TreyMachine

I think in order to get Paul George here, we have to give him a max contract. That's a 4-5 year deal if I'm not mistaken. The guy is injury-prone and 34 years old. I could see us giving him a massive 3 year deal (to coincide with the start of Paolo's max contract) but I just don't see us giving him a long-term deal which is probably what he wants. With that being said, the only team that's really difficult to get through in the East is Boston (and maybe a healthy Milwaukee). If the Magic can convince George, who wants a ring, that the Magic are his best chance to get one with a young talented team, maybe he agrees to a deal on our terms?

Trae Young is a ball-dominant player with poor efficiency. Yes, he scores 25 with 10 assists per game, but what is his net rating when he's on Defense? What's his True Shooting Efficiency? We love to talk about PPG, RPG, and APG because it's the metrics that have been talked about since the 60's, but there is SO MUCH MORE to basketball than those per game numbers.

The only thing I could CONCEIVABLY see us do this off-season is: 1) Take on a Salary Dump for a player with 2-3 years left on his contract and get some picks in return for taking on the contract (and maybe even cutting the player). 2) Overpaying a stop-gap PG for a 2 year stint (CP3, Jones) before maybe Anthony Black is ready to take over. I think we see how much money we're going to be paying Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, and Paolo Banchero in the next 2-3 years and they're not going to balloon their payroll so that they have a hard time paying those guys with the luxury tax (which Orlando won't want to hit because they're not a big market... think more "Moneyball" type management).

I for some odd reason only remembered them getting one or maybe two firsts out of the deal, and this being after he came off an All-Star campaign. The deal in hindsight makes the Spurs look like they knew what they had and came out like Bandits in that trade. I'll still reiterate - Murray and Young are both guys that need to have the ball in their hands and aren't THE guy on a championship caliber team as neither motivates or makes the players around them better. Of either, I'd take Murray, but I just think he messes with our team chemistry far too much from what I know about him.

Coach Pop traded away Dejounte Murray for pennies because he didn’t believe he had the mentality to become a great player on a championship team (likely too “me first” and uncoachable). Trae Young is a slower, worse shooting, worse defending, worse leader version of Steph Curry. Everyone had / has inflated his value because he shot a lot in college like Steph and had pretty long range comparable to Steph. But unlike Steph, his game requires to have the ball in his hands and he tends to be a pretty big defensively liability. Garland might be my favorite because his efficiency is higher, he’s younger, and he’s a competitor - but he too needs to have the ball in his hands to be effective (he would sometimes disappear from the offense when Donavan Mitchell decided to take over) and doesn’t necessarily make the players around him better. The most ideal scenario for me his Tyrese Haliburton to play alongside the Paolo / Franz duo but he’s not being traded anytime soon. A player like that though - a greater passer and great 3PT shooter, along with an above average shot creator - is all we need at the PG to take this team to the next level.

Some guys fill up the stat sheet but are not winners. Lavine and Vuc (as much as I hate to say it) are two of those players. They score / score+rebound but don't impact that small ways games are won, especially on the defensive end - and Lavine it feels like isn’t a guy a lot of other guys like the play with. This isn't NBA 2K. Pass.

I think Cole is a great locker room guy, selfless, and ultimately can score when called upon but doesn't HAVE TO anymore (which he forced in his first few years). I agree I think he's kind of reach his ceiling as a 2nd tier 6th man type of player as he's not much of a passer - but I certainly don't think we overpaid for him and I think he's still part of a winning team and basketball culture.

I’ve never understood the idea that people don’t believe Paolo is a 1A scorer. “We need another scorer” suggests you want someone who is going to take the ball OUT of Paolo’s hands. When building a TEAM, you can’t just put a bunch of greater scorers together who need the ball. Give me 1 or 2 guys that need the ball in their hands then add 3 guys who play a combination of good defense, make smart passes, and hit open jump shots. THATS IT! Look at the make-up of Denver, Golden State, or Boston as a great template. trading for superstars /big scorers in my mind is overrated. The cost today with the Mitchell, Gobert, and Durant trades are just wild and (IMO) not worth it in the long run. Look at Brooklyn, Phoenix, Chicago, and either LA team. All of them mortgaged their futures to bring in the star scorers on individual teams and IT HASNT WORKED! Why? Because there are little things on the stat sheet that don’t show up that are NEEDED to win - more than just scoring points.

After reading up on him, I’m on the Tyus Jones train. Led the league how many times in assist-to-turnover ratio, is a 40% 3PT shooter, and was a pretty strong winner wherever he went (outside of the Wizards, whom I’m sure it’s been hell for him). He’s 28. Give him a 3 year deal stronger than anyone else will give him and call it a day. He can help train up AB and Jalen and greatly improve our offense immediately by consistently stretch the floor for Paolo and Franz. I have defensive concerns, but he’s athletic and a competitor so I think he can thrive in a good system and opportunity.

Magic brass care far too much about culture. One good player can be a locker room cancer if attitude isn't there. D-Lo feels like a risk from that perspective, at least from what I know about him. If this were NBA 2K I would be open to it as he's a great offensive player, but defense and effort are questionable, which won't fly with this team.

Get a veteran Mike Conley-like PG for 2 years and let AB keep growing. Y'all were the same people calling for Jalen's head after his Rookie Year. AB is a great athlete with a high IQ and high work ethic. He'll be fine.

Did Mitchell have beef with Bickerstaff?? I don’t remember reading this though I remember hearing the locker room was toxic by the second round - another reason to come to Orlando with a healthy culture in place to decompress

JB Bickerstaff just got fired from the Cavs. Crazy. With that being said, we never added a staff member to replace Nate Tibbetts as the #2 coach on our team. With how close Mose and JB are, and how the only coaching vacancies right now are the Lakers and the Wizards.... I'm going it's 75% likely JB comes and is an assistant coach with the Magic next year. Would be a GREAT hire in my mind to help Mose with X's and O's.

Hyper-Athlete. High IQ. Great motor. Gym Rat. Name me one player with all 4 of these qualities who didn't turn out to be a great basketball player. If the answer is "I can't," then you bet the farm in 2-3 years minimum Anthony Black figures this out.

I love Paolo, but he's not Anthony Edwards. We'll be there, but we need an elite scoring guard before we can start talking Championship. My goal next year is ECF. I think it's going to be some time to get by Boston (and even a healthy Philly) and I don't think we're beating MN, DEN, OKC in a series yet. A lot of things have to go our way to get to this next level and I'm someone who truly believes this group is special.

I think everyone forgets how much everyone was poo-poo'ing on Jalen Suggs in his rookie year. The guys shot 36% from the field and 21% from 3PT. He just shot 39% from 3PT and is likely All NBA 2nd Team this year. Anthony Black shot 46% from the field and 39% from 3PT on 1.5 shots per game. The kid didn't play basketball full time until late high school as he was a 5 star WR recruit in his early high school days. He, like Suggs, is too athletic, smart, and hard working to not become a great all-around player.

I'm just not convinced that this team is going to spend money now on a guy who wants a long(er) max contract to then struggle to stay under the salary cap with signing Suggs, Franz, and Paolo to big deals. We're not a big market and can't really push the cap too much. I was thinking what someone like Buddy Heild could help as he's seen as a good defender and, from my understanding a really good 3PT shooter... but I just looked at the stats and last year, he shot 38.4% from 3PT. You know who shot 39.7%? JALEN SUGGS. I don't think we need an elite expensive PG. I think we need a guy who can play good defense, make good passes, and knock down 3PT's. Someone in the similar mold of Mike Conley or Jrue Holiday. Let Paolo cook and the rest of the team play good team basketball.

Also, I find it sad that he can't let basketball go and just retire with dignity. Most guys retire to go on and be with their wives/kids, start investing in other activities... I just don't think Dwight has a direction or purpose he knows of and without a family (he's got a lot of kids all around he gets visitation with), it's like he's lost with what to do post-basketball. I'm hoping he finds an outlet and some peace.

I think the off-court issues mixed with the fact that he STILL wants to make things about himself is a no-go. I see him trying to make jokes that just don't land in the locker room and then doubling down on those awkward jokes. He was always a jokester and it worked / was tolerable when he was the alpha in the locker room, but I just don't see his and Paolo's personalities jiving in any which way. 0% chance for me as well.

I have been against any big FA signings because we just won't have the cap space in 2 years if that's the case to sign Paolo to a max extension without going over the luxury (I would assume) with Franz and Jalen up for extensions this year. But if we can sign someone like a Paul George on just a two year High-dollar deal, then I'm probably more for it. I don't want to give up our cap space long term to an aging star. The problem is I think that LA makes a more compelling offer than what we'd be willing to give him. The Clippers are in a bad place right now with Harden and Kawhi - they HAVE TO win now. It is a MUST for them to keep Paul George and hope everyone is healthier next year, and I think they give a 3-4 year max offer to him to keep him. I just don't see us overpaying for a single player. If it's a two year deal for a high performer... sure. But with Paolo, and likely Franz, on max deals, we just have to be very careful with how we allocate the rest of our cap space.

We saw what he did with the Paolo pick. This front office is no longer the days of Moldy Hobo where information got leaked pretty easily. We won’t know what they are doing until it is within hours of the front office announcing it.

Separate note, can we start a Magic Offseason Thread? Discussing what's on the docket for the offseason, what contracts are up, who are potential FA signings, etc?

I like everyone here thinks the future is bright and this was actually the best realistic outcome. WHY? Because I think realistically we're getting swept 4-0 or 4-1 to the Celtics. I don't think the Cavs have a prayer against them. So by losing in Game 7 of a close series - that hurts more than winning and then getting absolutely torched. The guys will work harder this offseason because the sting was greater. And they'll come back stronger because of it.

We have always been a good home team. My hope is that the confidence from the last two games translates over into Cleveland. Frankly don’t want this to go back to a game 7 in Cleveland. Take care of business in Game 5 so we have the ability to shut them out in Game 6 at home.

Just please don't put out an Orlando Sentinel poll asking if fans think Paolo Bachero is worth $200M.