Official 2025-2026 Magic Trade ideas thread

[VFX]

What’s the consensus on moving WCJ? Are we fully comfortable with Goga starting longterm or is the thought to trade Carter for an upgrade at center?

Despite what a lot people think here, I def. think he has a strong market if he were made available (I’m still not convinced though he’s as available as people make him out to be).

Would you rather:

A) Move WCJ for an upgrade at center?
B) Move WCJ for several depth pieces (promoting Goga)?
C) Completely reconfigure our center rotation to fit this new iteration of the Magic?

I’m in the minority probably, but I would do this…

-Move Carter for an established backup combo guard possibly a fringe starter/starter depending on the return.
-Promote Goga for 3-4 months,
-Draft a Center at #25 to fill in until Moe is back. Develop this player further.

I’m doing this if moving Isaac is off the table entirely. Why? Because the back court is currently 3 players, two of which are not reliable due to injuries.

I wouldn’t rely entirely on the draft to add depth in the back court. That’s not a great recipe knowing what we know about injuries and the depth chart. And no, signing one guy with the MLE doesn’t entirely solve the back court.

Would people trade

Wendell Carter
Jett Howard

For

Gabe Vincent
Shake Milton or Knecht
And the #55 pick?

[Knightro]

Would people trade

Wendell Carter
Jett Howard

For

Gabe Vincent
Shake Milton or Knecht
And the #55 pick?

Strong no for me.

Wendell is the best player in that deal by a pretty wide margin.

Knecht is not very good. 1st percentile defender according to EPM this past year and he's already 24. Vincent and Milton are just guys. Not people you want playing in a playoff series.

I'm not against trading Carter for a guard/wing and going with Goga as the starter, but this isn't the right deal IMO.

[Knightro]

I like Goga a lot, but he is simply not a center that is capable of playing in a switch everything defensive scheme which is ultimately what Mosley seems to prefer, especially in a playoff series.

Goga can play drop coverage, and he plays it really well, but that's all he can do.

So if the Magic are comfortable with their center playing drop and switching 1-4, then yes I'd be absolutely fine with him as a starter. I just don't think Mosley's willing to commit to that defensively.

[dsg2021]

I had a relatively boring Saturday, I spent too much time in-between things to imagine targets for the Magic. I looked at like 6+ bigs with even names like Moussa Diabate in the mix. In the end, I had more trouble than I cared to admit to find an upgrade over our jack of all trades, master of none Wendell Carter Jr.

My research roundabout did yield two things so far though.

1)
I am much higher on Nic Claxton than before. Giving him a concerted look longer than 30 minutes (due to the mentions in here as well), he seems to be one of the elite bigs built for even perimeter defense switching, with gaudy rebounding and blocks at times. Like can you imagine trying to score on this Magic defense with Claxton as the starting 5 and then Isaac coming in for him. I think Claxton has had hot-head antics before, but I don't mind that fire, if he can stay on the floor.
His biggest problem is he will make the Magic's offense worse. He has zero range and he is a legitimate Hack-a-Shaq option. My reasoning for ORL still potentially chasing him is simple. Certain Playoffs series and games might dictate which of our bigs can get away with their weaknesses and should be the closer. As in, Mo Wagner was starting to get a near 23 PER this past season before his injury. He is the offensive 5. Isaac is the blend of someone who can impact defense like Claxton sometimes but not be a complete liability from any range of shooting or the FT line. Remember, if you take a pencil and scratch out JI's last season of shooting, he is still a viable shooter. But it's scary to commit a trade package to Claxton when we are already talking about games where Mo or JI might have to close over Claxton.

2)
With so many entanglements such as looking at NBA.com boxscore play-by-play videos of bigs and commentary articles on defense, NAW showed up on my computer screen again. Open this NY Times article and catch a segment on NAW.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6266788/2025/04/11/nba-all-defense-perimeter-thunder-timberwolves/
Yep, the Magic need to roll out a red carpet for him at 6:01 PM EST on June 30th, the first minute for Free Agency pitches. And Paolo, Franz, Suggs, and Bane should even be there. I don't know how often the Magic will have a 14 mil MLE moving forward, so this is becoming a big deal moment for the team.

[eyriq]

I had a relatively boring Saturday, I spent too much time in-between things to imagine targets for the Magic. I looked at like 6+ bigs with even names like Moussa Diabate in the mix. In the end, I had more trouble than I cared to admit to find an upgrade over our jack of all trades, master of none Wendell Carter Jr.

My research roundabout did yield two things so far though.

1)
I am much higher on Nic Claxton than before. Giving him a concerted look longer than 30 minutes (due to the mentions in here as well), he seems to be one of the elite bigs built for even perimeter defense switching, with gaudy rebounding and blocks at times. Like can you imagine trying to score on this Magic defense with Claxton as the starting 5 and then Isaac coming in for him. I think Claxton has had hot-head antics before, but I don't mind that fire, if he can stay on the floor.
His biggest problem is he will make the Magic's offense worse. He has zero range and he is a legitimate Hack-a-Shaq option. My reasoning for ORL still potentially chasing him is simple. Certain Playoffs series and games might dictate which of our bigs can get away with their weaknesses and should be the closer. As in, Mo Wagner was starting to get a near 23 PER this past season before his injury. He is the offensive 5. Isaac is the blend of someone who can impact defense like Claxton sometimes but not be a complete liability from any range of shooting or the FT line. Remember, if you take a pencil and scratch out JI's last season of shooting, he is still a viable shooter. But it's scary to commit a trade package to Claxton when we are already talking about games where Mo or JI might have to close over Claxton.

2)
With so many entanglements such as looking at NBA.com boxscore play-by-play videos of bigs and commentary articles on defense, NAW showed up on my computer screen again. Open this NY Times article and catch a segment on NAW.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6266788/2025/04/11/nba-all-defense-perimeter-thunder-timberwolves/
Yep, the Magic need to roll out a red carpet for him at 6:01 PM EST on June 30th, the first minute for Free Agency pitches. And Paolo, Franz, Suggs, and Bane should even be there. I don't know how often the Magic will have a 14 mil MLE moving forward, so this is becoming a big deal moment for the team.

I love the conclusions you've drawn. Claxton gives us elite rim protection, switchability, and top-tier defensive impact. He fits perfectly with our system as a supercharged-Goga.

NAW upgrades Gary and replaces KCP at a lower cost. He brings shooting, defense, and some secondary playmaking.

Both moves lock in the identity: versatile, defense-first lineups built around Paolo, Franz, and Bane.

[cedric76]

It is crazy how divisive AB is with our fanbase. I would bet if a team offered anywhere from 6 on up to the Magic this year for AB they would say NO. The Magic clearly like him and expect him to be 24+min off the bench this year. Year 3 is going to put this to rest with AB. Our fanbase is going to embrace him. I know it.

You're speculating that ORL would not trade AB for #7 in this draft? eyriq - you've found your hype man!

They took him 6th and he's hitting every development checkpoint. Selling low on a 21-year-old point guard who's growing into his role would be front office malpractice. But you keep cooking up these fantasy trades like it's 2K, brother.

Impatient kids

[cedric76]

I had a relatively boring Saturday, I spent too much time in-between things to imagine targets for the Magic. I looked at like 6+ bigs with even names like Moussa Diabate in the mix. In the end, I had more trouble than I cared to admit to find an upgrade over our jack of all trades, master of none Wendell Carter Jr.

My research roundabout did yield two things so far though.

1) h
I am much higher on Nic Claxton than before. Giving him a concerted look longer than 30 minutes (due to the mentions in here as well), he seems to be one of the elite bigs built for even perimeter defense switching, with gaudy rebounding and blocks at times. Like can you imagine trying to score on this Magic defense with Claxton as the starting 5 and then Isaac coming in for him. I think Claxton has had hot-head antics before, but I don't mind that fire, if he can stay on the floor.
His biggest problem is he will make the Magic's offense worse. He has zero range and he is a legitimate Hack-a-Shaq option. My reasoning for ORL still potentially chasing him is simple. Certain Playoffs series and games might dictate which of our bigs can get away with their weaknesses and should be the closer. As in, Mo Wagner was starting to get a near 23 PER this past season before his injury. He is the offensive 5. Isaac is the blend of someone who can impact defense like Claxton sometimes but not be a complete liability from any range of shooting or the FT line. Remember, if you take a pencil and scratch out JI's last season of shooting, he is still a viable shooter. But it's scary to commit a trade package to Claxton when we are already talking about games where Mo or JI might have to close over Claxton.

2)
With so many entanglements such as looking at NBA.com boxscore play-by-play videos of bigs and commentary articles on defense, NAW showed up on my computer screen again. Open this NY Times article and catch a segment on NAW.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6266788/2025/04/11/nba-all-defense-perimeter-thunder-timberwolves/
Yep, the Magic need to roll out a red carpet for him at 6:01 PM EST on June 30th, the first minute for Free Agency pitches. And Paolo, Franz, Suggs, and Bane should even be there. I don't know how often the Magic will have a 14 mil MLE moving forward, so this is becoming a big deal moment for the team.

Yes, it s very hard to find a big that fit our team better than WCJ, I like Claxton but I don't think he d fit our offensive scheme

As for NAW, I m not sure management will pull the trigger on spending the full mle

However I could see us trading Jett+25 to Brooklyn for 27 (or 35) if we are 100% sure that NAW is our missing piece

Suggs, AB,cojo
Bane, NAW,harris
Franz, TDS, Houstan
P5,ji, Moe
WCJ,goga,#35 (or 27)

[Redick07]

I had a relatively boring Saturday, I spent too much time in-between things to imagine targets for the Magic. I looked at like 6+ bigs with even names like Moussa Diabate in the mix. In the end, I had more trouble than I cared to admit to find an upgrade over our jack of all trades, master of none Wendell Carter Jr.

My research roundabout did yield two things so far though.

1) h
I am much higher on Nic Claxton than before. Giving him a concerted look longer than 30 minutes (due to the mentions in here as well), he seems to be one of the elite bigs built for even perimeter defense switching, with gaudy rebounding and blocks at times. Like can you imagine trying to score on this Magic defense with Claxton as the starting 5 and then Isaac coming in for him. I think Claxton has had hot-head antics before, but I don't mind that fire, if he can stay on the floor.
His biggest problem is he will make the Magic's offense worse. He has zero range and he is a legitimate Hack-a-Shaq option. My reasoning for ORL still potentially chasing him is simple. Certain Playoffs series and games might dictate which of our bigs can get away with their weaknesses and should be the closer. As in, Mo Wagner was starting to get a near 23 PER this past season before his injury. He is the offensive 5. Isaac is the blend of someone who can impact defense like Claxton sometimes but not be a complete liability from any range of shooting or the FT line. Remember, if you take a pencil and scratch out JI's last season of shooting, he is still a viable shooter. But it's scary to commit a trade package to Claxton when we are already talking about games where Mo or JI might have to close over Claxton.

2)
With so many entanglements such as looking at NBA.com boxscore play-by-play videos of bigs and commentary articles on defense, NAW showed up on my computer screen again. Open this NY Times article and catch a segment on NAW.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6266788/2025/04/11/nba-all-defense-perimeter-thunder-timberwolves/
Yep, the Magic need to roll out a red carpet for him at 6:01 PM EST on June 30th, the first minute for Free Agency pitches. And Paolo, Franz, Suggs, and Bane should even be there. I don't know how often the Magic will have a 14 mil MLE moving forward, so this is becoming a big deal moment for the team.

Yes, it s very hard to find a big that fit our team better than WCJ, I like Claxton but I don't think he d fit our offensive scheme

As for NAW, I m not sure management will pull the trigger on spending the full mle

However I could see us trading Jett+25 to Brooklyn for 27 (or 35) if we are 100% sure that NAW is our missing piece

Suggs, AB,cojo
Bane, NAW,harris
Franz, TDS, Houstan
P5,ji, Moe
WCJ,goga,#35 (or 27)

If we plan to use full MLE, I think Jake LaRavia is a good choice. He can be a perfect backup for Paolo and Franz.

[drsd]

I’m in the minority probably, but I would do this…

-Move Carter for an established backup combo guard possibly a fringe starter/starter depending on the return.
-Promote Goga for 3-4 months,
-Draft a Center at #25 to fill in until Moe is back. Develop this player further.

I’m doing this if moving Isaac is off the table entirely. Why? Because the back court is currently 3 players, two of which are not reliable due to injuries.

I wouldn’t rely entirely on the draft to add depth in the back court. That’s not a great recipe knowing what we know about injuries and the depth chart. And no, signing one guy with the MLE doesn’t entirely solve the back court.

Would people trade

Wendell Carter
Jett Howard

For

Gabe Vincent
Shake Milton or Knecht
And the #55 pick?

As a concept, I think it is fine to trade Carter for an high minutes combo-wing (example: Trent Jr. on SnT). And then to backup the starters, add a vet min PG (example: Schröder).

But this requires the Magic also signs a vet-min big (example: Alex Len).

The #25 is just a BPA player to be official backup cheerleader behind stuff. It is whole irrelevant to 2025/26 wins who this player is.

starting night.
Suggs/Black/backup vet-min
Bane/MLE-quality combo wing/Howard
F-Wagner/see above vet wing/Houstan
Banchero/Isaac/da Silva
Bitadze/backup vet-min/M-Wagner when health becomes backup

#25 to be the 15th man.

It is a good team. Not the direction I would go, but I do like it.

[zaymon]

I was more eager to move from WCJ until i searched for replacement in the league or in the draft. Far more easy to get rim protecting big or stretch big than switch big.
I dont like his mindset but we got rid of most soft players already so we can manage with one.
I mentioned Claxton before but his contract is propably not worth it.

I would think this Coby White package was heavily protected and/or bait. Weltman said Bane conversations happened for a while. Although he would not be the worst option. 6'5, can drive to the rim, above average shooter, not the worst passer.
Bane character, defense and contract made it a no brainer in the end.

[cedric76]

I was more eager to move from WCJ until i searched for replacement in the league or in the draft. Far more easy to get rim protecting big or stretch big than switch big.
I dont like his mindset but we got rid of most soft players already so we can manage with one.
I mentioned Claxton before but his contract is propably not worth it.

I would think this Coby White package was heavily protected and/or bait. Weltman said Bane conversations happened for a while. Although he would not be the worst option. 6'5, can drive to the rim, above average shooter, not the worst passer.
Bane character, defense and contract made it a no brainer in the end.

Switch bigs are very hard to find, management know that and this is why WCJ isn't going anywhere

[jezzerinho]

Odd men out to me are Isaac and Goga.

Hard to gauge JI's trade value. He won't have a ton of suitors at what we'll be wanting back, but it only takes one team to fall in love with the good bits.

Carter Jr should and will stay I think. Unless he's part of a bigger deal. He's underrated on here and he gives offense as well as switchability - plus versatility to play 4 (better than he plays 5 maybe). All v useful.

We need bench offense tho. Got to move our superfluous bigs to get it.

[basketballRob]

Getting Kennard for our bench would be tremendous.

He got renounced the same day that Bane got traded.

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Can we even afford him?

He might take the BAE or taxpayer MLE. Most likely, he is looking for a contract like Harris got last season. $7.5m 1 and 1.

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[jezzerinho]

Goga for Dosunmu straight up.

JI for Bogi straight up

Jett plus srp for Filipowski

Bench:

Dosunmu
Bogi
Black
TdS
Filipowski
Moe

[AdamTheGreek]

So the rumor was that the Magic offered

Cole Anthony
Isaac
2 first round picks and a pick swap

For Coby White prior to the Bane deal… discuss

I gotta say that’s an overpay… I’m shocked the Bulls didn’t take that and run.

I don’t believe this one.

Either way, Bulls are still traumatized from missing out on Franz.

[basketballRob]

I don't believe that Coby White rumor either. The contracts don't match. White would also be an UFA after 1 season. I think White gets a contract bigger than what Bane has, and he's not as good.

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[Skybox]

Goga for Dosunmu straight up.

JI for Bogi straight up

Jett plus srp for Filipowski

Bench:

Dosunmu
Bogi
Black
TdS
Filipowski
Moe

Bogdonavic would be great, in theory…I’m not really sure about his health/availability, but he’s been a great, versatile player. A guard rotation of Bane/Suggs with AB/Bogi would be really well-balanced. I don’t think I give up JI for him tho…rather go WCJ or Goga, if possible, and scramble for a C elsewhere. If there was way to come out of summer without WCJ, Goga, Jett, Gary, CoJo, #25 and somehow manage Claxton, Bogi, and a re-structured Moe sign a vet min 3rd string C and 5th G (or srps)…exec of the year

*that’s a lot of $$$

I like Ayo too

[T-Cat]

Wendell Carter Jr for Pat! Easy salary dump for Orlando!

Read on Twitter

?t=rVXe5sl4AGX5Srfhm8P1Uw&s=19/tweet]

[cedric76]

I had a relatively boring Saturday, I spent too much time in-between things to imagine targets for the Magic. I looked at like 6+ bigs with even names like Moussa Diabate in the mix. In the end, I had more trouble than I cared to admit to find an upgrade over our jack of all trades, master of none Wendell Carter Jr.

My research roundabout did yield two things so far though.

1) h
I am much higher on Nic Claxton than before. Giving him a concerted look longer than 30 minutes (due to the mentions in here as well), he seems to be one of the elite bigs built for even perimeter defense switching, with gaudy rebounding and blocks at times. Like can you imagine trying to score on this Magic defense with Claxton as the starting 5 and then Isaac coming in for him. I think Claxton has had hot-head antics before, but I don't mind that fire, if he can stay on the floor.
His biggest problem is he will make the Magic's offense worse. He has zero range and he is a legitimate Hack-a-Shaq option. My reasoning for ORL still potentially chasing him is simple. Certain Playoffs series and games might dictate which of our bigs can get away with their weaknesses and should be the closer. As in, Mo Wagner was starting to get a near 23 PER this past season before his injury. He is the offensive 5. Isaac is the blend of someone who can impact defense like Claxton sometimes but not be a complete liability from any range of shooting or the FT line. Remember, if you take a pencil and scratch out JI's last season of shooting, he is still a viable shooter. But it's scary to commit a trade package to Claxton when we are already talking about games where Mo or JI might have to close over Claxton.

2)
With so many entanglements such as looking at NBA.com boxscore play-by-play videos of bigs and commentary articles on defense, NAW showed up on my computer screen again. Open this NY Times article and catch a segment on NAW.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6266788/2025/04/11/nba-all-defense-perimeter-thunder-timberwolves/
Yep, the Magic need to roll out a red carpet for him at 6:01 PM EST on June 30th, the first minute for Free Agency pitches. And Paolo, Franz, Suggs, and Bane should even be there. I don't know how often the Magic will have a 14 mil MLE moving forward, so this is becoming a big deal moment for the team.

Yes, it s very hard to find a big that fit our team better than WCJ, I like Claxton but I don't think he d fit our offensive scheme

As for NAW, I m not sure management will pull the trigger on spending the full mle

However I could see us trading Jett+25 to Brooklyn for 27 (or 35) if we are 100% sure that NAW is our missing piece

Suggs, AB,cojo
Bane, NAW,harris
Franz, TDS, Houstan
P5,ji, Moe
WCJ,goga,#35 (or 27)

I m crunching the numbers and I can't see going after NAW with mle unless we dump ji+ Jett as it would kill us for 2026-2027

[basketballRob]

I had a relatively boring Saturday, I spent too much time in-between things to imagine targets for the Magic. I looked at like 6+ bigs with even names like Moussa Diabate in the mix. In the end, I had more trouble than I cared to admit to find an upgrade over our jack of all trades, master of none Wendell Carter Jr.

My research roundabout did yield two things so far though.

1) h
I am much higher on Nic Claxton than before. Giving him a concerted look longer than 30 minutes (due to the mentions in here as well), he seems to be one of the elite bigs built for even perimeter defense switching, with gaudy rebounding and blocks at times. Like can you imagine trying to score on this Magic defense with Claxton as the starting 5 and then Isaac coming in for him. I think Claxton has had hot-head antics before, but I don't mind that fire, if he can stay on the floor.
His biggest problem is he will make the Magic's offense worse. He has zero range and he is a legitimate Hack-a-Shaq option. My reasoning for ORL still potentially chasing him is simple. Certain Playoffs series and games might dictate which of our bigs can get away with their weaknesses and should be the closer. As in, Mo Wagner was starting to get a near 23 PER this past season before his injury. He is the offensive 5. Isaac is the blend of someone who can impact defense like Claxton sometimes but not be a complete liability from any range of shooting or the FT line. Remember, if you take a pencil and scratch out JI's last season of shooting, he is still a viable shooter. But it's scary to commit a trade package to Claxton when we are already talking about games where Mo or JI might have to close over Claxton.

2)
With so many entanglements such as looking at NBA.com boxscore play-by-play videos of bigs and commentary articles on defense, NAW showed up on my computer screen again. Open this NY Times article and catch a segment on NAW.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6266788/2025/04/11/nba-all-defense-perimeter-thunder-timberwolves/
Yep, the Magic need to roll out a red carpet for him at 6:01 PM EST on June 30th, the first minute for Free Agency pitches. And Paolo, Franz, Suggs, and Bane should even be there. I don't know how often the Magic will have a 14 mil MLE moving forward, so this is becoming a big deal moment for the team.

Yes, it s very hard to find a big that fit our team better than WCJ, I like Claxton but I don't think he d fit our offensive scheme

As for NAW, I m not sure management will pull the trigger on spending the full mle

However I could see us trading Jett+25 to Brooklyn for 27 (or 35) if we are 100% sure that NAW is our missing piece

Suggs, AB,cojo
Bane, NAW,harris
Franz, TDS, Houstan
P5,ji, Moe
WCJ,goga,#35 (or 27)

I m crunching the numbers and I can't see going after NAW with mle unless we dump ji+ Jett as it would kill us for 2026-2027

We have until October to decline the option on Jett for 2026-27. Assuming we get a decent center in the draft, I think we could get rid of one of JI, Goga, or Wendell in 2026. I'm pretty sure most of the league will have cap room to absorb players in 2026-2027.

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