Orlando Magic Free Agency Guide (Cap Info UPDATED page 37)

[Skin]

I think you guys are all wrong on KD. I think it is clear he is desperate to be coached by a real coach like Skiles. I anticipate Skiles to be a real draw for free agents starting with Durant. No question about it.

Fixed it for you.

[Nyce_1]

c'mon guys, Westbrook, Durant, AND Horford? smh. I consider myself an optimist but this is just overboard.

[TodGre]

c'mon guys, Westbrook, Durant, AND Horford? smh. I consider myself an optimist but this is just overboard.

I agree, it might be a little overboard, not sure they could swing it financially either. We all know the salary cap is jumping quite a bit this summer, but isn't it also expected to jump again in the summer of '17? Doesn't this mean if teams strategize they will be able afford more come then. The Magic have many guys on their first contract. This helps immensely until about '18 or '19. Between potential Free Agents and growing some of our guys organically (Payton, Gordon, Hezonja, Oladipo), the sky is the limit for what this team can be in 2-3 years.

[drsd]

The thought of Westbrook/Hezonja/Durant/Horford/Vučević; me likes !

Could Orlando have the first starting five were all five average over 15 ppg ?!?!?

Seriously, with a quality bench, this teams scores well North of 120 ppg. There really is no point to those five trying to play defense as they could outscore all opponents under all match-up scenarios.


..

[Skin]

c'mon guys, Westbrook, Durant, AND Horford? smh. I consider myself an optimist but this is just overboard.

This is why we RealGMzzzzzzzz.

[PennytoShaq]

Problem is the main complainers will whine if we don't get Durant. I can already see it coming. They are the same people who are saying we have no shot at him. Take note of who posts what, because I guarantee you the same people will criticize this front office for not getting guys they said we had no shot at, or guys they said we should not be getting.

Mark it down. It's people who can't see the big picture which is this :

The Magic have so much cap space that even if they don't land a monster FA, they still can grab guys who will fit in with the team better. Before it was just asset collection. Now it is everyone analyzing the team needs (shooting, rim protection) and filling them

[premo321]

Right or Wrong.... If I were the GM of the Magic, I'd take ya'll on a wild ride this offseason!

First thing I do is recruit the hell out of Whiteside starting at 12:01 midnight and offer him the max. I know this is not a popular decision, but I'm willing to take the risk. His talent is too rare. Vucevic starts to play a little more PF depending on the match up.



Next, I offer Brandon Jennings a contract between $10-12M per year for 4 years.

Then, I exercise the Team Option on Ersan Ilyasova at $8M.

Happily match whatever contract Evan Fournier receives. At this point the Magic are over the cap

Draft Ivan Rabb, currently #13 at DX.

PG Brandon Jennings / Elfrid Payton / CJ Watson
SG Victor Oladipo / Mario Hezonja / CJ Watson
SF Evan Fournier / Aaron Gordon / Mario Hezonja
PF Aaron Gordon / Nikola Vucevic / Ersan Ilyasova / Ivan Rabb
C Hassan Whiteside / Nikola Vucevic

Still loaded with youth in a model that is built for long term sustainability.

This, I dont see how anyone would rather sign horford, with horford youre signing 4 years of treadmill and will never be real contender, with whiteside if things gel booyaaa, if not you can always trade him, morris brought 1st pick so I would not be concerned with whiteside offcourt, he is just too damn special

[904Magic]

No one available this offseason, short of maybe Conley and a heavily-medicated Whiteside, is worth max money. We would end up overpaying for anyone we go after.

[seeingstars]

Can you imagine driving to the rim vs whiteside and gordon lol good luck brah, thats like all time difficult

[Mrrags009]

Any thoughts on signing batum and Barnes ...would make us a monster defensively plus give us real shooting ability on the wings and unselfish team type players to go along with fourinier and Mario backing them up

[AddiFB]

How weird would it be, if we somehow managed to sign both Durant and Horford this offseason and a year later, sign Westbrook... and then suddenly Dwight signs for the vet minimum for a ride on the championship parade bus?

[seeingstars]

I just cant wait to see who we sign and how the world will stop spinning. Ill enjoy watching the birds fall from the sky whilst I sip my doctor pepper 10 and relive said new signees career highlights for a week straight.

[ezzzp]

Signing Durant with cap room would cost Golden State Harrison Barnes, and at least two of Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Andrew Bogut and Ezeli. The Warriors would have to offload two of those guys into someone else's cap space, and they are privately worried they might have to attach one or even two future first-round picks to grease the wheels.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14827602/should-warriors-make-move-sign-kevin-durant

[JF5]

I think you guys are all wrong on KD. I think it is clear he is desperate to be coached by a real coach like Skiles. I anticipate Skiles to be a real draw for free agents starting with Durant. No question about it.

[ezzzp]

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[fklt]

we may not be in the front lines of durant's preferred targets, but I have a hunch that he won't choose golden state. them being already the best team without him would be deterrent I feel.

[Bensational]

Horford really shouldn't be worth max dollars. He's not a star, and I'm not sure he's a massive difference maker as an individual, and he's had big issues with injuries in recent years, and he's going to be 30.

Yeah, he's a good player, and he'd be good as a 3rd option on a Big 3 (like in OKC with Durant and Westbrook, or in Chicago with Rose and Butler, etc), but we need to prioritize getting the Big 2 first and foremost. Adding an expensive 3rd option like that just makes it harder to obtain a legit star.

He's a borderline all-star and over the next few years, that's probably good enough to get a max offer.

I think he's a fine "second" option. While you'd ideally like the superstar in place first, it's not always going to work out that way.

Al Horford's 15ppg and 7rpg for nearly $30M is not smart money, IMO. He's not a difference making scorer, so if your #1 guy is having trouble and you have to rely on Horford stepping up bail you out, then you're in trouble.

If you go all in on Horford, then that means we either need to rely on someone on the team stepping up to become our star, or we have to hope we can somehow trade an ageing Horford for a legit difference maker.

Right now, we're close to competing for the playoffs just with the guys we've got. I don't think it's worth spending $30M a year just to secure that. You spend $30M a year to secure a shot at the championship. Or at least, that's what you should be planning to do with the way we've positioned our cap space and our young roster.

[Xatticus]

Nevertheless, the latest news about Festus Ezeli requiring exploratory surgery on his troublesome left knee is the first time this season when there is legitimate reason for long-term concern — if not necessarily panic — about an injury...

...the fact that the fourth-year center needed an extended period to recover from a past knee surgery — he missed the entire 2013-14 season after surgery to reinforce ligaments in his right knee — is cause for a degree of concern about both when he'll be ready to return this season and what his long-term outlook is as he looks ahead to free agency.

http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2016/2/8/10941708/nba-2016-golden-state-warriors-news-festus-ezeli-injury-surgery-stephen-curry-draymond-green

This is terrible timing for him, but it doesn't necessarily mean he won't get paid this summer. Exploratory means they don't know precisely what is wrong, but something is clearly bothering him so they will go in and take a look. I had exploratory surgery on one of my knees for a sports injury that had been partially diagnosed. The treatments I had been undergoing had not fixed the issue, but the exploratory surgery identified the problem and resolved it.

It is also worth noting that there might be some underlying issue that wasn't addressed previously that contributed to his difficulty in returning. I'm sure that any front office that is looking at making him an offer will get all relevant medical records reviewed by their own people.

[Xatticus]

we may not be in the front lines of durant's preferred targets, but I have a hunch that he won't choose golden state. them being already the best team without him would be deterrent I feel.

I'm not even convinced they will go after him. He certainly seems to fit, but Curry is what makes that engine hum. And while Durant is a wonderful offensive weapon that would fit on any team in the NBA, they already have an exceptional group of shooters surrounding Curry. They might see it as a huge financial investment to what might only amount to a modest upgrade.

[ezzzp]

Nevertheless, the latest news about Festus Ezeli requiring exploratory surgery on his troublesome left knee is the first time this season when there is legitimate reason for long-term concern — if not necessarily panic — about an injury...

...the fact that the fourth-year center needed an extended period to recover from a past knee surgery — he missed the entire 2013-14 season after surgery to reinforce ligaments in his right knee — is cause for a degree of concern about both when he'll be ready to return this season and what his long-term outlook is as he looks ahead to free agency.

http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2016/2/8/10941708/nba-2016-golden-state-warriors-news-festus-ezeli-injury-surgery-stephen-curry-draymond-green

This is terrible timing for him, but it doesn't necessarily mean he won't get paid this summer. Exploratory means they don't know precisely what is wrong, but something is clearly bothering him so they will go in and take a look. I had exploratory surgery on one of my knees for a sports injury that had been partially diagnosed. The treatments I had been undergoing had not fixed the issue, but the exploratory surgery identified the problem and resolved it.

It is also worth noting that there might be some underlying issue that wasn't addressed previously that contributed to his difficulty in returning. I'm sure that any front office that is looking at making him an offer will get all relevant medical records reviewed by their own people.

Ezeli spoke with the media for the fist time since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Feb. 8 and noted that he did not sustain any cartilage damage, as was initially feared