Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic will be FA next season...

[j-ragg]

I really hope we don't give Vuc the max.

Hopefully we get Tobias back for somewhere around 4/40. I think he'll have a breakout year though, so that doesn't bode well for us.

I hope we don't either, but he is a good quality young big so I wouldn't be surprised or upset if we did. If we do max him, at least he is a young player so his max isn't as high as a vets max. And with the new CBA coming in, a pre CBA max isn't as bad as a later one.

There's definitely worse things that could happen. I'm just not the biggest Vuc fan around these parts, but it's much better than giving Rashard Lewis 118 million.

[mojosodope]

I'm a bit torn on Vuc. While I somewhat agree with everyone's belief that you need to keep valuable big men around, I also feel strongly about overpaying them. Big men like Hibbert, Bogut Chandler and even Stoudamire are all to me examples of overpaid centers.

The way the game is played today is completley differnt than it was 10-15 years ago and the Center position is not nearly as valuable as many tend to believe. Yes, a dominant rim protecting center does change the game, but those centers are less and less common.

In addition, I think it is even MORE dangerous to pay a center that is not playoff tested than any other position. When the playoffs start and every rebound matters, the level of physicality increases and mental toughness is required, you see a lot of centers games become heavily diminished.

Just as we watched the meltdown of the Pacers this season, I think a large portion of that is attributed to Hibbert, his inability to have an impact on the game and the pressure of validating his over-payment.

This will not be a popular statement on this board, but Harris is the player that I believe is more valuable to this team's future. A quality individual (on and off the court) who has a deeper impact than many even realize

Vuc is a very smart and skilled player that doesnt have to rely on athleticism. I have hard time not seeing him being productive for years. You bring the Hibbert example but what exactly is he good at other than being 7'2 and putting his hands up? You say the NBA is changing and that is true, but its changing to where the traditional back to the basket big man is becoming obsolete, and skilled big men that help create spacing with outside shooting is a must, and Vuc can shot, plus he can pass and score. I don't care what people say, big men are still important, but not in the traditional sense of the big man stuck into the paint.

I agree that big men are still important. I also agree that Vuc is skilled, but part of the the reason why big's are important is because they are rim protectors, and Vuc isn't necessarily one yet. Vuc can shoot the mid-range J....but so can Tobias, Vuc can space the floor, but Frye will effectively do that a little better.

Don't get me wrong, I really like Vuc, and his presence on the floor, I just question his value as we move towards playoff contention.

[tiderulz]

Nikola Vucevic will get close to or the max as he is a center.

However, I'm more curious about Tobias Harris' status.

With Channing Frye coming in and Aaron Gordon being drafted, you have to wonder about Harris' future here.

He can play 3 but that is not his primary position.

as i ask normally non-Magic, why is the 3-spot not his primary position? if BBD hadnt gotten hurt and Harris filled in as needed for PF, would this be a discussion at all? Because Tobias played SF an awful lot last year if i remember correctly. And the thought was that he would be SF.

[Nyce_1]

I think both players sign extensions with us, and never hit the market.

[Max Power]

I like Vucevic, I hope we keep him long term, but to say he's a max player is absurd. Now if he ends up a legit 20-12 guy this year I'll take that back. Right now he's not, but I'd say he's a tier under it. As for the Gortat argument, I believe at this current moment Marcin is the better player because his defense is light years ahead of Vuc and Marcin has always, including his time with the Magic, been pure bad ass in the playoffs.


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[LBPTarHeel27]

I think both players sign extensions with us, and never hit the market.

Either way, I still think it ends up the same. Vuc on a 5 year max deal and Harris on a 3 year max deal with a PO in the 3rd. Free agents or not.

[thelead]

Tobias is a SF... who's going to get paid well after he drops a minimum of 18ppg's next year.

[Def Swami]

Nik Vucevic is getting a max contract if he hits free agency next summer. And we'll match it.

Tobias Harris is another story. I'm guessing $40/4 years is a fair price, but I'm fully prepared for $48/4 years to be offered to lock him up this summer. If he hits free agency next summer, it'll depend on how he does this year. If he has a break out year as I expect him to and averages 20 ppg and 8 rpg, then I think we match whatever he gets offered.

I believe the front office sees Oladipo, Harris, and Vucevic as the core for the next 3-4 years, so I anticipate both Harris and Vucevic being brought back long term.

[G-Heel]

Both will be overpaid regardless. I'm not sold on Vuc completely, but he is a decent, young, 7 foot tall center so he'll get pay big time. He isn't ever going to be a top 5 C in the league, but he'll be the next tier and those guys usually get paid real well also.

If we gave Channing f-ing Frye 8 mil a year, I don't see how you think Harris will accept 10, unless he completely bombs the next season.

Hennigan will overpay for Vuc, I'm sure. As for Harris, who knows. Hennigan may decide he isn't worth it like Ryan Anderson.

[Nyce_1]

Did anyone think Parsons was getting the max this year? That's the kind of offer you have to consider when thinking of letting Tobias hit the market.

[OrlChamps2030]

Nikola Vucevic will get close to or the max as he is a center.

However, I'm more curious about Tobias Harris' status.

With Channing Frye coming in and Aaron Gordon being drafted, you have to wonder about Harris' future here.

He can play 3 but that is not his primary position.

as i ask normally non-Magic, why is the 3-spot not his primary position? if BBD hadnt gotten hurt and Harris filled in as needed for PF, would this be a discussion at all? Because Tobias played SF an awful lot last year if i remember correctly. And the thought was that he would be SF.

Well according to 82games (not sure how accurate it is or if I am reading it wrong) Tobias has spent a significant majority of his mins at the PF position both seasons here in Orlando. So its easy to see why a non-Magic fan would think the 3 is not his primary position.

http://www.82games.com/1213/12ORL10.HTM (2012-2013)
http://www.82games.com/1314/13ORL9.HTM (2013-2014)

I think the front office sees Tobias as a "foward" kinda like how they see Oladipo as a "guard". Tobias has his positives and negatives at both forward positions. I think he would look very nice as a 3 next to Frye and Vucevic though

[Last Guardian]

You have to wonder about O'Quinn though. I am a fan of Nikola but O'quinn has a pretty decent mid-range shot too, nice passing ability and if he isn't already an elite rim protector, he certainly will be soon.

For me to consider giving Nikola a max contract (lol, not that I actually have anything to do with it), he would have to continue his elite rebounding but also take that next step offensively. We know that he has a mid-range shot, but we have only seen glimpses of his post game. He has a nice jump hook and good footwork, and he needs to be consistent for us on that end. Putbacks and mid-range shots aren't enough, imo. I am thinking 17/12 instead of 12/12.

[Blue_and_Whte]

You have to wonder about O'Quinn though. I am a fan of Nikola but O'quinn has a pretty decent mid-range shot too, nice passing ability and if he isn't already an elite rim protector, he certainly will be soon.

For me to consider giving Nikola a max contract (lol, not that I actually have anything to do with it), he would have to continue his elite rebounding but also take that next step offensively. We know that he has a mid-range shot, but we have only seen glimpses of his post game. He has a nice jump hook and good footwork, and he needs to be consistent for us on that end. Putbacks and mid-range shots aren't enough, imo. I am thinking 17/12 instead of 12/12.

well if they would give him the damn ball more I think he would up his scoring avg.

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[OrlandO]

I would be shocked if they didn't both put up career stats (up to this point) next season. Extend them now... or pay more later.

[Landshark]

If the salary cap weren't projected to increase in 2016, I would think twice before giving Vuc the max. However, the fact is the cap is projected to increase by about 33% to 80 mil from the current 60 mil. A max contract for Vuc would be worth about 15 mil/year for 4 years, starting from the 2015-2016 season, which means that the final 3 years would take effect under the new TV deal. 15 mil/year under the new 80 mil salary cap is proportionally equal to 11.25 mil/year under the current 60 mil cap. Is Vuc worth 15 mil/year? Debatable. Is he worth 11.25 mil/year? Absolutely. I would even consider making Vuc our designated player to capitalize on another bargain "max" year from the expiring TV deal. The real max these days is a LeBron-style short-term contract that allows the player to hit free agency in the 2016 offseason.

Tobias's value isn't as high as Vuc's due to the relative abundance of players with Tobias's skillset and position. For Tobias, I would begin negotiations with a lower offer, but if we have to offer him the max to keep him off the market, I would still do so. 2/3 of our core locked in at 11.25 mil/year relative to the current cap? Not bad at all.

[Orlwillbeback]

We need to see some wins before handing out huge extensions.

[LBPTarHeel27]

We need to see some wins before handing out huge extensions.

By saying that, you are saying that we let them hit restricted free agency. It's one or the other and we will know by October 31st which it will be.

[Orlwillbeback]

Just because the cap is going up, do we necessarily have to pay most players more? Lebron and stars i can understand but money is still money to these owners so i really doubt players are gonna get as overpaid as we think they are.

[UCFJayBird]

I've always thought Tobias was a SF being asked to play out of position at PF because he can get by down there and we didn't have great depth and we wanted to play Harkless at SF with him. But I think he's a more natural SF.

[Orlwillbeback]

We need to see some wins before handing out huge extensions.

By saying that, you are saying that we let them hit restricted free agency. It's one or the other and we will know by October 31st which it will be.

Im definitely not saying that, i just doubt our guys are gonna get as much as we think they are if we continue to suck.