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Official 2015 Offseason Thread

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Millsapp at 4 would have been an upgrade just because he is a proven player with experience. I think he would have been encouraged to spread the floor more with us though. He is a classic PF that was converted to a stretch 4 at ATL and he apparently likes it as he resigned with them.

 

The problem with ATL was not that they played small ball IMO, I think the issue was that it was too easy to man up and defend them on the perimeter. If you go watch the Cleveland series you will see what I mean. Cleveland players were face guarding them on the 3 point line because they knew that the only Hawk who could beat them 1 on 1 was Teague, and they were cool with Teague driving to the hoop.

 

Their wings were basically all jump shooters in the half court. As a result, Korver could not get comfortable and he shot poorly. They also suffered a ton of injuries as well. I would not be surprised if ATL is worse this season because Carroll was a very good player for them on 3+d and on the fast break.

 

What I like about the Magic's potential is that they can create off the dribble. Elf and Oldipo can not be face guarded on the wings. Harris can do work in the post as well. They have more athleticim and balance. Not saying they will be better then a vet team like the Hawks, but they will be tougher to defend when everything starts clicking.

 

On another topic, 2 players I think could make huge strides and change this team -

 

Dawyne Dedmon. This guy has the potential to be our Larry Sanders under Skiles. I don't think he will unseat Vuc as the starter but he could have a big season off the bench as a defensive anchor and filling in when Nik doesn't play. It will allow the Magic to get a look at how the team looks with a 4 out 1 in style with a pure rim protector at 5.

 

Mario Hezonja. My gut tells me this guy could be the star of the draft. He showed some serious ability in summer camp and this is a guy who was considered the best player in the world at age 16 when he went pro. There is a chance we have finally drafted our star player in Mario. I think he may "get it" a lot faster than we expect, and we really need a break here. He will need to cut down on mental mistakes and stay focused, but once he gets comfortable out there I believe we may have a special player.

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I can always count on you to be very negative, but I have said why I think this way. Ill recap quickly:

 

Better coaching - makes a big difference.

Better bench - makes a very big difference

 

Yes there are still players that may or may not fit well together and the team is young. But again, I said IF they can overcome that, and I capitalized it so it was pretty clear, which lead me to..

 

 

 

You clearly didn't even read my post.

i did, the fact of the matter is, nobody is scared of teams like the magic. let's remember this front office expected them to compete for a playoff spot last year and it fell flat on it's face.

 

so with that said, this is the biggest year of our rebuild this is the year we find out if it's successful, or if we're in for another 3 years of rebuilding, which would mean a new GM

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i did, the fact of the matter is, nobody is scared of teams like the magic. let's remember this front office expected them to compete for a playoff spot last year and it fell flat on it's face.

 

so with that said, this is the biggest year of our rebuild this is the year we find out if it's successful, or if we're in for another 3 years of rebuilding, which would mean a new GM

 

Considering Rob just got an extension, the team would have to completely fall apart before they even thought of firing him.

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Considering Rob just got an extension, the team would have to completely fall apart before they even thought of firing him.

if they don't compete and show massive improvement, and therefore have to further extend rebuilding....he will not last very much longer

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Seriously?

 

Not really. He was the mvp of the fiba European under 16 championship. You can probably use that to make the argument but nobody really did.

 

Just like nobody is saying Steph is the best player in the world. He just had the best 2014-2015 and simultaneous team success.

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The Magic have invited summer-leaguer and former Iowa State standout Melvin Ejimto training camp, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link), adding that some guaranteed money is involved. Pick confirmed to Hoops Rumors that Ejim has accepted the invitation.

 

Ejim put up 9.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game for the Magic’s summer league team last month after spending this past season with Virtus Roma in Italy. The 6’7″ small forward went undrafted in 2014 in spite of a breakout senior year in 2013/14, when he averaged 17.8 PPG and 8.4 RPG in 32.1 MPG for the Cyclones.

 

Orlando has already been carrying 15 deals, including a partially guaranteed arrangement with Keith Appling and Devyn Marble‘s non-guaranteed pact. The other 13 players have guaranteed salaries, and the Magic have yet to strike a deal with Tyler Harvey, whom they drafted 51st overall this year. Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Magic view Ejim with the D-League chiefly in mind. Orlando can retain the D-League rights to as many as four players it cuts at the end of the preseason.

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Not really. He was the mvp of the fiba European under 16 championship. You can probably use that to make the argument but nobody really did.

 

Just like nobody is saying Steph is the best player in the world. He just had the best 2014-2015 and simultaneous team success.

 

He was rated the top prospect at age 16. I said best player in the world which was not worded right.

 

The main point of my post stands.

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He was rated the top prospect at age 16. I said best player in the world which was not worded right.

 

The main point of my post stands.

 

 

Nah man, the best 1995 born guys were always jabari domestically and Wiggins internationally. Hezonja was definitely in the conversation but scouts were really down on him for the attitude issues and really poor effort on defense (so when we see people discussing his bad defense, know they're using 2011 scouting reports).

 

Hezonja was in the group with current Arizona freshman dusan ristic and dante exum. He led that group though. You can probably say he owned the second tier by himself but jabari and Wiggins were always a step ahead.

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Nah man, the best 1995 born guys were always jabari domestically and Wiggins internationally. Hezonja was definitely in the conversation but scouts were really down on him for the attitude issues and really poor effort on defense (so when we see people discussing his bad defense, know they're using 2011 scouting reports).

 

Hezonja was in the group with current Arizona freshman dusan ristic and dante exum. He led that group though. You can probably say he owned the second tier by himself but jabari and Wiggins were always a step ahead.

 

This is not my opinion but the opinion I have read in a few places back when I was getting diluted with draft info. Regardless, I agree with what you are saying. And the main point you made really is that Hezonja was in the discussion with Wiggins and Parker - 2 guys who I believe will be stars in the NBA and should take over as the scoring leaders on their team at some point.

 

Minnesota, IMO has won the rebuild process with raw draft luck a and a great asset trade for Wiggins. They now have 2 stars in Towns and Wiggins and the fans just need to have patience while they grow.

 

The Bucks would be second place since they had a playoff team without Parker even playing. Their rebuild is essentially over and they just need to gel and keep advancing.

 

If Hezonja does what I think, and that is become a star on the same level as the froementioned two guys, the Magic's rebuild will be over and we should be somewhat close to what the Bucks were last year.

 

I think Mario will be as good as Wiggins and Parker basically.

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This is not my opinion but the opinion I have read in a few places back when I was getting diluted with draft info. Regardless, I agree with what you are saying. And the main point you made really is that Hezonja was in the discussion with Wiggins and Parker - 2 guys who I believe will be stars in the NBA and should take over as the scoring leaders on their team at some point.

 

Minnesota, IMO has won the rebuild process with raw draft luck a and a great asset trade for Wiggins. They now have 2 stars in Towns and Wiggins and the fans just need to have patience while they grow.

 

The Bucks would be second place since they had a playoff team without Parker even playing. Their rebuild is essentially over and they just need to gel and keep advancing.

 

If Hezonja does what I think, and that is become a star on the same level as the froementioned two guys, the Magic's rebuild will be over and we should be somewhat close to what the Bucks were last year.

 

I think Mario will be as good as Wiggins and Parker basically.

 

Yeah and I wouldn't have nit picked if we were in a month other than August. But I'm bored and need to discuss basketball.

 

I think it's wrong to say Hezonja will be a star over Wiggins and jabari but I can't come up with any reasonable reason why other than the rarity of that happening. But that same argument can be used against the other two guys.

 

There's really no physical limitation on him becoming a star. To explain, it's not like he's JJ, below average athleticism, short arms, average at best height. Hezonja can jump with the best of them. He's got plus size to be a sg or a sf (and possibly even power forward down the line if the rumors that he's 6'9 are true).

 

He can shoot, pass, and dunk as well as anyone could expect. He can defend well enough. It wouldn't be unprecedented for him to become an all nba player.

 

But it's still very unlikely.

 

A young Boris diaw was talked about similarly. He was absurdly athletic, could pass, defend, shoot, etc. He doesn't really care about basketball and sleptwalked through his entire career and managed to have a long, productive time in the nba.

 

People don't live up to their potential. They hit a mark they're comfortable with. Maybe that's most of the way in a Joe Johnson/Klay Thompson range. Maybe is lower in a Kevin Martin/ John salmons range. Maybe it's in a Boris Diaw range.

 

But let's not start with the "Hezonja will be a star" talk. Not because I don't think it could happen, but if all he becomes is a solid starter Trevor Ariza, Bradley Beal type I don't want that to make him a disappointment.

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