Elf traded to Phoenix for second rounder

[purpleswordfish]

The Magic put themselves in a bad situation, unfortunately. Either you trade him for almost nothing now or get nothing in return when he walks in the offseason. I realize it was a different front office, but you kinda wonder what the Magic could have gotten a year ago for Payton. I certainly was not a fan of Payton and I don't think he's a starter in today's NBA, but this is a disappointing return regardless.

[Audi]

[___Rand___]

Well, I know the debates on Elf won't be over, but they will be less now.

[MagicMadness]

I swear if next season he's got a short hairdo dropping bombs from 3 with lockdown D, I'm done.

We're also losing Hezonja for nothing this off-season. Is Hennigan still in charge?? Otis Smith???

[OrlandoDream]

I swear if next season he's got a short hairdo dropping bombs from 3 with lockdown D, I'm done.

We're also losing Hezonja for nothing this off-season. Is Hennigan still in charge?? Otis Smith???

I hope he does. Help PHX win and become the next great PG for them. It would put them out of the tank race and leave us as the only top 6 tanking team that doesnt have their PG of the future. The Trae to Orlando prophecy is getting closer and closer.

[NBAchamps2017]

I swear if next season he's got a short hairdo dropping bombs from 3 with lockdown D, I'm done.

We're also losing Hezonja for nothing this off-season. Is Hennigan still in charge?? Otis Smith???

That's an impossibly BIG IF. I highly doubt that. My guess he will be out of the league after his rookie contract. He has mental frailty.

[RickB-Orlando]

So no one feels that if Payton had started his career elsewhere. Same stats, same everything besides location. He would’ve gotten more in return?

Not really, no.

[yoyojw17]

We scored 9 points in the first quarter last night, NINE!

Our issue is we dont have players that can shoot the ball (Besides Booker), and i dont think adding Payton to the starting 5 is going to change that. We also have the hardest remaining schedule in the league. The Trae Tank will continue chugging along in Phoenix!

you guys got a great deal! At the end of the day.....the suns are going to milk payton and give him more usage and duties than the magic has ever given him an opportunity to have. The guy is going to feast for the rest of the season.... and chances are you guys will be resigning him to a lucrative contract this offseason.

imma call him having a career high against us.

I can understand our organizations desire to say that he doesn't fit... but the guy is still on his way up and a 2nd round pick is just not enough.. even with the contractual situation. throw in a developing rookie at different position that might need a new start and i would have been good with it.

Oh well.... lemme stop crying over spilled milk.... But Payton.... i wish you all the best!!!! I will only be mad at you if you phoenix and left your hair in Orlando. haha

Like your optimism but dude isn’t going to feast. We gave EP every chance to be the lead guard and he didn’t take it. You know Phoenix has Booker, Chriss, Bender, Warren ? EP will be given backup minutes and role and probably be about the same as he was in Orlando.

EP won’t see anything over 11mil per year and that’s being generous. Could see him getting 6-8 Mil per with 3 year team/player option

He has been the starter.... But not the engine if the team. At best a usage rate of 20-21%..... He'll be pushing 25 plus.... And I think he will put up some impressive numbers for the rest of the season. They aren't gonna bench him and not see what he can do. Payton seems like the type that fades into the corner if not motivated with opportunity to dominate. Which will not work with the team strategy that was being implemented as he would also have to play off the ball just as much as on the ball.

[woosah]

I swear if next season he's got a short hairdo dropping bombs from 3 with lockdown D, I'm done.

We're also losing Hezonja for nothing this off-season. Is Hennigan still in charge?? Otis Smith???

We may just have a dallas cowboys circle of honor operating in the background, but it's the circle of doom. Sitting in some box at the arena lolling and eating cheetos while moving along with the plan. or the non-plan. Playing paddle and ish...

[Howard Mass]

The trade is now official as The Press Release just went out.

[dsg2021]

Nice move. I was expecting EP and Mario to be released in the summer but now we got a 2nd for EP. On top of that, we also avoid EP’s strong second half seasons, when he always picks it up after the team is playing for nothing. A+ move. Wish him the best always.

[Optimus_Steel]

The league determined the value for A PG that can't shoot, defend, nor be a leader on the court after 3.5 years.

Would have been nice to get something tangible, but that's not what he's worth at this point.

A second rounder is better than nothing.

This is the hard core truth. Tough to swallow but he is not that good. No shooting, orange cone defense, and totally invisible as a leader. He can get to the lane and can pass some which makes him a career backup at best, nothing special in a modern league that needs a PG to be a scoring threat to be viable. Nice guy, however totally stubborn as he is unwilling to cut his hair that clearly affects his shooting.

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[The Real Dalic]

I swear if next season he's got a short hairdo dropping bombs from 3 with lockdown D, I'm done.

We're also losing Hezonja for nothing this off-season. Is Hennigan still in charge?? Otis Smith???

That's an impossibly BIG IF. I highly doubt that. My guess he will be out of the league after his rookie contract. He has mental frailty.

Whoa, what a prediction.

[Optimus_Steel]

True..but in that sense, where do you think Elf would have shined if not us? Him being as it is now I mean.

I think him in Philly or Minnesota as far as younger teams, and then any older team with structure would like to have him as a role player/25 minute guy. Maybe not shine, but certainly not on the trade market.

It's just funny to see people here say how we've given all of these guys opportunities to shine with conviction when we've yet to actually develop any player properly since Dwight. A lot more goes into it than minutes and a starting opportunity.

yep. We gave him a chance to be the lead guard but took the ball out of his hands and gave it to Dipo to develop his handling, basically not letting him do what he does best which is run the offense and break down off the dribble. That's how you develop someone. yay!

He got plenty of opportunity. He makes nice plays but overall he is a negative to the team even with him dominating the ball. If you move him off the ball he essentially becomes a useless statue on the corner thus destroying any spacing the offense may have. That's why he is a career backup, nothing special.

I said around this time last year we needed to chose either Elf or AG, and I called for his trading because a team with a PG that can't shot, lead or defend as a starter is going nowhere. Perhaps could have gotten something better in return but no point now too late.

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[OrlandO]

Watch on YouTube

[NSB_Magic]

Sooo you’re saying we need a point guard....

I don’t see Young as a top 5 Draft pick. I think these mocks over value media sensations like trae. He can ball.. but that doesn’t make him top 5 nba talent. You think he’ll be better than DJ his rookie year? And reliable on defense? No thanks. Not enthusiastic about him being the player we wasted this year for.

[yoyojw17]

Watch on YouTube

well.... i hope that since mario is still on the team..... that they "feel like they can keep him"

[woosah]

Watch on YouTube

well.... i hope that since mario is still on the team..... that they "feel like they can keep him"

I will certainly be shocked if they can. I expected EP to get an offer between 5 and 6mil this offseason (back up money) and he can't shoot nearly as well, so Mario finding his groove and showing he has that skill that people want should mean he gets better money offered, even if it is only 2 years with an option or something because he hasn't been consistent.

Gotta hope this EP trade is like a JJ hiccup that turns into a draft for Giannis type of thing. We laugh about JJ but they got Giannis right after so one can only hope.

[pepe1991]

Market for him, as starter was only few teams. I even predicted that Suns and Knicks will be only teams with any interest. After draft ,and after Suns take , if they can Young or Doncic, and Knicks promote Frank into starter, market for him as starter will simply be zero. He is getting 3 years $18-20 M at most, probably not even that .

Guys who say he didn't have chance here are clueless, 3 and half years he was starter ,despite all that he still can't shoot, isn't leader and his defense gets worst on daily bases.

Second round pick for him is his true value at this moment.

I just hope that endless talk about " Mr triple double" are now over.

[ralphie9898]

This will only hurt if he decides to shed that stupid hair of his and takes his basketball career seriously. Until then, nah..

Yeah I don't care about what kind of hair style he has. I don't like it but that's just me. I don't get why it hangs over his face and may somewhat effect his vision at times. But it can be over come so we shall see. But yeah I agree in that this trade may not come back to hurt us. Only time will tell but this one may not have much of a direct impact but maybe just the start of some other moves in the future to get better. Which is what we all want. So we shall see how Payton fares and what we get out of this as we don't know quite what we will get with that pick. We also could get the benefit of not having to pay Payton this summer. It will be interesting to see what kind of money Payton gets. I think it will be somewhat higher but maybe not too much but I don't know know for sure what he will get or who he will get it from so we shall see.

I really dont care about his hair either and he might convince me that with time he got used to play with it pretty good but there is no way in hell that hairstyle is optimal for basketball. It affects the vision and its bouncing all the time back and forth messing with you coordination, jumper.. Its like a 100m sprinter with an afro, i mean you can still run very fast but in no way shape and form is it optimal for sprinting. And you should get every single edge you can over your counterparts, not give stuff away because you like a stupid hairstyle or it means to you so much. I was actualy surprised Magic fans were not more pissed about it during his time here

Yeah I said I don't understand why he has it hanging over his forehead and obstructing his vision. Yeah he can maybe toss his head back and make it get out of the way for a little bit but that is effort wasted and can mean he has to take his eye of what is important. I agree with that. I had thought about it when I first saw it but decided not to talk about it but yeah I don't think it helps and don't understand why he would hinder his game at all with hairstyle that is a bit ridiculous and I should know about ridiculous. But I am not playing basketball professionally either but if I were I would cut that front part off. But we don't have to worry about it anymore as he is gone.