Official 2025-2026 Magic Trade ideas thread

[Skybox]

He was our starting center when we lost so many games each year we were looking at lottery picks and landed Paolo, Franz and Suggs. He's really no better or worse than he was then.

He is clearly better suited playing with legit stars over playing with a bunch of scrubs on a bottom feeder when the Magic were in the lottery. He is a role player and that suits his skill set. Coaches understand that, but not fans who nitpick every player they don't personally like.

I don't know him, and never will know him. Saying it's "personal" is laughable, the guy is just a bad basketball player and that's all that matters. You say he's a role player here, but reading most of your posts you'd think the guy was Hakeem. People defended Cole for several years as well, even when it was obvious that he, too, was a bad basketball player. I think what's going on here is that the Magic have been bad for so long, especially at the center position, that people forget what a decent center is supposed to look like.

Mose benched Cole without a PG on the roster and refused to let Goga in the playoff games...that's an awful comp.

You're just wrong about WCJ...he IS the weakest link in a possible-contender starting lineup, but that doesn't make him a bad player. His switching defense is easily overlooked on the stat sheet, but that's why -even when he's not making 3's or blocking shots- he's always on the floor if he's ambulatory. He's the next logical spot to upgrade if we're truly "all in, championship or bust" but this thread has turned into a joke.

[yoyojw17]

He is clearly better suited playing with legit stars over playing with a bunch of scrubs on a bottom feeder when the Magic were in the lottery. He is a role player and that suits his skill set. Coaches understand that, but not fans who nitpick every player they don't personally like.

I don't know him, and never will know him. Saying it's "personal" is laughable, the guy is just a bad basketball player and that's all that matters. You say he's a role player here, but reading most of your posts you'd think the guy was Hakeem. People defended Cole for several years as well, even when it was obvious that he, too, was a bad basketball player. I think what's going on here is that the Magic have been bad for so long, especially at the center position, that people forget what a decent center is supposed to look like.

Mose benched Cole without a PG on the roster and refused to let Goga in the playoff games...that's an awful comp.

You're just wrong about WCJ...he IS the weakest link in a possible-contender starting lineup, but that doesn't make him a bad player. His switching defense is easily overlooked on the stat sheet, but that's why -even when he's not making 3's or blocking shots- he's always on the floor if he's ambulatory. He's the next logical spot to upgrade if we're truly "all in, championship or bust" but this thread has turned into a joke.

I just think people need to stop going to extremes to make their point. Call players "trash" and "bad basketball player" just because you want a change... makes no sense. is he perfect.... no. No one is. but .... one bad season makes everyone flip the narration.

[RichCollab]

Someone will be the weakest link in the starting lineup. He gets paid less than everyone else in the starting lineup.

Also, seems like his contract is average for a starting center.

I want to see this team on the floor. WCJ ability has been pretty key to how we run our defense.

We can’t pay 30 million + for everyone in the SL.

Goga seems to have even more mental breakdowns than WCJ and isn’t trusted in key crunch time minutes.

Goga and JI are difficult to play together given both of their offensive games.

[Skybox]

I don't know him, and never will know him. Saying it's "personal" is laughable, the guy is just a bad basketball player and that's all that matters. You say he's a role player here, but reading most of your posts you'd think the guy was Hakeem. People defended Cole for several years as well, even when it was obvious that he, too, was a bad basketball player. I think what's going on here is that the Magic have been bad for so long, especially at the center position, that people forget what a decent center is supposed to look like.

Mose benched Cole without a PG on the roster and refused to let Goga in the playoff games...that's an awful comp.

You're just wrong about WCJ...he IS the weakest link in a possible-contender starting lineup, but that doesn't make him a bad player. His switching defense is easily overlooked on the stat sheet, but that's why -even when he's not making 3's or blocking shots- he's always on the floor if he's ambulatory. He's the next logical spot to upgrade if we're truly "all in, championship or bust" but this thread has turned into a joke.

I just think people need to stop going to extremes to make their point. Call players "trash" and "bad basketball player" just because you want a change... makes no sense. is he perfect.... no. No one is. but .... one bad season makes everyone flip the narration.

Right...and calling that out isn't calling him an All-Star either. Just like questioning AB's PG chops isn't "hating him" or giving up on the player...stupidity is really getting old here. We get it all day in politics - we should keep the polarizing BS out of sports fandom.

[Skybox]

Mose benched Cole without a PG on the roster and refused to let Goga in the playoff games...that's an awful comp.

You're just wrong about WCJ...he IS the weakest link in a possible-contender starting lineup, but that doesn't make him a bad player. His switching defense is easily overlooked on the stat sheet, but that's why -even when he's not making 3's or blocking shots- he's always on the floor if he's ambulatory. He's the next logical spot to upgrade if we're truly "all in, championship or bust" but this thread has turned into a joke.

I just think people need to stop going to extremes to make their point. Call players "trash" and "bad basketball player" just because you want a change... makes no sense. is he perfect.... no. No one is. but .... one bad season makes everyone flip the narration.

Right...and calling that out isn't calling him an All-Star either. Just like questioning AB's PG chops isn't "hating him" or giving up on the player...stupidity is really getting old here. We get it all day in politics - we should keep the polarizing BS out of sports fandom.

and, most importantly, the Trade Thread is sacred ground...not to be filled with trifling stuff

[RichCollab]

WCJ played second most games last season out of our projected starters.

Bane played 1 more game than WCJ.

[jezzerinho]

The people that say Wendell and Paolo are poor defenders need to ask themselves:

How can we be a top 3.defense with a trash defensive frontcourt? Is that even vaguely conceivable?

The Magic defend by harrying opponents, getting in their grilles with good anticipation, footwork, switching and understanding of team D concepts. Because we can switch 1 through 5 (generally speaking), pnr and screen-heavy teams don't have an easy time with us. And because we close out so well, 3pt heavy teams don't either.

We make opponents play in way they don't want to. Which makes them less.efficient and more turnover prone.

A lot of that doesn't show up in conventional stats, because there aren't readily available numbers to reflect that effort and defensive style.

But that doesn't mean it isn't happening.

That said, there are also some misnomers constantly recycled here that can be refuted by conventional stats. For example that we are a bad rim protecting and rebounding frontcourt, when the stats say otherwise.

Not everything can be explained by the stats that are readily available to the fans. But watching us hassle and grind teams to points totals way below.their average should tell you something about whether PB and WCJ are really "poor defenders".

[Skybox]

The people that say Wendell and Paolo are poor defenders need to ask themselves:

How can we be a top 3.defense with a trash defensive frontcourt? Is that even vaguely conceivable?

The Magic defend by harrying opponents, getting in their grilles with good anticipation, footwork, switching and understanding of team D concepts. Because we can switch 1 through 5 (generally speaking), pnr and screen-heavy teams don't have an easy time with us. And because we close out so well, 3pt heavy teams don't either.

We make opponents play in way they don't want to. Which makes them less.efficient and more turnover prone.

A lot of that doesn't show up in conventional stats, because there aren't readily available numbers to reflect that effort and defensive style.

But that doesn't mean it isn't happening.

That said, there are also some misnomers constantly recycled here that can be refuted by conventional stats. For example that we are a bad rim protecting and rebounding frontcourt, when the stats say otherwise.

Not everything can be explained by the stats that are readily available to the fans. But watching us hassle and grind teams to points totals way below.their average should tell you something about whether PB and WCJ are really "poor defenders".

That's an excellent point...WCJ, last season, basically vanished offensively...but his defense was still excellent...like another Isaac. Switching on the perimeter at his size and strength is pretty unusual. Mose could make his life easier by letting him play more lazy drop coverage, like most Centers...but ORL wouldn't be who they are with that more traditional defensive role. Goga IS better playing like that, but ORL isn't. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing with all of the offensive players we added. You can't "hide" a guy that can't defend any more than opposing teams can ignore a guy who isn't a threat to make a 3 - we saw that routinely for the last few years. If WCJ gets back to his prior shooting - he's solid, if somewhat unreliable. There are many reasons to believe that he could or should with the changes we are ostensibly making with the coaching and personnel changes...unless we choose to buy the idea that a bunch of guys in their twenties, who used to be able to shoot - just forgot how.

I'd like to see him up his rebound totals into the 10+ range (where he was in the past) but, at the same time...I was surprised to see that ORL was actually a very good rebounding team overall, so maybe it's a concession by design. Like when people choose to believe Brook Lopez is a poor rebounder, when it's well-documented that, in the second part of his career, he's become a monster when it comes to boxing out to enable teammates to grab and go (most notably Giannis)...that's a really intelligent buy-in to winning basketball by a vet who has been a semi-star earlier in his career and clearly doesn't worry too much about casual reads on his stat sheet (vs winning). I'd like to consider that WCJ is on a similar track.

[VFX]

The people that say Wendell and Paolo are poor defenders need to ask themselves:

How can we be a top 3.defense with a trash defensive frontcourt? Is that even vaguely conceivable?

The Magic defend by harrying opponents, getting in their grilles with good anticipation, footwork, switching and understanding of team D concepts. Because we can switch 1 through 5 (generally speaking), pnr and screen-heavy teams don't have an easy time with us. And because we close out so well, 3pt heavy teams don't either.

We make opponents play in way they don't want to. Which makes them less.efficient and more turnover prone.

A lot of that doesn't show up in conventional stats, because there aren't readily available numbers to reflect that effort and defensive style.

But that doesn't mean it isn't happening.

That said, there are also some misnomers constantly recycled here that can be refuted by conventional stats. For example that we are a bad rim protecting and rebounding frontcourt, when the stats say otherwise.

Not everything can be explained by the stats that are readily available to the fans. But watching us hassle and grind teams to points totals way below.their average should tell you something about whether PB and WCJ are really "poor defenders".

A few things here.

You can be a “good defender” in space and not at the rim. Unfortunately, Carter and Paolo are not good at the rim. Carter is only good in space on the switch. Paolo isn’t useless defensively. He’s still a huge body and takes up space inside. He’s lateral enough to where he can stay in front and switch, but he’s just not active enough to call him a good defender. He will be by far the “worst” defender in the SL, which isn’t really a shot at him tbh. Goga is almost necessary on this roster when facing guys like Zubac, Embiid, or Wemby. The next point is how Orlando mitigates those guys without him on the floor.

Orlando’s pressure on guards on the perimeter 1-3 is the bread and butter for the defense. Carter being able to switch just means that gap gets filled. Both of these things were obvious when Suggs and Franz were out. You cannot have either of those guys off the floor, both is a collapse.

So yeah… Carter and Paolo aren’t terrible on defense. Carter is basically getting a contract because he can switch well defensively. But there are also a lot of guys in the league that can do that as well as other things… like.. not make 3-4 stupid decisions a game, catch the ball underneath, protect the rim, and average more than 8 rebounds per game (he hasn’t in 2 seasons).

[Skybox]

The people that say Wendell and Paolo are poor defenders need to ask themselves:

How can we be a top 3.defense with a trash defensive frontcourt? Is that even vaguely conceivable?

The Magic defend by harrying opponents, getting in their grilles with good anticipation, footwork, switching and understanding of team D concepts. Because we can switch 1 through 5 (generally speaking), pnr and screen-heavy teams don't have an easy time with us. And because we close out so well, 3pt heavy teams don't either.

We make opponents play in way they don't want to. Which makes them less.efficient and more turnover prone.

A lot of that doesn't show up in conventional stats, because there aren't readily available numbers to reflect that effort and defensive style.

But that doesn't mean it isn't happening.

That said, there are also some misnomers constantly recycled here that can be refuted by conventional stats. For example that we are a bad rim protecting and rebounding frontcourt, when the stats say otherwise.

Not everything can be explained by the stats that are readily available to the fans. But watching us hassle and grind teams to points totals way below.their average should tell you something about whether PB and WCJ are really "poor defenders".

A few things here.

You can be a “good defender” in space and not at the rim. Unfortunately, Carter and Paolo are not good at the rim. Carter is only good in space on the switch. Paolo isn’t useless defensively. He’s still a huge body and takes up space inside. He’s lateral enough to where he can stay in front and switch, but he’s just not active enough to call him a good defender. He will be by far the “worst” defender in the SL, which isn’t really a shot at him tbh. Goga is almost necessary on this roster when facing guys like Zubac, Embiid, or Wemby. The next point is how Orlando mitigates those guys without him on the floor.

Orlando’s pressure on guards on the perimeter 1-3 is the bread and butter for the defense. Carter being able to switch just means that gap gets filled. Both of these things were obvious when Suggs and Franz were out. You cannot have either of those guys off the floor, both is a collapse.

So yeah… Carter and Paolo aren’t terrible on defense. Carter is basically getting a contract because he can switch well defensively. But there are also a lot of guys in the league that can do that as well as other things… like.. not make 3-4 stupid decisions a game, catch the ball underneath, protect the rim, and average more than 8 rebounds per game (he hasn’t in 2 seasons).

Sounds great...who are those guys and when can they come in? Hopefully, their existing teams are happy with srps

[VFX]

The people that say Wendell and Paolo are poor defenders need to ask themselves:

How can we be a top 3.defense with a trash defensive frontcourt? Is that even vaguely conceivable?

The Magic defend by harrying opponents, getting in their grilles with good anticipation, footwork, switching and understanding of team D concepts. Because we can switch 1 through 5 (generally speaking), pnr and screen-heavy teams don't have an easy time with us. And because we close out so well, 3pt heavy teams don't either.

We make opponents play in way they don't want to. Which makes them less.efficient and more turnover prone.

A lot of that doesn't show up in conventional stats, because there aren't readily available numbers to reflect that effort and defensive style.

But that doesn't mean it isn't happening.

That said, there are also some misnomers constantly recycled here that can be refuted by conventional stats. For example that we are a bad rim protecting and rebounding frontcourt, when the stats say otherwise.

Not everything can be explained by the stats that are readily available to the fans. But watching us hassle and grind teams to points totals way below.their average should tell you something about whether PB and WCJ are really "poor defenders".

A few things here.

You can be a “good defender” in space and not at the rim. Unfortunately, Carter and Paolo are not good at the rim. Carter is only good in space on the switch. Paolo isn’t useless defensively. He’s still a huge body and takes up space inside. He’s lateral enough to where he can stay in front and switch, but he’s just not active enough to call him a good defender. He will be by far the “worst” defender in the SL, which isn’t really a shot at him tbh. Goga is almost necessary on this roster when facing guys like Zubac, Embiid, or Wemby. The next point is how Orlando mitigates those guys without him on the floor.

Orlando’s pressure on guards on the perimeter 1-3 is the bread and butter for the defense. Carter being able to switch just means that gap gets filled. Both of these things were obvious when Suggs and Franz were out. You cannot have either of those guys off the floor, both is a collapse.

So yeah… Carter and Paolo aren’t terrible on defense. Carter is basically getting a contract because he can switch well defensively. But there are also a lot of guys in the league that can do that as well as other things… like.. not make 3-4 stupid decisions a game, catch the ball underneath, protect the rim, and average more than 8 rebounds per game (he hasn’t in 2 seasons).

Sounds great...who are those guys and when can they come in? Hopefully, their existing teams are happy with srps

Oh yeah, I wasnt going to actually offer a solution. That window has passed.

Thats why I was annoying everyone on this forum for the last 3+ seasons. The time for moves are pretty much over. They chose to keep Carter and tripled down on him as the starting Center even though he was here before Paolo, so he was never the perfect fit.

This is the roster now unless you move Isaac, Carter, AB, or a huge move with Suggs. Its not like they have a million assets to improve the starting lineup.

[Knightro]

I’m not totally sure how this “Wendell Carter is a bad defender” stuff started, but he is not a poor defender by any metric.

In fact, he’s statistically very good defender according to advanced metrics.

Not being a great shot blocker as a big man doesn’t make you a poor defender.

[AdamTheGreek]

Wendell is by all accounts a great lateral/switch defender.
The problem is when he’s facing bigger centers that like playing their back to the basket. And even then, when healthy, he puts up a decent fight. High leapers are a problem for him.
The counting stats don’t reflect that.

Paolo is a solid defender who is improving.
He’s not at Franz’s level, but he’s certainly not a negative.
Paolo’s problems come in switch scenarios. 1-on-1 he’s sturdy.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

A few things here.

You can be a “good defender” in space and not at the rim. Unfortunately, Carter and Paolo are not good at the rim. Carter is only good in space on the switch. Paolo isn’t useless defensively. He’s still a huge body and takes up space inside. He’s lateral enough to where he can stay in front and switch, but he’s just not active enough to call him a good defender. He will be by far the “worst” defender in the SL, which isn’t really a shot at him tbh. Goga is almost necessary on this roster when facing guys like Zubac, Embiid, or Wemby. The next point is how Orlando mitigates those guys without him on the floor.

Orlando’s pressure on guards on the perimeter 1-3 is the bread and butter for the defense. Carter being able to switch just means that gap gets filled. Both of these things were obvious when Suggs and Franz were out. You cannot have either of those guys off the floor, both is a collapse.

So yeah… Carter and Paolo aren’t terrible on defense. Carter is basically getting a contract because he can switch well defensively. But there are also a lot of guys in the league that can do that as well as other things… like.. not make 3-4 stupid decisions a game, catch the ball underneath, protect the rim, and average more than 8 rebounds per game (he hasn’t in 2 seasons).

Sounds great...who are those guys and when can they come in? Hopefully, their existing teams are happy with srps

Oh yeah, I wasnt going to actually offer a solution. That window has passed.

Thats why I was annoying everyone on this forum for the last 3+ seasons. The time for moves are pretty much over. They chose to keep Carter and tripled down on him as the starting Center even though he was here before Paolo, so he was never the perfect fit.

This is the roster now unless you move Isaac, Carter, AB, or a huge move with Suggs. Its not like they have a million assets to improve the starting lineup.

think the next move if this doesn't work this year is Isaac or WCJ + something attractive for a C who wants out or randomly becomes available.

[Knightro]

I think what you saw from the Magic defensively against the Celtics in the playoffs this past year is what Mosley is looking to do overall.

Switch 1-5 and do not under any circumstances over help.

If that means conceding open mid range jump shots, OK fine.

If that means allowing the other team to try and hunt what they think is a favorable mismatch inside the 3PT line, OK fine.

But the goal defensively is two fold. 1. Play physical as hell and make the opponents uncomfortable. 2. Limit the opposition’s 3PT attempts and eliminate some of the wild variance.

Carter can execute that defensive scheme at a reasonably high-level.

[eyriq]

Unfortunately, our defense didn’t hold up in the playoffs.

Game-by-game defensive ratings:
117.9, 121.5, 101.0, 114.7, 130.1

For context, our regular season defensive rating was 109.6, while Boston’s offense posted a 120.6.
The midpoint between those is 115.1 yet we averaged a 117.0 defensive rating in the series.
In that tug-of-war between strength and strength, we lost.

[Skybox]

Unfortunately, our defense didn’t hold up in the playoffs.

Game-by-game defensive ratings:
117.9, 121.5, 101.0, 114.7, 130.1

For context, our regular season defensive rating was 109.6, while Boston’s offense posted a 120.6.
The midpoint between those is 115.1 yet we averaged a 117.0 defensive rating in the series.
In that tug-of-war between strength and strength, we lost.

Mix in a healthy Suggs, a correctly-built Isaac, and maybe by the next playoffs AB can provide enough offense to keep his defense on the court.

Could argue that KCP is a little better than Bane, but not by leaps and bounds and KCP didn't do anything to make them work on the other end. Sometimes having a viable perimeter offense is a great defensive tool...having to stay close can be exhausting while happily daring them to shoot is a nice break.

[yoyojw17]

The people that say Wendell and Paolo are poor defenders need to ask themselves:

How can we be a top 3.defense with a trash defensive frontcourt? Is that even vaguely conceivable?

The Magic defend by harrying opponents, getting in their grilles with good anticipation, footwork, switching and understanding of team D concepts. Because we can switch 1 through 5 (generally speaking), pnr and screen-heavy teams don't have an easy time with us. And because we close out so well, 3pt heavy teams don't either.

We make opponents play in way they don't want to. Which makes them less.efficient and more turnover prone.

A lot of that doesn't show up in conventional stats, because there aren't readily available numbers to reflect that effort and defensive style.

But that doesn't mean it isn't happening.

That said, there are also some misnomers constantly recycled here that can be refuted by conventional stats. For example that we are a bad rim protecting and rebounding frontcourt, when the stats say otherwise.

Not everything can be explained by the stats that are readily available to the fans. But watching us hassle and grind teams to points totals way below.their average should tell you something about whether PB and WCJ are really "poor defenders".

That's an excellent point...WCJ, last season, basically vanished offensively...but his defense was still excellent...like another Isaac. Switching on the perimeter at his size and strength is pretty unusual. Mose could make his life easier by letting him play more lazy drop coverage, like most Centers...but ORL wouldn't be who they are with that more traditional defensive role. Goga IS better playing like that, but ORL isn't. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing with all of the offensive players we added. You can't "hide" a guy that can't defend any more than opposing teams can ignore a guy who isn't a threat to make a 3 - we saw that routinely for the last few years. If WCJ gets back to his prior shooting - he's solid, if somewhat unreliable. There are many reasons to believe that he could or should with the changes we are ostensibly making with the coaching and personnel changes...unless we choose to buy the idea that a bunch of guys in their twenties, who used to be able to shoot - just forgot how.

I'd like to see him up his rebound totals into the 10+ range (where he was in the past) but, at the same time...I was surprised to see that ORL was actually a very good rebounding team overall, so maybe it's a concession by design. Like when people choose to believe Brook Lopez is a poor rebounder, when it's well-documented that, in the second part of his career, he's become a monster when it comes to boxing out to enable teammates to grab and go (most notably Giannis)...that's a really intelligent buy-in to winning basketball by a vet who has been a semi-star earlier in his career and clearly doesn't worry too much about casual reads on his stat sheet (vs winning). I'd like to consider that WCJ is on a similar track.

I don't get to stuck on the rebounding numbers as he shares the court with multiple players that are above average rebounders at their position. And half the time he's switched out on defense or standing at the 3 point line. But ... Yup ... I do think that he has more potential on the rebounding side of things with better positioning by increasing his activity outside in and crashing boards more.

[eyriq]

Unfortunately, our defense didn’t hold up in the playoffs.

Game-by-game defensive ratings:
117.9, 121.5, 101.0, 114.7, 130.1

For context, our regular season defensive rating was 109.6, while Boston’s offense posted a 120.6.
The midpoint between those is 115.1 yet we averaged a 117.0 defensive rating in the series.
In that tug-of-war between strength and strength, we lost.

Mix in a healthy Suggs, a correctly-built Isaac, and maybe by the next playoffs AB can provide enough offense to keep his defense on the court.

Could argue that KCP is a little better than Bane, but not by leaps and bounds and KCP didn't do anything to make them work on the other end. Sometimes having a viable perimeter offense is a great defensive tool...having to stay close can be exhausting while happily daring them to shoot is a nice break.

Great point. I agree that getting a healthy Suggs and a fully ramped-up Slim will be a massive lift on the defensive end.

[jezzerinho]

The people that say Wendell and Paolo are poor defenders need to ask themselves:

How can we be a top 3.defense with a trash defensive frontcourt? Is that even vaguely conceivable?

The Magic defend by harrying opponents, getting in their grilles with good anticipation, footwork, switching and understanding of team D concepts. Because we can switch 1 through 5 (generally speaking), pnr and screen-heavy teams don't have an easy time with us. And because we close out so well, 3pt heavy teams don't either.

We make opponents play in way they don't want to. Which makes them less.efficient and more turnover prone.

A lot of that doesn't show up in conventional stats, because there aren't readily available numbers to reflect that effort and defensive style.

But that doesn't mean it isn't happening.

That said, there are also some misnomers constantly recycled here that can be refuted by conventional stats. For example that we are a bad rim protecting and rebounding frontcourt, when the stats say otherwise.

Not everything can be explained by the stats that are readily available to the fans. But watching us hassle and grind teams to points totals way below.their average should tell you something about whether PB and WCJ are really "poor defenders".

A few things here.

You can be a “good defender” in space and not at the rim. Unfortunately, Carter and Paolo are not good at the rim. Carter is only good in space on the switch. Paolo isn’t useless defensively. He’s still a huge body and takes up space inside. He’s lateral enough to where he can stay in front and switch, but he’s just not active enough to call him a good defender. He will be by far the “worst” defender in the SL, which isn’t really a shot at him tbh. Goga is almost necessary on this roster when facing guys like Zubac, Embiid, or Wemby. The next point is how Orlando mitigates those guys without him on the floor.

Orlando’s pressure on guards on the perimeter 1-3 is the bread and butter for the defense. Carter being able to switch just means that gap gets filled. Both of these things were obvious when Suggs and Franz were out. You cannot have either of those guys off the floor, both is a collapse.

So yeah… Carter and Paolo aren’t terrible on defense. Carter is basically getting a contract because he can switch well defensively. But there are also a lot of guys in the league that can do that as well as other things… like.. not make 3-4 stupid decisions a game, catch the ball underneath, protect the rim, and average more than 8 rebounds per game (he hasn’t in 2 seasons).

If we're so bad at the rim, how can we be 2nd in the NBA in Opponent offensive rebound % and top 10 in Opponent eFG%???

It doesn't add up. You just have unrealistic expectations of what good defense is or your definition of it is skewed by your historic ideas of good frontcourt play in the past. Orlando is, by the eye test, the scoreboard, the basic stats, the advanced stats and the testimony of opposing players and coaches a very difficult oponent to score on. They are prototypical modern defenders. It's highly illogical that 40% of the team and 100% of the froncourt could be bad defenders in this reality.