Game 59: Orlando Magic (26-32) vs. Charlotte Hornets (27-29) - 7:00 PM ET

[Optimus_Steel]

This was like an exorcism to finally beat that team and by almost 40. They really can make the playoffs. Man it's actually possible.

The combo of Vuc getting the all-star nod so his teammates respect him more, parking Grant in favor of Briscoe, getting rid of Simmons, JI finally being aggressive and playing well consistently, Iwundu and Birch playing with all out effort and purpose, and Evan beginning to wake up from his hair loss depression is remarkable. All these things happend in less than 2 weeks and suddenly there is chemistry and belief.

[ORL_on_FIRE]

confidence is a hell of a drug.... These guys believe in themselves AND each other.

This...100%

Nailed it buddy.

[Nightman]

It’s hard to imagine that something just snaps and makes us a competant team but this run has been crazy. **** it, let’s make the playoffs. I’m ready to get disappointed again.

[drsd]

[MagicFrenchie]

Thanks boys , really giving me some pain relief while I'm going through some tough times.
Really proud.

[Catledge]

Briscoe also deserves some major praise. Not jaw-dropping numbers or anything, but he has been so solid. Having a solid bench PG has really made a massive difference

There are so many things that are suddenly going right for us, but this is one of the really underrated ones. Our backup PG and second unit were so bad for most of this season that it put enormous pressure on the starting lineup. It's a big part of why we kept losing leads in the first several minutes of fourth quarters.

It seems to me that the most important of the new good things that are happening for us is that Isaac needs to keep being an elite defensive player and solid offensive player, but the second-most important new good thing (maybe tied with Fournier finding his game) is that our backup PG needs to keep playing at this level.

[PrimeThyme]

I said if they win this game, I was going to have to start taking this team more seriously. That game last night feels like they finally turned the corner. There are plenty of games still left but to go out and win like that against a team that had beaten us 13 times in a row who is fighting with us for a playoff spot showed me something.

Now we go into the break a 1/2 game out of the playoffs on a 5 game win streak with one of the easiest schedules remaining. We might actually be playing playoff basketball this year. That feels good to say.

[I Rasharted]

Spoiler:

[yoyojw17]

After experiencing so much dark times in this franchise..... if we finish off the rest of the season on a high note.... I find it hard to believe Vuc would pass up on the built up success where he is an integral part of the team to go and join another. Well that's what I would like to believe. And to a slightly lesser degree Ross as well.

[Knightro]

After experiencing so much dark times in this franchise..... if we finish off the rest of the season on a high note.... I find it hard to believe Vuc would pass up on the built up success where he is an integral part of the team to go and join another. Well that's what I would like to believe. And to a slightly lesser degree Ross as well.

Yeah I don’t know about Ross, but I’m hard pressed to believe Vucevic would want to leave Orlando if they make the playoffs this year.

Clifford is using him as the Magic’s go-to guy. His usage is extremely high here.

Would he leave a possible playoff team where he’s the clearcut No. 1 option offensively to join a team like Dallas or LA where he’d be the No. 3 option at best? Maybe he would. It just feels unlikely to me.

[Tarheel]

After experiencing so much dark times in this franchise..... if we finish off the rest of the season on a high note.... I find it hard to believe Vuc would pass up on the built up success where he is an integral part of the team to go and join another. Well that's what I would like to believe. And to a slightly lesser degree Ross as well.

Yeah I don’t know about Ross, but I’m hard pressed to believe Vucevic would want to leave Orlando if they make the playoffs this year.

Clifford is using him as the Magic’s go-to guy. His usage is extremely high here.

Would he leave a possible playoff team where he’s the clearcut No. 1 option offensively to join a team like Dallas or LA where he’d be the No. 3 option at best? Maybe he would. It just feels unlikely to me.

I think all signs are pointing to him resigning in Orlando. First time all star, team relies on him to function, just had a kid, loves the city, first time making the POs (hopefully), seems to really click with Thanos - I even think he'd take less money to stay here.

It's a no brainer for the front office at this point IMO, if nothing else than it being poor asset management to let him walk for nothing. Pay him for a few years, let Mo come along slow and trade him for help elsewhere if Mo speeds up the timeline. I hope we bring back both him and Ross.

[tiderulz]

After experiencing so much dark times in this franchise..... if we finish off the rest of the season on a high note.... I find it hard to believe Vuc would pass up on the built up success where he is an integral part of the team to go and join another. Well that's what I would like to believe. And to a slightly lesser degree Ross as well.

Yeah I don’t know about Ross, but I’m hard pressed to believe Vucevic would want to leave Orlando if they make the playoffs this year.

Clifford is using him as the Magic’s go-to guy. His usage is extremely high here.

Would he leave a possible playoff team where he’s the clearcut No. 1 option offensively to join a team like Dallas or LA where he’d be the No. 3 option at best? Maybe he would. It just feels unlikely to me.

Luka is the #1 option in Dallas, even if Vuc goes there.

[tiderulz]

After experiencing so much dark times in this franchise..... if we finish off the rest of the season on a high note.... I find it hard to believe Vuc would pass up on the built up success where he is an integral part of the team to go and join another. Well that's what I would like to believe. And to a slightly lesser degree Ross as well.

Yeah I don’t know about Ross, but I’m hard pressed to believe Vucevic would want to leave Orlando if they make the playoffs this year.

Clifford is using him as the Magic’s go-to guy. His usage is extremely high here.

Would he leave a possible playoff team where he’s the clearcut No. 1 option offensively to join a team like Dallas or LA where he’d be the No. 3 option at best? Maybe he would. It just feels unlikely to me.

I think all signs are pointing to him resigning in Orlando. First time all star, team relies on him to function, just had a kid, loves the city, first time making the POs (hopefully), seems to really click with Thanos - I even think he'd take less money to stay here.

It's a no brainer for the front office at this point IMO, if nothing else than it being poor asset management to let him walk for nothing. Pay him for a few years, let Mo come along slow and trade him for help elsewhere if Mo speeds up the timeline. I hope we bring back both him and Ross.

he already took less once. He will want to get paid. Not saying he will demand a max, but i doubt we get much of a discount.

[Sensor]

After experiencing so much dark times in this franchise..... if we finish off the rest of the season on a high note.... I find it hard to believe Vuc would pass up on the built up success where he is an integral part of the team to go and join another. Well that's what I would like to believe. And to a slightly lesser degree Ross as well.

Yeah I don’t know about Ross, but I’m hard pressed to believe Vucevic would want to leave Orlando if they make the playoffs this year.

Clifford is using him as the Magic’s go-to guy. His usage is extremely high here.

Would he leave a possible playoff team where he’s the clearcut No. 1 option offensively to join a team like Dallas or LA where he’d be the No. 3 option at best? Maybe he would. It just feels unlikely to me.

Luka is the #1 option in Dallas, even if Vuc goes there.

Which is why he said he’d be 3rd option at best. What’s your point?


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[tiderulz]

Yeah I don’t know about Ross, but I’m hard pressed to believe Vucevic would want to leave Orlando if they make the playoffs this year.

Clifford is using him as the Magic’s go-to guy. His usage is extremely high here.

Would he leave a possible playoff team where he’s the clearcut No. 1 option offensively to join a team like Dallas or LA where he’d be the No. 3 option at best? Maybe he would. It just feels unlikely to me.

Luka is the #1 option in Dallas, even if Vuc goes there.

Which is why he said he’d be 3rd option at best. What’s your point?


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yeah, looking at it again, i see where i missed that.

[drsd]

he already took less once. He will want to get paid. Not saying he will demand a max, but i doubt we get much of a discount.

Magic fans projecting Vučević to sign for less than a 4/90M deal, well, not sure what to think about that.

I think his agent, after getting "We want MAX" out of the way, would suggest something like 5/125M. That might actually be a deal the Magic brass could get around to, if a donut was placed after year two to maximise that FA period. Say 29/21/23/25/27.

[Tarheel]

Yeah I don’t know about Ross, but I’m hard pressed to believe Vucevic would want to leave Orlando if they make the playoffs this year.

Clifford is using him as the Magic’s go-to guy. His usage is extremely high here.

Would he leave a possible playoff team where he’s the clearcut No. 1 option offensively to join a team like Dallas or LA where he’d be the No. 3 option at best? Maybe he would. It just feels unlikely to me.

I think all signs are pointing to him resigning in Orlando. First time all star, team relies on him to function, just had a kid, loves the city, first time making the POs (hopefully), seems to really click with Thanos - I even think he'd take less money to stay here.

It's a no brainer for the front office at this point IMO, if nothing else than it being poor asset management to let him walk for nothing. Pay him for a few years, let Mo come along slow and trade him for help elsewhere if Mo speeds up the timeline. I hope we bring back both him and Ross.

he already took less once. He will want to get paid. Not saying he will demand a max, but i doubt we get much of a discount.

I do think he'll get quite a bit more than he's being paid now (my guess is something like 4yrs/$100m), but I just get the vibe that if it's a choice between a few million extra in Dallas (for example) or a slightly less lucrative deal here he'd rather stay. I'm not suggesting we'll lowball him and say take it or leave it I just think he has other priorities.

Isn't there a tax incentive to being in Florida too? Would it mean that if another team offered more there is still a chance that he'd receive less net salary? I see it bandied about a lot but have no idea what the numbers are.

[The Real Dalic]

And moving Bamba to the injured list

You say that jokingly but....

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Good to see you emerge from the shadows just to ****. I’m sure you say that not intending to be a jerk but...

I've got to admit I wasn't a big fan of the Bamba pick and have not been super impressed so far. I think his injury might be a blessing in disguise as it allows the better player (at the moment) in Birch to play. It also allows on Bamba to start working on things earlier, like building muscle. Hopefully he comes in better prepared next season, cause it's totally possible that he'll be our starter at the start of next season.

[Knightro]

I don't think Vucevic is going to give the Magic a discount, but I'm also skeptical that he's actually going to get a MAX contract from any team, Orlando included.

Vucevic's Year 1 max as a player with 7-9 years experience is 30% of the salary cap. With the salary cap is set to jump to 109M, Vucevic's first year salary on a max contract would be 32.7M.

Personally, I don't think anyone comes close to offering him that. I'm guessing his AAV will be closer to 25M per season than 32M+.

[Sensor]

Luka is the #1 option in Dallas, even if Vuc goes there.

Which is why he said he’d be 3rd option at best. What’s your point?


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yeah, looking at it again, i see where i missed that.

Happens to the best of us. I’m sorry if I came across rude or anything.

Do you think we’re the first team to make an offer this summer? Or him be recruited and other teams set the market price?


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