Official Speculation Thread I

[Ducklett]

What does everyone think about our plans with AA. Who would actually want him now? How about BBD?

[orlando1214]

What does everyone think about our plans with AA. Who would actually want him now? How about BBD?

I think AA will be traded this offseason. Idk who else would want him besides the Clippers though. He has a big contract too so it kind of makes a deal difficult to do. I do think Henngian will find something though and he will be traded. I think it would be a bad idea to hinder the development of our young guys like Oladipo and Harkless for Afflalo, but it would also be stupid for him not to start and play big minutes because his trade value might go down. The best thing to do is just trade him now in my opinion.

As for Big Baby, I think he stays for now. Would not surprise me if he is dealt by the trade deadline though. I think he's a good leader and a good guy to have around in the locker room. Sure the argument could be made that he hinders the development of the young guys as well, but I don't think that's the case with him, at least as much as having AA on the team does. I think Big Baby does more good for the younger players than people realize. The only player I think that could be effected by his minutes would be Nicholson, but I still think Nicholson could benefit from having Baby there at practice every day pushing him to get better at defense.

[cedric76]

What does everyone think about our plans with AA. Who would actually want him now? How about BBD?

Hope they stay here till trade deadline at least, we need their leadership to teach our young guys

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[cedric76]

I feel the same way, we should definitely reach them though.

If it's true that Gordon is on the block, Nelson+Afflalo+Harkless for Gordon+Vasquez is the most appealing offer I can think of without adding Vicevic, Harris or Oladipo, but we may have to add pick/s and/or Nicholson and/or O'Quinn, and it still wouldn't look like the best they can do in the market, or even good enough not to stay put. But who knows? Vasquez is already 26 I think, and Gordon has health concerns, plus neither him nor the Pelicans seem happy about his situation.

Moe is our future franchise player he isn't going anywhere

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really? I mean I hope the guy is great for us obviously, but isn't it way too soon to say that? A lot of people here seem to have such definitive opinions about raw talents, they mostly suck or are the next superstar. I know he's young but as of right now, he's what? our 7th best player? Vucevic/Harris/BBD/Nelson/Afflalo/Oladipo/Harkless (not taking into account Turkoglu and Harrington who will probably be bought out and Udrih -FA-)... Heck you could make a case for others maybe being better for now. Or maybe you were just kiddin' and I'm making a fool of myself

I m dead serious, Moe will prove u wring

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[bigmoe1952]

How ironic is it that that moron Howard may end up signing with the Rockets? And how much cash did it cost him by steadfastly refusing to resign with Houston had we traded him there? And how much could we have squeezed out of the Rockets if that idiot had not said that? I have to laugh at his stupidity and I thank God we do NOT have to deal with that narcissistic malcontent anymore. If Howard was going to have his brain pan cryogenically frozen upon his death, a thimble would be more than ample to accommodate it.

But how much better is that he didnt want to go to the rockets for us now

Howard gets screwed out of 30 mil
Lakers get screwed (good, F*** them!)
We got a much better deal with Vuc/harkless/Afflalo/McRoberts/5 draft picks than anything we would of gotten from the rockets

I am ALL FOR Howard AND the Lakers getting f***ed!

[magicsanta]

Moe is our future franchise player he isn't going anywhere

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really? I mean I hope the guy is great for us obviously, but isn't it way too soon to say that? A lot of people here seem to have such definitive opinions about raw talents, they mostly suck or are the next superstar. I know he's young but as of right now, he's what? our 7th best player? Vucevic/Harris/BBD/Nelson/Afflalo/Oladipo/Harkless (not taking into account Turkoglu and Harrington who will probably be bought out and Udrih -FA-)... Heck you could make a case for others maybe being better for now. Or maybe you were just kiddin' and I'm making a fool of myself

I m dead serious, Moe will prove u wring

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Well I didn't say he won't be a good player, I just doubt he'll be our franchise player, but as long as it's not because the others suck hard, that would be great

[bigmoe1952]

How ironic is it that that moron Howard may end up signing with the Rockets? And how much cash did it cost him by steadfastly refusing to resign with Houston had we traded him there? And how much could we have squeezed out of the Rockets if that idiot had not said that? I have to laugh at his stupidity and I thank God we do NOT have to deal with that narcissistic malcontent anymore. If Howard was going to have his brain pan cryogenically frozen upon his death, a thimble would be more than ample to accommodate it.

But how much better is that he didnt want to go to the rockets for us now

Howard gets screwed out of 30 mil
Lakers get screwed (good, F*** them!)
We got a much better deal with Vuc/harkless/Afflalo/McRoberts/5 draft picks than anything we would of gotten from the rockets

Remember how people thought hou s offer was better that what we got

See what Okc got for harden and what we got for d12

Seems that people really overrated Toronto s pick value

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We will never know what we could have gotten out of Houston if Howard would not have refused to sign with them after this season. It took away any advantage Henny would have had in negotiating. And Howard knew it. But all's well that ends well. It is going to cost Howard and the Lakers have found out what it is like to deal with this infantile lunatic.

[eyriq]

Harkless a superstar? My best case at this point is a 13/4/2 on 47/30/78 percentages. A nice well rounded small forward with great defense. I'll be ecstatic if he improves his three and starts recording more assists, which would take him into All Star range (assuming he grows into a well rounded SF). But right now I could see him not developing beyond a role playing wing, which would be disappointing but possible.

I'd put my money on Harris and Oladipo as core guys that we can build around. Harkless has a ways to go before even reaching full time starter talent imo (on a championship team), while Vucevic needs to show that he can take on more of the offense and get to the line more before I'd lump him into core piece status.

[Optimus_Steel]

Beware the Pelicans. Tyreke Evans will meet with them tonight at midnight. Iggy rumored to be on their list of meetings too.

Also...

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA 51m
It is appearing less and less likely that J.J. Redick will return to Milwaukee in free agency, league sources tell Y! Sports.

And Hammond was given an extension a month before this happened!!!! lmao

[Optimus_Steel]

So let me get this straight. Last year Thomas Robinson was a top 5 pick, he was traded half way thru his rookie season for a bench player. A few months later he is traded for 2 2nd round picks. You know what other top 5 pick was traded for 2nd round picks? Michael Beasley. Pathetic.

[MagicFan32]

harkless is probably the returning player, i'm most anxious to see. he'll have had his first summer league, and first full training camp under his belt, and the word is he is working tirelessly on his jumper. i can't wait for summer league!

[Blue_and_Whte]

Greivis Vasquez, anyone?

Hell yeah.

[Blue_and_Whte]

So let me get this straight. Last year Thomas Robinson was a top 5 pick, he was traded half way thru his rookie season for a bench player. A few months later he is traded for 2 2nd round picks. You know what other top 5 pick was traded for 2nd round picks? Michael Beasley. Pathetic.

Two totally different situations imo. The Kings were a team in flux and Robinson didnt get PT having to beat out established vets cousins and jason thompson. Houston's moves during the season and now were all because they were targeting Dwight Howard it has nothing to do with Robinson.

Beasley was given ample opportunity to become the player everyone thought he would but he couldn't he just sucks. Robinson hasn't had a chance to do that. Completely unfair to judge Robinson at this point, I think he's been delt a bad hand and it started with the Kings drafting him and now he has to try and get mins in Portland behind Aldridge, Hickson, Batum (he plays SF as well), and Freeland.

It's possible he'll get burn with rumors that Hickson will be moved and being instantly better than Freeland so we'll see.

[UCFJayBird]

harkless is probably the returning player, i'm most anxious to see. he'll have had his first summer league, and first full training camp under his belt, and the word is he is working tirelessly on his jumper. i can't wait for summer league!

Did you see him on the video from the night of the draft? He's bulked up too. He's not skinny anymore (at least not compared to what he came in at).

[tiderulz]

Harkless a superstar? My best case at this point is a 13/4/2 on 47/30/78 percentages. A nice well rounded small forward with great defense. I'll be ecstatic if he improves his three and starts recording more assists, which would take him into All Star range (assuming he grows into a well rounded SF). But right now I could see him not developing beyond a role playing wing, which would be disappointing but possible.

I'd put my money on Harris and Oladipo as core guys that we can build around. Harkless has a ways to go before even reaching full time starter talent imo (on a championship team), while Vucevic needs to show that he can take on more of the offense and get to the line more before I'd lump him into core piece status.

a little harsh on Harkless. "ways to go before even reaching full time starter talent"? he has had 1 yr college and now 1 yr pro. Even Tony Parker for example took more than a year to bloom, and that was after more experience than Harkless in Europe. Parker averaged 9 ppg 4 apg in 30 mpg. Moe put up 8 ppg 4 rpg 1 spg and almost 1 bpg. Not bad for a player still learning the game and what he can do. I would say by the end of this year, if he continues to develop like he did last year, his projections will look very well for such a young player. I would say he projects to be similar to Batum, possibly better on D worse on O.

[D12orl]

Harrington just landed in Dallas... can someone say free agent?

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[GameOver25]

harkless is probably the returning player, i'm most anxious to see. he'll have had his first summer league, and first full training camp under his belt, and the word is he is working tirelessly on his jumper. i can't wait for summer league!

Did you see him on the video from the night of the draft? He's bulked up too. He's not skinny anymore (at least not compared to what he came in at).

Are there any updated videos on the guys working out on the court?

[in-limbo]

harkless is probably the returning player, i'm most anxious to see. he'll have had his first summer league, and first full training camp under his belt, and the word is he is working tirelessly on his jumper. i can't wait for summer league!

After seeing him at the draft party I would agree. He's gonna prove some people wrong for sure. His over all upside is very good in my opinion. He has a good frame as all of the new guys do and everyone seems to be bulking up. Looking forward to seeing Tobias as well...and that new improved jumper. I am a bias Magic fan but I think there are some potentially great players on the roster.

I like KO for a solid big off the bench, he doesn't get much mention around here. Drew deserves a chance to play a full season. I like that his skill set is different than typical NBA guys, and he can flat out score. I like him a lot and don't see him as a throw in for Bledsoe, just no way.

[pakishazi]

I can't wait until the next Summer when the Magic will be players in free agency and we'll be hearing about them meeting with so and so player and having interest in so and so other players.

I'm ready to see what Henny and company can do to convince free agents to sign here given they have been awesome with trading and drafting in their short time here.

[TDJacksonville]

Harrington just landed in Dallas... can someone say free agent?

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or he could be trying to get the mavs to trade for him. id take calathess off their hand for him