Official Speculation Thread ‘18-19’: XX: Year of the Vuc

[Tarheel]

Hey man, I'm enjoying this season more than I thought I would.

Yep, it's nice being competitive on most nights.

I feel like the last couple Vogel years we'd get blown out of games by the 3rd quarter and I'd turn off, this year it feels like we have a shot to win 90% of the games we play and that keeps it exciting.

Doesn't hurt that we're at .500 in December either, and it feels sustainable.

[SOUL]

Hey man, I'm enjoying this season more than I thought I would.

Yep, it's nice being competitive on most nights.

I feel like the last couple Vogel years we'd get blown out of games by the 3rd quarter and I'd turn off, this year it feels like we have a shot to win 90% of the games we play and that keeps it exciting.

Doesn't hurt that we're at .500 in December either, and it feels sustainable.

Vogel's rotations were so uninspiring and bad. Like, you knew when the runs would occur just because he refused to stagger any sort of starters and ran like 3-4 minutes too long with rotations.

[Jiwol]

Disappointing that we’re starting this speculation thread by trashing our best player...

Not "we" but one confused and bitter user. I think one of the mods should delete the first post. Disgrace.

[drsd]

At some point you have to win games.

The Magic is 9-6 (64% winning rate) over the last 14 games. This was not an easy part of the schedule and came on the back end of being 4-games below 0.500.

If the Magic win 64% of their remaining games, the team finished with a 49-33 record, which was last year, was good for the 5-seed (Indiana Pacers).


..

[drsd]

... it feels sustainable.

Sustainable winning is a parternship between the management and coaching staffs. That no real change was made was a choice, and that choice appears to be working.

For me this team still needs a starting PG and competent bench depth in the post to get to the next level.

But it is hard to see the Magic winning less than 36 games at this point.


..

[fklt]

ross keep coming heads is not at all sustainable though. bench requires urgent playmaking and shooting, as bad as they are now it's gonna get worse.

[RookieStar]

ross keep coming heads is not at all sustainable though. bench requires urgent playmaking and shooting, as bad as they are now it's gonna get worse.

To be fair, Fourney and Sims low fg conversion is also not the norn. I think itl balanve out.. with Ross not being hot with those 2 converting their shots

[Skybox]

IMO, the "contract year" stuff doesn't apply. Vuc is being Vuc...but, Clifford is using him to his strengths. He's always been a fundamentally sound, skilled, smart post player with athletic limitations. It's clear Vogel was a catastrophically bad coaching period. This is a similar Vuc to pre-Vogel. The difference is we're winning. Not many years ago, he was competing for the league lead in rebounding and was unguardable in the post. He has evolved defensively and in his passing. Bamba still represents the "Modern rim-protecting, switchy defender with range"(potentially)...question now is whether Vuc and his style of play is archaic and unsustainable. Another is whether he will stay as an UFA with a high draft pick on the roster at his position. Still another is "Will Bamba become the defensive nightmare he projects to be?" Can we keep both? Should we (John Salley and Rodman off the bench was beastly)?...Good to have options rather than desperation. I think you DO have to at least consider what Bamba could bring back in terms of a playmaking guard.

[Knightro]

I think the most ideal course of action would be to sign Vucevic to a 1 year deal, if he would accept it.

Trading or re-signing Vuc isn't as simple as both sides are making it out to be. It's never just hey, Bamba is replacing Vuc, we're worse now. Everybody gets new roles with Vuc out, and it's seeing if we would be a better team in those roles. It's not as if we're replacing a superstar franchise player that has taken us to the playoffs every year. And it's even less about if Bamba is better than Vuc right now (he obviously isn't), but how the team's ceiling would be without Vucevic at the helm as starting center, what the return we could actually get for Vuc in a trade, what sort of contract he's looking for, and what other trades are available out there for other players on our team to build a more cohesive team.

We've seen players play better in their contract years all the time. Just because Vuc is KILLING it this year, doesn't mean that his play is going to get better next year and the year after. This could be his best season in the league, and if we resign him, say he reverts into the guy he was turning into the previous few years, and say Bamba starts to look more impressive and it's obvious that a change at C will need to happen.. if Vuc is resigned on a 3-4 year deal, it suddenly gets iffy, and we ruin development yet again if we're not able to find any trades.

It's a tricky situation. I'm glad the guys are learning how to win consistently so far, but we have to look at the team as a whole and the picture as a whole before making any moves. A lot of people called the Boston move to trade two literal hall of famers (even on the decline of their careers) to the Nets a terrible move, and that was obviously the correct course of action. Tons of player personnel/coaching/roster moves from all sports that don't make sense or is a downgrade at first turn out to be the correct move, so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

Should also see how we finish this year. It looks pretty good so far, but a lot can still happen.

I'm with you here.

As it stands right now, and obviously a lot can change, but I think the best course of action is to bring Vucevic back on 1 or 2 year contract at big, but fair money. Something like a 2 year, 45M dollar contract gets Vucevic paid in the short-term and allows him to cash in one more big contract (probably elsewhere) when he turns 30. But a 1 or 2 year deal allows the Magic to have flexibility to still have Bamba take over the starting C spot before his own rookie contract is up.

[rcklsscognition]

We're .500 again and it's December!



I saw this dude last night in the Miami game and nearly died. I had to rewind and cap it.

[Optimus_Steel]

We really need to do something about Grant and backup PG. The guys is a Trainwreck and we lose leads due to his incapacity to run some type of offense. Can we at least get a decent backup PG in the short term please? Grant is holding us back.

[EAS Law]

Hey man, I'm enjoying this season more than I thought I would.

This.
I mean at end of a day it's sport where it's not natural to root for Ls.
Esepecially because nobody can guarantee that losing will have positive impact on future.

ESPECIALLY now with the changes to the lottery system. You’ve pointed that out in the past, Pepe—the incentives to tank are vanishing.

[pepe1991]

We really need to do something about Grant and backup PG. The guys is a Trainwreck and we lose leads due to his incapacity to run some type of offense. Can we at least get a decent backup PG in the short term please? Grant is holding us back.

Wait until December 15, after that guys who signed new contracts can be moved.

[Knightro]

We really need to do something about Grant and backup PG. The guys is a Trainwreck and we lose leads due to his incapacity to run some type of offense. Can we at least get a decent backup PG in the short term please? Grant is holding us back.

This feels like the most glaringly obvious hole in the rotation that should also be relatively easy to fill with an in-season trade.

Replacing those 20 minutes a night with someone more competent would be so helpful.

[pepe1991]

Jeremy Lin, Napier, JJ Barea, Monte Morris, Corey Joseph , Teodosic, (return of the ) Mack ( oh my GOd ), Jones, Mudiay/Burke, Felton,McConnell, Seth Curry, Ferrell , Neto, Satoranski would all be cheap and instant upgrades without really selling much assets ( if any).

[Skin]

You're embarrassing yourself again. Still excited about them sweater vests??

I never feel embarrassed. Besides, I thought I was being pretty balanced here. I titled the thread in tribute to him while questioning how to handle another contract year player.

These wins feel good in my heart, but in my head, we're still a team that lacks substance behind their rebuild. What we do to get better from here is real questionable.

[VFX]

You're embarrassing yourself again. Still excited about them sweater vests??

I never feel embarrassed. Besides, I thought I was being pretty balanced here. I titled the thread in tribute to him while questioning how to handle another contract year player.

These wins feel good in my heart, but in my head, we're still a team that lacks substance behind their rebuild. What we do to get better from here is real questionable.

There has never been a rebuild. It’s just drafting BPA in the lottery to have those players come off the bench behind the mediocrity of the last 7 years. Orlando hires a good coach and everyone starts sweeping roster mistakes under the rug.

[OrlandO]

You're embarrassing yourself again. Still excited about them sweater vests??

I never feel embarrassed. Besides, I thought I was being pretty balanced here. I titled the thread in tribute to him while questioning how to handle another contract year player.

These wins feel good in my heart, but in my head, we're still a team that lacks substance behind their rebuild. What we do to get better from here is real questionable.

LOL pretty balanced my ass.

[Mc-o]

You're embarrassing yourself again. Still excited about them sweater vests??

I never feel embarrassed. Besides, I thought I was being pretty balanced here. I titled the thread in tribute to him while questioning how to handle another contract year player.

These wins feel good in my heart, but in my head, we're still a team that lacks substance behind their rebuild. What we do to get better from here is real questionable.

There has never been a rebuild. It’s just drafting BPA in the lottery to have those players come off the bench behind the mediocrity of the last 7 years. Orlando hires a good coach and everyone starts sweeping roster mistakes under the rug.

to be fair athe magic did fire the GM who made the majority of those roster moves . Magic are finally doing better and people don’t want them to win lmao

[VFX]

I never feel embarrassed. Besides, I thought I was being pretty balanced here. I titled the thread in tribute to him while questioning how to handle another contract year player.

These wins feel good in my heart, but in my head, we're still a team that lacks substance behind their rebuild. What we do to get better from here is real questionable.

There has never been a rebuild. It’s just drafting BPA in the lottery to have those players come off the bench behind the mediocrity of the last 7 years. Orlando hires a good coach and everyone starts sweeping roster mistakes under the rug.

to be fair athe magic did fire the GM who made the majority of those roster moves . Magic are finally doing better and people don’t want them to win lmao

And hold those accountable who perpetuate it?
Who doesn’t want them to win? You must be mistaken.