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

[TSKD000]

best part of the Lopez ERA...instead of posting and hanging out on here, we can all hang out on the cheap in the lower bowl of the nearly empty Amway Center...LOL

[RickB-Orlando]

Love L.A.
Bynum has the Knees of a 50 year old running back and he is a healthy All-Star center. Dwight got injured and actually missed multiple games for the 1st time and now he is damaged goods.

I don't believe that. That is Howards and Fegans smoke screen.

I totally agree. More posturing.

[Idunkonyou2]

If we can gain 3 or more 1st rounders and young talent, I'll take it, although like I have said in the past, I want Rob to call Howard's 30 million dollar bluff and keep him.

[mhi]

So LAL and HOU are using Howard's back as a "smokescreen" to lowball ORL even all the while posturing that "they don't care" whether he resigns or not.

IMO their real concern is the extension but if they are putting it out there that they don't care, they still need a reason to lowball so they are using his back as an excuse. Because no competent FO would meet all of ORL's demands (ie market value, or paying the purchase price for a rental) without the guarantee of an extension.

[rcklsscognition]

So LAL and HOU are using Howard's back as a "smokescreen" to lowball ORL even all the while posturing that "they don't care" whether he resigns or not.

IMO their real concern is the extension but if they are putting it out there that they don't care, they still need a reason to lowball so they are using his back as an excuse. Because no competent FO would meet all of ORL's demands (ie market value, or paying the purchase price for a rental) without the guarantee of an extension.

Not likely. More likely is that Fegan/Dwight/Dwight's Team are using the back as a deterrent for LA and HOU so they don't offer the Magic anything good, or anything at all, and Magic are forced to send Dwight to the Nets.

[NEM]

If we can gain 3 or more 1st rounders and young talent, I'll take it, although like I have said in the past, I want Rob to call Howard's 30 million dollar bluff and keep him.

you understand it's not a 30 million dollar bluff, but rather 5 million... the only reason we can offer more money is because we can give him an extra year... a year that is gonna get anyways, after his next deal because he will only be like 30 years old when the deal expires... he will walk, and we will be stuck with not only no assets, but j-rich's deal still on the books as well as duhon and bbd and q and hedo

[MagicTownBaller]

@MagicTownBaller ... I sent this to your Xbox Live, but since I see you're posting right now, I'll just say it again... I'll post the updated page count and links for you whenever Part 31 is closed by the mods (so I can add the official number)... I can't believe that shot up to 116 pages lol.

Get on Xbox Live now, time for your 2K beating.

[rcklsscognition]

If we can gain 3 or more 1st rounders and young talent, I'll take it, although like I have said in the past, I want Rob to call Howard's 30 million dollar bluff and keep him.

you understand it's not a 30 million dollar bluff, but rather 5 million... the only reason we can offer more money is because we can give him an extra year... a year that is gonna get anyways, after his next deal because he will only be like 30 years old when the deal expires... he will walk, and we will be stuck with not only no assets, but j-rich's deal still on the books as well as duhon and bbd and q and hedo

There it is folks! We just officially made our way completely around the circle and back to the original argument over Dwight's 5th year. I'm so proud to have witnessed it, some 3,000 pages later.

[Darth Magic]

Still can't believe that Andrew Bynum is now our best option. I HATE THE GUY! but i like his game. Lopez is the least physical center in the NBA. The guy has ZERO inside presence. NONE! FML!

[Idunkonyou2]

If we can gain 3 or more 1st rounders and young talent, I'll take it, although like I have said in the past, I want Rob to call Howard's 30 million dollar bluff and keep him.

you understand it's not a 30 million dollar bluff, but rather 5 million... the only reason we can offer more money is because we can give him an extra year... a year that is gonna get anyways, after his next deal because he will only be like 30 years old when the deal expires... he will walk, and we will be stuck with not only no assets, but j-rich's deal still on the books as well as duhon and bbd and q and hedo

This is the last 100+ million dollar deal he is going to get. He will be 27 years old this year, 28 years old next year. Even if he takes the 4 years deal, he would be going on 32 by the time it ends. Any one who gives him a 100+ million dollar deal after this one obviously is a moron.

Regardless, he is still turning down a year that would pay him 25 to 30 million in the prime of his career. He will never get that back.

[woosah]

If we can gain 3 or more 1st rounders and young talent, I'll take it, although like I have said in the past, I want Rob to call Howard's 30 million dollar bluff and keep him.

you understand it's not a 30 million dollar bluff, but rather 5 million... the only reason we can offer more money is because we can give him an extra year... a year that is gonna get anyways, after his next deal because he will only be like 30 years old when the deal expires... he will walk, and we will be stuck with not only no assets, but j-rich's deal still on the books as well as duhon and bbd and q and hedo

There it is folks! We just officially made our way completely around the circle and back to the original argument over Dwight's 5th year. I'm so proud to have witnessed it, some 3,000 pages later.

haha.

Whatever it's worth, he signed the waiver so he seems to want that extra year pretty damn bad. People want all the guaranteed money they can get and not one star has walked away from significant money yet.

[msmoore66]

I believe Rob's plan is pretty simple. He is asking the Nets to get him a 3rd team to not only take KH, but also take JRich and Hedo (we may very well take KH and move BBD). In return we get 3 to 5 1st round picks, Lopez (10 million) and Brooks. In total we take on about 12 million in salary. With Hedo and JRich gone, the Magic are still in position to have around 30 to 35 million in cap space to spend in the summer of 2013, along with a couple of 1st round picks. We would already have Nelson, BBD or KH, Nicholson, Quinn, Lopez and Brooks on the roster.

I think this is his vision of rebuilding the team with a quick turn around if we indeed have to deal with the Nets, plus get youth in the process. Whether it happens or not is another thing all together. He may just get sick of it all and tell Howard to prepare to play for the Magic in 2012-2013, pretty much daring him to leave a ton of money on the table by walking. We'll see.

When you put it like that... Not really as bad as I first thought. Still would make me furious, buy that is the kind of 'making the most out of a pile of poo' thinking that I would want from a gm.

Its not this simple. There's a reason why a 3rd team hasn't come up to the plate. In order to find a 3rd or 4th team to take on Kris, Jason, and Hedo - either Orlando or Brooklyn must send them compensation in a form of young assets or draft picks. Remember the ORL-NJ-POR trade in which it was rumored that Orlando was receiving 4-5 picks, then reports surfaced that it was Portland who was indeed acquiring those picks for giving Wallace up. Same deal now in the sense that those same picks Orlando supposedly is obtaining need to go the 3rd team to take on these "Bad" contracts. Hump at $10M is a disaster, not to mention Jason and Hedo...

Well yes it is of course conditional on us getting the third team involved. I guess wait and see who would actually be interested in Humph then try include them.
I would be fine with giving up a few of the draft picks to them, they will be late firsts in the next few years anyway, the key is, as mentored a few posts back, making a net gain on salaries.

[SolidSnake008]

I believe Rob's plan is pretty simple. He is asking the Nets to get him a 3rd team to not only take KH, but also take JRich and Hedo (we may very well take KH and move BBD). In return we get 3 to 5 1st round picks, Lopez (10 million) and Brooks. In total we take on about 12 million in salary. With Hedo and JRich gone, the Magic are still in position to have around 30 to 35 million in cap space to spend in the summer of 2013, along with a couple of 1st round picks. We would already have Nelson, BBD or KH, Nicholson, Quinn, Lopez and Brooks on the roster.

I think this is his vision of rebuilding the team with a quick turn around if we indeed have to deal with the Nets, plus get youth in the process. Whether it happens or not is another thing all together. He may just get sick of it all and tell Howard to prepare to play for the Magic in 2012-2013, pretty much daring him to leave a ton of money on the table by walking. We'll see.

i agree with this....i don't see why people are so up in arms....Dwight made it clear he doesn't want to be here in Orlando....it has to end somehow....it seems people are not using logic and instead is letting their feelings cloud their judgement.......and don't want to make a deal simply out of spite.......The Nets route might be better than the Lakers route imo because the Lakers would try to fleece us and give us some of their trash.....

The Nets route if they can get a third team then things get a bit better for us....we get back young decent players and we get to unload our bad contracts but i will acknowledge that it's not the greatest deal in the world but as far as we know the Nets seems like they want to get a deal done and will try to accommodate us as best they can and the Lakers seem like they want to work an angle.....i could be wrong though...i could change my mind tomorrow...like Dwight

It has nothing to do with spite. This potential trade with the Nets is TERRIBLE! How does it help us going forward? I would much rather have Houston's young talent and draft picks...and Howard in the Western Conference.

That is why i said AS FAR AS WE KNOW....from what i've been hearing the Houston deal is off the table....Golden State is off the table as well.....Lakers may want Dwight and Bynum isn't that bad of a take but they also want to dump someone on us.....To me it comes down to this.....what is a better position? We can keep Dwight and let him walk which he will.....sure that comes off the books but we would still have Hedo/Duhon/BBD/J-Rich basically the bad contracts.....We trade Dwight...we get picks....we get rid of the bad contracts.....we get young decent players.....more importantly we become players in 2013 WITH a team of solid players at almost every position.....all that would be left at that point is to get one of those big time free agents in 2013 and we'll be golden.....what's the better position to be in to you?

[TSKD000]

who will everyone be rooting for in next year's ECFs???

Nets or Heat???

Neither for me...hopefully Celts and Bulls knock them both out. If Rose is healthy.

[mhi]

So LAL and HOU are using Howard's back as a "smokescreen" to lowball ORL even all the while posturing that "they don't care" whether he resigns or not.

IMO their real concern is the extension but if they are putting it out there that they don't care, they still need a reason to lowball so they are using his back as an excuse. Because no competent FO would meet all of ORL's demands (ie market value, or paying the purchase price for a rental) without the guarantee of an extension.

Not likely. More likely is that Fegan/Dwight/Dwight's Team are using the back as a deterrent for LA and HOU so they don't offer the Magic anything good, or anything at all, and Magic are forced to send Dwight to the Nets.

Also a possibility. But like the point I made earlier, all these reports point to BKN as being the only serious bidder.

Which most likely why ORL is dealing with them now.

[Idunkonyou2]

who will everyone be rooting for in next year's ECFs???

Nets or Heat???

Neither for me...hopefully Celts and Bulls knock them both out. If Rose is healthy.

To be honest, I'm probably done with the NBA after this summer. It isn't a league anymore. It is turning into 3 or 4 dream teams and then the rest. I hope Stern is happy.

[PeePee la Fritz]

Don't get me wrong, I would rather have Bynum. But Lopez at 4 years $40 million probably ends up being a better long term deal then Bynum at a 5 year max contract. The kid has a ton of talent (more then Dwight IMO), but those knees scare the crap outa me.

[PeePee la Fritz]

who will everyone be rooting for in next year's ECFs???

Nets or Heat???

Neither for me...hopefully Celts and Bulls knock them both out. If Rose is healthy.

Go Bulls! And Go Thunder! 2 teams that did it the right way!

[YosemiteSam]

That is why i said AS FAR AS WE KNOW....from what i've been hearing the Houston deal is off the table....Golden State is off the table as well.....Lakers may want Dwight and Bynum isn't that bad of a take but they also want to dump someone on us.....To me it comes down to this.....what is a better position? We can keep Dwight and let him walk which he will.....sure that comes off the books but we would still have Hedo/Duhon/BBD/J-Rich basically the bad contracts.....We trade Dwight...we get picks....we get rid of the bad contracts.....we get young decent players.....more importantly we become players in 2013 WITH a team of solid players at almost every position.....all that would be left at that point is to get one of those big time free agents in 2013 and we'll be golden.....what's the better position to be in to you?

The above bolded line is what's at issue - those who hate this proposal the most do not believe that the players from the Nets are any good and certainly not worth their salaries. Let's say we are able to dump JRich along with Dwight. At the end of 2012 we'd have Hedo with 1 year at $11M, BBD with 2 years at $6M, Jameer with 2 years at $6M, Lopez with 3 years at @ $10M, Humph with 3 years at @ $8M, Duhon with 1 year at $4M, and maybe Ryno with 3 years at, what $8-$10M? How does THAT set us up for a good run moving forward? Who trades for anyone on that pu-pu platter? And I left off Brooks because I don't think he's any good either - I think the people who like him do so because of his stupid Mar-swag nickname - I don't even know what it means

[MagicTownBaller]

who will everyone be rooting for in next year's ECFs???

Nets or Heat???

Neither for me...hopefully Celts and Bulls knock them both out. If Rose is healthy.

If Dwight is on the Nets, then, as much as it pains me, I'm rooting for Florida pride. If Dwight isn't on the Nets, I'm rooting for my favorite SG in the league, Joe Johnson. I will refuse to root for Dwight after what he's put us through.

I would want both teams to lose though.