2020-2021 Official Magic Season Thread

[CTMagicUK 1,476]

Personally I think AG is better than Oubre. 

[Spaceman 58]

6 hours ago, Soul Bro said:

The atmosphere of the Warriors-Nets game was boring. No virtual fans, no music, etc. The NBA can do better than that.

The Nets have got a real good looking nine man rotation though. If healthy they could be really good.

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

Quote

The rookie scale extensions handed to Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac could impact the futures of Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon with the Magic, Josh Robbins of The Athletic opines. Fournier is entering his walk year and with the money expended on Fultz and Isaac, it would be tough for the club to re-sign Fournier and remain under the luxury tax, Robbins notes. Gordon and Isaac are best suited as power forwards, so when Isaac returns from his knee injury after this season, Gordon is likely to be dealt, Robbins adds.

Specifics about the extensions likely will emerge in the coming days, but The Athletic has learned that the final year of Fultz’s deal essentially will be a team option, with only $2 million of his $17 million salary guaranteed, reducing the financial risk to the team.

 

[hootie249 293]

2 hours ago, Spaceman said:

The Nets have got a real good looking nine man rotation though. If healthy they could be really good.

Yeah that's what i saw, they are very deep.  it's one game but Durant sure looked healthy.

[LaVar 108]

21 hours ago, jmmagicfan said:

So here is my take on the pre-season and how it impacts going forward. I think Cole Anthony had  a really good pre-season considering 1) he hasn't played since March, and 2) none of the rookies had much of a camp. I think he immediately slides into the backup PG role, and helps bring the energy that they have sometimes lacked. His offensive ability and mindset should take some of the pressure off of TRoss, hopefully allowing him to become more efficient and effective - possibly also allowing TRoss to expend a little more effort on the defensive end as well. Hopefully, the return of Ennis will move Bacon back to the second unit and that should also contribute to the offensive punch of that second unit. I expect Bacon to be better against backups than he was starting. I do still have some hope for Bamba, and I think playing with Anthony and a more up-tempo second unit will either make or break him. Hopefully it will force him to get in the shape necessary to keep up, and play with the energy he frequently lacks. Anthony is the type of push-the-pace guard that will get Bamba easy transition buckets and good position/mis-matches if he steps up. I truly hope he does, otherwise I think he will be off this team next year.

I find it interesting that what should be a position of strength for us (PF) is currently probably our weakest spot due to injuries. With Isaac out for the year, Aminu still in recovery mode (and not very good last year before the injury), Clark being really inconsistent as a bench player, and Okeke being a rookie/coming off an injury/not having played in a year and a half, it is the position of concern in the short-term. I did see some positives from Okeke, and I think he will be given time to recover/grow into the backup PF role, and maybe even some backup SF. I think we will see the same conservative, low-pressure approach for him that we saw them take with Fultz. I wouldn't even be surprised to see him spend a little time with Lakeland to get him more court time with less pressure. I know we haven't really seen it yet, but if Birch did add a three-point shot he may grab some of the backup PF minutes. I don't like the Vuc/Birch front court, but Clifford seems to. So here is where I see our rotation going once we get some guys healthy:

Fultz/Anthony/MCW

Fournier/MCW/Bacon

Ennis/TRoss/Okeke

Gordon/Okeke/Aminu/Clark

Vucevic/Bamba/Birch

I think we see a lot of 3-guard lineups for the second unit with Anthony/MCW/Bacon/TRoss all getting regular minutes. I think Clark may start out getting most of the PF backup minutes to start the season, but dropping to the end of the bench as Okeke gets into shape/the swing of the season and whenever Aminu comes back. I don't expect to see Isaac this season at all. Once we get to the trade deadline, I think we may see some guys gone for whatever we can get.

Fournier might be of interest for a contending team as a 3rd/4th option or even as a 6th man/scorer from the bench. With his expiring contract I wouldn't expect us to get much back, but who knows. A contending team might pay more, but I wouldn't expect much more than a mid-first, or a young guy and a late-first to be offered. I think Aminu or Clark will probably be headed out at the deadline as well. I think that will greatly depend on Okeke's development and AG's health whether either or both remains with the team.

Frankly, I don't think Ennis and Clark both would have been re-signed if Aminu and/or Okeke had been closer to playing, and if Isaac and AG hadn't gone down. I think Clark got a contract strictly based on his play in the bubble, and the number of front-court injuries. I think we might have brought Ennis back, but I think Clark would have been gone - he is a cheap insurance/fill in while guys are recovering. 

This front-office does seem to be giving us a clear indication that they are going to try to improve via internal growth, and/or "reclamation" projects. We have a lot of guys on our team who it can be argued have "under-performed" in their careers/in the draft so far due to injury.

Both Okeke and Anthony were projected to be top-10 (top-5?), but fell in the draft. Fultz, Isaac, and Bamba have all had sub-par careers to date. All five of these have had injury issues. Bacon had a pretty good first year in Charlotte, but fell off in the second year; and MCW was a former rookie of the year who was completely out of the league at one point. Ennis only cost us a second-round pick, and Clark was a waiver-wire pick up. Again, four more guys other teams had given up on. 

That is nine guys out of the fifteen on the regular roster. That is a lot of "reclamation" projects on one team, and yet we have still managed to make the playoffs the last two years with this strategy. I'm not sure whether to be impressed or appalled at the fact 60% of our current team consists of this category of player. Having guys who have something to prove/a chip on their shoulders seems to be a point of emphasis for them. We'll see how it works out. It could be a very interesting season. 

I agree. Our future will depend on the growth of our young players: lead by fultz, Isaac, Anthony, and Okeke. If they dont continue to improve and/or produce, the team will fall flat on its face. 

[All Eyes On Me 1,196]

If Fultz year 3 only has $2 million guaranteed than its a helluva contract for us. Curious about the details and fine print on JI. No way it’s a straight up 4 year 80 mill with no outs for us, knowing his injury history 

[CTMagicUK 1,476]

Isaac's deal is 4 years 70 million flat with 2.6 mil in incentives per year which apparently he only receives if he plays 70/82 games. - per John Hollinger.

[JJZFL 618]

8 hours ago, LaVar said:

I agree. Our future will depend on the growth of our young players: lead by fultz, Isaac, Anthony, and Okeke. If they dont continue to improve and/or produce, the team will fall flat on its face. 

Agree.  And that’s a lot to expect from two middle first round pick rookies who are both coming back from long layoffs, and also hoping Isaac doesn’t get injured again after he returns.  Seems like a lot needs to go right for us to improve.  Stranger things have happened, though, and at least it gives us something to root for.  

[JJZFL 618]

This forum is a lot less active than it was prior to Covid, especially with the disappearance of ?4thewin.  I wonder if anyone will do a game thread for tonight’s season opener.  

[King Close 63]

On 12/22/2020 at 1:29 PM, hootie249 said:

    Long read, we do seem to have some work to do. So is the upside of this team another Heart and Hustle team? Considering the last decade i'll take it!

Anyhow i like the Fultz contract. I'm scared of the Isaac contract but after seeing what the rest of the league is doing it was really the best option. Season starts today! Lets let it all play out, looking forward to some Magic basketball. So they are gonna let Fultz shoot, i say he can average 15 points with 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Hopefully throw in 1.5. steals a game and low turnovers. 

My man called fultz stat line nearly perfectly from the season opener lol

[hootie249 293]

2 hours ago, King Close said:

My man called fultz stat line nearly perfectly from the season opener lol

LOL  Thanks!, Glad to see Evan and Gordon do well. It's not that we hate them, all of us just want to see them do that more consistently. The wonderful thing about our team is the hustle  they play with. It's just sad to see the team get down on themselves when shots aren't going in. During that horrible stretch in the 4th quarter, they could have let it effect them, instead they  rallied and hit all those big shots.

My girl wanted me to say when she came and sat next to me in the 4th quarter they didn't miss. Gonna chain her up in front of the TV next game!

[All Eyes On Me 1,196]

It wasn’t always pretty, but Kelle looked significantly more comfortable and confident. Way more decisive than he looked last year.