Magic to Waive C Khem Birch

[Bensational]

I liked what Birch brought to the team. He hustled, gave heart, behaved like a pro. Wishing him all the best back in Canada.

[Gomagic44]

Pepe throws fire but I have found it mostly true over the years. He knows more about nba stats and players and what not than most posters here.

Nice one with hezonja though lol.

I was wondering who ended up so elite after leaving us? We tend to give a kiss of death to your talent or a bump up your next contract that you do nothing with.

Hezonja
Payton
Harris
Dipo
Harkless
Dedmond
O'quinn

How am I not surprised that pepe sees the bad in this? Especially with Bamba coming off a nice game?

You're right. There is enough playing time for them both and the balance right now is excellent. If this is the floor, then we should rightfully feel great about our Center position going forward.

Their contracts will work themselves out. Having them both compete is great because they will split minutes and by doing so, "split stats" and that will drive their price tags down because the alternative of one guy being a 35 mpg guy and one guy being a 10 mpg would result in one guy getting a FAT ole contract, and that's what we need to avoid.

I do think WCj will be the starter and get a better deal, but Bamba is finally getting a chance to play without any roadblocks except for himself. Pretty sure pepe is upset mostly because Bamba wasn't supposed to have nights like last night... and if he has more of that, then Bamba will be another player that makes pepe look bad.

They are RFA next year. Both are.

Bamba's roadblocks are always same: BBIQ and talent. But if you give monkey unlimited time and pen, over time he might write Hamlet.

Bamba will be another player that makes pepe look bad

At least i'm not homer who is faming over teenagers than proclaim them "bad" after they are removed from my team like most people here do.
Bamba has been trash and still is trash. NBA is league where 19 years old Pokuševski just scored 26 pounds, standing at 7 feet and 180 pounds. Same league where undrafted 5'11 guard TJ McConnell had 19 poins and 15 assist last night.

But to have sense of how nba works, and how often nba nobodies have big nights it would require paying attention to other nba teams. But most of people here just live in their little orlando bubble and can't see anything away from it. Every player that puts string of 4 good games is new future allstar , every player that has 5 double doubles in a season is "cornerstone" to them.

When in reality random dudes like Grayson Allen score 30 a night like it's nothing. If Orlando has somebody like Kevin Porter Jr. half of the board would proclaim him better than Tracy and future Kobe Bryant... And i'm sure most Houston over a top fans do. But for rest of a league its- empty stats on tanking team = cool,but doesn't matter.

Btw who is "other" guy who made me look bad ? Okeke? After victory lap of 4 games sample size, Chuma is averaging 12 points on 12 shots and 13% for 3 in other 4 games. Be good and don't bark too soon, it slapped you in face too many times to count.

Keep talking. You slap yourself in the face every time you do.

I gotta give you credit though, the one prospect you put all your heart in was Hezonja and he F'd you up badly, so I get why you have no balls to get behind anyone young that isn't a star out-of-the-box.

You hate everyone on this team. When are you just gonna leave?

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[Gomagic44]

Birch always hustled. I wish every magician gave the same effort as him. But this was great news to read.

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[pepe1991]

How am I not surprised that pepe sees the bad in this? Especially with Bamba coming off a nice game?

You're right. There is enough playing time for them both and the balance right now is excellent. If this is the floor, then we should rightfully feel great about our Center position going forward.

Their contracts will work themselves out. Having them both compete is great because they will split minutes and by doing so, "split stats" and that will drive their price tags down because the alternative of one guy being a 35 mpg guy and one guy being a 10 mpg would result in one guy getting a FAT ole contract, and that's what we need to avoid.

I do think WCj will be the starter and get a better deal, but Bamba is finally getting a chance to play without any roadblocks except for himself. Pretty sure pepe is upset mostly because Bamba wasn't supposed to have nights like last night... and if he has more of that, then Bamba will be another player that makes pepe look bad.

They are RFA next year. Both are.

Bamba's roadblocks are always same: BBIQ and talent. But if you give monkey unlimited time and pen, over time he might write Hamlet.

Bamba will be another player that makes pepe look bad

At least i'm not homer who is faming over teenagers than proclaim them "bad" after they are removed from my team like most people here do.
Bamba has been trash and still is trash. NBA is league where 19 years old Pokuševski just scored 26 pounds, standing at 7 feet and 180 pounds. Same league where undrafted 5'11 guard TJ McConnell had 19 poins and 15 assist last night.

But to have sense of how nba works, and how often nba nobodies have big nights it would require paying attention to other nba teams. But most of people here just live in their little orlando bubble and can't see anything away from it. Every player that puts string of 4 good games is new future allstar , every player that has 5 double doubles in a season is "cornerstone" to them.

When in reality random dudes like Grayson Allen score 30 a night like it's nothing. If Orlando has somebody like Kevin Porter Jr. half of the board would proclaim him better than Tracy and future Kobe Bryant... And i'm sure most Houston over a top fans do. But for rest of a league its- empty stats on tanking team = cool,but doesn't matter.

Btw who is "other" guy who made me look bad ? Okeke? After victory lap of 4 games sample size, Chuma is averaging 12 points on 12 shots and 13% for 3 in other 4 games. Be good and don't bark too soon, it slapped you in face too many times to count.

Keep talking. You slap yourself in the face every time you do.

I gotta give you credit though, the one prospect you put all your heart in was Hezonja and he F'd you up badly, so I get why you have no balls to get behind anyone young that isn't a star out-of-the-box.

You hate everyone on this team. When are you just gonna leave?

Players i hated and debated with people here over years where i was 110% right from day one:

Payton
Gordon-allstar / superstar potential
Kevin Knox
Andrew Wiggins
Tobias Harris ( was one of few people who always liked him )
Jamal Murray -star
D'angello Russell -overrated chucker
Jah Okafor- bust
Mudiay- sh***y player
Kelly Oubre- angry talentless chivava
Randle is better than Gordon
Zach Lavine is better than Wiggins
Noah Vonleh can't play basketball
Deaaron Fox is way better prospect than Payton
Doncic best nba prospect in years
Ben Simmons is elite without jumpshot
Josh Jackson complete bust


Where i was wrong:
Trae Young
Hezonja
Isaac sucking in rookie year -much better in second
not being sold on Zion
not being sold on superstar potential of Tatum




i'm very open about wrong proclaimations

[drsd]

GREAT JOB WEHAM!!! Keep up the good work!

Appreciated Birch for being an unselfish hard nosed player.

This is very fair to Birch, and if Birch signs a LLE contract with another team, Orlando will shave a good 500k off of its cap, assuming a vet is signed by Orlando.

Marvin Williams could be a good player to help Okeke develop.

..

[drsd]

If/when Toronto signs Birch, after moving west on I4, this really helps Orlando's lottery odds for the Bulls pick.

Orlando conceptually would want the Raptors to overtake the Bulls for the 10-seed play-in slot. i.e. All Tampa Raptors wins are good for Orlando!

..

[drsd]

Birch always hustled. I wish every magician gave the same effort as him. But this was great news to read.

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Birch was the best pick-setter on this roster. He just does all those things coaches love.

[MoMM]

I think Mo gets packaged this offseason or next for a star. Likely the offseason Mo is a free agent, so we can sign and trade. Plus we'll have more cap room. Kind of like when we packaged Ben Wallace for Grant Hill, and opted to keep Bo Outlaw.

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Do you really think we can get anything for Mo at this point?

[MoMM]

I liked what Birch brought to the team. He hustled, gave heart, behaved like a pro. Wishing him all the best back in Canada.

And he is Canadian, I forgot about it.

Does the Raptors have his bird rights now? Probably they already have a deal in place for next season and they can go over the cap to re-sign him.

[NEM]

I don’t get the hate towards pepe. Sure he can be abrasive at times, but when it comes to player analysis, he’s usually spot on. Also, you can tell the guy is passionate about the things he speaks on. Many have said he hates everyone on the roster and the team as a whole. I don’t believe that to be true. Many of us are very critical at this point because we’ve been promised player x or y or z is a star, only to see us trade said player for a second round pick, meanwhile we are quick to basically dump good players for broken spare parts. I think he wants the team to be so good, so bad, but he’s been let down before (as have all of us).

In the words of my good friend BMP, Pepe “gonna prove y’all wrong”

[basketballRob]

I think Mo gets packaged this offseason or next for a star. Likely the offseason Mo is a free agent, so we can sign and trade. Plus we'll have more cap room. Kind of like when we packaged Ben Wallace for Grant Hill, and opted to keep Bo Outlaw.

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Do you really think we can get anything for Mo at this point?

Yes I think he has value.

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[Creativetran]

What in the hell??? I get the logic of getting Bamba and WCJ more time, but they couldn't have moved him at the deadline for a 2nd rounder?

That was my thinking as well at first but then you gotta remember he is a free agent this summer. Look at Evan, he’s freaking averaging 19 ppg and we only get two 2nds for that.

[Creativetran]

Read on Twitter

Common sense would leave you to believe that Bacon will be out of the rotation && not Hampton. Clifford's rotations last night and the Birch release would indicate that's what should happen. It will be something to monitor though.

Next game is gonna be interesting to watch, will Cliffy play the young guns more or stick to his guns and play vets.

[Bergmaniac]

He'd help the Raptors a lot, he's so much better than the corpse of Aron Baynes they have had to play all season. All the best to him.

[Skybox]

What in the hell??? I get the logic of getting Bamba and WCJ more time, but they couldn't have moved him at the deadline for a 2nd rounder?

That was my thinking as well at first but then you gotta remember he is a free agent this summer. Look at Evan, he’s freaking averaging 19 ppg and we only get two 2nds for that.

Agree. BOS could have used him...I thought Khem would have been bundled with AG or, as it turns out, Evan and maybe upgraded the return a little bit. Perhaps Nesmith or Langford, or a late first instead of two late 2nds.

I wish him the best in TOR.

[Knightro]

I don’t get the hate towards pepe. Sure he can be abrasive at times, but when it comes to player analysis, he’s usually spot on. Also, you can tell the guy is passionate about the things he speaks on. Many have said he hates everyone on the roster and the team as a whole. I don’t believe that to be true. Many of us are very critical at this point because we’ve been promised player x or y or z is a star, only to see us trade said player for a second round pick, meanwhile we are quick to basically dump good players for broken spare parts. I think he wants the team to be so good, so bad, but he’s been let down before (as have all of us).

In the words of my good friend BMP, Pepe “gonna prove y’all wrong”

Pepe's fine. I like chopping it up with him for the most part. The only thing I typically disagree with him on is this sense that he gives off that guys don't or can't really improve over time.

Some guys do, some guys don't.

[PrimeThyme]

Pepe has his rivalries on this board but I'd say it's a stretch to say he is widely hated. We've gone back and forth on certain players through the years, but overall I think there is mutual respect from both sides as posters.

[GameOver25]

PEPE BE LIKE...

[basketballRob]

What in the hell??? I get the logic of getting Bamba and WCJ more time, but they couldn't have moved him at the deadline for a 2nd rounder?

That was my thinking as well at first but then you gotta remember he is a free agent this summer. Look at Evan, he’s freaking averaging 19 ppg and we only get two 2nds for that.

Bamba isn't a free agent and I doubt they tried to trade him.

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[JBSouthpaw]

What in the hell??? I get the logic of getting Bamba and WCJ more time, but they couldn't have moved him at the deadline for a 2nd rounder?

That was my thinking as well at first but then you gotta remember he is a free agent this summer. Look at Evan, he’s freaking averaging 19 ppg and we only get two 2nds for that.

Bamba isn't a free agent and I doubt they tried to trade him.

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talking about Birch.