Official Speculation Thread (Pt. XLV "Re-Building" Edition)

[theLUplayer]

This is why I hate message boards. The sky is either falling or everything is great.

But here I am posting on a message board....

[AussieMagicFan]

These future 1st rounders truly suck. Magic basically traded Dwight for Harkless (15th pick in draft), Nikola Vucevic (16th pick in draft) and Aflalo (27th pick in draft) with a few future first rounders that will be in the 20's about 3-5 years from now. And, only Aflalo is a legit starter.

Hennigan is officially, a freaking idiot. What a dumbass! Magic would be better off keeping Dwight for the year and making a splash in 2013. Or at least, waiting for a better offer at the trade deadline.

Magic didn't even get One Single All-Star for the most dominate Center on the planet. A travesty in modern sports history.

The Magic are now the laughing stock of the entire NBA and no superstar and not many all-stars should ever consider joining this team.

Here is your future Magic fans, a lifetime of mediocrity. This is what you get when you panic and give in to Stern and Dwight Howard.

WE DIDN'T WANT AN ALL STAR! WE DIDN'T WANT TO BE MEDIOCRE! WE WANT TO SUCK!

WE WANTED DRAFT PICKS
WE WANTED YOUNG TALENT
WE WANTED CAP SPACE FLEXIBILITY
WE WANTED SOME BAD CONTRACTS GONE
WE WANT TO SUCK
WE WANT A NEW CULTURE

Sorry for the Caps but For Crying out loud. People. It may not be the best deal, but we weren't in it to just be mediocre. We get Bynum back, we are mediocre. What other All Star was offered? Also two things:

* Cap Floor
* Howard requested Brooklyn and LA. That is it.

The deal isn't finalised yet, Alex Kennedy has stated there are more names attached and stated, the draft picks we got will allow us to wheel and deal and move up places on draft night, package it with players etc. Guys, we were never getting equal value for Dwight, but what we wanted was to rebuild the Franchise. You don't do that with players that didn't want to be here and to be mediocre.

Let the building of the Franchise begin, I can't wait.

[bigmoe1952]

Woj is saying the Houston deal was as good as advertised.....

If that is true then Hennigan AND Martins need to be canned. That really does makes the Magic a Mickey Mouse organization. And I would not be surprised if they passed up the Houston deal to give Howard what he wanted. Well, if that's the case, screw the Magic. You know, some of you talk about some of us as being "fair weather fans." But I see myself as a customer. And we all are customers of the Magic. If I do not like the product or service I am receiving, I go elsewhere. I mean what incentive is there for teams to improve and make good decisions if the fans and customers still plunk down their cash?

Look at the Cubs. They suck year after year. Yet those lemmings continue to flock to Wrigley. The Cubs do not pay the price for failure.

[MitchellUK]

It has been reported quite a few times that Gilbert's $20+mil amnesty count's towards the cap floor.

Is that right? The wording states that the salary has to be paid but doesn't count towards cap figures.

Edit - Just checked Larry Coon's FAQ, and you are correct, sir, my bad. That being the case, Harrington's involvement is a total puzzle.

[magic04life]

Colin Cowherd is saying that Nash going to the Lakers is a bigger improvement for LA than Dwight.

Saying Dwight is overrated

[Ahmadab]

JaVale McGee ‏@JaValeMcGee34
RT @JaValeMcGee34 PIERRE IS QUESTIONING THE NEW ERA OF SUPER TEAMS AND NOT CARING ABOUT SALARY CAPS!

Yes he retweets himself, Pierre is his "alter ego". I love McGee

[UCFJayBird]

Colin Cowherd is saying that Nash going to the Lakers is a bigger improvement for LA than Dwight.

Saying Dwight is overrated

To be fair the difference between Dwight and Bynum vs the difference between Nash and whoever the Lakers had running point is much larger.

[Nyce_1]

Get more aquainted with our probable Starting Center Nikola Vucevic and his skillset....looks like a Mehmet Okur type to me.....not bad

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcgpIuD_JyQ&feature=related[/youtube]

Oh and another thing some of you guys are overreacting just a bit without knowing all the facts.....blaming Hennigan when he may have very well wanted to wait a bit longer but was overruled by Alex and the Devos Family....we simply don't know all the facts and yet we're blaming Hennigan.....the trade itself is bollocks but it's a bit early to be blaming anyone just yet....let's wait until things are finalized...we still don't know for sure who's going where.....

I like his size. Looks to have a solid build and he's already more athletic than Lopez. WIN.

With Vucevic and Nicholson able to open the floor, that'll create driving lanes for Jameer and any other wing-scorer we draft & develop. The bigs can also bang when needed. Big man wise, I think we're set for the future. Now, we just have to work on getting and developing the backcourt & wings. I'm very curious to see who Rob targets for the PG of the future.

[Ahmadab]

We still need a long defensive minded center

[Big A All Day]

If this trade happens ill still continue to monitor the Magics young guys and see how they devolpe but i wont be purchasing tickets to games or revolving my schedule around what time a Magic game comes on TV. I really cant get behind this trade unless we get turner from philly as well.

Its truly sad to turn on ESPN and see the trade on the screen with Dwight 2 LA, Bynum to Philly, Iggy to Nuggets and then........ Afflalo's name headlining our side of the screen, i almost lost my breakfast

[theLUplayer]

Colin Cowherd is saying that Nash going to the Lakers is a bigger improvement for LA than Dwight.

Saying Dwight is overrated

He is over rated, but he is the best center in the league. The combo of steve nash and dwight (if healthy) will help hide Dwight's weaknesses. Also this is Kobe's team he will not be able to whine about not getting touches in the low post which will also do him good.

[OrlandO]

This deal would be a lot easier to take in if we weren't sending Dwight to LA. I want Dwight to earn his championship, not have it gifted to him and the Lakers.

[Ahmadab]

Guys *gulp* Duhon is going to win a ring.

[Great WhiteHope]

Colin Cowherd is saying that Nash going to the Lakers is a bigger improvement for LA than Dwight.

Saying Dwight is overrated

and or saying that Bynum/Dwight trade off is not that much! Nash is coming into a team that had basically no PG!

[Def Swami]

Adrian Wojnarowski‏@WojYahooNBA
HOU offered ORL $12M in space (instead of Afflalo), recent 1st picks, future lottery and unprotected picks. Would've taken bad deals (cont.)

Adrian Wojnarowski‏@WojYahooNBA
(cont.) and no need to take on Harrington contract.

Wow. Just incredible.

[Magicalltheway]

can they declare the deal already, i need to know the details.

[BelgianMagic]

Brian K. Schmitz ‏@MagicInsider
Dwight deal not done, league sources say.

[MitchellUK]

Guys *gulp* Duhon is going to win a ring.

What does it matter? Some stripper will just end up stealing it from him when he's wasted and getting his 8th lapdance of the night.

[KingRobb02]

I'm hopeful but not betting on it that Lakers end up being the same with this big 4 as they were with their last big 4....underachievers.

Now:

Howard
Gasol
Kobe
Nash

Last big 4:

Shaq
Karl Malone
Kobe
Gary Payton


The ironic side in me would love to see the Nets beat the Lakers to the Finals if they make it that far. Or OKC whoop the Lakers in the WC Finals. Hell now that the Heat have won a championship I don't even care if they keep on winning some more.

That team was 3 wins away from a title. Karl Malone retired after the season and Gary payton was washed up too. Nash is still maybe the best assist man in the business (aside from Paul) and Kobe was 36 points away from a scoring title last year. They are the old guys in this equation. No comparison really.

[UCFJayBird]

watch this crap not even happen.