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2020 Official Off-Season Thread

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Hawking the non-taxpayer's mid-level can probably net a better player than Wes Iwundu, an Early Bird restricted free agent, but that assumes its unloaded on one target. The Pacers might not have that luxury. Justin Holiday is must-keep, and they don't have his Bird rights. If he costs more than $5.7 million to retain next season, they'll need to dip into their MLE.

Iwundu would be a calculated dice roll. He's an active defender at all the wing spots—the Magic put him on Giannis Antetokounmpo for spurts in the playoffs, out of necessity—and started hitting more of his threes as 2019-20 wore on.

From just after the turn of the calendar through the end of the regular season, he buried 42.9 percent of his long-range looks on 2.0 attempts per game. He needs to sustain more volume before he's considered a three-and-D specialist, but at 25, he has time to elevate his usage. Calling him a "specialist" might even do a disservice to the depth of his armory. He can beat guys off the dribble with his right hand and is comfortable pulling up for jumpers after turning a corner.

One hangup: Orlando might value Iwundu more with Jonathan Isaac's torn left ACL expected to cost him all of next year. Al-Farouq Aminu and Chuma Okeke should be joining the rotation, but the Magic aren't especially deep on the wings in the first place. They'll be thinner if James Ennis III (player option) and Evan Fournier (player option) test the open market.

Early Bird rights would give Orlando the inside track to keep Iwundu away from prying eyes. The Pacers could go nuclear and offer the full MLE, but that's a gamble-and-a-half—and the Magic could still match. Lowering their sights and chasing an Ennis-type player would be the pivot in that instance. Yet with the work Indy's done developing a handful of mid-career wings, including Holiday, signing Iwundu could go down as one of free agency's most underrated moves.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2908623-1-player-every-nba-team-needs-to-chase-in-2020-free-agency

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6 minutes ago, The Neighborhood Bully said:

Yea if they gave Iwundu the full MLE we wouldn't match. I don't even think we'd consider it.

I've gone back and forth on keeping Iwundu because he's shown some flashes of being a competent wing, he can play solid enough defense, he plays hard and he's got enough offensive versatility that if he ever hits 37+% of his catch and shoot 3s he's a legitimate positive NBA roleplayer. Its just he's 25 already so it's hard to know how to project whether he'll improve. I'd rather bring back Iwundu than Ennis though personally. (I know Ennis is a Player Option so it's in his hands but I think he'd be pretty easy to trade).

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Still, like Siakam, Anunoby will be eligible to sign a rookie-scale extension. That essentially means the maximum the Raptors will be able to offer him is 25 per cent of the cap, unless he makes certain performance incentives (in which case his contract’s value can increase). 

Is Anunoby worth a max contract right now? Probably not, but his defensive potential alone means he could be, so by locking him into a max deal or close to one the Raptors would look at secure their future, of which Anunoby appears to be a significant piece. 

The counter to this, of course, is by opting not to extend Anunoby the Raptors could choose to make him show them he deserves the big money from them. It’s a risky proposition, as it could end up upsetting Anunoby and his representation ahead of the next negotiation, but one that would give the Raptors greater clarity on what kind of player they have in the stoic forward.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article/5-questions-raptors-face-enter-2020-off-season/

Anunoby's contract could set the baseline for Isaac's negotiations

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8 hours ago, hootie249 said:

  Lol this forum, so deluded. How about instead of joking about trading for Giannis i'll remind people from a few years back of another player.

Does anyone remember when the Toronto was running it back year after year and people wondered if Lowry was worth trading for? Remember how so many people wouldn't trade any of our players for him? This guy just balled out the last two years, a true floor leader. He would have been perfect for this team the last 3 years, and he is not a superstar. He does have a ring as well, and it's just as much his ring as Kawhi's. I think some people on here don't watch enough basketball. The point i'm making is we have been overvaluing our players for years. Every single one of them was and is tradeable. 

Completely agree

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The advantage for the Magic if we are hoping to trade some of our vets is that a lot of playoff teams have underachieved this season. Got to think a couple of them might make a desperation move or two. TRoss, Fournier, maybe even Aminu if a team wants to have some more 'Lebron sized' defenders would probably be appealing to some of the playoff teams. 

EDIT: I wonder if we could get Landry Shamet somehow...

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If the Magic are unable to acquire a star point guard this offseason, Monte Morris must be close to the top of their 2021 free-agent wish list.

Markelle Fultz showed plenty of signs of improvement this season, but he’s still not a true point guard. In addition, it’s very unlikely that he lives up the hype of being a former number one draft pick. The Magic’s other two point guards, DJ Augustin and Michael Carter-Williams, are both free agents this offseason. Augustin is a capable back-up, but nearing the twilight of his career. Carter-Williams is simply a rotation player and not the best option behind Fultz as he struggles as a shooter.

Morris fits the bill as a low-risk, high-reward signing. He’s currently the back-up point guard for the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets have Jamal Murray, so it should be expected for Morris to look elsewhere for a possible starting role.

In 22 minutes a game this season, Morris averaged 9 points, 3.5 assists, and 1 steal per game. This came on a very solid shooting split of 46-38-84. These numbers will shoot up as a starter, and even more for Orlando as Morris would be a primary ball-handler as opposed to being on a Nuggets team who have many.

He would form a strong rotation at point guard with Fultz. In addition, if the Magic choose to keep Evan Fournier, a Morris-Fournier backcourt would cause headaches for opposing defenses as Fournier shot 40 percent from three this season.

https://lastwordonsports.com/basketball/2020/09/15/orlando-magic-steps-to-contention/

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  The best way for the Magic to start getting better is to acquire players already in the league. Players who other teams might not need or value enough. 

Players who have gotten to play in the league but have not broken out yet. I'm tired of draft picks, most of them take years to develop.Not saying i want us to trade away 4 or 5 picks but trading 1 to make a good deal is ok.  

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Curious if we’d do a s-n-t for VanVleet like Indiana did for Brogdon. He can play the 1 or 2 and carries the culture we are trying to implement.

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