Official Speculation Thread (Pt XIV, Mods Close))

[RookieStar]

This has got to be the most booooring trade deadline ever. Are there even rumors out there?

[KingRobb02]

I really wish we could deal with NYK

Dwight/Hedo/BBD

Melo/Chandler


I'm all over getting those guys. With Anderson
JJ we are a strong team a PG short of contending

Those two make us a .500 team with 2 long expensive contracts. Chandler is 10 points and 12 rebounds for 14 mil a year and I fully expect him to go back to Bobcats Chandler if traded. Carmelo is a one dimensional player who will probably not fit well with Van Gundy.

[cb1115]

This has got to be the most booooring trade deadline ever. Are there even rumors out there?

Everyone is waiting to see if Dwight gets traded or not.

[toquito]

http://espn.go.com/nba/powerrankings/_/ ... 12/week/10 The Timberwolves are ahead of the Magic Mavs and 76ers in the power rankings. Has Marc Stein gone completely insane? How does he even publish that crap lmao

[Nemesis21]

Everyone is waiting to see if Dwight gets traded or not.

Great avi.

[Bensational]

Even if you don't make any moves you can still ride out the season and roll the dice that the team will perform in the playoffs and that Dwight will take the guaranteed money on the table. The model that surged Orlando to success in the past is still in place and could arguably be considered stronger than ever if things start breaking the right way. Old man Hedo isn't exactly that old really, and Nelson is still young enough to play at his peak levels. JRich and Anderson compliment Hedo and Nelson's play-making nicely, and Dwight is always a threat in the paint, etc. Should Dwight buy-in to an offense predicated on Hedo and Nelson's play making and Ryan and JRich's shooting? Is Duhon and Baby the defense to Nelson and Anderson's offense? Can Otis really 'like this team'?

So sure, we'd love to bring in an elite play-maker to upgrade Nelson and Hedo right now, but if we can't can we show that they are competent enough right now to keep our championship window open while also demonstrating that we are positioned to upgrade them via free agency just two short years from now?

I'm liking how things are trending right now. I'm fully bought in on SVG's stock as a top 3 coach in the league. I am willing to count Dwight's trade request in the arithmetic for why chemistry has been so awful, and willing to think that post trade deadline it all goes away till the summer time. The Magic can still prove themselves to be contenders built around their current structure, so while I'd love an upgrade and the assurance of a big splash, I'm also prepared to maintain my sanity should things fall through.

really? something is different this year compared to last year?

people get fooled into believing this team is legit when they don't see consistently good defense against us. once the defense extends to the perimeter, the way the C's, Hawks, Bulls and Heat cover us, then the outrage of "this team sucks, we need a playmaker!" will start again.

if this team goes into the playoffs with no changes made i will be pissed.

Last year we barely lost to the Hawks while incorporating Hedo and JRich back into the starting lineup. I'm willing to put an asterisk next to that season. In '09 a 29 year old Hedo did it all without Nelson for the entire second half and into playoffs, and in '10 Nelson led the charge in the playoffs until we threw away the series against Boston. But yeah, lets keep acting like we've never had a chance and suck.

We're good, just not good enough. Or, we can just ignore the fact that we lose against teams that are capable of defending us well - and that's all the elite teams that stand in our way of a ring.

[cb1115]

Everyone is waiting to see if Dwight gets traded or not.

Great avi.

YEAH BRO

[LC_Magic]

I really wish we could deal with NYK

Dwight/Hedo/BBD

Melo/Chandler


I'm all over getting those guys. With Anderson
JJ we are a strong team a PG short of contending

Those two make us a .500 team with 2 long expensive contracts. Chandler is 10 points and 12 rebounds for 14 mil a year and I fully expect him to go back to Bobcats Chandler if traded. Carmelo is a one dimensional player who will probably not fit well with Van Gundy.

no way does that make us a 500. We keep the same team except Dwight, add a
Poor mans version of him who plays good D and add top 3 scorer in the league. You
Get a good point guard and/or a good a FA 2013 and we are contenders imo

Plus we get a franchise player to put bums in seats and pay for arena/keep money in City

[trebone]

^ The one saving grace is if he does decide to opt in, he will actually make more money and have the option of bringing in Smith as a FA and also Monta while keeping Anderson which IMO is a much better team. That is the only thing they have to sell him on is the 2013 summer, which IMO actually is a strong possibility with a real chance of DWill heading to Dallas

[The Real Dalic]

I really wish we could deal with NYK

Dwight/Hedo/BBD

Melo/Chandler


I'm all over getting those guys. With Anderson
JJ we are a strong team a PG short of contending

Those two make us a .500 team with 2 long expensive contracts. Chandler is 10 points and 12 rebounds for 14 mil a year and I fully expect him to go back to Bobcats Chandler if traded. Carmelo is a one dimensional player who will probably not fit well with Van Gundy.

no way does that make us a 500. We keep the same team except Dwight, add a
Poor mans version of him who plays good D and add top 3 scorer in the league. You
Get a good point guard and/or a good a FA 2013 and we are contenders imo

Plus we get a franchise player to put bums in seats and pay for arena/keep money in City

I agree with you.

[eyriq]

We're good, just not good enough. Or, we can just ignore the fact that we lose against teams that are capable of defending us well - and that's all the elite teams that stand in our way of a ring.

If you are looking for variables that could upset predictions for Orlando's playoff performance there are a lot handy. *Second year for a Nelson/Hedo play-making combo to do their respective '09|'10 magic together; *Ryan Anderson's break out year; *Continuity for the rotation since the '11 Dec trade; *Possible under-performance due to Dwight's destabilizing trade request; *Did I mention Ryan Anderson?

Anyway, my point is that while the past can influence the future and indicate a probable result there are a ton of variables in play that can easily see Orlando overachieve and make the ECF as currently constructed. We are top 8 in 3/8 four factors right now; a great shooting offense and a great rebounding defense, while keeping the opposing team off the foul line. Could improve in a lot of areas, for starters with our shooting defense which has fallen off this year, but considering all the destabilizing factors effecting our team right now we have a lot to be optimistic about. The question is if it is enough to convince Dwight to take the guaranteed money and stay with the team. Can a lesser splash work for him? I look at our bench and spots 7 & 8 really need an upgrade. Would polishing up our bench rotation be enough, especially if it is with a guy like SJax? Could be. I know it would be enough to increase the likelihood of success in the playoffs, which is a strong variable for keeping Dwight in-and-of-itself.

[Noonskadoodle]

[pakishazi]

Can we trade any of our crap like BBD for Birdman Chris Andersen?

Just noticed that our first game after the trade deadline is against NJ. Talk about irony. Not that I want this to happen but how ironic would it be to see DH12 go to the Nets at the deadline and he plays the next day in a Nets uniform in Orlando.

[KingRobb02]

I really wish we could deal with NYK

Dwight/Hedo/BBD

Melo/Chandler


I'm all over getting those guys. With Anderson
JJ we are a strong team a PG short of contending

Those two make us a .500 team with 2 long expensive contracts. Chandler is 10 points and 12 rebounds for 14 mil a year and I fully expect him to go back to Bobcats Chandler if traded. Carmelo is a one dimensional player who will probably not fit well with Van Gundy.

no way does that make us a 500. We keep the same team except Dwight, add a
Poor mans version of him who plays good D and add top 3 scorer in the league. You
Get a good point guard and/or a good a FA 2013 and we are contenders imo

Plus we get a franchise player to put bums in seats and pay for arena/keep money in City

Would our 3rd guy be as good as Amare? You are underselling Dwight if you think Chandler measures up as even a poor man's version. If getting a good PG were easy, we would have one already. Chandler and Carmelo would be 30 mil against the cap by themselves. Resigning Anderson would push us to 40 or so and signing a MLE and 9 minimum salary guys would put us at the salary cap. Are there any great PGs in college right now that you see stepping and making an impact?

[eyriq]

Can we trade any of our crap like BBD for Birdman Chris Andersen?

He'll fit on our Bass TPE. If Denver wants some immediate cap room we could snag him for their 1st rounder. What are they going to do with that pick anyway

[Ronito]

Why are any of you guys interested in trading for Melo/Chandler? One of the two isn't exactly on a good contract, and even then...that team has a bench and Amare but are below .500 in the East.

Before anyone says something about me being a Nets fan, I acknowledge I'm probably bias in this case. But I also know what a rebuild is/looks like. And I'm definitely not saying take the Nets trade, before you accuse me of that either. Just looking for discussion.

[eyriq]

If the Magic can find a team willing to give up a draft pick for Daniel Orton, they'll trade him, says report sbn.to/y6aDT8

[Orlando Prodigy]

If the Magic can find a team willing to give up a draft pick for Daniel Orton, they'll trade him, says report sbn.to/y6aDT8

Daniel Orton was terrible in the open practice. By far one of the worst players I've ever seen on the court. So it's no big loss.

[Def Swami]

If the Magic can find a team willing to give up a draft pick for Daniel Orton, they'll trade him, says report sbn.to/y6aDT8

Awesome, just the center Golden State was looking for

[InFlames]

Why are any of you guys interested in trading for Melo/Chandler? One of the two isn't exactly on a good contract, and even then...that team has a bench and Amare but are below .500 in the East.

Before anyone says something about me being a Nets fan, I acknowledge I'm probably bias in this case. But I also know what a rebuild is/looks like. And I'm definitely not saying take the Nets trade, before you accuse me of that either. Just looking for discussion.

We just don't know if the Magic want to rebuild or not. Obviously the Nets trade is the way to go if we are planning to rebuild. If not, the Melo/Chandler trade is probably the best one out there. That being said I doubt NY would trade Melo, they would try to dump Amare on us instead which will never happen.