Official Speculation Thread (Pt. XXXIII Off-Season Edition)

[thelead]

Rudolph is right. Where's our Nash deal for scraps, or Joe Johnson for scraps, or Ray Allen for the mini MLE? A lot of you trashed me for wanting Otis fired years ago, you finally agreed after being knocked out of the first round TWICE and now you don't agree that our GM sucked again? I'm willing to give Hennigan the benefit of the doubt, but what choice do I have? I'm going to be a magic fan for life. But the reality is, although he's only been here for a few weeks, Ferry over in Atlanta has done more in a few less days. We've done nothing but add more to our cap by resigning Jameer which again hurts our future because we've lost space to attract players like Monta or JSmith. You all know we're not championship material right now and are hating on someone who is saying the same thing. I'm not surprised.

No, Billy King is doing what Orlando did. Him taking on Joe is Otis taking on Rashard when we had space. Deron re-signing is the same as Dwight signing his extension at the time to pair with Rashard. IF we don't gift them Howard, they will be the new us, complete with rich owner willing to spend. They will contend but they are not championship level and will have no money to work with. It remains to be seen if they will get players but the odds are better because of NY. I already said I am not hating because of the market, but don't act like the basketball situation up there is so much better than what was here. If anything it's the exact same plan, and we had a better coach (although he was tempermental).

I agree somewhat with King vs Otis. The biggest difference is that Joe is WAY better than Lewis. He is a perennial all star. As bad as that contract is, overpaid Joe with a resigned Dwight is way better than Bynum and a bunch of overpaid scrubs.

[woosah]

Simple fact is that Dwight Howard has failed to recruit and/or make good friends with anyone that matters in the NBA. The Orlando Magic had just as much cap space, expiring contracts, and draft picks as all of the teams that just made moves.

Dwight has listed everyone from Ellis, to Jackson, to Boozer over the years... and Otis said those guys don't fit with what he's trying to do (Stretch 4)...

This is part of his frustration.

What's so funny is we could probably get Ellis in free agency when we had money again. Making your targets known is the best way to not get them, as the other team will try and fleece you when they know you are coming. Dwight making it known he wanted to leave only made those teams who had the target player think, "well he should come here" and would not cooperate with us for a trade. We had to work within the system. We had to wait until they are a free agent or get them by trade. We did express interest in Jackson and Boozer, and Boozer chose Chi over us if I recall.

[thelead]

Simple fact is that Dwight Howard has failed to recruit and/or make good friends with anyone that matters in the NBA. The Orlando Magic had just as much cap space, expiring contracts, and draft picks as all of the teams that just made moves.

Dwight has listed everyone from Ellis, to Jackson, to Boozer over the years... and Otis said those guys don't fit with what he's trying to do (Stretch 4)...

This is part of his frustration.

What's so funny is we could probably get Ellis in free agency when we had money again. Making your targets known is the best way to not get them, as the other team will try and fleece you when they know you are coming. Dwight making it known he wanted to leave only made those teams who had the target player think, "well he should come here" and would not cooperate with us for a trade. We had to work within the system. We had to wait until they are a free agent or get them by trade. We did express interest in Jackson and Boozer, and Boozer chose Chi over us if I recall.

We had no money for Boozer. Our only hope was a S&T for our overpaid scrubs

[Def Swami]

Wow, does this actually have like over 30 parts to it? RealGM Orlando ftw lol

swag

47,959 post is swag

Ball so hard

[woosah]

I agree somewhat with King vs Otis. The biggest difference is that Joe is WAY better than Lewis. He is a perennial all star. As bad as that contract is, overpaid Joe with a resigned Dwight is way better than Bynum and a bunch of overpaid scrubs.

Yeah, I agree. It wasn't my point about the players, but that the gm is not "better" because he is actually doing the Otis plan. I am saying that if he continues it's probable, not just possible, that BK won't be any closer to winning than if Dwight STAYED here, and didn't cause this ruckus, and we continued with Rob. So it's just not right for Rudolph to go, "see BK is doing all this and they want to win" and "Orlando didn't do that". Uhhh, yes we did, and were in position to go in again in 2013. Dwight just doesn't want to be here, or doesn't want to operate within the system.

[BelgianMagic]

Ken Berger ‏@KBergCBS
The Celtics and Jeff Green have agreed to the framework of a deal, his agent, David Falk, told @CBSSports.

[PeePee la Fritz]

Ken Berger ‏@KBergCBS
The Celtics and Jeff Green have agreed to the framework of a deal, his agent, David Falk, told @CBSSports.

Damn! If he comes back at full strength the Celts are gonna be good

[dsg2021]

Those Rudolf tweets are a joke. A new GM put up Joe on the trade blocks, and we could've been real contenders for him in trade with JJ's unguaranteed contract and picks if Dwight was committed. The other GM/Owner didn't bother nor like LAL's offer for Nash, but when Nash is a true character superstar and kindly does a plead for the trade, you do it for the man who got two MVP's and an incredible run of seasons and playoffs for your franchise/city. Ergo, Nash picked his team, and big markets will always have advantages in that regard. If you're a small market FO/fan, you realize this and work around it; Look at SAS and OKC. We're not going out to get the "free" stars if Dwight doesn't even like ORL himself. The closest we ever got to situations like that was signing Bass 1-2mil cheaper than other offers anyways, and Dwight recruiting Barnes for what was like a near minimum or BAE. We should stop even bothering with him.

[MagicTownBaller]

Simple fact is that Dwight Howard has failed to recruit and/or make good friends with anyone that matters in the NBA. The Orlando Magic had just as much cap space, expiring contracts, and draft picks as all of the teams that just made moves.

True, very true.

[Def Swami]

Jarrod N Rudolph ‏@JRudolphSports
Harsh reality for Magic fans: The two teams dominating the trade rumors have made upgrades to improve their teams. What has Orlando done?

Jarrod N Rudolph ‏@JRudolphSports
That's the problem in Orlando, it's been the problem for years. They're making no moves or the wrong moves. That's not on the players.

Jarrod N Rudolph ‏@JRudolphSports
How can anyone honestly say the Magic can offer Dwight a better chance to win than Brooklyn or the Lakers?

Jarrod N Rudolph ‏@JRudolphSports
So how can anyone be upset at Dwight, or any player, that asks to be moved to a better situation? You're not mad at GMs that trade players.

Jarrod N Rudolph ‏@JRudolphSports
It's a business. I understand the emotional investment, but fans must stop personalizing a player's decision. It blurs the lines.

I have no problem with what Rudolph said here. I agree with everything he said. And he spoke the truth. If the Magic had a more competent front office, we wouldn't be having this conversation. NoLimit aint lying. It is a "harsh reality."

[Def Swami]

Simple fact is that Dwight Howard has failed to recruit and/or make good friends with anyone that matters in the NBA. The Orlando Magic had just as much cap space, expiring contracts, and draft picks as all of the teams that just made moves.

True, very true.

When was the last time that we had cap space? I can't even remember that time.

And expiring contracts? The one major expiring deal we had we squandered along with our best trade asset in Gortat for Hedo and J-Rich.

Good teams would have turned those assets into Monta or Josh Smith.

[MagicTownBaller]

Simple fact is that Dwight Howard has failed to recruit and/or make good friends with anyone that matters in the NBA. The Orlando Magic had just as much cap space, expiring contracts, and draft picks as all of the teams that just made moves.

True, very true.

When was the last time that we had cap space? I can't even remember that time.

And expiring contracts? The one major expiring deal we had we squandered along with our best trade asset in Gortat for Hedo and J-Rich.

Good teams would have turned those assets into Monta or Josh Smith.

He's talking about having as much cap space as the Lakers, as the HEAT, as the Celtics (until this year). We've had as much cap space as they've had, ZERO.

To your point about good teams turning assets into someone like Monta or Josh Smith. That's why the blame is on both sides. Otis really screwed us up there.

[thelead]

Simple fact is that Dwight Howard has failed to recruit and/or make good friends with anyone that matters in the NBA. The Orlando Magic had just as much cap space, expiring contracts, and draft picks as all of the teams that just made moves.

True, very true.

When was the last time that we had cap space? I can't even remember that time.

And expiring contracts? The one major expiring deal we had we squandered along with our best trade asset in Gortat for Hedo and J-Rich.

Good teams would have turned those assets into Monta or Josh Smith.

This is all that needs to be said when questioning why Dwight doesn't recruit.

[Def Swami]

At the end of the day, the Magic gave D12 an ultimatum. Sign the extension and play with Hedo and J-Rich in ORL. OR, get traded and play with D-Will and Joe and Crash in BRK or Kobe, Nash, and Pau in LA.

It's a no-brainer for D12.

[thelead]

He's talking about having as much cap space as the Lakers, as the HEAT, as the Celtics (until this year). We've had as much cap space as they've had, ZERO.

To your point about good teams turning assets into someone like Monta or Josh Smith. That's why the blame is on both sides. Otis really screwed us up there.

Those teams got players wanting to go there because they're championship clubs. We're not. It's that simple. We're not a destination for ring chasers because we don't win rings. Period. Not because Dwight doesn't recruit but because management has no foresight to build a championship roster while managing their cap finances. Or is that on Dwight too?

[rcklsscognition]

Thank you, I am not comparing us to the Bobcats or something. This all comes down to us being compared to the Lakers, Heat, Bulls, Nets, and Thunder. When was the last time the Lakers had cap space? My comments really had nothing to do with Otis. I'm talking about right now. All this stuff happened in the last week, long after Otis was gone.

What good teams have turned their assets into Monta or Josh Smith? When talking about 2nd tier players, we turned Gortat (worse than Bogut) into J. Rich (slightly less effective than Ellis at the time).

[FRESHsince1983]

At the end of the day, the Magic gave D12 an ultimatum. Sign the extension and play with Hedo and J-Rich in ORL. OR, get traded and play with D-Will and Joe and Crash in BRK or Kobe, Nash, and Pau in LA.

It's a no-brainer for D12.

+1

[Nolimit1211]

VGOSWAMI & thelead speak too much truth.

[MagicTownBaller]

Question to Magic fans who were bigs fans back when Shaq was on the team (That's not me. The longest back I remember is the Heart & Hustle team with Doc Rivers coaching). If we decided to trade Shaq after the year we went to the finals instead of seeing if he would stay, what type of players would we have gotten?

[Shishnizzle]

It's going to be fun following a sport where most of the Arenas are half empty.