Game 20: Magic (7-12) @ Philadelphia (4-14), 7:00 PM, December 2nd

[OrlandO]

paid a lot of money to be an offensive negative. i dont think people would have too much a negative view if he was paid say $12mil

You really think he would have only needed 12 million to sign with a team? LOL, people are seriously clueless sometimes about NBA contract value. There is no way you get a guy that skilled at rim protection for 12 million last summer. Let's get real.

yes, i do. i think we outbid ourselves like we did with Lewis. He had an average season and had 1 good playoff series. there is a reason you didnt hear any other team linked with BB.

You guys already had this exact discussion a couple weeks ago. This is where I chime in again and say he was probably receiving offers somewhere in the middle and we bumped it up a little to get him here. See you two in a few weeks so we can all make the same comments again.

[VFX]

Are we really talking about Biz' offense, compared to his salary, as an actual problem with what's going on with the rest of this team?

It wouldn't feel like we are "playing 4 on 5" on offense if there were any starter, outside of Evan, that had some kind of offensive ability. Chances are pretty slim Vuc and Biz won't be on the floor together.

Who knows what this team will look like for the remainder of his contract, but he at least does what he was brought in to do.

[PennytoShaq]

paid a lot of money to be an offensive negative. i dont think people would have too much a negative view if he was paid say $12mil

You really think he would have only needed 12 million to sign with a team? LOL, people are seriously clueless sometimes about NBA contract value. There is no way you get a guy that skilled at rim protection for 12 million last summer. Let's get real.

yes, i do. i think we outbid ourselves like we did with Lewis. He had an average season and had 1 good playoff series. there is a reason you didnt hear any other team linked with BB.

UHHHH - NO! There is a reason we keep coming back to this discussion - because there is simply a lot of misinformation being spread. You are simply not correct.

Reality:

5 months ago – via Twitter MazzESPN
Mike Mazzeo: Have heard Bismack Biyombo connected to LA as a rim protection possibility. – RT: Ramona Shelburne: Lakers priorities in free agency were shooting & rim protection. Among names I’ve heard interest in: Ryan Anderson, Chandler Parsons, Nicolas Batum, Kent Bazemore, Tyler Zeller.
5 months ago – via New York Post
If a Noah deal falls through, Toronto’s emerging shot-blocker Bismack Biyombo is on the list and has the same agent as Rose, who already has made a recruiting pitch to Noah. Biyombo lifted his stock in the playoffs. By adding a legit center, the loss of Robin Lopez — dealt away in the Rose deal — won’t be felt.
5 months ago – via USA Today Sports
The good news, for DeRozan and the Raptors, is that Biyombo wants to come back. According to a person with knowledge of his situation, he will be patient as Toronto works things out with DeRozan as its top priority. Biyombo will have no shortage of suitors should the Raptors blink long enough to lose DeRozan, but there will be no immediate rush to seize the speediest deal.

[Xatticus]

Yes but this summer was legendary for guys getting overpaid. A big like Biz who can switch onto PGs and has locked down our paint on defense is worth the contract. You simply can not get a guy like this for 12 a year, especially in a league where rim protection is highly valued. Additionally, he is still quite young so the Magic got him in a contract that has him at his best years in terms of athleticism.

He has already justified the contract if you look at our massive improvement in defense this year. I'll put it like this - he is a tradable asset. Bad overpays like Evan Turner, currently are not.

I don't really disagree, except in whether or not he has validated the contract thus far. It will always be difficult for him to live up to the numbers due to the environment in which it was signed. Paying market value in free agency, especially in those conditions, isn't going to yield many bargains. I have to believe we made the biggest offer (because he signed with us), but I doubt it was that far above some other offers that might've been out there. If the other offers weren't there yet, they probably would've been as the free agency period played out.

This conversation was dug up again though over someone taking exception to some criticism of Biyombo. These criticisms just aren't going to go away though unless we are winning a lot of games. There will be plenty of criticism to go around for any team that is losing more than it's winning, and salary is certainly going to be a factor in how much of that criticism any particular player receives.

[PennytoShaq]

Yes but this summer was legendary for guys getting overpaid. A big like Biz who can switch onto PGs and has locked down our paint on defense is worth the contract. You simply can not get a guy like this for 12 a year, especially in a league where rim protection is highly valued. Additionally, he is still quite young so the Magic got him in a contract that has him at his best years in terms of athleticism.

He has already justified the contract if you look at our massive improvement in defense this year. I'll put it like this - he is a tradable asset. Bad overpays like Evan Turner, currently are not.

I don't really disagree, except in whether or not he has validated the contract thus far. It will always be difficult for him to live up to the numbers due to the environment in which it was signed. Paying market value in free agency, especially in those conditions, isn't going to yield many bargains. I have to believe we made the biggest offer (because he signed with us), but I doubt it was that far above some other offers that might've been out there. If the other offers weren't there yet, they probably would've been as the free agency period played out.

This conversation was dug up again though over someone taking exception to some criticism of Biyombo. These criticisms just aren't going to go away though unless we are winning a lot of games. There will be plenty of criticism to go around for any team that is losing more than it's winning, and salary is certainly going to be a factor in how much of that criticism any particular player receives.

Exactly. It's nice to have a team that locks down the paint again. We were so soft last year and now I watch teams hesitate to come in after a few swats. Let's see how Biz continues to do in the starting lineup, but it seems to be working out as long as we can get more offense the 1 and 3 spots.

The last 4 games have us at 22nd in the league in scoring and 1st on defense. If we can get to around 18-19 on offense and the defense continues, we are a playoff team, at least based on metrics.

[Optimus_Steel]

Yes but this summer was legendary for guys getting overpaid. A big like Biz who can switch onto PGs and has locked down our paint on defense is worth the contract. You simply can not get a guy like this for 12 a year, especially in a league where rim protection is highly valued. Additionally, he is still quite young so the Magic got him in a contract that has him at his best years in terms of athleticism.

He has already justified the contract if you look at our massive improvement in defense this year. I'll put it like this - he is a tradable asset. Bad overpays like Evan Turner, currently are not.

I don't really disagree, except in whether or not he has validated the contract thus far. It will always be difficult for him to live up to the numbers due to the environment in which it was signed. Paying market value in free agency, especially in those conditions, isn't going to yield many bargains. I have to believe we made the biggest offer (because he signed with us), but I doubt it was that far above some other offers that might've been out there. If the other offers weren't there yet, they probably would've been as the free agency period played out.

This conversation was dug up again though over someone taking exception to some criticism of Biyombo. These criticisms just aren't going to go away though unless we are winning a lot of games. There will be plenty of criticism to go around for any team that is losing more than it's winning, and salary is certainly going to be a factor in how much of that criticism any particular player receives.

Exactly. It's nice to have a team that locks down the paint again. We were so soft last year and now I watch teams hesitate to come in after a few swats. Let's see how Biz continues to do in the starting lineup, but it seems to be working out as long as we can get more offense the 1 and 3 spots.

The last 4 games have us at 22nd in the league in scoring and 1st on defense. If we can get to around 18-19 on offense and the defense continues, we are a playoff team, at least based on metrics.

The psychological effect of a couple of block shots inside the paint is unquantifable but clearly it has a major effect. Especially when there is someone always on the floor that is a shot blocker.

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[Last Guardian]

I don't get into contract worth very much. I'm glad to have him on the team even though he is a negative on offense. But we should also stop passing it to him so much, in traffic at least. Overall, his aggressive challenges at the rim are a pleasure to watch.

[MagicStarwipe]

Biz is awesome. Can't believe people are complaining about him. We just have weird fans.

[Bensational]

The team took a good chunk of games just to get the defense clicking in the first place. Biz has only recently joined the starters so it's reasonable to believe his individual defense will get even stronger as the lineups build chemistry.

Plus, if that Philly game is a sign of things to come, he might be trying to circumvent his offensive woes with some smart passes on every other possession.

If this team has taught me anything this season it's not to assume we'll be the same team from game to game. We've got 2 very smart coaches at the helm in Vogel and Forcier and they're constantly figuring out improvements.

I am genuinely loving the team this season. We're competing and playing elite defense. That's something we haven't done for a long time.

[Nyce_1]

July 8, 2016:

I really don't think Meeks will get as many minutes some are proposing. he'll play in blowouts, MAYBE.

You guys,

Jodie Meeks is good. And he happens to fit a sore need on this team.

He'll play.

...

Tonight:

The Jodie Meeks Era Begins in Orlando

...

LOL touche. I'm impressed by his impact. Good job Rob.