There's still hope: counter!!

[orl-magic]

I know when looking at other young talented upcoming teams in the league who have been awful way before us or in the same period of time we've been bad(like kings, wolves, suns, 76rs), it's easy to get frustrated when you look at our team and don't see where we going with this lineup or don't have a clear picture of the direction of this team.

We don't have at least one clear star talent in place to build around let alone having 2 to 3 of them on the team like those aforementioned teams stated above as examples.

However, we do have 2 guys in the team that we can use as building pieces and surround them with talented players as good as them or even better than them... (Aaron and Isaac) and I wish I could add Mario Hezonia in that mix, lemme explain why...

As all of you smart basketball mind have starting to realize is that our league has become a more position-less league by the year.. where players in a team should be able to play between 2 to 3 position at best.. that's why the Warriors been so good for a couple of years now.. starting with Green and Durant who can play from SF to Center; Igodala and Clay from SG to SF...

Trust me guys, we not that far behind.. So, in other for us to counter the lack of star level talents on our team and stop looking like the most incompetent team in the league, this is what we need to do..
It Should b simple, we have to tank this year so we can add a star player at SF(maybe Porter to a lesser degree Knox) or one at SG(maybe Luca Doncic).. notice that those players I mention are at least 6'7 to 6'10.. and to me, if Luca Doncic is that good, we should get him and then trade Vuc and/or Fournier with something else to get Knox later in the draft..

That way we can have 4-5 players playing the SG and SF position on this team who are interchangeable and can guard 4 positions with ease almost.. Our team can become that team that other teams will hate playing against..

If we do this right and draft the right player to surround Isaac and Aaron with, we can look at this to start the 2018-2019 season:
Isaac 6'10 (good 3pt shooter) can play PF, SF
Aaron. 6'9 can play SF, C
Knox. 6'10 (good 3pt shooter) can play PF, C
Luca. 6'7 (good 3pt shooter) can play SF
Payton. 6'4
With Mario 6'9 can play SG, SF and PF..

There's still hope and we can change the look of the team in a year not to match up with what other teams are doing but to counter them with athleticism and length at every position possible then we can start worrying about the PG position if Payton doesn't get it done..

[Optimus_Steel]

So essentially you are saying that we should hope for high lottery picks and add more talent that way.

[ralphie9898]

So essentially you are saying that we should hope for high lottery picks and add more talent that way.

Yeah. How else are we supposed to get and super star talent. Free agency isn't much of an option. We have little cap space and for right now we don't have much room for at least several more years. Even if we are able to have space for one max guy is anyone really going to want to come here if we don't have more around them to really compete for a chance at a title. Maybe we could trade for someone but we would have to give up a lot and we don't have much beyond Isaac and maybe Gordon or Payton(though they are up for contracts this summer and they could get a lot more expensive and thus less attractive). So that is so yeah I am pinning my hopes on Isaac and getting a high pick next year.

[Knightro]

This team as presently constructed is just not going to be bad enough to get a top 3 pick without lottery luck.

Injuries and trades can change things certain, but this is somewhere between a 30-35 win roster right now.

[j-ragg]

It's 10th seed or bust here in Orlando.

[BadMofoPimp]

I still have hope that the team as is can still be developed.

[drsd]

Orlando looks to draft in the 7-11 range.

[Darth Magic]

Orlando looks to draft in the 7-11 range.

About right

[ralphie9898]

Orlando looks to draft in the 7-11 range.

About right

Until I see change we are still a 29 win team. The rest is up for debate and even if we do fall in that range we have to wait for the lottery to completely nail down our draft spot. Stay Tuned.

[basketballRob]

Orlando looks to draft in the 7-11 range.

About right

Until I see change we are still a 29 win team. The rest is up for debate and even if we do fall in that range we have to wait for the lottery to completely nail down our draft spot. Stay Tuned.

It's do or die for AG and EP or they could end up like KCP.

[The Effect]

Orlando looks to draft in the 7-11 range.

Not sure where you got that?

We were the 5th worst team in the league last year behind

Nets
Suns
Lakers
76ers

On that list, the 76ers easily should improve and be better than us by a mile (wouldnt surprise me if they are a 2 or 3 seed next year if their team stays healthy)

The lakers might be better than us if ingram devlops, if he doesnt, i think we are around the same position as them

The suns are in a very similar situation as us with a young team with alot of high draft picks, but not much production, difference is, they have one guy who has shown signs of being a superstar and a guy you build around (ive seen the arguments against it, and ill just leave it at id take booker over anyone on our roster right now). As of right now, id say they might be a little better than us and as funny as it sounds, i think alot of it comes down to ulis. If he continues were he left off the final month of the season (16/8/4), they could be a real good team

Nets.....Well theyll suck again

So i could easily see a scenario where we go into the lotto against next year but have one of the top 3 odds

I dont want to sounds like im so down on the team, but this team won 29 games last year, only additions we made were a journeymen PG and isaac, neither of which i see having a major impact in 2017-2018 season. Our only real hope we have is that Gordon turns into a superstar in year 4, Payton is able to play like its april all season long and Henzoja finally becomes a serviceable nba player, oh and the biggest IF of all.........Vogal learns to coach an offense without paul george, cause so far i havent see it, not last year and not 14-15 when george was out

[pepe1991]

Orlando looks to draft in the 7-11 range.

Not sure where you got that?

We were the 5th worst team in the league last year behind

Nets
Suns
Lakers
76ers

On that list, the 76ers easily should improve and be better than us by a mile (wouldnt surprise me if they are a 2 or 3 seed next year if their team stays healthy)

The lakers might be better than us if ingram devlops, if he doesnt, i think we are around the same position as them

The suns are in a very similar situation as us with a young team with alot of high draft picks, but not much production, difference is, they have one guy who has shown signs of being a superstar and a guy you build around (ive seen the arguments against it, and ill just leave it at id take booker over anyone on our roster right now). As of right now, id say they might be a little better than us and as funny as it sounds, i think alot of it comes down to ulis. If he continues were he left off the final month of the season (16/8/4), they could be a real good team

Nets.....Well theyll suck again

So i could easily see a scenario where we go into the lotto against next year but have one of the top 3 odds

I dont want to sounds like im so down on the team, but this team won 29 games last year, only additions we made were a journeymen PG and isaac, neither of which i see having a major impact in 2017-2018 season. Our only real hope we have is that Gordon turns into a superstar in year 4, Payton is able to play like its april all season long and Henzoja finally becomes a serviceable nba player, oh and the biggest IF of all.........Vogal learns to coach an offense without paul george, cause so far i havent see it, not last year and not 14-15 when george was out

I can't agree with that.

Nets are terrible but they are paying mistakes that King did.

But Suns and 76ers have far superior roster compared to Magic. If you look at Suns, Bledsoe is better at basketball than any Magic player and he is not even their center figure of rebuild, it's just whooping 20 years old Booker and they have 19 years old kids like Chriss, Bender and 20 years old Josh Jackson. They shurt down Bledose, Chandler, Dudley and Warren for a season with like 30 games left, they didn't even try to hide their tanking ( unlike Magic who were trying to win as much games as they could,again )

76ers have so many talent but they are always hurt, for now. Still it's hard to argue that Fultz was 1# pick and looks like a kid with crazy talent. Embiid is game changer, as long as he can play. Simmons is still question mark i guess, Šarić is productive player.

I won't put too much hope into Gordon being star, let alone superstar. Guy simply has no offense. All his best games come from countless number of transition dunks , putbacks and uncotested jumpers. Nothing you can rely on for full season.

[j-ragg]

Shocking ^

[ralphie9898]

Orlando looks to draft in the 7-11 range.

Not sure where you got that?

We were the 5th worst team in the league last year behind

Nets
Suns
Lakers
76ers

On that list, the 76ers easily should improve and be better than us by a mile (wouldnt surprise me if they are a 2 or 3 seed next year if their team stays healthy)

The lakers might be better than us if ingram devlops, if he doesnt, i think we are around the same position as them

The suns are in a very similar situation as us with a young team with alot of high draft picks, but not much production, difference is, they have one guy who has shown signs of being a superstar and a guy you build around (ive seen the arguments against it, and ill just leave it at id take booker over anyone on our roster right now). As of right now, id say they might be a little better than us and as funny as it sounds, i think alot of it comes down to ulis. If he continues were he left off the final month of the season (16/8/4), they could be a real good team

Nets.....Well theyll suck again

So i could easily see a scenario where we go into the lotto against next year but have one of the top 3 odds

I dont want to sounds like im so down on the team, but this team won 29 games last year, only additions we made were a journeymen PG and isaac, neither of which i see having a major impact in 2017-2018 season. Our only real hope we have is that Gordon turns into a superstar in year 4, Payton is able to play like its april all season long and Henzoja finally becomes a serviceable nba player, oh and the biggest IF of all.........Vogal learns to coach an offense without paul george, cause so far i havent see it, not last year and not 14-15 when george was out

First off I agree that we are still a team toward the bottom. Though I have to disagree a bit on Philly I agree that they should be better than us but I have to disagree that they have a chance at the 2 or 3 seeed. Boston and Cleveland will be the top two seeds. Toronto, Washington, and Milwaukee will be vying probably for the 3, 4 and 5 seeds. Miami, Detroit, and Charlotte have the edge for 6, 7 and 8 seeds. Philly might be able to challenge for a spot but I still think they are too young and also have New York(depending on whether they keep Carmelo) is there as well. Also there are some teams on there way down. Atlanta, Indi, and Chicago will be competing with us for those those top 3 spots. The Suns will likely be on the bottom due to the fact that someone will be at the bottom of the West and same goes for the Lakers and Dalls is probably on the way down there as well. I like them a little better then us but playing out West will get them a few more losses than you would think. That said yes I do think we have a chance at finishing in the top five but saying we should have competition and yeah of course Brooklyn will be the worst.

[Tayswagzzz]

How good we are is contingent on AG/EP/Hezonja this season. I expect Fournier/Vuc to have a little better season and that's OK. We need AG/EP/Hezonja to have big increases. I am hopeful that Isaac is a future star and can propel us into a contender but I don't expect him to have a rookie season like lets say...KAT or LBJ...

First order of business should be moving Vuc or Biz, way too much money tied up at the C spot...this spot used to be highly coveted but the league has changed. I'd prefer to keep Vuc but if Biz can't be moved then I'm ok getting value for Vuc and letting Biz start at C.

[Max Power]

I think this is just a bad basketball team. The other teams building with Orlando have real potential star pieces. Philadelphia took years to get a compelling roster, it's arguable the Magic had one in Skiles season but we all know Skiles v Hennigan took place and Hennigan gave away Harris and Oladipo. It's going to take the Magic a few years of high draft picks to get to where Minny, Phoenix and Philly are now. Gordon and Issac are two potential pieces, but neither are Wiggins or Towns or of that talent level. I truly believe the team will be 100% different one year from now, with only Gordon and Issac remaining. I think Payton, Vucevic, and Fournier will be gone and possibly Hezonja. We'll be stuck with that horrible Bizmack contract though.


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[SD2042]

I think this is just a bad basketball team. The other teams building with Orlando have real potential star pieces. Philadelphia took years to get a compelling roster, it's arguable the Magic had one in Skiles season but we all know Skiles v Hennigan took place and Hennigan gave away Harris and Oladipo. It's going to take the Magic a few years of high draft picks to get to where Minny, Phoenix and Philly are now. Gordon and Issac are two potential pieces, but neither are Wiggins or Towns or of that talent level. I truly believe the team will be 100% different one year from now, with only Gordon and Issac remaining. I think Payton, Vucevic, and Fournier will be gone and possibly Hezonja. We'll be stuck with that horrible Bizmack contract though.


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First off, if you're talking horrible contracts, take on Chandler Parsons contract and I bet you're be thankful for having Biz's contract for now.

To the second point, you're right that this team have some ways to go before rounding the corner. We can only hope with the new GM in place they will take the time out and assess how this team will be structure going forward. And how the players will fit the mold of how the team needs to run. We already found out what happens when you rush a rebuild. Now we have no choice but be steady and build up these players the right way. Hope we get it right this time.

[fendilim]

I think we'll be at least 32 wins this yr

[Greenraida]

Lakers have no reason to tank this year as they dont have their pick - they will try and be competitive for one year - level up the rooks and push towards PG in 2018.

[Max Power]

Hopefully we do get it right. I can see a Vucevic and Fournier trade to bring in some kind of difference maker. It's very unlikely but a guy like CJ McCollum would do wonders here.

Let's say for of argument we get a guy like Porter Jr, or one of the talented bigs in next years draft. You then have Issac '18 pick and Gordon. The only way this thing accelerates is if Gordon turns into an All Star caliber player this season.


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