Summer of 24 free agency

[Skybox]

This summer ORL projects to have a ton of cap space, if they let some or all of their own FA’s and TO’s walk. Some here are reluctant to support aggressive mid-season trades because we need to maintain our cap space, so I ask…

Who are you targeting in Free Agency this summer?

The top guys have player options and won’t be going anywhere, IMO. Maxey has a handshake in place. Harden is a wreck and not up for consideration.

Not a lot of real interesting scenarios…consider that you generally have to grossly overpay an RFA like Immanuel Quickley (who’s far from a sure thing), look to the UFA’s…

I’m not rooting for this, but best available that would matter…Klay Thompson!
-he’d have to really be at odds with GSW, which is hard to imagine, but he is NOT washed up. Would cost 40m

A guy who fits and would trigger other trades…Nick Claxton
-pure rim-running, pogo stick defender, DPOY candidate, embraces the role, not sure how much he’ll command on the market. Could trigger a trade of WCJ to any number of teams for a scoring guard. Probably have to overpay- which is precarious for a C.

Buddy Hield…one skill but maybe a hugely important one. I don’t know, very far from a complete player and $$$!

Verdict…make a trade, let some other team play with FA and the draft

Who would you target?

[drsd]

Go big or go home. Orlando needs an ace-SG. But whom?

Looking young, then it looks to be Cam Thomas as the most Orlando could get. He looks like retro-Bradley Beal this year. Is it sustainable though?

For a vet, yeh Buddy Hield is sort of the max Orlando can extract.

[basketballRob]

Olynyk is a free agent. That could fill the void if Isaac were out. Mike Conley, if we choose not to bring back Fultz. Kyle Anderson to take Ingles spot. Siakam, if we want to max out a player. Gary Trent. Tyus Jones, Derozan, JV, Heild, and Okoro.

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[Skybox]

Kyle Anderson would be great for frontcourt depth. Siakim would be a terrible fit-isn't he directly in Paolo & Franz' already overloaded lane? If I was going to gamble on playing a guy slightly out of position, I'd try OG at SG...but that's dicey too.

My point is kind of being made...Free Agency sucks this summer. Throwing $25m+ at Buddy Hield is NOT the answer.

Olynyk and Gary Trent are as impactful as Ingles...nice players but if that's our big summer haul (again)

Cam Thomas is a freakin' bucket like no other. ..fascinating scorer but coach's nightmare. I'd rather pay him $12m and see if he can be tamed, but not exactly the "Big Move" we should be hoping for, IMO. Paolo & Franz would strangle him if Mose doesn't get to him first.

[eyriq]

I'm not interested in a shooting guard while Suggs and Jett are on the roster. Let their maturation play out IMO

[jonbob17]

This summer ORL projects to have a ton of cap space, if they let some or all of their own FA’s and TO’s walk. Some here are reluctant to support aggressive mid-season trades because we need to maintain our cap space, so I ask…

Who are you targeting in Free Agency this summer?

The top guys have player options and won’t be going anywhere, IMO. Maxey has a handshake in place. Harden is a wreck and not up for consideration.

Not a lot of real interesting scenarios…consider that you generally have to grossly overpay an RFA like Immanuel Quickley (who’s far from a sure thing), look to the UFA’s…

I’m not rooting for this, but best available that would matter…Klay Thompson!
-he’d have to really be at odds with GSW, which is hard to imagine, but he is NOT washed up. Would cost 40m

A guy who fits and would trigger other trades…Nick Claxton
-pure rim-running, pogo stick defender, DPOY candidate, embraces the role, not sure how much he’ll command on the market. Could trigger a trade of WCJ to any number of teams for a scoring guard. Probably have to overpay- which is precarious for a C.

Buddy Hield…one skill but maybe a hugely important one. I don’t know, very far from a complete player and $$$!

Verdict…make a trade, let some other team play with FA and the draft

Who would you target?

Why would Klay command $40M. Even if he was playing as well as last year, he's just a volume 3 point shooter at this point, albeit a good one. There are two unseen forces in this league that i believe in: the Jokic effect and the Curry effect. And i am not sure how much those two camoflauge the warts of those around them.

I don't hate the idea of buddy Hield. He's old, he's probably not a starter on this team, but he is a good shooter, and does more than that. I like the idea of him splitting time between lead guards...definite maybe

I like Quickley too, but you are probably right, he's going to be expensive.

I really like Claxton too, just not sure we are going to invest more $ into the center, and he's not a great fit on this team.

I don't know i have a feeling that Houstan is going to work out. His shot is too pure and fast to fail. He looks like a marine out there, but i think he's going to end up being a solid back up wing.

I like this team.

[Knightro]

Go big or go home. Orlando needs an ace-SG. But whom?

Looking young, then it looks to be Cam Thomas as the most Orlando could get. He looks like retro-Bradley Beal this year. Is it sustainable though?

For a vet, yeh Buddy Hield is sort of the max Orlando can extract.

They also need an ace point guard.

[eyriq]

Go big or go home. Orlando needs an ace-SG. But whom?

Looking young, then it looks to be Cam Thomas as the most Orlando could get. He looks like retro-Bradley Beal this year. Is it sustainable though?

For a vet, yeh Buddy Hield is sort of the max Orlando can extract.

They also need an ace point guard.

AB says hi

[Skybox]

Go big or go home. Orlando needs an ace-SG. But whom?

Looking young, then it looks to be Cam Thomas as the most Orlando could get. He looks like retro-Bradley Beal this year. Is it sustainable though?

For a vet, yeh Buddy Hield is sort of the max Orlando can extract.

They also need an ace point guard.

I also prefer the ACE PG route...a guy that can initiate and score a LOT (basically like the best non-centers in the NBA...Steph, Dame, Luka, Brunson, Cade, Booker, Mitchell, Garland, etc). Plus, you can put a Suggs or Black alongside them. Cole off the bench is like the backup/JV version of what I hope for. Of course there are exceptions like Tatum and KD...but the Lead Guard rules the NBA these days and it' just happens to be what would drop right in to our lineup perfectly.

Hield, and maybe Jett types are nice but are a compromise...especially if you're playing them next to Black. They are complementary, but each is lacking...better to have some overlap in skills.

[Knightro]

AB says hi

I like AB just fine.

But he's obviously not a point guard right now. And until his ability and/or confidence to actually do something (anything?) off the dribble increases, he's just a connector piece.

Suggs is just a connector piece too. And I say that really liking both players a lot.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

Olynk & Cam Thomas would be 2 that I'd go after in a heartbeat as they fit well with what we need. I'd also look at Tyus Jones as a possible starting PG who can run an offense and not be a negative offensively.

Olynk would be a decent stretch 4 to replace Issac & can play a little small 5.
Thomas would be another bucket-getter for Orlando and could play nicely with Black.
Move Cole into the starting role with Suggs that at least makes some sense.
I'm 100% waiving Isaac, Okeke, and if I can't move Fultz at the deadline then maybe he stays for a cheap 2 year team option.

Cole/Black
Suggs/Thomas/Houstan
Franz/Jett/Ingles
Paolo/Olynk
WCJ/Wagner

Issue is we still have that massive handicap of shooting and there's no real FA to land. Unless a G on level of Trae/Booker ask for a trade we're pretty much treading water and hoping for Organic growth.

[Skybox]

Olynk & Cam Thomas would be 2 that I'd go after in a heartbeat as they fit well with what we need. I'd also look at Tyus Jones as a possible starting PG who can run an offense and not be a negative offensively.

Olynk would be a decent stretch 4 to replace Issac & can play a little small 5.
Thomas would be another bucket-getter for Orlando and could play nicely with Black.
Move Cole into the starting role with Suggs that at least makes some sense.
I'm 100% waiving Isaac, Okeke, and if I can't move Fultz at the deadline then maybe he stays for a cheap 2 year team option.

Cole/Black
Suggs/Thomas/Houstan
Franz/Jett/Ingles
Paolo/Olynk
WCJ/Wagner

Issue is we still have that massive handicap of shooting and there's no real FA to land. Unless a G on level of Trae/Booker ask for a trade we're pretty much treading water and hoping for Organic growth.

Olynyk is interesting and, maybe, cheap...we'll know soon enough if it's time to move off Isaac's dream. I don't care enough about Tyus Jones to put him in front of Black...super efficient but I think we need more explosive scoring potential from the backcourt...which segues right into Cam Thomas...so frightening, so fascinating, could he develop a more mature well-rounded game while still lighting up every defense in the league? Is Vaughn holding him down like a bad HS football movie? The dude could easily lead the league in scoring and that makes him very interesting but full of concerns at the same time. Could be the greatest steal of all time if it's a coach/player stubborn personality thing where we free him and he goes TMac for us or, he's a terrible AAU guy who is hated by teammates and inevitably gets punched out by Paolo for waving him off for the tenth time in a game

So many feelings for and against Cam Thomas...I wonder if BRK would move him for Cole or even Fultz at this point?

[eyriq]

AB says hi

I like AB just fine.

But he's obviously not a point guard right now. And until his ability and/or confidence to actually do something (anything?) off the dribble increases, he's just a connector piece.

Suggs is just a connector piece too. And I say that really liking both players a lot.

The dynamic works though. It's positioning Paolo and Franz to take much larger offensive loads. The main challenge is that it's also forcing Suggs to take a larger offensive role, and it's putting him to the test. The dynamic is exactly what I think this team needs short-term. The key question will be how efficient starters can be in their roles. Maybe it's not fair to grade Black positively given he's the fifth option, but he's very efficient.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

Olynk & Cam Thomas would be 2 that I'd go after in a heartbeat as they fit well with what we need. I'd also look at Tyus Jones as a possible starting PG who can run an offense and not be a negative offensively.

Olynk would be a decent stretch 4 to replace Issac & can play a little small 5.
Thomas would be another bucket-getter for Orlando and could play nicely with Black.
Move Cole into the starting role with Suggs that at least makes some sense.
I'm 100% waiving Isaac, Okeke, and if I can't move Fultz at the deadline then maybe he stays for a cheap 2 year team option.

Cole/Black
Suggs/Thomas/Houstan
Franz/Jett/Ingles
Paolo/Olynk
WCJ/Wagner

Issue is we still have that massive handicap of shooting and there's no real FA to land. Unless a G on level of Trae/Booker ask for a trade we're pretty much treading water and hoping for Organic growth.

Olynyk is interesting and, maybe, cheap...we'll know soon enough if it's time to move off Isaac's dream. I don't care enough about Tyus Jones to put him in front of Black...super efficient but I think we need more explosive scoring potential from the backcourt...which segues right into Cam Thomas...so frightening, so fascinating, could he develop a more mature well-rounded game while still lighting up every defense in the league? Is Vaughn holding him down like a bad HS football movie? The dude could easily lead the league in scoring and that makes him very interesting but full of concerns at the same time. Could be the greatest steal of all time if it's a coach/player stubborn personality thing where we free him and he goes TMac for us or, he's a terrible AAU guy who is hated by teammates and inevitably gets punched out by Paolo for waving him off for the tenth time in a game

So many feelings for and against Cam Thomas...I wonder if BRK would move him for Cole or even Fultz at this point?

what is Brooklyn even trying to do this year? They'd be hella dumb not to accept his team option for 3.9M with his production and the limited cap space they have. If anything I think they'd try to get off of Simmons last year and let Thomas groove.

[Knightro]

The dynamic works though. It's positioning Paolo and Franz to take much larger offensive loads. The main challenge is that it's also forcing Suggs to take a larger offensive role, and it's putting him to the test. The dynamic is exactly what I think this team needs short-term. The key question will be how efficient starters can be in their roles. Maybe it's not fair to grade Black positively given he's the fifth option, but he's very efficient.

This is kind of obvious for a lot of players, but Black and Suggs both feel like the kind of guards, given their respective skill sets, who would play up much better *next* to a high end offensive threat at PG or SG rather than without one.

The Magic have a bunch of solid complimentary pieces at guard, and in Black's case he could become more than that down the road, but now they need to go get *the* piece in the backcourt.

[Skybox]

The dynamic works though. It's positioning Paolo and Franz to take much larger offensive loads. The main challenge is that it's also forcing Suggs to take a larger offensive role, and it's putting him to the test. The dynamic is exactly what I think this team needs short-term. The key question will be how efficient starters can be in their roles. Maybe it's not fair to grade Black positively given he's the fifth option, but he's very efficient.

This is kind of obvious for a lot of players, but Black and Suggs both feel like the kind of guards, given their respective skill sets, who would play up much better *next* to a high end offensive threat at PG or SG rather than without one.

The Magic have a bunch of solid complimentary pieces at guard, and in Black's case he could become more than that down the road, but now they need to go get *the* piece in the backcourt.

I love to project Black as similar to young Ben Simmons...But, I 100% agree, that he (like Suggs) needs to be next to a scorer.

[eyriq]

The dynamic works though. It's positioning Paolo and Franz to take much larger offensive loads. The main challenge is that it's also forcing Suggs to take a larger offensive role, and it's putting him to the test. The dynamic is exactly what I think this team needs short-term. The key question will be how efficient starters can be in their roles. Maybe it's not fair to grade Black positively given he's the fifth option, but he's very efficient.

This is kind of obvious for a lot of players, but Black and Suggs both feel like the kind of guards, given their respective skill sets, who would play up much better *next* to a high end offensive threat at PG or SG rather than without one.

The Magic have a bunch of solid complimentary pieces at guard, and in Black's case he could become more than that down the road, but now they need to go get *the* piece in the backcourt.

I love to project Black as similar to young Ben Simmons...But, I 100% agree, that he (like Suggs) needs to be next to a scorer.

Black seems to be able to shoot though.

[Knightro]

Black seems to be able to shoot though.

Come on now. Let's not go crazy over a small sample size.

[Skybox]

Black seems to be able to shoot though.

Come on now. Let's not go crazy over a small sample size.

I tend to agree...I'm thinking of him as a bigger better Fultz...if he CAN shoot, Damn!!

[eyriq]

Black seems to be able to shoot though.

Come on now. Let's not go crazy over a small sample size.

My prior on him is that he's a hard worker that should improve on shooting with work. So, a small sample of positive shooting results gets weighted by that prior.