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

[Greenraida]

How about Deng instead of Harden or Gay?

Just dont see him as the superstar that we need to build around. Plus he is still awaiting wrist surgery I beleive.

[magicman123]

i highly doubt the TPE will be used this season, i think the plan is to suck and get a high lottery pick this year, then maybe use that TPE after the season to get a 2nd or 3rd tier star..no need to rush into something

[Def Swami]

neither before we draft a star

There we go.

[OrlandoMajinBuu]

The only thing I know is that we must freakin suck bad this season! If we don't the Magic could be in trouble.
>>>$<<<

[TDJacksonville]

harden over Gay because we are focused Long Term here not short term. we also already have our SF in Harkless who will be Paul George like.

Neither George nor Harkless is a proven NBA commodity.. Rudy Gay is and he's available for A 1 yr TPE and will be a highly sought after FA in 2014... If u can get him now, WHY NOT???

so its confirmed that gay is available for a 1 year TPE? plus is gay really worth 3 years $55mil for this team?

[KingRobb02]

sign and trade

harden for afflalo/big baby

Howard trade starts to look a whole lot better

I'm a little confused as to why so many folks want to move BBD. This is a guy who will be a leader on this team that works hard every night and is only 26 years old. I think he's going to be part of this team for a long time.

Because he's not very good at basketball.

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[thelead]

neither before we draft a star

Sorry, but I don't see a Shaq, Duncan, D12, Or Lebron coming, DO YOU?? Most teams in pro sports use trade and/or free agency to obtain stars... How many BUSTS as 1st round picks??? Kobe was 13th overall, Dirk was 19th overall, Tony Parker 28th overall, Ginobili 57th overall. DRAFT IS A CRAPSHOOT

Most superstars are top 5 picks though... think about the stars that have left their teams recently:

CP3 (his team failed to pair him up with another star)
Melo (his team failed to pair him up with another star)
Lebron (his team failed to pair him up with another star)
Bosh (his team failed to pair him up with another star)
Dwight (his team failed to pair him up with another star)

All top 5 picks. My point, when we draft a star this time around, we need to be prepared to bring in another star and not overpay borderline all-stars (ala Rashard). Let's focus on drafting our star first, unless you think we have a shot at Lebron or CP3 in free agency

[TDJacksonville]

harden over Gay because we are focused Long Term here not short term. we also already have our SF in Harkless who will be Paul George like.

Neither George nor Harkless is a proven NBA commodity.. Rudy Gay is and he's available for A 1 yr TPE and will be a highly sought after FA in 2014... If u can get him now, WHY NOT???

while George might not be proven yet he did start 66 games last year and averaged 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, 1.8 turnovers all in 29.1 minutes a game while at the age of 21.

i would take those numbers at 2.4 million over 15 million.

Gays stats: 19.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.8 blocks, 2.5 turnovers in 37.3 minutes at age 25.

to give a Fair Comparison i will Use them both adjusted to 36 minutes.

Gay: 18.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.8 blocks, 2.4 turnovers.

George: 14.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.0 steals, .7 blocks, 2.2 turnovers.

now tell me Who is better when factoring in Salary

[TDJacksonville]

neither before we draft a star

Sorry, but I don't see a Shaq, Duncan, D12, Or Lebron coming, DO YOU?? Most teams in pro sports use trade and/or free agency to obtain stars... How many BUSTS as 1st round picks??? Kobe was 13th overall, Dirk was 19th overall, Tony Parker 28th overall, Ginobili 57th overall. DRAFT IS A CRAPSHOOT

Most superstars are top 5 picks though... think about the stars that have left their teams recently:

CP3 (his team failed to pair him up with another star)
Melo (his team failed to pair him up with another star)
Lebron (his team failed to pair him up with another star)
Bosh (his team failed to pair him up with another star)
Dwight (his team failed to pair him up with another star)

All top 5 picks. My point, when we draft a star this time around, we need to be prepared to bring in another star and not overpay borderline all-stars (ala Rashard). Let's focus on drafting our star first, unless you think we have a shot at Lebron or CP3 in free agency

i agree. when Need to Find our Batman before we go and acquire our Robin.

[MagicStarwipe]

We basically have to suck the season after drafting a stud and try to draft another one. That's one way at least.

[AussieMagicFan]

Incremental improvements.

People gotta learn what that means.....

Hennigan couldn't have been more clear.

[Nyce_1]

Incremental improvements.

People gotta learn what that means.....

Hennigan couldn't have been more clear.

[ChildishGambino]

When you really sit down and take a look at it what Henny has done is he's given us options....We can do it through the draft or we can do it through free agency or hell both ways......If the goal is to really tank then i wouldn't be surprised if we get rid of some more Vets.....We maximize the suck and get a lottery pick but from there we can do so much all because of that TPE....We can use it in a lot of ways on draft night.....we can wait and use it next summer before it expires.....we will also have enough room to sign a max player if i'm correct.....we have so many ways to do damage....if it's done right we could be major players in the draft and free agency.....maybe this deal wasn't the worst deal ever guys....the more i think about it the more excited i get about the possibilities....

[Nyce_1]

When you really sit down and take a look at it what Henny has done is he's given us options....We can do it through the draft or we can do it through free agency or hell both ways......If the goal is to really tank then i wouldn't be surprised if we get rid of some more Vets.....We maximize the suck and get a lottery pick but from there we can do so much all because of that TPE....We can use it in a lot of ways on draft night.....we can wait and use it next summer before it expires.....we will also have enough room to sign a max player if i'm correct.....we have so many ways to do damage....if it's done right we could be major players in the draft and free agency.....maybe this deal wasn't the worst deal ever guys....the more i think about it the more excited i get about the possibilities....

Exactly. Flexibility was the key factor in making the trade. We've finally got assets to flip and a means to improve via draft, trade, and/or FA. Taking on Bynum, Iggy, or Lopez wouldn't have allowed us the options and we would've been stuck with limited assets and building around 1 all-star while being stuck in mediocracy.

[Bensational]

So if all of the above is true, then why did Thunder extend Max contract to Westbrook and resign Ibaka before taking care of your 32ppg scorer????????

they extended Westbrook a contract because he was due for one first.

they resigned Ibaka because:

a) the finals showed that their front court is their biggest need for improvement.
b) Ibaka accepted the money he was offered.

I'm sure Harden has been offered something already, but he knows he can get a max and he'll likely hold out for it.

[Nyce_1]

harden over Gay because we are focused Long Term here not short term. we also already have our SF in Harkless who will be Paul George like.

Neither George nor Harkless is a proven NBA commodity.. Rudy Gay is and he's available for A 1 yr TPE and will be a highly sought after FA in 2014... If u can get him now, WHY NOT???

while George might not be proven yet he did start 66 games last year and averaged 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, 1.8 turnovers all in 29.1 minutes a game while at the age of 21.

i would take those numbers at 2.4 million over 15 million.

Gays stats: 19.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.8 blocks, 2.5 turnovers in 37.3 minutes at age 25.

to give a Fair Comparison i will Use them both adjusted to 36 minutes.

Gay: 18.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.8 blocks, 2.4 turnovers.

George: 14.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.0 steals, .7 blocks, 2.2 turnovers.

now tell me Who is better when factoring in Salary

I don't know how I missed this post. Good sh*t. If Harkless can put up those stats in 2-3 yrs, paired along with a stud SG & Nicholson, we'll be headed down the right road.

[ChildishGambino]

The thing about Harkless is the more i read about him the more i realize how much potential he has....19 years old 6"8 and could possibly end up being 6"10....7 foot wingspan and a good leaper....can play SG/SF/PF.......Great rebounder for his size....great in transition and is an active defender....He is gifted and his ceiling is high.....From what i read coaches and scouts say his ceiling could be as high as a Joe Johnson/Rudy Gay....his mid-tier potential being Nicolas Batum/Wilson Chandler....Floor would be Devin Ebanks.....he is a better shooter than it looks as he himself says and he has been working hard on his handle....No Doubt in my mind that he can be at least a solid Starter in this league.....Whether or not he can be a Joe Johnson/Rudy Gay is up to him and how hard he works...He has the talent

[OrlandoMajinBuu]

Magic will give it old college try



http://tinyurl.com/95oq46v

[TDJacksonville]

The thing about Harkless is the more i read about him the more i realize how much potential he has....19 years old 6"8 and could possibly end up being 6"10....7 foot wingspan and a good leaper....can play SG/SF/PF.......Great rebounder for his size....great in transition and is an active defender....He is gifted and his ceiling is high.....From what i read coaches and scouts say his ceiling could be as high as a Joe Johnson/Rudy Gay....his mid-tier potential being Nicolas Batum/Wilson Chandler....Floor would be Devin Ebanks.....he is a better shooter than it looks as he himself says and he has been working hard on his handle....No Doubt in my mind that he can be at least a solid Starter in this league.....Whether or not he can be a Joe Johnson/Rudy Gay is up to him and how hard he works...He has the talent

i dont think he would be Well served playing PF without weighing atleast 220 and probably needs to go about 235.

we trade our Pick for a Mid round pick and a Unprotected Pick next year. we take Ian Miller PG FSU this year to be our Future PG.

anyways if we get wiggin in 2014 and with our Unprotected pick we get Joshua Smith.

Future Lineup:
PG: Miller
SG: Harkless
SF: Wiggins
PF: Nicholson
C: Smith/Vucevic

that would be a Westbrook + Paul George + Durant + Pau Gasol + Eddy Curry/Vucevic

[TDJacksonville]

Neither George nor Harkless is a proven NBA commodity.. Rudy Gay is and he's available for A 1 yr TPE and will be a highly sought after FA in 2014... If u can get him now, WHY NOT???

while George might not be proven yet he did start 66 games last year and averaged 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, 1.8 turnovers all in 29.1 minutes a game while at the age of 21.

i would take those numbers at 2.4 million over 15 million.

Gays stats: 19.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.8 blocks, 2.5 turnovers in 37.3 minutes at age 25.

to give a Fair Comparison i will Use them both adjusted to 36 minutes.

Gay: 18.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.8 blocks, 2.4 turnovers.

George: 14.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.0 steals, .7 blocks, 2.2 turnovers.

now tell me Who is better when factoring in Salary

I don't know how I missed this post. Good sh*t. If Harkless can put up those stats in 2-3 yrs, paired along with a stud SG & Nicholson, we'll be headed down the right road.

exactly. i was doing more for the Point of why spend 15 million on a guy whos Not very efficient with Salary taken into account. probably should add in that Gay has a Better Supporting cast as well. hell Put Harkless at 2 Put wiggins at 3 and Nicholson at 4 and think Championship