Official Speculation Thread Pt.LXII

[The Real Dalic]

Golden State, San Antonio, Miami, OKC, LAC and Indiana

What do they have in common?

Each team drafted their star and are competing for a championship.

LeBron would have never went to Miami if it wasn't for Wade and same with Chris Paul re-signging in LAC due to Griffin. This team has nothing to attract big time free agents at the moment.

This is true. But we might very well have a star in Oladipo. It's way too early to know if he is or isn't yet.

We also have a nice young core. Any star would wanna play with our very good young core.

[NickAnderson]

Exactly. Memphis has reached its limit with its core. Indiana however seems to be an anomaly. It's very uncommon for a team to come together like the pacers and challenge for a title. I'd rather take the more proven path the spurs have taken.

The Spurs are actually the anomaly. That's what makes them so special. They're the only team in the last 10 years and maybe even more than that that have one a championship with a mostly drafted core. Every other team that has won a championship has improved to championship level through trades and free agency.

I agree somewhat but having a top 5 pick this year can only help us if we keep the player or not. We could trade for a star ala Houston. Basically Henny is doing it right by stock piling picks and young talent to trade for stars etc.

Would you guys rather lose some games get a top 5 pick that will potentially be a star or an awesome trade chip? Or try to win games this season squeak into the playoffs and get a top 20-25 pick? Which is a better asset?

My choice is the first one.

[OrlandoNed]

By the way, I want to make it very clear that I would love to draft Randle, Wiggins, or Parker. Sometimes it feels like I'm being misunderstood whenever I talk about the draft. I know the draft is the best asset for the Magic right now. My only thing is I hate losing on purpose and I also know there are more options than the draft.

Yes there are multiple options to build a team but the best way for a small market team has always been the draft.

Orlando right now is not trying to lose. That would be bad to see our youngsters not give their all for the w. The players will never throw a game, but a gm who is tanking will try to put his team in a position to lose as much as possible in the short term for sustained long term success. Yes there are no guarantees that the plan will work, but is the best chance we have.

[The Real Dalic]

Exactly. Memphis has reached its limit with its core. Indiana however seems to be an anomaly. It's very uncommon for a team to come together like the pacers and challenge for a title. I'd rather take the more proven path the spurs have taken.

The Spurs are actually the anomaly. That's what makes them so special. They're the only team in the last 10 years and maybe even more than that that have one a championship with a mostly drafted core. Every other team that has won a championship has improved to championship level through trades and free agency.

I agree somewhat but having a top 5 pick this year can only help us if we keep the player or not. We could trade for a star ala Houston. Basically Henny is doing it right by stock piling picks and young talent to trade for stars etc.

Would you guys rather lose some games get a top 5 pick that will potentially be a star or an awesome trade chip? Or try to win games this season squeak into the playoffs and get a top 20-25 pick? Which is a better asset?

My choice is the first one.

We'll only be getting a 16 or higher pick from the Knicks most likely. Our pick is looking to be pretty good this season. And I would love a top 5 pick. I just don't think we'll get lower than 5th because other teams know how good this draft is.

[The Real Dalic]

By the way, I want to make it very clear that I would love to draft Randle, Wiggins, or Parker. Sometimes it feels like I'm being misunderstood whenever I talk about the draft. I know the draft is the best asset for the Magic right now. My only thing is I hate losing on purpose and I also know there are more options than the draft.

Yes there are multiple options to build a team but the best way for a small market team has always been the draft.

Orlando right now is not trying to lose. That would be bad to see our youngsters not give their all for the w. The players will never throw a game, but a gm who is tanking will try to put his team in a position to lose as much as possible in the short term for sustained long term success. Yes there are no guarantees that the plan will work, but is the best chance we have.

I wish we could get into Hennys head and see what he really wants to do. Because he could very well be a "GM who wants to tank". That's something I'm very interested in.

[Orlwillbeback]

even though his numbers suck, I really think Oladipo has star potential. There are times when he looks all-world out there.

[cedric76]

I want to see what a :

Dipo,AA,Harris can do together



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[KingRobb02]

even though his numbers suck, I really think Oladipo has star potential. There are times when he looks all-world out there.

I saw curious how bad Oladipo's numbers were, so I made the mistake of going to look. Shooting 39% from the field? OK I get it, the season is going and he will probably improve. A 28% usage rate with a 21% turnover rate? This kid needs hug.

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[NickAnderson]

even though his numbers suck, I really think Oladipo has star potential. There are times when he looks all-world out there.

I saw curious how bad Oladipo's numbers were, so I made the mistake of going to look. Shooting 39% from the field? OK I get it, the season is going and he will probably improve. A 28% usage rate with a 21% turnover rate? This kid needs hug.

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And people wonder why he isn't getting a ton of minutes.

[KillMonger]

He should be getting a ton of minutes mistakes or not. We're in a rebuild, not really a time to be sending messages imo

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[fendilim]

Golden State, San Antonio, Miami, OKC, LAC and Indiana

What do they have in common?

Each team drafted their star and are competing for a championship.

LeBron would have never went to Miami if it wasn't for Wade and same with Chris Paul re-signging in LAC due to Griffin. This team has nothing to attract big time free agents at the moment.

This is true. But we might very well have a star in Oladipo. It's way too early to know if he is or isn't yet.

We also have a nice young core. Any star would wanna play with our very good young core.

Any star would want to play with another star, not wait for a team to develop a star.

[Nyce_1]

even though his numbers suck, I really think Oladipo has star potential. There are times when he looks all-world out there.

I saw curious how bad Oladipo's numbers were, so I made the mistake of going to look. Shooting 39% from the field? OK I get it, the season is going and he will probably improve. A 28% usage rate with a 21% turnover rate? This kid needs hug.

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Just curious: would you mind providing those stats for Westbrook's rookie year?

[Neon1]

even though his numbers suck, I really think Oladipo has star potential. There are times when he looks all-world out there.

I saw curious how bad Oladipo's numbers were, so I made the mistake of going to look. Shooting 39% from the field? OK I get it, the season is going and he will probably improve. A 28% usage rate with a 21% turnover rate? This kid needs hug.

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Just curious: would you mind providing those stats for Westbrook's rookie year?

Westbrook was better at everything (except steals and defense) while not shooting or dominating the ball as much as Dipo has been. Oladipo has shown a better three ball, but the three ball hasn't ever been part of Westbrook's game he tries to use.

Westbrook rookie year: 15.3ppg 4.9rpg 5.3apg .398 (13.2fga) .812 (5.2fta) in 32.5mpg

25.8% usg
17.7% turnover
16.9 pts36
5.4 reb36
5.9 ast36
15.3 PER

But keep in mind they started him.

[Komodo]

On the season, 26% USG 18% TO 39FG%. He didn't play more than 30 MPG until his 12th game. But I think we should stop throwing Westbrook's name around. He's an anomaly. VO doesn't have the herky-jerky handle that Westbrook has. I see more of a SG. Still, it's early you never know. I'd just like to see him get 30+ MIN every night and see what kind of assists he can rack up.

[MasterGMer]

When is the possible return of Harris? What is the timeline reported?

[Neon1]

When is the possible return of Harris? What is the timeline reported?

End of next week-ish or next weekend-ish.

[woosah]

When is the possible return of Harris? What is the timeline reported?

End of next week-ish or next weekend-ish.

You sound more optimistic than Tobias in his interview posted 11/12. He said a couple of weeks when asked about it so i thought maybe early to mid December. Everyone is being very vague about it so who really knows.

[Catledge]

A "couple of weeks" after 11/12 would be 11/26...

[Neon1]

When is the possible return of Harris? What is the timeline reported?

End of next week-ish or next weekend-ish.

You sound more optimistic than Tobias in his interview posted 11/12. He said a couple of weeks when asked about it so i thought maybe early to mid December. Everyone is being very vague about it so who really knows.

My bad, I thought that interview was like Monday, it was only Wed. I would guess right after/around Thanksgiving then.

[KingRobb02]

He should be getting a ton of minutes mistakes or not. We're in a rebuild, not really a time to be sending messages imo

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I really don't think the sink or swim method is the best way to see if a guy will develop. My favorite player development story over the past 10 years was Stan turning JJ into an NBA player by making him accountable for his mistakes and actually forcing him to pay attention on defense rather than only focusing on what JJ was already good at.