Official Speculation Thread (Pt. XXVIII: Offseason Edition)

[BadMofoPimp]

As for the Alex Kennedy. Half of the Writers for HoopsWorld say Dwight is staying and the other half are the Dwight is leaving. Neither side knows crap.

Their personal opinion is no different than yours or mine here on RealGM.

[RickB-Orlando]

06/28/12 11:39 AM EST – Alex Kennedy:

Dwight Howard’s departure from the Orlando Magic seems inevitable, with sources close to the situation characterizing the relationship between the superstar and the organization as irreparable. Sources say Howard no longer wants to be in Orlando and he won’t give the franchise the long-term commitment they’re seeking this summer. Howard hopes to be traded and he has been exploring all of his options in recent days.

Rob Hennigan, who was hired as Orlando’s new general manager last week, wants to salvage the relationship with Howard, but the damage may already be done. Howard seems ready to move on, with the Brooklyn Nets atop his list of preferred destinations. Howard has long coveted a trade to Brooklyn, where he would team up with Deron Williams, but sources close to the situation say that the Nets don’t have the trade assets to acquire Howard.

The Houston Rockets, fully aware of the strained relationship between Howard and the Magic, have been stockpiling draft picks in an attempt to trade for the superstar center. The Rockets are still trying to acquire first-round picks in the hours leading up to the draft, specifically the Sacramento Kings’ fifth overall pick and Toronto Raptors’ eighth overall pick. Houston knows that Hennigan would prefer to rebuild through the draft, following the same model as the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he was the assistant general manager under Sam Presti. If Orlando has given up hope of retaining Howard, Houston seems to be the frontrunner to acquire the All-Star center.

If they can get 5 and 8, I don't see how we can pass on that (assuming Howard has in fact said he wants out and will under no circumstances extend).

On the other hand, this is just Alex Kennedy rehashing other rumors and reports, so who knows how accurate it really is - there's certainly nothing new.

[BadMofoPimp]

Tyreke isn't that good, 3rd option at best on a contender.

I wonder how much he would help us though - he can put the ball in the hoop, there's no question about that. Combine him with Dwight inside and Ryan outside and suddenly we might have the scorer we needed. Replacing JRich with Tyreke has to be considered an upgrade, and a significant one.

Tyreke is like 6'5". I like the idea of having a 6'5" PG that can score and play Defense.

[arkknight1988]

Evan Dunlap ‏@BQRMagic
Per @sam_amick, one guy Orlando likes at 19 is Perry Jones http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/w ... index.html

my preference in this order: teague,PeeJayThaThird,or royce white. i don't see how trading this pick makes us better

[trebone]

At this point if what Alex kennedy says is accurrate I do the deal with Houston and select these 4 players with the 1sts

12 - Myers Leonard - C
14 - Moe harkless - SF
16 - PJ3 - pf
19 - Kendall Marshall - PG

Keep JJ, Jameer, BBD, Hedo, Duhon, Q, Liggins, Harper for the minimum salary reasons and move Howard/JRich for the 3 1sts KMart, filler thats a solid start

[RickB-Orlando]

Tyreke isn't that good, 3rd option at best on a contender.

I wonder how much he would help us though - he can put the ball in the hoop, there's no question about that. Combine him with Dwight inside and Ryan outside and suddenly we might have the scorer we needed. Replacing JRich with Tyreke has to be considered an upgrade, and a significant one.

Tyreke is like 6'5". I like the idea of having a 6'5" PG that can score and play Defense.

Why did Sacto stop playing him at the Point? He drifted from the 1 to the 2 and settled on the 3 there last year (though I certainly don't think he is a small forward). Was it just because he's a shoot-first guy?

[Def Swami]

Josh Robbins ‏@JoshuaBRobbins
RT @omagicdaily: #Magic must make a selection in the 1st round this year because they traded last year's pick. Any trade would happen after

Scratch my prediction for the draft.

[trebone]

^ Because he is a black hole who plays no D, doesnt pass the ball and is a very inefficient scorer. He was outplayed by a rookie 60th pick in the draft at the pg position.

[MagicTownBaller]

David Baumann ‏@DavidBaumann33
#Magic F @iambigbaby11 doesn't want to get shipped anywhere. "If I get traded, I'll cry!" he said in out studio interview.

This guy really loves Orlando, didn't look like it the first few months he was here

I love that he actually wants to be here. Seems so different from Dwight.

[The Real Dalic]

Josh Robbins ‏@JoshuaBRobbins
RT @omagicdaily: #Magic must make a selection in the 1st round this year because they traded last year's pick. Any trade would happen after

Scratch my prediction for the draft.

I was just going to say that we could to zeusisloose than Josh Robbins had to shut me down.

[arkknight1988]

hoopsworld is a joke of a website

[glennathan]

Tyreke isn't that good, 3rd option at best on a contender.

I wonder how much he would help us though - he can put the ball in the hoop, there's no question about that. Combine him with Dwight inside and Ryan outside and suddenly we might have the scorer we needed. Replacing JRich with Tyreke has to be considered an upgrade, and a significant one.

Tyreke is like 6'5". I like the idea of having a 6'5" PG that can score and play Defense.

The kings had him at the SF position which is not his natural position. He is a Combo Guard in my opinion. I think with the right coach he could do well in Orlando.

[trebone]

At this point if what Alex kennedy says is accurrate I do the deal with Houston and select these 4 players with the 1sts

12 - Myers Leonard - C
14 - Moe harkless - SF
16 - PJ3 - pf
19 - Kendall Marshall - PG

Keep JJ, Jameer, BBD, Hedo, Duhon, Q, Liggins, Harper for the minimum salary reasons and move Howard/JRich for the 3 1sts KMart, filler thats a solid start

thoughts?

[JohnWeisbrod]

RE: medical red flags

Sullinger has a bulging disc (rumored), it's the same problem JJ had coming out, he turned out fine.

Perry Jones has a meniscus tear (rumored), even less of an issue. I tore my meniscus before and didn't need surgery, just 3 weeks of rehab. It's the padding between the kneecap and the bone, that can easily heal.

[Def Swami]

Josh Robbins ‏@JoshuaBRobbins
RT @omagicdaily: #Magic must make a selection in the 1st round this year because they traded last year's pick. Any trade would happen after

Scratch my prediction for the draft.

I was just going to say that we could to zeusisloose than Josh Robbins had to shut me down.

lol I guess that there's still hope for a trade. We could pick for a team and then trade the player that team wanted in a deal after the draft.

[arkknight1988]

At this point if what Alex kennedy says is accurrate I do the deal with Houston and select these 4 players with the 1sts

12 - Myers Leonard - C
14 - Moe harkless - SF
16 - PJ3 - pf
19 - Kendall Marshall - PG

Keep JJ, Jameer, BBD, Hedo, Duhon, Q, Liggins, Harper for the minimum salary reasons and move Howard/JRich for the 3 1sts KMart, filler thats a solid start

thoughts?

that team is on a fast track of going nowhere and might be good enough to keep us out of the top 5 picks next year, but its better than gerald wallace and lopez i suppose..

[JohnWeisbrod]

At this point if what Alex kennedy says is accurrate I do the deal with Houston and select these 4 players with the 1sts

12 - Myers Leonard - C
14 - Moe harkless - SF
16 - PJ3 - pf
19 - Kendall Marshall - PG

Keep JJ, Jameer, BBD, Hedo, Duhon, Q, Liggins, Harper for the minimum salary reasons and move Howard/JRich for the 3 1sts KMart, filler thats a solid start

thoughts?

In any Houston trade you HAVE to get their 2014 1st. It's a hedge that Dwight doesn't resign with the Rockets. That thing will be a top 3 pick after their Dwight-less year. Jabari Parker here we come!

[OrlChamps2030]

RE: medical red flags

Sullinger has a bulging disc (rumored), it's the same problem JJ had coming out, he turned out fine.

Perry Jones has a meniscus tear (rumored), even less of an issue. I tore my meniscus before and didn't need surgery, just 3 weeks of rehab. It's the padding between the kneecap and the bone, that can easily heal.

I consider both to be non-issues too.

Infact I have a feeling a team leaked the Perry Jones info to get him to drop to them

[arkknight1988]

if we come away with perry jones or teague it will be a good day

[arsenal6106]

Wait, so we can't trade the 19th pick this year?

Rob sure made it seem like we could yesterday.