Official Speculation Thread (Pt. XXXVI Off-Season Edition)

[Def Swami]

If Dwight Howard isn't traded by the Magic during the offseason, the Nets would be interested in revisiting trade talks centered around Brook Lopez when he becomes eligible to be traded on January 15th.

Lopez is expected to sign a new with the Nets now that Orlando has suspended Howard trade negotiations.

Via Sam Amick/SI.com (via Twitter)


Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... z20Lm8NBx7

If Rob isn't doing it now, it won't happen in January.

[Gerhalt11]

Catching up on what has transpired in the past hour, I've got the utmost respect, admiration for Rob Hennigan. This guys is a boss. He knows exactly what he's doing. Him being new to the team, I wasn't sure what to expect from him. But after this masterful move to suspend trade talks, forcing the Nets to sign Lopez to a max, eliminating the Nets as an option for D12, forcing D12 to expand his list, preventing other teams from lowballing us, I have a lot of faith in Rob to do the right thing.

He seriously just played the media and the Nets.

Watch us hire Shaw, and watch D12 kiss and make up with the Magic. Wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.

Trust in Rob

Sure, this all sounds good, but it won't mean jack if the deal we DO end up getting is a bad one. I do believe there is a better deal to be had than the one the Nets were offering, but at the end of the day, we still have an unhappy superstar who wants out. We're exactly where we were two months ago. Not exactly worth celebrating.

So, let's hold off on the downtown statue of Hennigan for a while.

[Def Swami]

Didn't Rob say that he's not interested in Bropez at the Max? I heard he did in fact say that.

It was pretty much implied.

[OrlChamps2030]

Sounds logical to me.

Sounds like B.S. to me. Howard can not be trusted. Howard could care less about Hennigan, the Magic, OR Orlando and the fans.

Howard's options are simple:

Sign with a team with cap space in '13 for less money
Sign with Orlando who will also have a ton of cap space for max money/max years

New Jersey will not have cap space, will not be an option. Dallas or Atlanta would compete against Orlando but will be able to offer less money/years. Orlando's trade assets start looking better summer '13 when Hedo and Duhon can be traded as expiring contracts or immediate cap relief options. Hennigan can quickly rebuild a contending core around Dwight without Dwight missing a beat. With a weak East this coming season Orlando can still contend in the interim, while having flexibility to retool quickly. I really like the future for a Dwight led Orlando Magic and I don't see why Dwight wouldn't either.

Is expanding his list not an option?

[Def Swami]

Catching up on what has transpired in the past hour, I've got the utmost respect, admiration for Rob Hennigan. This guys is a boss. He knows exactly what he's doing. Him being new to the team, I wasn't sure what to expect from him. But after this masterful move to suspend trade talks, forcing the Nets to sign Lopez to a max, eliminating the Nets as an option for D12, forcing D12 to expand his list, preventing other teams from lowballing us, I have a lot of faith in Rob to do the right thing.

He seriously just played the media and the Nets.

Watch us hire Shaw, and watch D12 kiss and make up with the Magic. Wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.

Trust in Rob

Sure, this all sounds good, but it won't mean jack if the deal we DO end up getting is a bad one. I do believe there is a better deal to be had than the one the Nets were offering, but at the end of the day, we still have an unhappy superstar who wants out. We're exactly where we were two months ago. Not exactly worth celebrating.

So, let's hold off on the downtown statue of Hennigan for a while.

Never said give him a statue. Just said he earned some faith and trust from a fan.

[InFlames]

Didn't Rob say that he's not interested in Bropez at the Max? I heard he did in fact say that.

Definitely implied it.

[woosah]

Didn't Rob say that he's not interested in Bropez at the Max? I heard he did in fact say that.

yeah, it was reported by several people that he said that.

[Gerhalt11]

Never said give him a statue. Just said he earned some faith and trust from a fan.

Fine, but you're talking about "masterful moves," "utmost respect," Hennigan is a "boss." So far, he's drafted two rookies who haven't played a real game and made the fairly obvious decision of letting Anderson walk. Hardly a resume' worthy of that kind of praise, in my opinion.

[bigmoe1952]

I think you MIGHT be able to see little clues as to why the Magic were talking to the Nets in the first place, despite the poor deal being offered, in Rob's press conference just now:

He said they're still talking to the Nets, still talking trades and have not suspended any trade talk -- he clearly made a promise to Dwight to work in good faith to send him to his first choice as long as it's a good trade for the Magic.

So he's a stand-up guy and they did just that, while pursuing other trades too. Now he's saying we can't make it happen because the trade is not good for the Magic.

A) He's doing what he said he'd do for Dwight and making a legit attempt to satisfy Dwight and satisfy the Magic.

B) He's building trust and a personal relationship with Dwight because the Magic probably still hope to repair the relationship with him.[/quote]

Sounds logical to me.[/quote]

Sounds like B.S. to me. Howard can not be trusted. Howard could care less about Hennigan, the Magic, OR Orlando and the fans.[/quote]

Where in this post did he say anything about Dwight? It was about Rob.[/quote]

DUH! He said he was building trust. I assume he was trying to build it with Dwight. You can not build trust with someone who can not be trusted.

[Idunkonyou2]

Like I have been saying, Rob will get picks, young talent and cap space for Howard or he will keep Howard and dare him to leave. That is really his only options IMO. Both are best for the organization because even if Howard leaves, we gain a huge chuck of cap space for future endeavors.

[DiplomaticMagic]

The Press Conference

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCLARjApvGA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[pogiro]

DUH! He said he was building trust. I assume he was trying to build it with Dwight. You can not build trust with someone who can not be trusted.

But... but... is it possible that you're wrong, and Dwight can be trusted?

[BringPennyBack]

So after the coach announcement....

What do you guys think the NON Dwight trade will be?

[Idunkonyou2]

Never said give him a statue. Just said he earned some faith and trust from a fan.

Fine, but you're talking about "masterful moves," "utmost respect," Hennigan is a "boss." So far, he's drafted two rookies who haven't played a real game and made the fairly obvious decision of letting Anderson walk. Hardly a resume' worthy of that kind of praise, in my opinion.

Better than what Otis would have done and that is always a step in the right direction. If Otis was still here, we would have already traded for KH, Lopez and Brooks. I also guarantee he would have matched Anderson's deal and Nelson would probably be looking at a 3 year, 30 million dollar deal, instead of the modest 3 year, 19 million he got.

[Leoj]

The Press Conference

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCLARjApvGA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Awesome ty

[bigmoe1952]

DUH! He said he was building trust. I assume he was trying to build it with Dwight. You can not build trust with someone who can not be trusted.

But... but... is it possible that you're wrong, and Dwight can be trusted?

As much as it's possible you are wrong.

[InFlames]

I think you MIGHT be able to see little clues as to why the Magic were talking to the Nets in the first place, despite the poor deal being offered, in Rob's press conference just now:

He said they're still talking to the Nets, still talking trades and have not suspended any trade talk -- he clearly made a promise to Dwight to work in good faith to send him to his first choice as long as it's a good trade for the Magic.

So he's a stand-up guy and they did just that, while pursuing other trades too. Now he's saying we can't make it happen because the trade is not good for the Magic.

A) He's doing what he said he'd do for Dwight and making a legit attempt to satisfy Dwight and satisfy the Magic.

B) He's building trust and a personal relationship with Dwight because the Magic probably still hope to repair the relationship with him.

Sounds logical to me.[/quote]

Sounds like B.S. to me. Howard can not be trusted. Howard could care less about Hennigan, the Magic, OR Orlando and the fans.[/quote]

Where in this post did he say anything about Dwight? It was about Rob.[/quote]

DUH! He said he was building trust. I assume he was trying to build it with Dwight. You can not build trust with someone who can not be trusted.[/quote]

Right. But that doesn't change the fact that that is what Rob could ultimately be trying to do, and that is all that KnicksGod was saying, which is perfectly reasonable.

[Def Swami]

Never said give him a statue. Just said he earned some faith and trust from a fan.

Fine, but you're talking about "masterful moves," "utmost respect," Hennigan is a "boss." So far, he's drafted two rookies who haven't played a real game and made the fairly obvious decision of letting Anderson walk. Hardly a resume' worthy of that kind of praise, in my opinion.

Agree to disagree.

Eliminating the Nets from the discussion altogether will prove to be good for the Magic. We were most likely getting terrible offers from both the Rockets and Lakers because the Nets offer was so bad. I think we'll get real offers for D12 and possibly some new teams willing to jump in and rent D12.

You've got to respect the way he's played the media here too. Allowing the rumors to circulate all week, making it seem as if the Magic really had a deal with the Nets, as if we truly were trying our best. It mitigates the bad blood between Rob and D12's camp.

I think a lot of rookie GM's wouldn't have played it as well and would have invested too much emotion into the situation, and again, I didn't know what to expect from Rob. Call me foolish, but I thought there was a chance that a rookie GM would sign Lopez to a max deal. Glad to see he's patient and moving on to look for a head coach.

Sorry for my hyperbole, though.

[Def Swami]

Never said give him a statue. Just said he earned some faith and trust from a fan.

Fine, but you're talking about "masterful moves," "utmost respect," Hennigan is a "boss." So far, he's drafted two rookies who haven't played a real game and made the fairly obvious decision of letting Anderson walk. Hardly a resume' worthy of that kind of praise, in my opinion.

Better than what Otis would have done and that is always a step in the right direction. If Otis was still here, we would have already traded for KH, Lopez and Brooks. I also guarantee he would have matched Anderson's deal and Nelson would probably be looking at a 3 year, 30 million dollar deal, instead of the modest 3 year, 19 million he got.

Exactly. A lot of other GM's would have been bullied into making a deal with the Nets. Otis was ready to pull the trigger in December until ownership stepped in.

Rob just saying "no" to the Nets says a lot about how he's going to manage from here on out.

[ADRajX]

The Press Conference

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCLARjApvGA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Awesome ty

Glad Rob had that press conference. Dude knows what he's doing.