Official Speculation Thread (Pt. XLVI "Re-Building" Edition)

[ChildishGambino]

Larry Ridley‏@mrlarryridley

Caught up with #Magic CEO Alex Martins, you got to hear his message to fans, "will be a quick rebuild" watch at 6,11 on @WESH #Orlando #NBA

For a "quick" rebuild, I'd imagine that means that the Magic have their eye on some ready established talent, which they plan to chase as the franchise player/centerpiece of the team. someone available in the next free agency or two. you can't rely on landing a franchise caliber player through the draft in a short amount of time - too many variables. what you can rely on is targeting ready-now talent.

i think their plan will be heavily based upon loading up on efficiently paid talent as a supporting cast for 1-2 stars, and BPA talent in the draft, with enough financial flexibility to chase a franchise talent.

my gut tells me that James Harden is our man.

Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy... and not the one from Notre Dame

Rudy Gay? i don't know.....Say we get Rudy ok cool....then it will probably take another 3 years before we'll have a good enough team to truly contend....30 year old Rudy? will he be the same? Go after Harden who's 23 right now....give him the same rebuild time you give Rudy he'll be right smack in the middle of his prime when we'll be peaking ready to contend....Harkless by that time could very well be Rudy Gay(a player he's compared to) he'll be 22 around then.....

[dsg2021]

Obviously Martins is going to say this will be a quick rebuild. He's trying to give fans hope so they will keep buying tickets.

He's not going to say "Yeah well, this rebuild might take 3 years if we really hit on our draft picks and can get key free agents to sign with us. If not we could be looking at a longer rebuild period."

Do you guys believe it when strippers say they like you too?

[Def Swami]

I really like the hire of AP.

As for being able to offer a max to a 2013 FA, everybody is on the James Harden bandwagon & rightfully so, but I have a feeling with Iggy gone Evan Turner is going to break out this season. I would throw some money at him or Harden & try to lock in our future 2 guard.

Turner was the 2nd pick in the draft for a reason & I think we will all see why this season.

Turner/Harkless as the future 2-3 would have a lot of upside offensively & defensively.

Philly will have their hands full trying to resign Bynum.

I'm not sold on giving Harden a max. His production doesn't seem worthy of a max and I believe we could find a guy with Harden's skill set in the draft. It just doesn't seem like a wise use of money. Especially if Afflalo is still here.

[TheLastDon]

Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy... and not the one from Notre Dame[/quote]
Rudy Gay? i don't know.....Say we get Rudy ok cool....then it will probably take another 3 years before we'll have a good enough team to truly contend....30 year old Rudy? will he be the same? Go after Harden who's 23 right now....give him the same rebuild time you give Rudy he'll be right smack in the middle of his prime when we'll be peaking ready to contend....Harkless by that time could very well be Rudy Gay(a player he's compared to) he'll be 22 around then.....[/quote]


Rudy Gay is easier to obtain than James Harden because big men are basically extinct in today's NBA... Lebron playing PF most of the time... NO hand checks allowed.... CHILD PLEASE... Oh and Memphis ownership can't be sold because prospective buyers all of a sudden needs multiple investors and they are facing huge luxury tax hits... Rudy Gay can be had way before James Harden... THOUGHTS???

[ChildishGambino]

why get Rudy Gay if he's going to be out of his prime by the time we're ready to contend? Rudy Gay will waste 2-3 years of his prime waiting for us to get a contending team around him......

[TheLastDon]

why get Rudy Gay if he's going to be out of his prime by the time we're ready to contend? Rudy Gay will waste 2-3 years of his prime waiting for us to get a contending team around him......

Simple, he is one of the top free agent targets in 2014, SO if you can get him now, WHY NOT with huge TPE because u will know before then if he is worth it!!!

[TDJacksonville]

Rudy Gay is easier to obtain than James Harden because big men are basically extinct in today's NBA... Lebron playing PF most of the time... NO hand checks allowed.... CHILD PLEASE... Oh and Memphis ownership can't be sold because prospective buyers all of a sudden needs multiple investors and they are facing huge luxury tax hits... Rudy Gay can be had way before James Harden... THOUGHTS???

who cares if hes easily abtained but in no way shape or form is gay a superstar. he would take 15-20 million to sign and for that price and Age, id rather sign a few Young free agents and have our Coaching staff develop them.

i think Signing Shelvin mack(2-3 Million should easily get him), Charles Jenkins(2-3 million probably takes him), Pittman/Mozgoz(either one at 2-3 Million) would be much better.

Mack and Jenkins give us Depth at Guard and Pittman or Mozgoz gives us a true Center.

BTW Gays contract doesnt end in 2014 as he has a Player option there.

Guys to consider in 2014: PG Thomas, and SG Lee. 2 very young solid Players.

[TDJacksonville]

why get Rudy Gay if he's going to be out of his prime by the time we're ready to contend? Rudy Gay will waste 2-3 years of his prime waiting for us to get a contending team around him......

Simple, he is one of the top free agent targets in 2014, SO if you can get him now, WHY NOT with huge TPE because u will know before then if he is worth it!!!

why ruin our Chance to actually get a Superstar in the 2014 NBA draft. Im sure everyone here would take Wiggins over Gay for the future and Present

[MAGICian619]

why get Rudy Gay if he's going to be out of his prime by the time we're ready to contend? Rudy Gay will waste 2-3 years of his prime waiting for us to get a contending team around him......

Simple, he is one of the top free agent targets in 2014, SO if you can get him now, WHY NOT with huge TPE because u will know before then if he is worth it!!!

why ruin our Chance to actually get a Superstar in the 2014 NBA draft. Im sure everyone here would take Wiggins over Gay for the future and Present

Agreed, which is why we are saving our money until 2014...2 years of heart and hustle, high draft picks, player development, and then BOOM...we are BACK!

[TDJacksonville]

Simple, he is one of the top free agent targets in 2014, SO if you can get him now, WHY NOT with huge TPE because u will know before then if he is worth it!!!

why ruin our Chance to actually get a Superstar in the 2014 NBA draft. Im sure everyone here would take Wiggins over Gay for the future and Present

Agreed, which is why we are saving our money until 2014...2 years of heart and hustle, high draft picks, player development, and then BOOM...we are BACK!

forgot to ADD theres NO REASON to SIGN RUDY GAY with Harkless and Wiggins.

[Noonskadoodle]

Yea Id pass on Rudy Gay as well. Really doubt Henny has any interest in him throughout this rebuilding process.

The best thing about rebuilding is we can hopefully lay all these recycled Rudy Gay, Monta Ellis, Andre Iguodala, & Josh Smith rumors year in & year out to rest.

[OrlandoMajinBuu]

Serge Ibaka has reached agreement on a four-year contract extension. Is Harden next?

[OrlandoMajinBuu]

About Rudy Gay! Not a fan of Gay. I'd pass...

[Def Swami]

why get Rudy Gay if he's going to be out of his prime by the time we're ready to contend? Rudy Gay will waste 2-3 years of his prime waiting for us to get a contending team around him......

It depends on where we're at as a team 2 years from now. If we feel like we can take a significant step forward by adding him, he'd still be 28 in 2014. That should be well within his prime.

I'd much rather give Rudy Gay a max than James Harden. His best basketball is still ahead of him and he affects the game in more than one way.

[Noonskadoodle]

Kinda funny as we are discussing whether they keep Harden or Ibaka or both...Ibaka gets his extension.

Good for Serge.

[Def Swami]

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka has reached agreement on a four-year contract extension, league sources tell Y! Sports.

Oklahoma City forward Serge Ibaka has reached agreement on a four-year, $40-million plus contract extension, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Ibaka, 22, could’ve been a restricted free agent next summer, and his deal now locks into place three of the Thunder’s core young stars --- Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Ibaka.

This deal leaves the future uncertain for guard James Harden, who could command a maximum contract on the league market as a restricted free agent next summer. Along with the remainder of Kendrick Perkins three years and $27 million, the small-market Thunder will be hard-pressed to invest so much money into his payroll.

In his third NBA season in 2011-’12, Ibaka averaged 9.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game. He’s one of the league’s best rim protectors, and been rapidly developing his offensive game. Ibaka was a key player on Spain’s silver medal winning Olympic team this month in London.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--serge ... -city.html

[Def Swami]

What it does not do, under any circumstances, is clear up the future of James Harden. There's been rampant speculation about the possiblity of Harden being moved by the Thunder in a determination of his impact on the cap and tax being too great. But until his contract situation is resolved, sometime betwen now and the middle of July in 2013, we won't know for certain.

Thunder owner Clay Bennett may decide to just extend Harden at the max, or re-sign him for the same in free agency and carry the burden of the luxury tax implications. The decision will be the Thunder's, ever decision thereafter will be a result of that choice.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-o ... l/19820343

I'm going to say Bennett pays the tax and keeps Harden too. Their management will get creative to make it happen.

[OrlandoMajinBuu]

Besides landing six players and five draft picks, the Magic also created a sizeable traded player exception in today's Dwight Howard trade, according to GM Rob Hennigan. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets that the trade exception is worth about $17.8MM.

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Here's how it was presumably created:

■ The Magic used a portion of their Brandon Bass trade exception to absorb Maurice Harkless' $1,731,960 salary. There was $2.75MM left on the exception after the Magic used part of it to acquire Gustavo Ayon, so there should be a little over $1MM remaining on it now.

■ Using the $4.35MM trade exception they acquired when they sent Ryan Anderson to New Orleans, the Magic were able to absorb Josh McRoberts' $3,135,000 salary along withChristian Eyenga's $1,174,080 salary.

■ By packaging three outgoing pieces in Jason Richardson ($5,799,625), Chris Duhon($3,250,000), and Earl Clark ($1,240,000), the Magic were able to take back up to $15,389,625 in salary (those three players' salaries + $5.1MM). That was more than enough room for Arron Afflalo ($7,750,000) and Al Harrington ($6,687,400).

■ That leaves Howard's $19,536,360 as the only remaining outgoing salary, so the Magic have up to one year to take back that amount. They started by absorbing Nikola Vucevic($1,719,480), leaving a total of $17,816,880 to use before August 10th, 2013.

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■ For those who unfamiliar, a TPE is VERY valuable in trading. The Lakers used their TPE they acquired in the Lamar Odom trade to match salaries and acquire Steve Nash.

Example: The Magic have a TPE large enough to absorb a player like Rudy Gay's contract.

Theoretically, they could trade 3 1st's and their TPE for Rudy Gay.

Of Course, this is just an example.

[ChildishGambino]

Kinda funny as we are discussing whether they keep Harden or Ibaka or both...Ibaka gets his extension.

Good for Serge.

hell yeah....paid in the shade 10 million per....great for him and it must be nice......damn it man if i was only 8 inches taller.....it's amazing to me that even the scrubs in the Nba makes quite a bit more than the average doctor does......

[Noonskadoodle]

Kinda funny as we are discussing whether they keep Harden or Ibaka or both...Ibaka gets his extension.

Good for Serge.

hell yeah....paid in the shade 10 million per....great for him and it must be nice......damn it man if i was only 8 inches taller.....it's amazing to me that even the scrubs in the Nba makes quite a bit more than the average doctor does......

It is pretty crazy, but these teams love their big men.

Doesn't Serge have like 17 brothers & sisters? They will def be hitting him up now hahaha