Soul Bro 1,419 Report post Posted June 30, 2014 Another thing I've noticed: both EP and Gordon have nasty handles in addition to the ability to get to the rim at will, pass and defend. Man! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
magicblue 315 Report post Posted June 30, 2014 Could it be that Henny played everyone, especially the media, with the supposed love for Exum and Vonleh? I think so. After the lottery selection, I believe he wanted Gordon all along. That jives with the story that Aaron Gordon was informed by his agent several minutes ahead of time that he was coming to Orlando. Sounds like he was our guy all the way, short of Wiggins/Parker dropping. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bhnole 153 Report post Posted June 30, 2014 I think he got the best "pure" PG in the draft in Payton. A lot of scouts have commented about Exum being a SG and Payton actually outperforming Smart in a lot of private head to head workouts. Considering how much Vonleh fell I think a lot of teams were either not impressed or unprepared for him to be available since they fully expected us or Utah to grab him. Tanking works if you can keep it to a season or two....too much and you build an organization with a losing mentality. Time to let the young guns loose and try for the playoffs in a weak East. I think we have 4 guys who have All-Star potential in Vuch, Dipo, Gordon and Payton but only way to find out is to let them play now. I don't expect any big FA aquisitions at this point until we know what our real needs are...although shooting looks to be the final piece to this puzzle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Jaudon 221 Report post Posted June 30, 2014 Or you tank, use your picks to offload salary, then offer max contracts to three different free agents and then win titles in two of the next 3 years. For the most part, DOM, that was a well thought-out post, one that spoke directly to some of the stuff I was saying earlier (it wasn't my intention to create a false dilemma, or pretend I was solving some mysterious puzzle, just to say that those who are terrified of Orlando making the playoffs need to calm down unless they start ruining their cap flexibility to do it; this was not perceived to be any large number of people - most people here are bright enough to see the difference, at least when it's pointed out to them). The above quote was the only mistake I think you made. The Heat were in the playoffs the two years before they got the Big 3. I approve of your post DOM. I can Name the Lakers & Spurs as teams who "Tanked" and drafted Magic and Duncan and were championship contenders the following year. Houston went 29 and 53 and drafted Hakeem and lost first round with him and then went to the finals the next year. The Lakers did not tank to get Magic. The 1978-79 Lakers won 47 games in the regular season and made the second round of the playoffs. I don't know why you would even think the Lakers tanked, except that you didn't look it up before posting it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Secretly Space Jesus 670 Report post Posted June 30, 2014 For the most part, DOM, that was a well thought-out post, one that spoke directly to some of the stuff I was saying earlier (it wasn't my intention to create a false dilemma, or pretend I was solving some mysterious puzzle, just to say that those who are terrified of Orlando making the playoffs need to calm down unless they start ruining their cap flexibility to do it; this was not perceived to be any large number of people - most people here are bright enough to see the difference, at least when it's pointed out to them). The above quote was the only mistake I think you made. The Heat were in the playoffs the two years before they got the Big 3. It was a mistake only because I wrote it in a hurry and summed up a lot in one sentence that probably needed a paragraph. The Heat tanked blatantly in '07-'08 after it became clear that Wade wasn't going to ever be right until after the season, and landed the second pick. They took Beasley in the draft, then spent the next two years using their draft picks and later using Beasley to shed salary so they could make a run at Bosh and Lebron in the summer of 2010. It's actually a really good example of temporary tanking for long term benefit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Catman 380 Report post Posted June 30, 2014 Could it be that Henny played everyone, especially the media, with the supposed love for Exum and Vonleh? I think so. After the lottery selection, I believe he wanted Gordon all along. You are 100% correct. The best we could get out a few drunken nights dt with Magic friends was that it was looking like PF then PG but the Magic wanted to go for Wiggins first just to exhaust all options. I think that is why Nick Anderson told a poster here it was Randle. He just made the guess that Randle was more suited for winning now. 2 things Rob did that threw me off. He promised Ennis at 12, which was a total smokescreen. He could have taken Ennis and instead traded up for Payton. I was thinking on draft night it would be Ennis since Payton was gone. Passing on Ennis and trading for Payton shows me how much Rob wanted this guy, which is exciting. The other thing he did was accidentally get leaked a month before that they wanted to trade AA for a 7-9 pick and grab Gordon there. I think that leak was real and Rob shut that down by pumping up Vonleh aggressively. I could see either guy fitting the Magic as I was saying, but I did not expect Gordon at 4. That was a nice surprise to me. I'm really happy with those 2 players. I would have preferred Wiggins, but these picks actually make our team better faster. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fultz4thewin 2,464 Report post Posted June 30, 2014 Has anyone brought up the fact that Aaron Gordon was the MVP of the 2013 FIBA world championships? He was the leading scorer on that team. Maybe he has it in him to be a lead option on this team Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Jaudon 221 Report post Posted June 30, 2014 It was a mistake only because I wrote it in a hurry and summed up a lot in one sentence that probably needed a paragraph. The Heat tanked blatantly in '07-'08 after it became clear that Wade wasn't going to ever be right until after the season, and landed the second pick. They took Beasley in the draft, then spent the next two years using their draft picks and later using Beasley to shed salary so they could make a run at Bosh and Lebron in the summer of 2010. It's actually a really good example of temporary tanking for long term benefit. I suspected that might have been what you meant. It's a valid point. I think we agree, for the most point, on tanking. Short-term tanking can work wonders, if you're lucky and smart. But it's dangerous to let it go on for too long, under any definitions of the term. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fultz4thewin 2,464 Report post Posted June 30, 2014 You are 100% correct. The best we could get out a few drunken nights dt with Magic friends was that it was looking like PF then PG but the Magic wanted to go for Wiggins first just to exhaust all options. I think that is why Nick Anderson told a poster here it was Randle. He just made the guess that Randle was more suited for winning now. 2 things Rob did that threw me off. He promised Ennis at 12, which was a total smokescreen. He could have taken Ennis and instead traded up for Payton. I was thinking on draft night it would be Ennis since Payton was gone. Passing on Ennis and trading for Payton shows me how much Rob wanted this guy, which is exciting. The other thing he did was accidentally get leaked a month before that they wanted to trade AA for a 7-9 pick and grab Gordon there. I think that leak was real and Rob shut that down by pumping up Vonleh aggressively. I could see either guy fitting the Magic as I was saying, but I did not expect Gordon at 4. That was a nice surprise to me. I'm really happy with those 2 players. I would have preferred Wiggins, but these picks actually make our team better faster. That or we just liked Gordon and Payton and we all got caught up in mock drafts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bhnole 153 Report post Posted June 30, 2014 He was the leading scorer on that team. Maybe he has it in him to be a lead option on this team Athletism and ball handling skills are there but he needs to improve his shooting and FT %. He is the youngest player in the draft so what we saw last season at Arizona is far from the finished product. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bauncey Chillups 288 Report post Posted June 30, 2014 The Magic will be trying to win but they'll also be tanking at the same time given that this team won't score any points with its current personnel and Gordon will be more of a perimeter defender than interior defender. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmmagicfan 302 Report post Posted June 30, 2014 It was a mistake only because I wrote it in a hurry and summed up a lot in one sentence that probably needed a paragraph. The Heat tanked blatantly in '07-'08 after it became clear that Wade wasn't going to ever be right until after the season, and landed the second pick. They took Beasley in the draft, then spent the next two years using their draft picks and later using Beasley to shed salary so they could make a run at Bosh and Lebron in the summer of 2010. It's actually a really good example of temporary tanking for long term benefit. The Spurs were also "situational" tankers, in that Robinson was out injured most of the year prior to them getting Duncan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
