Official Speculation Thread (Pt.LX Offseason Edition)

[LBPTarHeel27]

Rockets introducing their new All-star center on NBA Tv right now

I tried watching a little bit of it and I just couldn't. Man, I miss being a winning team.

Really? I'm actually happy with where we are. Actually have a chance to build the team the right way.

He didn't say he didn't like where we are now...just that he would rather be winning. Which if you disagree with...well...yeah...I don't know what to say.

[OrlandO]

Hedo and Harrington getting cut according to nbalegion or whatever.

Orlando Sentinel reported this yesterday:

Al Harrington and Hedo Turkoglu chimed in about their uncertain futures with the Magic over Twitter on Friday after a reader asked a reporter — and them — when the team will resolve the players’ situations.

Harrington wrote: “I hope VERY SOON!!!!”
Turkoglu wrote: “I will be really happy if they can do it as soon as possible.”

Harrington and Turkoglu don’t expect the Magic to keep them.

They're both gone.

[pogiro]

I tried watching a little bit of it and I just couldn't. Man, I miss being a winning team.

Really? I'm actually happy with where we are. Actually have a chance to build the team the right way.

So, you're actually telling me you prefer being this team then say, when we were dominating in 2009 and 2010? I'd take those two teams over our current team any day of the week. Until we get a franchise player, we're not going anywhere.

Whatever floats your boat. But I like this side of basketball just as much as winning. If I wasn't a Magic fan, I'd want to be a Rockets fan because I think they built their team beautifully. Drafting Parsons, Signing Asik & Lin, trading for Harden, and still be in position to sign Dwight? That's amazing. I liked watching our contending teams but I also felt those teams were severely flawed and inferior to what we should have been given the breaks we had. There were just too many mistakes and "coulda shoulda wouldas" to feel that Otis built a championship contender. This time around, I feel as long as Hennigan, Jacque, and the players keep making the most of their opportunities, then this team will be contending soon. We might have our franchise player already, and if not, then we have a surrounding cast that will attract a franchise player, easy.

[InFlames]

Hedo and Harrington getting cut according to nbalegion or whatever.

Orlando Sentinel reported this yesterday:

Al Harrington and Hedo Turkoglu chimed in about their uncertain futures with the Magic over Twitter on Friday after a reader asked a reporter — and them — when the team will resolve the players’ situations.

Harrington wrote: “I hope VERY SOON!!!!”
Turkoglu wrote: “I will be really happy if they can do it as soon as possible.”

Harrington and Turkoglu don’t expect the Magic to keep them.

They're both gone.

Thank you sir.

[Skin]

AA going nowhere. He's a perfect fit for this team.

he's not a perfect fit at all, he'll only be with us after the deadline if the FO can't find an acceptable deal.

Skin, I have to say I almost always disagree with you man. I do enjoy reading your post though, I even read through that whole long Burke thread you created.

Thanks. I can respect someone who disagrees with everything, and doesn't hate me at the same time. Sometimes people can't separate the two. haha.

A lot of good points from folks who have been supporting to keep AA around here. I agree with them.

I get that AA disappointed some folks last year when he didn't morph into the second coming of Tracy McGrady. However, I think he's a perfect fit for us when he's in his natural role. AA has never been the #1 option in his career when he was successful in the past. However, I'm not denying his skills.

Look around the league at the value of guys who can hit 3 pointers. It's become higher than ever. Teams are trying stockpile them and their values are going for a premium. Kyle Korver just got $8M/yr. Teams are realizing that they are an important part of building a contender. When you're talking about complimenting your star players, it doesn't get better than surrounding them with excellent 3 point shooters.

As been said by others, I believe last year was an aberration for AA in terms of his 3 point shooting going down. We've learned that he's not a guy who is at his best with the ball in his hands. But when he played off guard as a spot up shooter in the past he's a 40+% 3pt shooter. Taking less pressure off him should put him back in position to be a perfect compliment to our team.

AA is also in the prime of his career. He'll be able to complete the rest of his contract without us having to suffer bad aging years where he's completely useless. How many times do we see overpaid players who don't produce to their salary? We won't have that with AA.

That said, he's still be in the league long enough to be an excellent mentor for our young team. AA has always been a consummate professional whether starting or coming off the bench. He's always put the team first. Sometimes I don't think high character is valued enough. That's why I LOVE the team that Hennigan has been putting together. All high character players. When you have this, then you have guys who don't become a distraction when playing time is shared. I fully believe AA is one of those kinds of guys. He's been a team guy wherever he's been. Whether starting or off the bench.

I know that the reason most want to trade him is because of the minutes he takes away from Oladipo, but I don't see it that way. I don't think it was in the Magic's frame of mind that taking Oladipo meant having to get rid of AA. I think they both can play together and make us all that much stronger. One of the reasons why Oladipo has been getting so much time at PG is to open up minutes for him to see the floor. Keeping AA doesn't mean benching Oladipo. There will be plenty of minutes to go around between the 2. Especially since they both have shown position versatility. AA shared the floor with Redick last year just fine. There were no tensions that existed. Even though Oladipo may be the future, I have full confidence that things will work out just fine. Both players are high character guys. ...and having both of them around makes us that much more stronger at the position.

[Skin]

Hedo and Harrington getting cut according to nbalegion or whatever.

Orlando Sentinel reported this yesterday:

Al Harrington and Hedo Turkoglu chimed in about their uncertain futures with the Magic over Twitter on Friday after a reader asked a reporter — and them — when the team will resolve the players’ situations.

Harrington wrote: “I hope VERY SOON!!!!”
Turkoglu wrote: “I will be really happy if they can do it as soon as possible.”

Harrington and Turkoglu don’t expect the Magic to keep them.

They're both gone.

Was only a matter of time. I want to know what the details of them leaving are though.

[RickB-Orlando]

Hedo and Harrington getting cut according to nbalegion or whatever.

Orlando Sentinel reported this yesterday:

Al Harrington and Hedo Turkoglu chimed in about their uncertain futures with the Magic over Twitter on Friday after a reader asked a reporter — and them — when the team will resolve the players’ situations.

Harrington wrote: “I hope VERY SOON!!!!”
Turkoglu wrote: “I will be really happy if they can do it as soon as possible.”

Harrington and Turkoglu don’t expect the Magic to keep them.

They're both gone.

They need to be. Turk is an anchor and no longer offers any positive value to a team of young up and comers.

I expected Harrington to be a potentially calming locker room influence, but my guess is he's going to try and hook onto the end of some bench to chase a ring. Not really interested in actually playing any more.

Sent from my Q10 using Tapatalk 2

[rcklsscognition]

Playing just minutes from their career averages, Oladipo has 28MPG coming to him split between the 1 and 2 spot. Not bad for a rookie.

[woosah]

Good post Skin, but Korver is making about 6 per. I remember his offer was 4/24, slightly less than JJ.

[OrlandO]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/eyeonbasketball/status/356086636855050240[/tweet]
tank tank tank, but good luck moving wallace's $$$

[TheMagicOne]

Well, I guess it depends on expectations and vision. Me personally, I view our short term future something like this:

'14 Draft/Nelson
Oladipo/Lamb
Harkless
Harris/Nicholson
Vucevic/O'Quinn

Ideally, if we miss out on Wiggins, we can land either Smart or Harrison to solidify the point. Add another wing prospect in the 20s range and you solidify your depth chart. The wild card is adding a MAX FA to that core.

So, as you can see, there literally is no room for Afflalo unless you plan on dealing Harkless or Harris at some point. I could see Harkless going in the right deal, but I'm not that high on Afflalo (especially at ~$8M) to keep him over younger, cheaper talent. And the longer we hold on to him, the less likely it will be to shed his salary without taking on a mini-albatross in return.

My $.02.

I actually think your assessment of the team is a bit off. I don't think we will necessarily be looking outright for point guard if we dont land the #1 pick next year and here is why.

#1 - I think Oladipo is going to be given every opportunity to become an NBA point guard. His first step is deadly, his defense is superior and his ball handling actually looks pretty good and all areas he is weak is things he can easily fix, such as body position and where to dribble the ball versus being a straight up dribble/drive type player.

#2 - I think both Lamb & Moore are going to be given every opportunity to log serious back up minutes at the PG position and SG position. Which who is to say one does not excel at the PG position and it turn in to them fighting Oladipo for starters minutes at the 1.

#3 - I think both Harris and Harkless are being groomed to be as versatile as posible where their NBA careers could see them playing any position of SG, SF or PF. Because of Harris's ability to run the offense, I can easily see him in the mold of what Hedo did for us in our deep playoff runs. Same with Harkless with improved handles (obviously he has made a lot of progress in just his confidence)

#4 - I think both O'Quinn & Osby will be fighting for playing time at the PF position and Osby will log minutes backing up th SF position and O'Quinn will log minutes at the Center position.

#5 - if you take our four main pieces of Oladipo, Harkless, Harris & Vuc they can all play on the court together. Also no matter where we fall in the draft next year we can take the best available player and insert them in to the same lineup with four.

This next season should be about those four players being on the court with each other for as much as posible. Each one should have the ball in their hands a lot and work on not turning the ball over. Which is why I think the Vets we have left have a lot of value to this team long term if they can accept a lesser role.

Look at the Vets that have trade value and value to the team as leaders.
Nelson - PG
Afflalo - SG, SF
BBD - PF, (some back up Center)

Of those Vets IMO all three can bring serious value in molding our young guys.

Nelson - Mentors the point guards of the future & in team leadership. Also adds that continuity of the history of this organization and what it stands for on and off the court.

Afflalo - is the type of player that is proof for players like O'Quinn and Osby that if you work hard in this league your game will improve and you will get opportunity. Sure he was a higher pick than those two, but the work ethic and what it got him should be instilled in each of these young guys.

BBD - He is about as close as we would want to an intense p layer like KG. He took it from KG, saw the sacrifices it takes to be a champion, if he can stay healthy, he is the perfect back up big man for this team long term. IMO I would love to see the team make BBD the personal mentor for Nicholson. AN has little intensity especially on th defensive end. Maybe BBD can help mold that big lump of offensive clay in to a serviceable defender.

I keep all three of these guys if they are willing to accept a lesser role for the greater good of the team. If they can't accept the mentor rolls, then they would need to trade the ones not fitting in.

Next offseason after the draft it shud be easy to figure out who to target in free agency.

I think our biggest need will be a defensive presence in the paint coming off the bench. Or throwing the bank at Henson to play PF. Either way we are now set up as constructed to have the greatest versatility to take the best player available in the draft and target the best fit as a free agent.

If I am JV I always start Oladipo, Harkless, Harris and Vucevic together. Then depending on the team we are facing and the elements of the players game you want to see worked on I would start Nelson or Afflalo as the 5th starter. Tell both Nelson & AA they will get their minutes but the core of the young team is coming first and you want their support on and off the court to mentor them for the greater good.

[Deezy]

^
So, in short, the above post is predicated on Oladipo panning out at PG. If that happens, perfect; we likely draft a G/F in the draft, which further reinforces my original point.

Apples and oranges. Regardless where Oladipo plays, we're drafting either a guard or forward next year. And by doing so, someone will be a casualty because of it.

Also, if Oladipo, Harkless, Harris and Vucevic are guaranteed starters, who will be the rookie joining their core?

[Noonskadoodle]

Not sure if many saw this in the last thread before it was locked....Just a breakdown I found of some of the clutch teams.

[KingRobb02]

I love the fact that most people here think AA is a third option and are fine paying 8 million for him. Come on. If you thought he was bad last year because of the situation, what is different about this year that will suddenly make him a better player?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[OrlandO]

I love the fact that most people here think AA is a third option and are fine paying 8 million for him. Come on. If you thought he was bad last year because of the situation, what is different about this year that will suddenly make him a better player?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Afflalo would certainly look better if we were closer to playoff bound than lottery bound. I think they're saying we need to weather the storm with him as a primary option during these early rebuilding years until we draft/sign better options. So yes, he will continue to struggle this season if he's asked to be a first/second option, but is that such a bad thing considering we're trying to get a top 3 pick next summer?

[dsg2021]

I love that lineup of

Jameer / Player X
Oladipo
Harkless
Harris
Vucevic

I really see Oladipo and Harkless stepping it up to space out the floor and join a highly versatile three-player lineup with Harris. Makes drafting a Exum, Harrison, Smart so great if we miss out on a BPA like Wiggins or Parker.

[rcklsscognition]

Scouts saying this kid is the most skilled center prospect in the last two decades, he's 16 in one vid, might be 17 in another.

Shaq 2.0? He's got a crossover, right and left hand, spin moves, great footwork and body control.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmdObIUKSZM[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d7uK08-jyU[/youtube]

[Cammo101]

^^^The scout didn't say best, he said most skilled. Big difference.

[OrlandO]

he's got to improve his hops like shaq did in his late teens... dude looks like he can barely dunk for such a tall guy.

[Deezy]

Even better, imagine landing Randle/Parker and signing Wall.

Wall/Oladipo
Oladipo/Harkless
Harris/Harkless
Randle/Nicholson
Vucevic/O'Quinn

Beautiful.