Official Speculation Thread (Pt.LIX Offseason Edition)

[Magic_Time]

I think Rob did a good decent job with the Howard trade last year..
Looking at it today, I think we should have taken Iggy, Vuc and Hark and the Lakers's players and pick as well as we did and try to trade Iggy who had and still has good value to another team for better younger assets or picks instead of sending him to Denver for Affla and Harrington..

[cedric76]

So hold up. What exactly are you saying, We should have taken Iggy? Is this a joke?

YES, You should have taken Iggy. He was an expiring. We could have EASILY traded him to a contender for picks and an expiring at the deadline OR he would have been expired, off the books and playing elsewhere (we may have even been able to sign and trade him if the team he wanted was over cap).

Instead of that, we are all standing here holding our crotch, praying that we can get rid of Afflalo and Harringtons salary that is on the books for three and two more years.


Iggy isn't/wasn't good enough to make us win, he was a much more valuable asset.

Harrington's next 2 years are partially guaranteed. He is just going to get cut. I find it interesting you say we are holding our crotch and praying to trade Afflalo.

Yeap iggy had so much value, see how much Denver got from him

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[Noonskadoodle]

Dorrell Wright to the Blazers.

Man they have some guys who can really shoot/score the ball.

Damian Lillard
CJ McCollum
Wes Matthews
Nic Batum
Dorrell Wright
Lamarcus Aldridge

They are finally adding some depth, & have a pretty solid big in Robin Lopez next to LA now.

[doct3r dr3]

I have yet to see him make a single proactive move that he wasn't forced to make by an expiring contract. I think he handled this draft fairly lazily as well.

You know what, I can see that. I'm a big Hennigan fan, but I wouldn't call him proactive.

One reason the Howard trade didn’t happen sooner was that Hennigan was waiting for Harkless to become trade-eligible after the draft. While the Lakers were sitting around wondering why the Magic seemed to be wasting time and not actively trying to trade anymore, Hennigan had a distinct plan and timetable.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said the mega-transaction was all orchestrated by Hennigan—with the other parties working as he dictated.

[...]

Hennigan also managed to include Denver in the deal after the basics seemed established – and therefore got gritty shooting guard Arron Afflalo from the Nuggets. Having Afflalo set Orlando up to be able to move Redick with no qualms. That’s how general managers are supposed conduct business, with a plan and the daring to execute it one step at a time.

[LINK]

[OrlChamps2030]

So hold up. What exactly are you saying, We should have taken Iggy? Is this a joke?

YES, You should have taken Iggy. He was an expiring. We could have EASILY traded him to a contender for picks and an expiring at the deadline OR he would have been expired, off the books and playing elsewhere (we may have even been able to sign and trade him if the team he wanted was over cap).

Instead of that, we are all standing here holding our crotch, praying that we can get rid of Afflalo and Harringtons salary that is on the books for three and two more years.


Iggy isn't/wasn't good enough to make us win, he was a much more valuable asset.

x100

When are people going to admit the Denver deal was a blemish on Rob's otherwise great record

[LBPTarHeel27]

YES, You should have taken Iggy. He was an expiring. We could have EASILY traded him to a contender for picks and an expiring at the deadline OR he would have been expired, off the books and playing elsewhere (we may have even been able to sign and trade him if the team he wanted was over cap).

Instead of that, we are all standing here holding our crotch, praying that we can get rid of Afflalo and Harringtons salary that is on the books for three and two more years.


Iggy isn't/wasn't good enough to make us win, he was a much more valuable asset.

You are so far off base with all of this. From Afflalo to Iggy...it's just bad.

You realize we weren't the only team in the trade right?

If we take Iggy, we don't have the NYK/Den 1st Round Pick. The Nuggets lost Iggy for nothing. We still have the opportunity to get something for Afflalo...and at the very least, we trade him for that coveted expiring contract you love so much.

The way things turned out: We have Afflalo + a 2014 First Round Pick
The way you wish things had turned out: We have nothing

[eyriq]

Our salary situation isn't terrible. In 2014 we get rid of Turk and will have the option to clear up max money for a free agent should we choose to use Nelson and Harrington's options. In 2015 the only veteran on contract will be Afflalo and perhaps a max player from 2014. Even with Afflalo and our hypothetical '14 max free agent we'll have plenty of money to sign Vucevic and Harris. We can even opt to not use our team options on Nelson/Harrington and push our max signing to 2015.

Our '14-'15 team could have a veteran core of: Max free agent/Afflalo/Baby, with a rookie scale contracted crop of Harkless/Harris/Vucevic/Nicholson/O'Quinn/Lamb/Oladipo/Osby/2014 lottery selection/2014 2nd round

Or X out getting a max FA in '14 and hope that a veteran core of Nelson/Afflalo/Baby/Harrington + our rookies would be bad enough to net another lottery selection in 2015. This could potentially get us a much stronger rookie crop with better odds of building an all star caliber core.

[LBPTarHeel27]

I have yet to see him make a single proactive move that he wasn't forced to make by an expiring contract. I think he handled this draft fairly lazily as well.

You know what, I can see that. I'm a big Hennigan fan, but I wouldn't call him proactive.

One reason the Howard trade didn’t happen sooner was that Hennigan was waiting for Harkless to become trade-eligible after the draft. While the Lakers were sitting around wondering why the Magic seemed to be wasting time and not actively trying to trade anymore, Hennigan had a distinct plan and timetable.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said the mega-transaction was all orchestrated by Hennigan—with the other parties working as he dictated.

[...]

Hennigan also managed to include Denver in the deal after the basics seemed established – and therefore got gritty shooting guard Arron Afflalo from the Nuggets. Having Afflalo set Orlando up to be able to move Redick with no qualms. That’s how general managers are supposed conduct business, with a plan and the daring to execute it one step at a time.

[LINK]

THIS

[SEBAS-07]

Our salary situation isn't terrible. In 2014 we get rid of Turk and will have the option to clear up max money for a free agent should we choose to use Nelson and Harrington's options. In 2015 the only veteran on contract will be Afflalo and perhaps a max player from 2014. Even with Afflalo and our hypothetical '14 max free agent we'll have plenty of money to sign Vucevic and Harris. We can even opt to not use our team options on Nelson/Harrington and push our max signing to 2015.

Our '14-'15 team could have a veteran core of: Max free agent/Afflalo/Baby, with a rookie scale contracted crop of Harkless/Harris/Vucevic/Nicholson/O'Quinn/Lamb/Oladipo/Osby/2014 lottery selection/2014 2nd round

Or X out getting a max FA in '14 and hope that a veteran core of Nelson/Afflalo/Baby/Harrington + our rookies would be bad enough to net another lottery selection in 2015. This could potentially get us a much stronger rookie crop with better odds of building an all star caliber core.

IMO Hedo is getting bought out this summer(6 millions guaranteed). Harrignton could also get bought out( around 7 millions) I think that is why we will not use the TPE, we need to get rid of dead weight first.

[Neon1]

The way things turned out: We have Afflalo + a 2014 First Round Pick
The way you wish things had turned out: We have nothing

Nothing but 12,11.5 and 8 million dollars EXTRA in capspace in the next three years, other then that....yeah...


There's a reason team routinely give up mid-late 1st rounders to dump contracts that are much smaller then 11-12 million. That pick is NOT worth 11,12.5 and 8 million dollars of capspace for the next 3 years.

[jgosche]

Wait, where did this Hennigan doubt come from?

We are the clear winners of a 4-team trade, we got production out of Vucevic and Harris that nobody expected, both Harkless, O'Quinn, and Nicholson all exceded expectations their rookie years, and we still haven't seen the complete returns of the Howard trade.

We were not in position to surge for a championship when he was hired, and we're still not. But making assumptions about what Hennigan could have done is silly, we don't know why he's made certain decisions. I'm judging him off what I've seen on the court, and thats a team that was full of aging veterans turned into a ton of high quality young players. We won't have a concrete example of Hennigans competence for another couple years, but based off of what I've seen so far, I'd say he's done a damn good job.

[Magic_Time]

Also the cap outlook may change completely based on how the team drafts in 2014. If we get Wiggins or Parker then there's a very good chance we let Tobias walk.

I think if we do get Wiggins, they both can play together.. I think Wiggins can play SG in the NBA..

Oquin-- Vuc
AN------ Davis
Hark--- Tobias
Ola----- Wiggins
Lamb--- (a point G)

[LBPTarHeel27]

The way things turned out: We have Afflalo + a 2014 First Round Pick
The way you wish things had turned out: We have nothing

Nothing but 12,11.5 and 8 million dollars EXTRA in capspace in the next three years, other then that....yeah...


There's a reason team routinely give up mid-late 1st rounders to dump contracts that are much smaller then 11-12 million. That pick is NOT worth 11,12.5 and 8 million dollars of capspace for the next 3 years.

Look man...we all know where we are at right now. You just seem to think it is something impossible to get out of.

Hedo with 3 years left is impossible to get out of. Afflalo with three years left is a tradeable asset.

We would use none of that cap space this year. Likely none, or minimal, next year. By the time we would be looking to use cap space, Afflalo will be an expiring contract or he will already be gone. Harrington will be LONG gone by that point.

That pick is ABSOLUTELY worth taking on a couple bad contracts that will do NOTHING to hinder this teams growth. Especially when one of those bad contract ISN'T EVEN BAD. It is a fair contract for a very good role player that could be moved at any moment.

I will take draft picks and assets over cap space we wouldn't use 100 times out of 100.

[MoMM]

Also the cap outlook may change completely based on how the team drafts in 2014. If we get Wiggins or Parker then there's a very good chance we let Tobias walk.

I think if we do get Wiggins, they both can play together.. I think Wiggins can play SG in the NBA..

Oquin-- Vuc
AN------ Davis
Hark--- Tobias
Ola----- Wiggins
Lamb--- (a point G)

We dont need to let Tobias go, we can trade him for a PG or a PF, ie.

[D12VCMagic]

Wait, where did this Hennigan doubt come from?

We are the clear winners of a 4-team trade, we got production out of Vucevic and Harris that nobody expected, both Harkless, O'Quinn, and Nicholson all exceded expectations their rookie years, and we still haven't seen the complete returns of the Howard trade.

We were not in position to surge for a championship when he was hired, and we're still not. But making assumptions about what Hennigan could have done is silly, we don't know why he's made certain decisions. I'm judging him off what I've seen on the court, and thats a team that was full of aging veterans turned into a ton of high quality young players. We won't have a concrete example of Hennigans competence for another couple years, but based off of what I've seen so far, I'd say he's done a damn good job.

I think people are just frustrated with a boring offseason. But compared to the previous drama, boring is not a bad thing at all. We'll be back to a level where we make moves in the offseason to win, but now we're just planning.

[MagicTownBaller]

Also the cap outlook may change completely based on how the team drafts in 2014. If we get Wiggins or Parker then there's a very good chance we let Tobias walk.

I think if we do get Wiggins, they both can play together.. I think Wiggins can play SG in the NBA..

Oquin-- Vuc
AN------ Davis
Hark--- Tobias
Ola----- Wiggins
Lamb--- (a point G)

I highly doubt that's our starting lineup. If anything, our lineup will be,

PG: Free Agent Signing/Jameer Nelson
SG: Victor Oladipo/Doron Lamb
SF: Andrew Wiggins/Maurice Harkless
PF: Tobias Harris/Glen Davis/Andrew Nicholson
C: Nikola Vucevic/Kyle O'Quinn

The only time I see this being different is if Oladipo works out as a PG, then our lineup would be,

PG: Victor Oladipo/Jameer Nelson
SG: Maurice Harkless/Doron Lamb
SF: Andrew Wiggins/Free Agent Signing
PF: Tobias Harris/Glen Davis/Andrew Nicholson
C: Nikola Vucevic/Kyle O'Quinn

[LBPTarHeel27]

I think people are just frustrated with a boring offseason. But compared to the previous drama, boring is not a bad thing at all. We'll be back to a level where we make moves in the offseason to win, but now we're just planning.

Exactly.

People see so much activity around the league and wonder why we aren't involved. I see our inactivity as a good thing, right now. Henny isn't just trying to make a move...he is waiting for the right ones. Patience is a great thing to have when you have so many assets and flexibility.

I am really not sure what people are expecting from this offseason. I can see us moving Afflalo or BBD, but I think that both of those guys will have more value as we approach the trade deadline (Although I keep praying for a BBD for Joel Anthony+Philly's 2014 swap). We didn't get Bledsoe because they found a better deal. We have no need to sign any more players...we are already loaded up and may add couple guys from the summer league. Even if a big name was available, we aren't going to put ourselves in the running for them right now.

The only moves we will be making any time soon are....
-Buying out Harrington
-Buying out Turkoglu
-Exploring Afflalo trade opportunities
-Exploring BBD trade opportunities

[cedric76]

Some of u r mad

1st- stop the crazy Wiggins talk (10% chance to happen)
2nd-AA was great return, he is still young and why couldn't he be part of our future?
3rd- Rob is doing good job

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[MagicTownBaller]

Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Josh Smith has agreed to a four year, $56 million deal with the Detroit Pistons, league sources tell Y! Sports.

[orlando1214]

Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Josh Smith has agreed to a four year, $56 million deal with the Detroit Pistons, league sources tell Y! Sports.

WOW! Did not see that coming. Well so much for him going to Houston.