Magic reportedly eyeing Deaaron Fox trade, preparing for instant title contention

[Cammo101]

A team that drafted Franz and Paolo and developed them into stars that will make ~50% of the cap. Add Suggs and you are around 70%. That’s an average allocation for a team’s top 3.

I love Paolo and Franz, but we need to get serious about the level of player these guys are. Paolo is not a Giannis/KD level of player, so he is going to need a second legit star paired with him. Wagner and Suggs are great, but they are not that guy. We need a 1A or at worst a 2nd best player.

There is a zero percent chance Orlando will ever be a true contender with Paolo/Franz/Suggs as their three best players. If your plan is to put role players around those guys, then that is a plan that, like this season, will be a failure. That was last years plan with KCP and it has moved the meter exactly zero.

You've blown up the core before it's even blossomed. That's a nonstarter.

No, I'm not. I don't want to move those 3 guys. Which is why...

A) I wanted to go get a star like the Spurs have, before those guys got paid.

B) Want to add a DeAaron Fox type player around them while we still have the young pieces to not have to trade Suggs and not have a hamstrung roster. Which gets harder by the day.

[tiderulz]

A team that drafted Franz and Paolo and developed them into stars that will make ~50% of the cap. Add Suggs and you are around 70%. That’s an average allocation for a team’s top 3.

I love Paolo and Franz, but we need to get serious about the level of player these guys are. Paolo is not a Giannis/KD level of player, so he is going to need a second legit star paired with him. Wagner and Suggs are great, but they are not that guy. We need a 1A or at worst a 2nd best player.

There is a zero percent chance Orlando will ever be a true contender with Paolo/Franz/Suggs as their three best players. If your plan is to put role players around those guys, then that is a plan that, like this season, will be a failure. That was last years plan with KCP and it has moved the meter exactly zero.

1 - Giannis and KD are HOF's. not every star or player gets to be that. Paolo not comparable to Durant's 3rd year, but favorable to Giannis. But he can be his own player that is a very, very good player. the kid is only 22, anyone declaring what he will and wont be is just crazy.
2 - thats just your opinion that they cant be a true contender. Everyone was saying that about Brown and Tatum, that they had to break them up, until they added a few more secondary pieces. the team looked very good last year, this year they have been hit by injuries and bad team construction.

[Skybox]

With Paolo, Suggs and Franz locked up for years, this team will have many chances to contend especially as these young guys continue to get better.

I don't support wasting ANY of those chances.

[Skybox]

"Timeline" is a nonsense notion. The goal of management is i) collect some players and ii) constantly get better from there.

Step i) can be via the draft (and tanking is a bad idea), trades (e.g. the Magic got F-Wagner from a bonehead trade from the Bulls - but the magic bust on two other simultaneous trades), and FAs (i.e. how the Lakers / Celts stay relevant).

Teams that "get better" every year are more likely to win titles. And San Antonio has the leagues best management at exactly this.

Has WeHamm/WePark "gotten better" each year. Kind of, sort of, but it could have been better. Meh.

No it isn't.

Collecting star players can be done at any time. If you can get one and keep them, you do it.

But you don't trade picks for rentals to win now in Paolo's 3rd year the same way you would for prime Lebron. That is where a timeline matters.

How did this become the new definition for "make a trade" such a weak characterization of actually trying to do their jobs.

[BadMofoPimp]

With Paolo, Suggs and Franz locked up for years, this team will have many chances to contend especially as these young guys continue to get better.

I don't support wasting ANY of those chances.

Which one would you trade away for Fox?

[Skybox]

With Paolo, Suggs and Franz locked up for years, this team will have many chances to contend especially as these young guys continue to get better.

I don't support wasting ANY of those chances.

Which one would you trade away for Fox?

I probably wouldn't for Fox. IF we chased him, I'd want to send out as much guaranteed money as possible without touching those 3. Then we'd have some serious financial dancing to do, but we'd have 4 studs and, hopefully, some well-picked bargain vets that fit them. We'd probably have annual movement among the supporting cast as lesser teams pick off underpaid guys (like we thought we did with KCP).

I'd rather have Simons or Sexton without giving up much more than carcasses and a pick(s).

Generally speaking, I just disagree that there's no urgency because our best guys are already good while still pretty young (they're not THAT young btw), stars generally reveal themselves pretty quickly, like Paolo and Franz did. Time to put the pedal down rather than a "we're ahead of schedule" siesta.

[Cammo101]

2 - thats just your opinion that they cant be a true contender. Everyone was saying that about Brown and Tatum, that they had to break them up, until they added a few more secondary pieces. the team looked very good last year, this year they have been hit by injuries and bad team construction.

A few more secondary pieces? The Celtics did exactly what we should be doing. They realized they had a quality core of players and then got insanely aggressive going after difference makers. They are literally the opposite of us. They traded...

Two first round picks for Derrick White
For an injury prone Kristaps Porzingis, who this very board didn't want
Two firsts and a couple rookie contract role players for Jrue Holliday
Kemba Walker and a first for Al Horford

What they didn't do is sit on their hands waiting for the perfect scenario. What they didn't do was be terrified by the salary cap. What they didn't do is hoard their secondary assets until they lost all value. Scared money don't make money, and this franchise is the epitome of scared money.

[tiderulz]

2 - thats just your opinion that they cant be a true contender. Everyone was saying that about Brown and Tatum, that they had to break them up, until they added a few more secondary pieces. the team looked very good last year, this year they have been hit by injuries and bad team construction.

A few more secondary pieces? The Celtics did exactly what we should be doing. They realized they had a quality core of players and then got insanely aggressive going after difference makers. They are literally the opposite of us. They traded...

Two first round picks for Derrick White
For an injury prone Kristaps Porzingis, who this very board didn't want
Two firsts and a couple rookie contract role players for Jrue Holliday
Kemba Walker and a first for Al Horford

What they didn't do is sit on their hands waiting for the perfect scenario. What they didn't do was be terrified by the salary cap. What they didn't do is hoard their secondary assets until they lost all value. Scared money don't make money, and this franchise is the epitome of scared money.

White was a secondary piece (14 ppg 31% from 3 when they got him). So was Horford when they got him. Kristaps was the only big name guy they got and he has been injured more than healthy. Jrue was a secondary piece when they got him. I view secondary as your 3rd scorer or lower, and not commanding gigantic salary. Simons would be a similar type of move. Fox would be close to that, but he is a scoring PG that his a bad outside shooter and not a good passer. I would hope we could construct a better team than that. Boston put together players that fit, we dont have that yet.

[Cammo101]

2 - thats just your opinion that they cant be a true contender. Everyone was saying that about Brown and Tatum, that they had to break them up, until they added a few more secondary pieces. the team looked very good last year, this year they have been hit by injuries and bad team construction.

A few more secondary pieces? The Celtics did exactly what we should be doing. They realized they had a quality core of players and then got insanely aggressive going after difference makers. They are literally the opposite of us. They traded...

Two first round picks for Derrick White
For an injury prone Kristaps Porzingis, who this very board didn't want
Two firsts and a couple rookie contract role players for Jrue Holliday
Kemba Walker and a first for Al Horford

What they didn't do is sit on their hands waiting for the perfect scenario. What they didn't do was be terrified by the salary cap. What they didn't do is hoard their secondary assets until they lost all value. Scared money don't make money, and this franchise is the epitome of scared money.

White was a secondary piece (14 ppg 31% from 3 when they got him). So was Horford when they got him. Kristaps was the only big name guy they got and he has been injured more than healthy. Jrue was a secondary piece when they got him. I view secondary as your 3rd scorer or lower, and not commanding gigantic salary. Simons would be a similar type of move. Fox would be close to that, but he is a scoring PG that his a bad outside shooter and not a good passer. I would hope we could construct a better team than that. Boston put together players that fit, we dont have that yet.

I've been pushing for Simmons for two years now. You are either pushing every edge to make your team better or you aren't. Simmons? Sure. Cam Johnson? Sure. Rome wasn't built in a day, but it also wasn't built by people sitting on their hands.

[drsd]

Let's not be naive, in a moment Lebron is gone, or even sooner, Lakers will have another superstar and contender ready.

They had jack *** and stole Shaq, than they had jack s*** and stole Pau Gasol in laughable trade, once Kobe retired they had jack s*** and won title in 2020 after Lebron went there and fake player's agency arranged AD trade.

From 2000 -2024 Lakers won 6 titles and went to 2 finals.
Now they have at worst - 3rd best player in the world. Who is 25 years old.

Every person i saw today, that follows basketball said same thing to me: "what a f***"

Was looking up which superstar the Lakers can steal, and presumably to get players inked before the new CBA fully kicks in, all of the great superstars on on very long deals. Basically the "best" player the Lakers can simple take is Trae Young.

That said, is anyone really going to be surprised if(when?) Jokić "forces" a trade to LAL?

[drsd]

But you don't trade picks for rentals to win now in Paolo's 3rd year the same way you would for prime Lebron. That is where a timeline matters.

Respectfully, assuming the Magic is the 6-seed with a trade, and given that the Denver pick will be in the mid-20s, we are talking about rookies that project to be rotational bench players, or at best, journeymen in the NBA.

It is fine to "rent" a player for a bench player. It just is.

Then we are left with Black and Howard: two wasted lottery picks. I guess the Magic can use Black as a backup PG (which is not a vlaue pick at 6). And Howard basically is a throw in any trade. So, ......, what a waste of two picks.
Two picks that could have been bundled for a vet on trade night. Would've, Could've, Should've, and all that.