The problem with signing a veteran like Ray Allen, or anyone else is, those guys don't want to go to rebuilding teams. Those guys only wind up signing with contending teams (top 4 playoff team contention). The Thunder, Spurs & Pacers mainly got their max/near-max guys through the draft, the Heat through clearing cap space/FA wanting to play together. The guys we drafted aren't there yet, and our clearing cap space effort is apparently aimed more at next summer. I just don't get the urgency to trade AA, unless the deal is too good to miss. I haven't seen anyone propose a deal too good to miss that I think the other team would do yet. It doesn't mean one isn't out there, it just means I haven't seen it.

It is possible that I was unclear. I might have disagreed that it was a problem, and I might have disagreed that our younger players should be given time, but obviously the more players you have that play the same position, the more competition you have for minutes. Yes, you want your younger players to have real, game-time minutes, not just practice court minutes, to further their development. I think JVaughn has done a pretty good job of rewarding effort on the practice court with real game minutes, and I expect that our rookies and 2nd year player(s) will continue to get some minutes based on practice court effort as much as for game time effectiveness. You give some minutes to rookies/2nd year, but at some point you have to give less and make them earn it. I expect that our 2nd and 3rd year guys will get minutes based more on their in-game effectiveness, that is part of the maturing professional process. AA got a lot of time at the SF position last year - we were thin at that position with Harris injured, Turkoglu suspended/fading, and Harkless still developing/lacking consistency. We were also thin at SG last year - since we were trying Vic at the point, and our other options were Moore and Lamb. I expect that at least one of the two will be gone, so if we get two backcourt/wing rookies, then finding time for two rookies and AA may be a problem, but you also have to look at how much time you are going to play Jameer. I think if we get Exum it is Jameer who may lose minutes, as I can see a three guard rotation of Exum/Oladipo/AA. If we get Wiggins, I still see AA getting time as SG/SF until Harris/Harkless push him out. No, he is not as good at SF, as the matchups are tougher from a size standpoint, but unless you have or can get someone better, you go with what you have. At some point, maybe you start looking to move him, but that means you are probably looking at another non-playoff season. I'm not sure you want that as some of your top young players reach RFA. At some point, losing begets more losing, and players start to want out. I am not against trading AA, I just think that we need to have some veteran leadership, and we need to get equal value for him. I just disagree with what "equal" value is. Jameer is on the downside of his career, though still serviceable. The same with Maxiel. Price is not yet guaranteed, and has never been a consistent starter in the league. AA is the only guy on our team under 30, but with more than 3 years in the league who is/has been a regular starter, and is a borderline all-star. He is currently our only mid-length guy. If we are trading him, I want someone in the 25-28 year old range, with at least 4 years in the league, and maybe some draft picks as well. I just believe that you need some of that mid-level experience in the mix, too.

I agree that it does create more competition for playing time.

You are correct, and I would be very concerned about the summer of 2016 since Kobe will likely be gone, Pau should be gone, they will have this year's #7 pick, presumably a reasonable 2016 pick, and enough cap space to potentially sign two big names. They are pretty hand-cuffed until then.