Chuma Okeke drafted #16 by the Orlando Magic

[cedric76]

1) Best in the east, eventual championship contender?

Healthy Fultz / DJ
Fournier /TRoss
AG / Okeke
Isaac / Aminu
Vuch / Bamba

Ross wont start, he is our 6th man

2) Best in the east, contender? Paul will ignite this offense and has plenty of good years left. Fournier, Fultz, DJ for Paul. Is SGA available if Bamba is included?

CPaul / MCW
TRoss / Iwandu / Frazier
AG / Okeke
JI / Aminu
Vuch / Bamba / Birch

No chance in Hell Weham trade for Paul lol

3) Best in the east? Bamba, Fournier, Filler + future picks as needed for DLo. Even TRoss or Vuch if needed.

DLo / Fultz / DJ
TRoss / Iwandu / Frazier
AG / Okeke
JI / Aminu
Vuch / Birch

Weham tend to go after great character guys and i really doubt they d go after Pot head, no Defense D LO , UNLESS he really grows up in Golden state

[tiderulz]

Imo if an AG trade does happen it’ll be closer to the deadline after the dust settles a little. I would love the opportunity to see how a healthy Fultz, and an improved Mo and JI look with the rest of the team as constructed before we star trading everyone away. Weltman shouldnt “Hennigan” this team with panic moves just to find a pg when DJ wasn’t actually bad.

we may never see a healthy Fultz

[tiderulz]

Imo if an AG trade does happen it’ll be closer to the deadline after the dust settles a little. I would love the opportunity to see how a healthy Fultz, and an improved Mo and JI look with the rest of the team as constructed before we star trading everyone away. Weltman shouldnt “Hennigan” this team with panic moves just to find a pg when DJ wasn’t actually bad.

Thank you. We have PG options, deep assets, and a still improving +17 win team. Please just a bit of patience while we get this PG situation right.

Fultz is more than worth waiting for. Not only does he fill the pg need.... but he will literally be able to change the complexion of how this team plays on both ends of the court. Just imagine fultz in the pick and roll with AG/JI/Vuc.... that alone will help our offensive abilities. And we will have someone that breaks down the defense and allows fournier to return to being more of an off ball player that makes plays with the flow of game. And on defense.... he will be substantially better than DJ.

pretty sure i read that Fultz in college was one of the worst defenders, statistics wise

[VFX]

Lol. This thread has gotten funny.

[Blue_and_Whte]

Imo if an AG trade does happen it’ll be closer to the deadline after the dust settles a little. I would love the opportunity to see how a healthy Fultz, and an improved Mo and JI look with the rest of the team as constructed before we star trading everyone away. Weltman shouldnt “Hennigan” this team with panic moves just to find a pg when DJ wasn’t actually bad.

we may never see a healthy Fultz

Obviously, the hope is that he is healthy.

[Def Swami]

Why haven't they signed Okeke yet?

[VFX]

Why haven't they signed Okeke yet?

Great question.

[MoMM]

Why haven't they signed Okeke yet?

Great question.

We will develop him overseas along with Fran Vazquez.

[Def Swami]

Why haven't they signed Okeke yet?

Great question.

Only reason I can think of is so they can use him in a trade. The moment they sign him, they have to wait 30 days to complete a trade officially if he is involved.

Curious if anyone else has thoughts. Seems odd that he's the only 1st round pick not to sign yet.

[VFX]

Why haven't they signed Okeke yet?

Great question.

Only reason I can think of is so they can use him in a trade. The moment they sign him, they have to wait 30 days to complete a trade officially if he is involved.

Curious if anyone else has thoughts. Seems odd that he's the only 1st round pick not to sign yet.

I’ve wondered the same. It would be the only real reason they would be waiting this long. Either that, or they have another move to be made beforehand.

[Knightro]

I’m wondering if the Magic are possibly trying to negotiate a deal for less than the full 120% rookie scale for year 1 of Okeke's contract.

The logic could be something like “we drafted you higher than you expected even though you’re injured, you give us back a little money year 1 and you’ll recoup it more in years 2-3-4 than you would have if you had gone 25th.”

Okeke can sign for as little as 80% of the rookie scale. For a team like the Magic that would be *significant* savings and would allow them to sign someone for over the minimum for their 15th spot.

120% scale: $3,121,080
100% scale: $2,600,900
80% scale: $2,080,720

As you can see, if Okeke were to sign for 80% scale, that would save the Magic basically 1.1M dollars and would give them that much more breathing room under the luxury tax.

This isn't without precedent either. The Cavs got Kevin Porter Jr. to sign for 80% scale in Year 1 earlier this month with the contract jumping back up to normal 120% scale in years 2-3-4.

[Tarheel]

There was some speculation online that we may be looking at a domestic draft-and-stash in Lakeland while he rehabs the ACL.

Is that even a possibility for a first round pick? Seems a bit unfair that a team could draft a guy and retain his rights while lowballing him into a G-League salary.

[Instincts]

1) Best in the east, eventual championship contender?

Healthy Fultz / DJ
Fournier /TRoss
AG / Okeke
Isaac / Aminu
Vuch / Bamba

Ross wont start, he is our 6th man

2) Best in the east, contender? Paul will ignite this offense and has plenty of good years left. Fournier, Fultz, DJ for Paul. Is SGA available if Bamba is included?

CPaul / MCW
TRoss / Iwandu / Frazier
AG / Okeke
JI / Aminu
Vuch / Bamba / Birch

No chance in Hell Weham trade for Paul lol

3) Best in the east? Bamba, Fournier, Filler + future picks as needed for DLo. Even TRoss or Vuch if needed.

DLo / Fultz / DJ
TRoss / Iwandu / Frazier
AG / Okeke
JI / Aminu
Vuch / Birch

Weham tend to go after great character guys and i really doubt they d go after Pot head, no Defense D LO , UNLESS he really grows up in Golden state

Hope you are right and we remain patient. There are and will continue to be other options that do not include a sideways move of trading Gordon.

[Knightro]

There was some speculation online that we may be looking at a domestic draft-and-stash in Lakeland while he rehabs the ACL.

Is that even a possibility for a first round pick? Seems a bit unfair that a team could draft a guy and retain his rights while lowballing him into a G-League salary.

It's allowed if the player agrees to it. The Thunder did it with Josh Huestis in 2014. Drafted him 29th and then stashed him in the G-League for a year.

That was a different situation entirely though as Huestis wasn't a 1st round talent and approached teams before the draft with the idea of being a stasher in the G-League.

Okeke has no incentive to do that one would assume, but it is allowed, yes.

[yoyojw17]

Thank you. We have PG options, deep assets, and a still improving +17 win team. Please just a bit of patience while we get this PG situation right.

Fultz is more than worth waiting for. Not only does he fill the pg need.... but he will literally be able to change the complexion of how this team plays on both ends of the court. Just imagine fultz in the pick and roll with AG/JI/Vuc.... that alone will help our offensive abilities. And we will have someone that breaks down the defense and allows fournier to return to being more of an off ball player that makes plays with the flow of game. And on defense.... he will be substantially better than DJ.

pretty sure i read that Fultz in college was one of the worst defenders, statistics wise

I heard that he has all the tools needed.... but mainly focused on offense on a subpar team that needed him mainly on offense. He did tally up the numbers though. But yeah... i think he will be more of a plus defender than dj augustin to add to our lineups.

[drsd]

Why haven't they signed Okeke yet?

There is no other first-round pick that is unsigned. And that's been true for about a month!

Because cap holds for first-round picks count for 120% of the rookie scale instead of 100% in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, there’s little incentive for teams to wait to lock up their first-rounders.

HR link: 2019 NBA Draft Pick Signings

[NotACat]

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[magicman112]

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It doesn't absolutely mean that Okeke will be stashed. They can always cut Jefferson or convert the contract when he's ready to come back and play.

[Nightman]

Why would a 20 year old kid turn down nearly 2 million dollars so that the Magic can sign Amile Jefferson? Unless he's getting money under the table it doesn't make sense.

[swarlesbarkley]

Ehh, even if Chuma agrees to a domestic stash it's not a good look for the Orlando Magic and would most likely create hesitancy with future prospects/draft picks to want to play in Orlando.