Official 2015 Offseason Thread

[jmmagicfan 302]

Me too, though I'm not entirely certain how well he would do at the 4. He is a terrific player, so I expect he would find a way to make us better.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if he was our top FA target next summer.

If I remember correctly, Horford did play the 4 throughout most of his college career - he got moved to the 5 because Atlanta didn't have anyone else better his first couple of seasons, and he kind of got stuck there.

 

Edit: Played at Florida with Joakim Noah - they kind of both played PF/C. I think Speights backed them both up the final year before they made the jump to the NBA.

[Catman 380]

If Atlanta takes a nose dive I think I'd rather try and get Horford. (I think we might try and get him in free agency anyway).

 

Agree. I think he is a great target for Orlando.

 

If I remember correctly, Horford did play the 4 throughout most of his college career - he got moved to the 5 because Atlanta didn't have anyone else better his first couple of seasons, and he kind of got stuck there.

 

Yes you are correct. Horford was actually an all star level PF. Now can he stretch the floor and stroke 3s like Milsap? No.

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

They may never be mentioned as one of the all-time great teams, but the Golden State Warriors have forever altered the trajectory of the NBA. Not because of what they did but how they did it, and with the Warriors serving as a template of inspiration, the Orlando Magic is primed to become the NBA’s next great team.

 

It sounds like the beginning of a drunken stupor that Orlando is somehow on track to rise to the top of the NBA hierarchy. There’s barely, if any, parallel between the Orlando Magic and a championship team.

 

Jack Daniels aside, saying that the Orlando Magic, a team who has failed to crack the 30-win margin for the past three seasons, is no Shakespearian soliloquy going on a tangent expressing compassion for a protagonist destined for a tragic downfall.

 

It doesn’t hurt to know the facts, though. For instance, the Magic do not have an All-NBA superstar capable of leading them, singlehandedly, past the other elite teams in the league. Subpar is a word that comes to mind when asked to describe their offense or defense. Having all of their top five scorers from last season returning is a bonus, but they are all younger than 25-years-old; none seem ready of assuming a full-time leadership role. Actually, as it stands, Orlando’s opening day roster will have nine players on the team who are younger than 25, so maturity is a major question mark for the whole team. Oh, did I mention they have a brand new head coach too?

http://isportsweb.co...state-warriors/

[~O~ 565]

These were the rising star jerseys for the Magic. I believe the Magic should derive a new jersey from this concept. The texture detail is what sets it apart.

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

Following the fallout of the Dwight Howard trade back in the summer of 2012, the Orlando Magic were on the receiving end of much hand wringing. In fairness, the response to a franchise parting ways with its star player shouldn’t be appraisal. After all, the name of the game is to acquire star players, not trade them away.

 

To further complicate matters, Howard’s relationship with then-coach Stan Van Gundy ended on extremely awkward terms. In a matter of months, the Orlando Magic basically burned the entire operation down. No longer did they have a star player, no longer did they have a highly successful coach and no longer did they have a true identity.

 

The word “rebuild” is pretty much taboo, across all professional sports. Rarely do franchises want to associate themselves with such a flammable term. The Magic didn’t exactly distance themselves from it, if only because it’d be damn near impossible to justify their last three years of basketball existence as otherwise. Having won 68 games in the last three seasons combined says pretty much everything you’d need to know.

 

The good news is that the 2015-16 Magic appear poised for…something. The same cannot be said for the three other teams involved in the Howard trade. The Lakers, in terms of an on-court product, are in maybe the worst shape the historically great franchise has ever been in. The 76ers are unabashedly rebuilding, in large part, due to an ultimately disastrous gamble on Andrew Bynum. And the Nuggets are somewhere between lost and confused.

http://www.todaysfas...gic-are-coming/

[jmmagicfan 302]

[/size]http://isportsweb.co...state-warriors/

Good article with some good points - except for referring to CJ Watson as CJ Miles the first time he mentioned him.

[~O~ 565]

The writer of the article fails to mention Jacque Vaughn's lack of coaching who failed to germinate an identity for this team. The Magic did try to run the ball up court with an uptempo pace but it back fired through the lack of experience. The Magic didn't have enough time to implement the strategy....it was 2/4's the way through the season. Strategy should be organized and dictated through the off season and camp. We only got worse when we fired him which translated to an early offseason.

I'm really getting annoyed by this so called "attitude" problem that Hezonja allegedly has. They mention his attitude but don't go any further into specifics but simply reiterate what other numerous articles continuously state. Its like scratched Vinyl. Does anyone know....his specific attitudes? Is he too cocky because every man should have confidence in themselves. There's a limit on cockiness; I understand that. Does he talk to much? Its off season...he won't be talking. Meh.

I feel the Magic are way marginally better when playing the traditional style lineups in the paint with and Vucevic when comparing that aspect of the game to Warriors. Bogut is not their primary option for sure and Davis Lee is gone. They have no real backup center..David Lee is gone so Speights is going to take his minutes. The thing about this is that our big men and forwards aren't major liabilities in the clutch when it comes to scoring and freethrow shooting.

The author overbearingly praises the Magic's athleticism and versatility. We get it. The Magic have an disrespected all-star in Vucevic but no catalyst superstar that'll place the team over 50 percent and become the different maker in games decided by single digit differentials. A fusion would do justice but luckily the Magic are heavy in all-star potential. Superstar? Maybe.

 

Skiles has to undo all the whatever misguidance Jacque Vaughn set in the minds of some of the players. For Harkless, it was too late. Skiles is going to have to trust Oladipo...but Oladipo is going to have to play in control of himself. I truly hope he's conditioned himself to play throughout the game without being winded. Nicholson...isn't mentioned in the article because he's forgettable. I'm interested in how Skiles will use him if at all.

 

Gordon has a higher ceiling than Green but he'll have to work on his first step in order to take players off the dribble. Aaron Gordon should average more rebounds and blocks through his gifted athleticism.

I feel we can be the slight polar opposite of the Golden State Warriors......if they were major defenders that could shut down players below their averages and have an above average offense.

[Mauro Pedrosa 1,032]

This had me in stitches

 

http://www.nba.com/magic/victor-oladipos-magic-fit-shuffle

[Murphy13 185]

While I thoroughly enjoy reading about any press the Magic get outside of local media, I did not care for the GS article at all. I found it to be poorly thought out with faulty logic. But, Orlando stands to be an improved team, its good that they are getting some press.

[CTMagicUK 1,483]

This had me in stitches

 

http://www.nba.com/magic/victor-oladipos-magic-fit-shuffle

 

Can't believe they did this without inviting Jason Smith! (

)

[Mauro Pedrosa 1,032]

Can't believe they did this without inviting Jason Smith! (

)

Very impressive for a giant

[Catalina Maria 64]

The writer of the article fails to mention Jacque Vaughn's lack of coaching who failed to germinate an identity for this team. The Magic did try to run the ball up court with an uptempo pace but it back fired through the lack of experience. The Magic didn't have enough time to implement the strategy....it was 2/4's the way through the season. Strategy should be organized and dictated through the off season and camp. We only got worse when we fired him which translated to an early offseason.

I'm really getting annoyed by this so called "attitude" problem that Hezonja allegedly has. They mention his attitude but don't go any further into specifics but simply reiterate what other numerous articles continuously state. Its like scratched Vinyl. Does anyone know....his specific attitudes? Is he too cocky because every man should have confidence in themselves. There's a limit on cockiness; I understand that. Does he talk to much? Its off season...he won't be talking. Meh.

I feel the Magic are way marginally better when playing the traditional style lineups in the paint with and Vucevic when comparing that aspect of the game to Warriors. Bogut is not their primary option for sure and Davis Lee is gone. They have no real backup center..David Lee is gone so Speights is going to take his minutes. The thing about this is that our big men and forwards aren't major liabilities in the clutch when it comes to scoring and freethrow shooting.

The author overbearingly praises the Magic's athleticism and versatility. We get it. The Magic have an disrespected all-star in Vucevic but no catalyst superstar that'll place the team over 50 percent and become the different maker in games decided by single digit differentials. A fusion would do justice but luckily the Magic are heavy in all-star potential. Superstar? Maybe.

 

Skiles has to undo all the whatever misguidance Jacque Vaughn set in the minds of some of the players. For Harkless, it was too late. Skiles is going to have to trust Oladipo...but Oladipo is going to have to play in control of himself. I truly hope he's conditioned himself to play throughout the game without being winded. Nicholson...isn't mentioned in the article because he's forgettable. I'm interested in how Skiles will use him if at all.

 

Gordon has a higher ceiling than Green but he'll have to work on his first step in order to take players off the dribble. Aaron Gordon should average more rebounds and blocks through his gifted athleticism.

I feel we can be the slight polar opposite of the Golden State Warriors......if they were major defenders that could shut down players below their averages and have an above average offense.

 

Oh that is the genius of Hennigan. JV was all part of the plan. The suckage that was the Magic under Jacque netted us top picks. Strategically, he was let go when it was time to go to the next level :-) It was all part of the plan! What?????