Orlando Offseason in ReviewHartfordWhalers wrote:Hartfordwhalers Review
Key Losses:
Victor Oladipo
I like Oladipo a lot, so this loss is a real hurt to me.
Losses:
Scott Skiles (Head Coach)
Ersan Ilyasova
Devyn Marble
DeWayne Dedmon
Brandon Jennings
Andrew Nicholson
Jason Smith
Shabazz Napier
Swapping Vogel in for Skiles is probably an addition. The rest? Just a bunch of guys.
Draft:
#11 traded to OKC
#41 Stephen Zimmerman
#47 traded to Portland
Zimmerman seems like a fine pick for the pick they kept.
Trades:
#11, Oladipo and Ersan to OKC for Ibaka
#47 to Portland for 1.2m cash and 2019 2nd (all sorts of clauses)
2019 2nd (all sorts of clauses) to Det for Meeks
Marbe + 2nd to LAC for Wilcox + cash
Shabazz Napier to Portland Trail Blazers for cash
Getting cash for Shabazz Napier is a great deal while taking on Meeks (since injured off his pre-existing at the time of the trade injury) was dumb even before then. The Wilcox and #47 trades are whatever. But when push comes to shove, pretty much the entire Orlando offseason comes down to what you think about (the Biyombo signing) and the Oladipo and #11 for Ibaka trade. For me? Ibaka is the perfect pairing with Vucevic. Absolutely perfect. And for a win now push, makes a lot of sense. But I cannot help but look at:
PG: Elfrid Payton
SG: Oladipo / Fournier
SF: Mario Hezonja / Fournier
PF: Aaron Gordon
C: Nikola Vucevic
And wanting to upgrade PG not PF and swing Gordon to the sf slot.
And given Teague just went for #12, and is only 1 year older than Ibaka.
PG: Teague / Elfrid Payton
SG: Oladipo / Fournier
SF: Mario Hezonja / Fournier
PF: Aaron Gordon / Ilysova
C: Nikola Vucevic
looks better to me than with Ibaka and still with Payton at pg. Usually you argue that a hypothetical better trade might have existed, but here the other trade wasn't even hypothetical! I get not wanting 35m in sg's but I'm still on fully onboard with the Ibaka trade. Without upgrading the pg spot, it feels too much like a fast car with a slow engine.
Free Agency:
Frank Vogel (Head coach)
Evan Fournier 5/85m (last year PO)
Bismack Biyombo 4/72m (last year PO)
Jeff Green 15m
D.J. Augustin 4/29
Stephen Zimmerman 3/3m (first year guaranteed just under 1m)
Vogel should be great. Fournier was a great value signing. Jeff Green as a 1 year flier is fine, but not worth that money. He is clearly a placeholder however. Biyombo? If Ibaka hadn't been traded for, I get this move a lot more, as the anti Vucevic. But at that price and with Ibaka I'm less in favor of it, and think that there is another way I would have spent the money. As a youth move it does make sense, but then I want Oladipo back.
Current Depth Chart: (as usual this is a rough draft taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Elfrid Payton, D.J. Augustin, C.J. Watson
SG: Evan Fournier, Jodie Meeks, C.J. Wilcox
SF: Aaron Gordon, Mario Hezonja
PF: Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green
C: Nikola Vucevic, Bismack Biyombo, Stephen Zimmerman
Needs: Aaron Gordon to prove he can be a quality starting sf, or Jeff Green to disprove that he is not a quality starting sf. Payton to not hold back the team. Backup sg production.
Additional Thoughts: I tend to be nervous on big win now moves. And by nervous I mean negative even. Charlotte pulled it off beautifully with Batum last year. I wouldn't be surprised if Orlando does the same, but I really would have gone for a pg first is my big thought, especially given the cost difference.
Projected Win/Loss: 38-44
Off-Season Grade: C+
bondom34 wrote:bondom34 Review
Key Losses:
Victor Oladipo
Losses:
Scott Skiles (Head Coach)
Ersan Ilyasova
Devyn Marble
DeWayne Dedmon
Brandon Jennings
Andrew Nicholson
Jason Smith
Shabazz Napier
Draft:
#11 traded to OKC
#41 Stephen Zimmerman
#47 traded to Portland
Trades:
#11, Oladipo and Ersan to OKC for Ibaka
#47 to Portland for 1.2m cash and 2019 2nd (all sorts of clauses)
2019 2nd (all sorts of clauses) to Det for Meeks
Marbe + 2nd to LAC for Wilcox + cash
Shabazz Napier to Portland Trail Blazers for cash
Free Agency:
Frank Vogel (Head coach)
Evan Fournier 5/85m (last year PO)
Bismack Biyombo 4/72m (last year PO)
Jeff Green 15m
D.J. Augustin 4/29
Stephen Zimmerman 3/3m (first year guaranteed just under 1m)
Love the Vogel hire. Didn't like his firing, wasn't a Skiles fan. Fournier was one of the best contracts given out this year, but after that I really didn't like much to be blunt. The Ibaka trade made some sense as he's really a perfect fit but it was certainly an overpay and a young team really shouldn't be moving lottery picks to me. He's still an expiring and that's a massive risk at this point whatever your thoughts are on Oladipo. Its too much money for Augustin, the Meeks trade already looks bad with his injury, and after getting Ibaka they signed Biyombo to a ton of money. I don't think he's a guy you want to play next to Serge much at all as it will bog the offense down horribly, and having both of them it will be tough to avoid. That said, either can play with Vuc, but neither with each other. And after saving money with the Harris trade, they signed Jeff Green, who's basically Harris only older and worse at everything Harris is good at.
Current Depth Chart: (as usual this is a rough draft taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Elfrid Payton, D.J. Augustin, C.J. Watson
SG: Evan Fournier, Jodie Meeks, C.J. Wilcox
SF: Aaron Gordon, Mario Hezonja
PF: Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green
C: Nikola Vucevic, Bismack Biyombo, Stephen Zimmerman
Needs: Aaron Gordon to prove he can be a quality starting sf, or Jeff Green to disprove that he is not a quality starting sf. Payton to not hold back the team. Backup sg production.
Additional Thoughts:
Projected Win/Loss: 35-47
Off-Season Grade: C-
dbrandon wrote:dbrandon Review
Key Losses:
Victor Oladipo
I like Vic a lot. They had to choose between him and Fournier, though, and considering current team construction I think you have to go with the better shooter.
Losses:
Scott Skiles (Head Coach)
Ersan Ilyasova
Devyn Marble
DeWayne Dedmon
Brandon Jennings
Andrew Nicholson
Jason Smith
Shabazz Napier
None of this is a problem, though Dedmon and Nicholson aren't bad. Vogel for Skiles is an upgrade.
Draft:
#11 traded to OKC
#41 Stephen Zimmerman
#47 traded to Portland
Yeah, sure. Considering what they traded for this makes sense.
Trades:
#11, Oladipo and Ersan to OKC for Ibaka
#47 to Portland for 1.2m cash and 2019 2nd (all sorts of clauses)
2019 2nd (all sorts of clauses) to Det for Meeks
Marbe + 2nd to LAC for Wilcox + cash
Shabazz Napier to Portland Trail Blazers for cash
Kicking the tires on Wilcox and getting cash out of Portland are pretty decent moves. The Ibaka trade was a bit of an overpay but he's a perfect fit. I don't like the Meeks move, especially considering his injury problems.
Free Agency:
Frank Vogel (Head coach)
Evan Fournier 5/85m (last year PO)
Bismack Biyombo 4/72m (last year PO)
Jeff Green 15m
D.J. Augustin 4/29
Stephen Zimmerman 3/3m (first year guaranteed just under 1m)
Vogel should be good with this roster. I like the Fournier move and picking up Zimmerman.
I don't really get the rest of it, though. Green as a rental for 15mil a year is really weird to me, since he's one of those average-not-great guys. And you don't even have Bird rights on him if he actually proves to be a solid player.
Augustin's decent, but the number of years on the deal for a backup PG is really odd.
Biyombo's a solid player, but signing him to play backup for Vucevic feels like a misallocation of resources when PG and SG need help.
Current Depth Chart: (as usual this is a rough draft taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Elfrid Payton, D.J. Augustin, C.J. Watson
SG: Evan Fournier, Jodie Meeks, C.J. Wilcox
SF: Aaron Gordon, Mario Hezonja
PF: Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green
C: Nikola Vucevic, Bismack Biyombo, Stephen Zimmerman
Needs: Gordon needs to make the leap this year, or Hennigan's seat is likely to start feeling pretty warm. I'm not convinced Payton is good enough to get them over the hump, and his lack of shooting is a real problem. Rubio can get away with it because he's a wizard of a passer and a really good defender at the PG spot—Payton is worse at both, and Rubio is constantly mentioned as needing to be upgraded :-/
Serge needs to reverse the decline in his numbers, which I tend to think he'll do. Vucevic needs to show some semblance of rim protection, even if it's just putting his hands up.
The backcourt needs some work.
Additional Thoughts: This is a team that's likely to be very good on defense under Vogel, but there are a bunch of slightly awkward parts on the roster, and the only thing that makes them fit is Gordon developing a jumper.
Projected Win/Loss: 36 wins
Off-Season Grade: C
Smitty731 wrote:Key Losses:
Victor Oladipo
Losting Oladipo hurts more for the fact that he was the "franchise" guy as much as anyone. But the Oladipo/Payton backcourt wasn't working. It also allows Fournier to play SG where he fits best.
Losses:
Scott Skiles (Head Coach)
Ersan Ilyasova
Devyn Marble
DeWayne Dedmon
Brandon Jennings
Andrew Nicholson
Jason Smith
Shabazz Napier
Most of these guys weren't a part of anything the Magic were building, so no major losses here. All were replaced by better, or at least equal, options.
Draft:
#11 traded to OKC
#41 Stephen Zimmerman
#47 traded to Portland
Shabazz Napier to Portland Trail Blazers for cash
The Draft ended up being a fairly non-event for Orlando after the big trade. Zimmerman shows some promise, but will need lots of seasoning the D-League and time in the weight room.
Trades:
#11, Oladipo and Ersan to OKC for Ibaka
#47 to Portland for 1.2m cash and 2019 2nd (all sorts of clauses)
2019 2nd (all sorts of clauses) to Det for Meeks
Marble + 2nd to LAC for Wilcox + cash
Obviously the trade for Ibaka was huge. The Magic are betting he will re-sign and still has plenty of years left. Vogel and Hennigan both are excited to have him anchoring the defense and it sounds like he'll get more opportunities on offense as well.
Trading for Meeks and Wilcox is doubling down on hopes one of them can provide some shooting off the bench.
Free Agency:
Frank Vogel (Head coach)
Evan Fournier 5/85m (last year PO)
Bismack Biyombo 4/72m (last year PO)
Jeff Green 15m
D.J. Augustin 4/29
Stephen Zimmerman 3/3m (first year guaranteed just under 1m)
In order: Adding Vogel is huge. He's well respected and well liked. The last two Magic coaches (Skiles and Jacque Vaughn) were respected OR well liked, but not both. Vogel will build up the defense and that alone should improve the team.
Fournier needed to be brought back when Oladipo left and he is a relative bargain. He could approach All-Star status this year.
Biyombo is another defensive presence. Not a perfect fit as a starter with all the non-shooters the Magic project to start, but he'll help a lot on defense and on the boards.
Green got a lot of money or a guy who is probably a backup. That one was a head scratcher because of the money. The fit is fairly decent.
Augustin got a year or two too many, but he's a nice fit as a backup PG and a change of pace from Payton.
Current Depth Chart: (as usual this is a rough draft taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Elfrid Payton, D.J. Augustin, C.J. Watson
SG: Evan Fournier, Jodie Meeks, C.J. Wilcox
SF: Aaron Gordon, Mario Hezonja
PF: Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green
C: Nikola Vucevic, Bismack Biyombo, Stephen Zimmerman
Needs: Hope Aaron Gordon takes a leap forward as a shooter, scorer and playmaker. He's not a natural fit offensively as a SF. Beyond that, the Magic need someone besides Fournier to provide consistent shooting.
Additional Thoughts: After a few down years, the Magic accelerating things big time. They pushed almost all their chips in and are making a playoff push. Rob Hennigan obviously feels some pressure to get the rebuild moving quicker. Only time will tell if Orlando did the right thing.
Projected Win/Loss: 43-39. They'll be right in the mix for in the Eastern Conference. Anywhere from 6-13 seems fair. It will all depend on getting enough scoring.
Off-Season Grade: B. I don't love all the moves, but I love that they did something. The core group they were building wasn't getting there quick enough and didn't all fit together. This team should be interesting to watch.
Howard Mass wrote:Howard Mass Review
Key Losses:
Victor Oladipo
Since last summer when Mario Hezonja was drafted, many Magic fans knew a choice was going to be made between Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier within that next year. They were unlikely to pay both with Hezonja waiting in the wings.
The trade of Victor Oladipo to Oklahoma City was the Magic making that decision.
Personally, I would have made the same choice and in return they got the perfect next to Nikola Vucevic in Serge Ibaka.
Fournier is a better shooter and you need shooting in this league especially with Elfrid Payton in your backcourt.
Oladipo is going to be a solid starter in this league and as long as he does not develop into an star, all will be ok.
Losses:
Scott Skiles (Head Coach)
Ersan Ilyasova
Devyn Marble
DeWayne Dedmon
Brandon Jennings
Andrew Nicholson
Jason Smith
Shabazz Napier
The biggest change here is Scott Skiles stepping down. Many longtime Magic fans liked the move and really wanted it to work although there were doubts about Skiles and how he relates to today's players.
However, as the season went on, it was proving not to be a good fit and many felt he was holding this team back in terms of style of play and player development.
It was a shock when he resigned but also a relief as both sides had realized this was unfortunately a bad fit.
In addition to Victor Oladipo, 7 other players departed the team this summer.
Even before the Serge Ibaka deal, changes were definitely coming to the frontcourt and at the very most maybe one of Ersan Ilyasova, DeWayne Dedmon and Jason Smith would return. Andrew Nicholson was gone either way after four mostly frustrating years here and The Magic wanting more physical and defensive frontcourt options.
After The Magic acquired Serga Ibaka, Ilyasova was gone via the trade and with Aaron Gordon, Serge Ibaka and Nikola Vucevic getting minutes at the 4 and 5, not a lot of minutes would be available at those positions.
Then, we had the Bismack Biyombo bombshell and the Magic implying that Aaron Gordon would play small forward and none of those players were coming back.
With the Magic supposedly wanting to keep Vucevic and re-sign Ibaka, they were not going to give any other frontcourt players a multi-year deal.
This meant Jason Smith was gone and with Biyombo signed, DeWayne Dedmon's fate here was sealed.
The frontcourt was not the only change that was coming this summer, a reliable backup point guard was needed.
From the get-go, Brandon Jennings was not going to return and The Magic were going to try and trade Shabazz Napier again like they nearly did to Chicago at the Trading Deadline. Both of these things happened.
Devyn Marble is everything you want in an 11th or 12 man minus a jump shot. That is why he is not returning and the fact The Magic really have liked C.J. Wilcox for a while.
All of these players will do well elsewhere for their new teams but The Magic pretty much made all upgrades here.
Draft:
#11 traded to OKC
#41 Stephen Zimmerman
#47 traded to Portland
Shabazz Napier to Portland Trail Blazers for cash (Napier was not traded on Draft Night)
My only beef with The Victor Oladipo for Serge Ibaka deal was throwing in #11. Even though I considered this to be a weak draft, I believe Domantas Sabonis can at least be a nice role player. No matter how young a team is, it is always good to develop young talent.
They probably had to throw in something but not so sure it had to be #11. Even without an actual first round pick on the roster, The Magic might have gotten a first tound talent in the second round.
At #41, Rob Hennigan and company got a steal in bigman Stephen Zimmerman. If you watched Summer League, it was easy to conclude that Zimmerman has potential. However, he obviously needs a lot of work.
This season he will spend a lot of time with Orlando's D-League affiliate The Erie Bayhawks.
The Magic also had #47. My rule is unless a team is rebuilding, it is best not to bring two second round picks to camp. In this scenario, the best thing to do is deal the pick for a future second round pick or draft a player to stash overseas.
Portland ended up trading for the pick and send their 2019 second round pick and some cash.
While whether or not their first round pick at #11 had to be dealt in the Ibaka deal is questionable, The Magic did get the perfect power forward to play next to Nikola Vucevic and had an A+ second round in getting Zimmerman and a future second round pick.
Trades:
#11, Oladipo and Ersan to OKC for Ibaka
#47 to Portland for 1.2m cash and 2019 2nd (all sorts of clauses)
2019 2nd (all sorts of clauses) to Det for Meeks
Shabazz Napier to Portland Trail Blazers for cash
Marbe + 2nd to LAC for Wilcox + cash
I love trades and it was great to see The Orlando Magic so active this summer.
The biggest trade for The Magic was acquiring Serge Ibaka from Oklahoma City on Draft night. Ibaka is the perfect fit next to Nikola Vucevic with his defensive presense and outside shooting.
One of Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier was not going to get paid and as I mentioned above, The Magic made that choice.
Ersan Ilyasova was a throw-in. He is a good forward to have off of the bench and can stretch the floor. It is unlikely he figured much into The Magic's plans next season.
The only problem I have with this deal is throwing in #11 which turned out to be Domantas Sabonis.
Maybe they had to throw in something and as much as I like Ibaka, I still doubt if it had to be this pick.
Sabonis is at worst going to be a nice player and how he develops will determine who wins this deal. Otherwise, Oladipo for Ibaka is a great deal for both teams.
The Magic did make a good deal for #47. As I mentioned above, unless you are rebuilding, it is best not to bring two second round picks to camp and they ended up Portland's 2019 second round lpickand some cash for it which is a good haul.
Jodie Meeks is a solid pickup-if he is healthy. The Magic really loaded up on outside shooting. They will send the least favorable of their own 2019 second round pick, Cleveland's and Houston's (They can swap their own for either Cleveland or Houston's via the Kyle O'Quinn trade with New York last summer) second round pick and the 2019 second they acquired from Portland on Draft Night.
I question if they really needed to send Detroit anything here other then cash or a heavily protected second round pick. You have to maximize your assets especially with developmental roster spots likely to be added in the next cba. Those second round picks are going to be more valuable.
Shabazz Napier did not work out although he did provide a spark earlier in the season. It was a no cost gamble as they got him for nothing and then dealt him for a little cash. Hopefully, he can reach his potential in Portland.
The C.J. Wilcox deal is a little ironic. Back at the Trading Deadline, The Magic and L.A. Clippers were a deal for Channing Frye that would have sent C.J. Wilcox to Orlando. However, they backed out to do a deal with Memphis for Jeff Green who has now signed with The Magic.
So, The Magic instead moved Frye to Cleveland for Cleveland's 2020 second round pick. That same exact pick is now going to The Clippers for Wilcox. This means The Magic get the deal they originally wanted in February for the pick they ended up getting instead of Wilcox.
Overall, I like the deals that they made.
My only question is if they had to part with some of those picks?
Free Agency:
Frank Vogel (Head coach)
Evan Fournier 5/85m (last year PO)
Bismack Biyombo 4/72m (last year PO)
Jeff Green 15m
D.J. Augustin 4/29
Stephen Zimmerman 3/3m (first year guaranteed just under 1m)
It definitely was an active summer here in Central Florida.
The Magic were very fortunate that Frank Vogel became available after Scott Skiles' adrupt resignation. He is very good at developing talent in Indiana, a defensive coach and always seemed to get out of a lot of those Pacer teams.
When free agency hit, the biggest relief for Magic fans was Evan Fournier not getting a max deal instead getting $17 million a year on average which while crazy is actually a good deal for a player of his Fournier's caliber.
As for the new free agent additions, the first shoe dropped when word got out D.J. Augustin was coming to town. Augustin is a solid backup but I believe it was a mistake to give him a four-year deal.
Jeff Green was also picked up on an oversized one-year deal for insurance during the transition of Aaron Gordon or Mario Hezonja taking over the small forward spot. He will be a solid reserve who can score when needed and provide depth.
The shocker of the summer for Orlando was the signing of Bismack Biyombo for $17-18 million a year. His addition combined with the addition of Serge Ibaka means this team is going to much more physical and better defensively in the paint two things that Orlando was really missing last season.
Biyombo's signing was very puzzling though especially after everyone thought the Magic had already acquired the perfect compliment next to Nikola Vucevic in Serge Ibaka.
They deny they are going to trade Vucevic but they did not pay Biyombo all of that money to be a backup.
Current Depth Chart: (as usual this is a rough draft taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Elfrid Payton, D.J. Augustin, C.J. Watson
SG: Evan Fournier, Jodie Meeks, C.J. Wilcox
SF: Aaron Gordon, Mario Hezonja
PF: Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green
C: Nikola Vucevic, Bismack Biyombo, Stephen Zimmerman
The Magic will probably add one more big that will not play many minutes. This will give them a little more depth allowing more flexibility to keep Stephen Zimmerman in Erie for longer stretches.
It is a solid depth chart. I do feel Mario Hezonja will eventually be the starter at small forward.
Needs: The Magic have depth and nice young talent but what they need is a star player or two. It's as simple as that.
It would also help help if Elfrid Payton, Mario Hezonja and Aaron Gordon take a step up this coming season.
Additional Thoughts: The Magic are going to make a big trade within the next year. They did not pay a Bismack Biyombo $17 million a year to be a long-term backup. I do hope they keep Nikola Vucevic though.
I also do not believe Aaron Gordon will work at small forward offensively on this team. They are going to need to put Mario Hezonja there or the offense is going to struggle.
Projected Win/Loss: 47 wins/35 losses
Off-Season Grade: B+
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