Official Summer 2024 Magic Free Agency and Trade Ideas Thread 3.0

[basketballRob]

I think we need a 3-and-D guard. We can't get a poor defending guard with no rim protection in our starting lineup. That's why AB might be a better starter for the team than Fultz. Fultz plays a good free safety type defense, but he isn't good at keeping players in front of him, and he definitely isn't hitting 3s.

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[I Rasharted]

Called it.

[I Rasharted]

Also I don't have a problem with Weltman not doing anything. Ride out this season, get the 6th-8th seed, get a taste of the playoffs, done and done. Couldn't ask for much more at this point. But I do want to see action in the offseason and the next trade deadline, f'sho.

[orlando_joe]

Other than that, the other biggest complain is "We're winning, but not with the players I want to win with" as if you can swap every player 1 for 1 and not have any difference at all in terms of W-L. I too have players I'd rather see us win with, but I don't think it would be a consistently great lineup until a few years from now and leave us worse in the short-term.

I just don’t think it’s this. At least not from me.

It’s more like “we’re ultimately not going to win *enough* with the veterans we have to justify keeping them, but those veterans are also playing ahead of the young guys who probably aren’t ready or going to be ready to fill their shoes largely because they’re not playing. So there’s gonna be difficult decisions to be made in the near future that we don’t trust the front office to make.”

If the Magic win 45 games this year, I don’t see a realistic path to 50+ next year outside of one of Paolo or Franz leveling up to the point where their quality of teammate matters less and less. And that seems like such a passive way to approaching things.

so you do not see being healthy and one more yr experience for franz,paolo,suggs,wcj,cole,black,jett and isaac at hope 20 min a game magic could win 5 more games? shoot i think healthy this yr they win 5 more ..plus next yr more teams will tank for flagg ...lol

[Skybox]

Couple of things in this thread…

- I don’t think anyone’s arguing that Murray is better or more valuable than Trae. There’s definitely a viable discussion about fit with Franz & Paolo. Trae’s a superstar- I’d love to give it a try but there’s no way that he wouldn’t dramatically compromise Paolo & Franz’ game. All three are on-ball specialists. Trae and Luka are probably THE most ball-dominant guys in the league…maybe ever.

-Fultz’ superpower is now “creating hardship” for Paolo & Franz to grow from?
Mission accomplished! I guess that’s better than his other great gift that was praised previously…his ability to defer. Maybe we should make them play in Timberlands to further improve the growth potential. Think how good they’ll feel when we give them sneakers for the playoffs. I wish I had the ability to comfort myself so easily with rationalizing Weltman’s inactivity.

[tiderulz]

Also I don't have a problem with Weltman not doing anything. Ride out this season, get the 6th-8th seed, get a taste of the playoffs, done and done. Couldn't ask for much more at this point. But I do want to see action in the offseason and the next trade deadline, f'sho.

sure you could. get a legit PG, another outside shooter, win the first round of playoffs, show our stars the team will build around them.

[SOUL]

lol if we are casually beating a 1-2-3 seed because we got tyus jones or a decent shooter, they would've gone all in for much more.. very much easier said than done though. more than likely franz isn't as effective (doesn't play that well against the more physical teams yet), paolo's indecisiveness as an inside player gets exposed and youth is still an issue, and we still have a bunch of up and down shooters in the playoffs.

i wanted moves made, but i think people are also overstating what bringing in tyus + another shooter actually does for this team (i'm talking short-term, this season.. we absolutely need shooting and better PG long term) .. it would legit take a murray sort of move or even better to be a surprise playoff team that wins the first round.

[Bergmaniac]

I just want to see this team have a functioning and modern offense for once, I don't think a second round pick or two is too much to ask for this. Especially since we haven't drafted a difference maker with a second round pick since forever.

And being able to see how Tyus fits with our core before committing to a long term contract for him is valuable too.

[KillMonger]

I think we need a 3-and-D guard. We can't get a poor defending guard with no rim protection in our starting lineup. That's why AB might be a better starter for the team than Fultz. Fultz plays a good free safety type defense, but he isn't good at keeping players in front of him, and he definitely isn't hitting 3s.

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who do you think should be the target in the offseason? me personally i looked over the names becoming free agents and i'm not really seeing anyone super exciting...what are your thoughts?

[Skybox]

I think we need a 3-and-D guard. We can't get a poor defending guard with no rim protection in our starting lineup. That's why AB might be a better starter for the team than Fultz. Fultz plays a good free safety type defense, but he isn't good at keeping players in front of him, and he definitely isn't hitting 3s.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

who do you think should be the target in the offseason? me personally i looked over the names becoming free agents and i'm not really seeing anyone super exciting...what are your thoughts?

Agree. The FA most intriguing to me is Claxton…but that only makes sense if we upgrade our guard situation at the same time. If there was a deal with some combination of WCJ, Goga, Cole, Houstan, primarily picks and available salary for a guy like Simons (just an example- but a great one) that left us with enough to throw at Claxton…that’d be the ideal, if unlikely, outcome for me. Maybe another prominent young guard becomes available after a playoff flop…

Example: BRK decides to tank, CLE disappoints, but convinces Mitchell to re-up…
ORL sends: 24 frp, 26 frp, 29 frp, Den 25 frp, WCJ, Cole Anthony
ORL gets: Garland, Claxton

BRK sends: Bridges, DFS, Claxton(SnT)
BRK gets: WCJ, Cole, 4 frps

CLE sends: Garland
CLE gets: Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney Smith

Claxton alone doesn’t really make sense as our offense would be even worse. The rest of FA looks largely like filling in around the core…as it should.

Claxton/Isaac/FA vet min like Rolo or Plumlee
Paolo/Isaac/Mo
Franz/Ingles/Houstan
Suggs/Jett/Queen or Kevon
Garland/Black/FA vet like Dunn or Devon Wright

[Skybox]

I think we need a 3-and-D guard. We can't get a poor defending guard with no rim protection in our starting lineup. That's why AB might be a better starter for the team than Fultz. Fultz plays a good free safety type defense, but he isn't good at keeping players in front of him, and he definitely isn't hitting 3s.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

who do you think should be the target in the offseason? me personally i looked over the names becoming free agents and i'm not really seeing anyone super exciting...what are your thoughts?

Agree. The FA most intriguing to me is Claxton…but that only makes sense if we upgrade our guard situation at the same time. If there was a deal with some combination of WCJ, Goga, Cole, Houstan, primarily picks and available salary for a guy like Simons (just an example- but a great one) that left us with enough to throw at Claxton…that’d be the ideal, if unlikely, outcome for me. Maybe another prominent young guard becomes available after a playoff flop…

Example: BRK decides to tank, CLE disappoints, but convinces Mitchell to re-up…
ORL sends: 24 frp, 26 frp, 29 frp, Den 25 frp, WCJ, Cole Anthony
ORL gets: Garland, Claxton

BRK sends: Bridges, DFS, Claxton(SnT)
BRK gets: WCJ, Cole, 4 frps

CLE sends: Garland
CLE gets: Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney Smith

Claxton alone doesn’t really make sense as our offense would be even worse. The rest of FA looks largely like filling in around the core…as it should.

Claxton/Isaac/FA vet min like Rolo or Plumlee
Paolo/Isaac/Mo
Franz/Ingles/Houstan
Suggs/Jett/Queen or Kevon
Garland/Black/FA vet like Dunn or Devon Wright

There is NO off-season at RealGM

[Knightro]

I don't really feel like breaking it down line-by-line, but the Jason Beede article with all the Weltman quotes about his decision to standpat I found to be very disingenuous.

“We’ve had to stay disciplined, and it’s very easy to take your eye off the ball and all of a sudden you’ve spent draft capital, or cap space, or you’ve stepped on the development of some of the young players who you believe in and you can very easily find yourself back in the middle. We’re trying not to do that.”

^ which young players that Weltman believes in would have their development stepped on if the Magic made a trade at the deadline? Is he talking about the ones (Black, Jett, Caleb) that currently aren’t currently in the rotation anyway because they're blocked by middling veterans?

Or does Weltman actually consider Markelle to be a young player that he believes in? Because if that's the case we have an entirely different issue on our hands here.

[zaymon]

I don't really feel like breaking it down line-by-line, but the Jason Beede article with all the Weltman quotes about his decision to standpat I found to be very disingenuous.

“We’ve had to stay disciplined, and it’s very easy to take your eye off the ball and all of a sudden you’ve spent draft capital, or cap space, or you’ve stepped on the development of some of the young players who you believe in and you can very easily find yourself back in the middle. We’re trying not to do that.”

^ which young players that Weltman believes in would have their development stepped on if the Magic made a trade at the deadline? Is he talking about the ones (Black, Jett, Caleb) that currently aren’t currently in the rotation anyway because they're blocked by middling veterans?

Or does Weltman actually consider Markelle to be a young player that he believes in? Because if that's the case we have an entirely different issue on our hands here.

Your argument is very reasonable. If i wanted to defend Weltman i would say taking away the ball and responsibilities from Franz and Paolo. Its not a strong argument but only i can think of.

[Knightro]

who do you think should be the target in the offseason? me personally i looked over the names becoming free agents and i'm not really seeing anyone super exciting...what are your thoughts?

Free agency is pretty much dead.

There are a few guys I would consider signing - Tyus Jones, Malik Monk, Nic Claxton - but it feels like a significant upgrade is going to have to come via trade.

[KillMonger]

who do you think should be the target in the offseason? me personally i looked over the names becoming free agents and i'm not really seeing anyone super exciting...what are your thoughts?

Free agency is pretty much dead.

There are a few guys I would consider signing - Tyus Jones, Malik Monk, Nic Claxton - but it feels like a significant upgrade is going to have to come via trade.

trade huh.....wish we still had expirings to use

[eyriq]

I don't really feel like breaking it down line-by-line, but the Jason Beede article with all the Weltman quotes about his decision to standpat I found to be very disingenuous.

“We’ve had to stay disciplined, and it’s very easy to take your eye off the ball and all of a sudden you’ve spent draft capital, or cap space, or you’ve stepped on the development of some of the young players who you believe in and you can very easily find yourself back in the middle. We’re trying not to do that.”

^ which young players that Weltman believes in would have their development stepped on if the Magic made a trade at the deadline? Is he talking about the ones (Black, Jett, Caleb) that currently aren’t currently in the rotation anyway because they're blocked by middling veterans?

Or does Weltman actually consider Markelle to be a young player that he believes in? Because if that's the case we have an entirely different issue on our hands here.

Fultz being included in the young core would be quite the plot twist. I'd faint.

[Knightro]

who do you think should be the target in the offseason? me personally i looked over the names becoming free agents and i'm not really seeing anyone super exciting...what are your thoughts?

Free agency is pretty much dead.

There are a few guys I would consider signing - Tyus Jones, Malik Monk, Nic Claxton - but it feels like a significant upgrade is going to have to come via trade.

trade huh.....wish we still had expirings to use

The expiring contracts thing won't be a huge problem for trades because the Magic will be well under the salary cap.

So like hypothetically if they wanted to trade for a high priced guy making 40M, they'd only have to send out 5-10M in salary since they're going to be so far under the cap.

Where the whole "not using your expiring contracts at the deadline" thing becomes an issue is if the Magic AREN'T able to swing a deal and ultimately have to sign players to reach the salary floor.

[Skybox]

I don't really feel like breaking it down line-by-line, but the Jason Beede article with all the Weltman quotes about his decision to standpat I found to be very disingenuous.

“We’ve had to stay disciplined, and it’s very easy to take your eye off the ball and all of a sudden you’ve spent draft capital, or cap space, or you’ve stepped on the development of some of the young players who you believe in and you can very easily find yourself back in the middle. We’re trying not to do that.”

^ which young players that Weltman believes in would have their development stepped on if the Magic made a trade at the deadline? Is he talking about the ones (Black, Jett, Caleb) that currently aren’t currently in the rotation anyway because they're blocked by middling veterans?

Or does Weltman actually consider Markelle to be a young player that he believes in? Because if that's the case we have an entirely different issue on our hands here.

Your argument is very reasonable. If i wanted to defend Weltman i would say taking away the ball and responsibilities from Franz and Paolo. It's not a strong argument but only i can think of.

Even that's flawed because we could have rented an expiring (nothing but ) shooter to just finish kick-out 3's better than the expirings we have in-house. Even just as a system experiment...but, then again, Jett's certainly qualified for that role, even if just in the junk time that's presently being doled out to AB and Goga in blowouts as the rotation tightens.

Ideally, Gary could just be told to "shoot the Gdm ball or you're out of the rotation"...point I'm trying to make is not to take away ball-handling/creation, just support F&P with better finishers outside.

Longer term, we DO need to not be so completely reliant on those two beating other teams by themselves. They will welcome a third weapon on the perimeter if they have any interest in winning. I think Murray, as Paolo's childhood mentor and homeboy, would have really fit on both ends.

[89Magicfan]

I don't really feel like breaking it down line-by-line, but the Jason Beede article with all the Weltman quotes about his decision to standpat I found to be very disingenuous.

“We’ve had to stay disciplined, and it’s very easy to take your eye off the ball and all of a sudden you’ve spent draft capital, or cap space, or you’ve stepped on the development of some of the young players who you believe in and you can very easily find yourself back in the middle. We’re trying not to do that.”

^ which young players that Weltman believes in would have their development stepped on if the Magic made a trade at the deadline? Is he talking about the ones (Black, Jett, Caleb) that currently aren’t currently in the rotation anyway because they're blocked by middling veterans?

Or does Weltman actually consider Markelle to be a young player that he believes in? Because if that's the case we have an entirely different issue on our hands here.

Young player he may referring to is Suggs. Probably and what Davy suggested, teams wanted Suggs in return and we declined.

[yoyojw17]

who do you think should be the target in the offseason? me personally i looked over the names becoming free agents and i'm not really seeing anyone super exciting...what are your thoughts?

Free agency is pretty much dead.

There are a few guys I would consider signing - Tyus Jones, Malik Monk, Nic Claxton - but it feels like a significant upgrade is going to have to come via trade.

trade huh.....wish we still had expirings to use

Cap space and draft picks are probably more desirable anyways. Lol