2016 Official Speculation Thread: Episode V - The Preseason Strikes Back

Nyce_1 · Post #41 » by **Nyce_1** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 6:25 pm

Chauncey Billups guest stars on Woj's podcast.

The first topic they cover is Chauncey and his decline to join Vogel on the bench in Orlando. Gave a big praises to Vogel and a little props to Rob & Scott Perry. If you're bored and have a few minutes, nice little listen.

http://art19.com/shows/vertical/episodes/05563f17-5a0c-4691-a0ec-5e009a5374d8

OrlandoDream · Post #42 » by **OrlandoDream** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 6:43 pm

Nyce_1 wrote:Chauncey Billups guest stars on Woj's podcast.

The first topic they cover is Chauncey and his decline to join Vogel on the bench in Orlando. Gave a big praises to Vogel and a little props to Rob & Scott Perry. If you're bored and have a few minutes, nice little listen.

http://art19.com/shows/vertical/episodes/05563f17-5a0c-4691-a0ec-5e009a5374d8

Mr Bigshot. Even retired, he is still hurting us. :lol:

Blue_and_Whte · Post #43 » by **Blue_and_Whte** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 6:59 pm

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/17145557/the-orlando-magic-fighting-become-viable-again
Just a couple of quips

To rival executives, the Magic still look aimless after a frenzy of transactions sloughed away 10 of the 16 guys who logged at least 200 minutes last season. They paid a backup center, Bismack Biyombo, starter money after sniffing around a similar deal for Joakim Noah,

Meanwhile, groups lumping Gordon alongside two traditional bigs and Elfrid Payton, perhaps an even worse shooter than Gordon, could barf up bricks as defenses strangle the lane. With the rim walled off, the Magic have settled for a ton of midrangers and struggled to earn foul shots.

That shaky playmaking imperils the Ibaka-Biyombo combo, about which the Magic are giddy. That duo will menace teams on defense. But swapping out Vucevic cramps Orlando's spacing, and both Ibaka and Biyombo were among just 16 rotation players last season who averaged one or fewer assists per 36 minutes.

It is hard to run a functional NBA offense with two non-passers, regardless of what position they play. Over the last nine seasons, no pair who dished so few dimes logged even 1,000 minutes together, per ESPN Stats & Information.

Payton runs the show in Orlando, and teams are going to duck way under picks against him until he proves he can hit open 18-footers at a rate that actually scares people:

"That's a challenge," Vogel said. "I'm not going to hide from that. It's Elfrid's third year. That has to develop into a money shot."

If Payton can't get to the rim, he gives up the ball -- and transforms into a Rajon Rondo-level liability no one bothers to guard, neutering Fournier's crafty pick-and-roll game:

The potential playmaking void is one reason the Magic are in no rush to trade Vucevic despite the logjam, league sources say. They might need his post game, and especially his passing. Last season, Vucevic quietly morphed into one of the league's best passing centers. He assisted on 16 percent of Orlando's hoops while on the floor, a tidy number for a big man; only five centers racked up more potential assists, per SportVU tracking data.

Orlando didn't pay Biyombo $70 million to back up Vucevic for 15 minutes a game. That would be lunacy.

MagicJeff · Post #44 » by **MagicJeff** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 7:13 pm

I'm getting tired of all these national NBA writers saying Aaron Gordon doesn't have a defined role. He has a defined role of small forward and backup power forward.

KingRobb02 · Post #45 » by **KingRobb02** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 7:16 pm

Blue_and_Whte wrote:http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/17145557/the-orlando-magic-fighting-become-viable-again
Just a couple of quips
To rival executives, the Magic still look aimless after a frenzy of transactions sloughed away 10 of the 16 guys who logged at least 200 minutes last season. They paid a backup center, Bismack Biyombo, starter money after sniffing around a similar deal for Joakim Noah,

Meanwhile, groups lumping Gordon alongside two traditional bigs and Elfrid Payton, perhaps an even worse shooter than Gordon, could barf up bricks as defenses strangle the lane. With the rim walled off, the Magic have settled for a ton of midrangers and struggled to earn foul shots.

That shaky playmaking imperils the Ibaka-Biyombo combo, about which the Magic are giddy. That duo will menace teams on defense. But swapping out Vucevic cramps Orlando's spacing, and both Ibaka and Biyombo were among just 16 rotation players last season who averaged one or fewer assists per 36 minutes.

It is hard to run a functional NBA offense with two non-passers, regardless of what position they play. Over the last nine seasons, no pair who dished so few dimes logged even 1,000 minutes together, per ESPN Stats & Information.

Payton runs the show in Orlando, and teams are going to duck way under picks against him until he proves he can hit open 18-footers at a rate that actually scares people:

"That's a challenge," Vogel said. "I'm not going to hide from that. It's Elfrid's third year. That has to develop into a money shot."

If Payton can't get to the rim, he gives up the ball -- and transforms into a Rajon Rondo-level liability no one bothers to guard, neutering Fournier's crafty pick-and-roll game:

The potential playmaking void is one reason the Magic are in no rush to trade Vucevic despite the logjam, league sources say. They might need his post game, and especially his passing. Last season, Vucevic quietly morphed into one of the league's best passing centers. He assisted on 16 percent of Orlando's hoops while on the floor, a tidy number for a big man; only five centers racked up more potential assists, per SportVU tracking data.

Orlando didn't pay Biyombo $70 million to back up Vucevic for 15 minutes a game. That would be lunacy.

There is ongoing talk about this in the "Vogal(sic) to us Goron Like PG" threa

Nyce_1 · Post #46 » by **Nyce_1** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 7:22 pm

Blue_and_Whte wrote:http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/17145557/the-orlando-magic-fighting-become-viable-again
Just a couple of quips
To rival executives, the Magic still look aimless after a frenzy of transactions sloughed away 10 of the 16 guys who logged at least 200 minutes last season. They paid a backup center, Bismack Biyombo, starter money after sniffing around a similar deal for Joakim Noah,

Meanwhile, groups lumping Gordon alongside two traditional bigs and Elfrid Payton, perhaps an even worse shooter than Gordon, could barf up bricks as defenses strangle the lane. With the rim walled off, the Magic have settled for a ton of midrangers and struggled to earn foul shots.

That shaky playmaking imperils the Ibaka-Biyombo combo, about which the Magic are giddy. That duo will menace teams on defense. But swapping out Vucevic cramps Orlando's spacing, and both Ibaka and Biyombo were among just 16 rotation players last season who averaged one or fewer assists per 36 minutes.

It is hard to run a functional NBA offense with two non-passers, regardless of what position they play. Over the last nine seasons, no pair who dished so few dimes logged even 1,000 minutes together, per ESPN Stats & Information.

Payton runs the show in Orlando, and teams are going to duck way under picks against him until he proves he can hit open 18-footers at a rate that actually scares people:

"That's a challenge," Vogel said. "I'm not going to hide from that. It's Elfrid's third year. That has to develop into a money shot."

If Payton can't get to the rim, he gives up the ball -- and transforms into a Rajon Rondo-level liability no one bothers to guard, neutering Fournier's crafty pick-and-roll game:

The potential playmaking void is one reason the Magic are in no rush to trade Vucevic despite the logjam, league sources say. They might need his post game, and especially his passing. Last season, Vucevic quietly morphed into one of the league's best passing centers. He assisted on 16 percent of Orlando's hoops while on the floor, a tidy number for a big man; only five centers racked up more potential assists, per SportVU tracking data.

Orlando didn't pay Biyombo $70 million to back up Vucevic for 15 minutes a game. That would be lunacy.

If you didn't see the thread: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=1468188

woosah · Post #47 » by **woosah** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 7:42 pm

Any matchups you are looking forward to seeing this year?

I was thinking about the new Atlanta and how we'd do against Dwight/Milsap with our new frontcourt. I am looking forward to that one.

T-Cat · Post #48 » by **T-Cat** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 9:52 pm

Blue_and_Whte wrote:http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/17145557/the-orlando-magic-fighting-become-viable-again
Just a couple of quips
To rival executives, the Magic still look aimless after a frenzy of transactions sloughed away 10 of the 16 guys who logged at least 200 minutes last season. They paid a backup center, Bismack Biyombo, starter money after sniffing around a similar deal for Joakim Noah,

Meanwhile, groups lumping Gordon alongside two traditional bigs and Elfrid Payton, perhaps an even worse shooter than Gordon, could barf up bricks as defenses strangle the lane. With the rim walled off, the Magic have settled for a ton of midrangers and struggled to earn foul shots.

That shaky playmaking imperils the Ibaka-Biyombo combo, about which the Magic are giddy. That duo will menace teams on defense. But swapping out Vucevic cramps Orlando's spacing, and both Ibaka and Biyombo were among just 16 rotation players last season who averaged one or fewer assists per 36 minutes.

It is hard to run a functional NBA offense with two non-passers, regardless of what position they play. Over the last nine seasons, no pair who dished so few dimes logged even 1,000 minutes together, per ESPN Stats & Information.

Payton runs the show in Orlando, and teams are going to duck way under picks against him until he proves he can hit open 18-footers at a rate that actually scares people:

"That's a challenge," Vogel said. "I'm not going to hide from that. It's Elfrid's third year. That has to develop into a money shot."

If Payton can't get to the rim, he gives up the ball -- and transforms into a Rajon Rondo-level liability no one bothers to guard, neutering Fournier's crafty pick-and-roll game:

The potential playmaking void is one reason the Magic are in no rush to trade Vucevic despite the logjam, league sources say. They might need his post game, and especially his passing. Last season, Vucevic quietly morphed into one of the league's best passing centers. He assisted on 16 percent of Orlando's hoops while on the floor, a tidy number for a big man; only five centers racked up more potential assists, per SportVU tracking data.

Orlando didn't pay Biyombo $70 million to back up Vucevic for 15 minutes a game. That would be lunacy.

Who on this team has to in him to be that vocal leader? That's the only thing this team is missing IMO

Is Marcus Smart available?

This never gets old:

Watch on YouTube

OrlandoDream · Post #49 » by **OrlandoDream** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 11:28 pm

tiderulz wrote:
OrlandoDream wrote:
KokoKaizer wrote:http://newsok.com/thunder-journal/article/5511290?custom_click=rss

Oladipo is looking for a max from Thunder.

I'm happy we're not the team to give it

edit : my bad. did't saw it was already post on the "Around the League" thread...sorry...

He will receive it from someone. It was not going to be us and that's one of the main reason he was traded. Don't think he is a max player yet but if Moe just got 10mil per, Dipo is going to be worth CJ money.

worth CJ money? or paid CJ money? big difference between the 2

Why not both? Nobody here has any idea the kind of numbers he will put up in OKC. Somebody is going well k throw him max money.

Dennis Reynolds · Post #50 » by **Dennis Reynolds** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 12:10 am

T-Cat wrote:
Blue_and_Whte wrote:http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/17145557/the-orlando-magic-fighting-become-viable-again
Just a couple of quips
To rival executives, the Magic still look aimless after a frenzy of transactions sloughed away 10 of the 16 guys who logged at least 200 minutes last season. They paid a backup center, Bismack Biyombo, starter money after sniffing around a similar deal for Joakim Noah,

Meanwhile, groups lumping Gordon alongside two traditional bigs and Elfrid Payton, perhaps an even worse shooter than Gordon, could barf up bricks as defenses strangle the lane. With the rim walled off, the Magic have settled for a ton of midrangers and struggled to earn foul shots.

That shaky playmaking imperils the Ibaka-Biyombo combo, about which the Magic are giddy. That duo will menace teams on defense. But swapping out Vucevic cramps Orlando's spacing, and both Ibaka and Biyombo were among just 16 rotation players last season who averaged one or fewer assists per 36 minutes.

It is hard to run a functional NBA offense with two non-passers, regardless of what position they play. Over the last nine seasons, no pair who dished so few dimes logged even 1,000 minutes together, per ESPN Stats & Information.

Payton runs the show in Orlando, and teams are going to duck way under picks against him until he proves he can hit open 18-footers at a rate that actually scares people:

"That's a challenge," Vogel said. "I'm not going to hide from that. It's Elfrid's third year. That has to develop into a money shot."

If Payton can't get to the rim, he gives up the ball -- and transforms into a Rajon Rondo-level liability no one bothers to guard, neutering Fournier's crafty pick-and-roll game:

The potential playmaking void is one reason the Magic are in no rush to trade Vucevic despite the logjam, league sources say. They might need his post game, and especially his passing. Last season, Vucevic quietly morphed into one of the league's best passing centers. He assisted on 16 percent of Orlando's hoops while on the floor, a tidy number for a big man; only five centers racked up more potential assists, per SportVU tracking data.

Orlando didn't pay Biyombo $70 million to back up Vucevic for 15 minutes a game. That would be lunacy.

Who on this team has to in him to be that vocal leader? That's the only thing this team is missing IMO

Is Marcus Smart available?

This never gets old:

Watch on YouTube

Wanna know what gets old soon? Watching Smart's offensive highlights. :lol:

Post #51 » by **Howard Mass** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 8:52 am

I still maintain that Hezonja will eventually start at SF this season.

Gordon at the 3 would make this team tough defensively but you need Hezonja out there with Fournier on the wings to open things up especially with Elfrid Payton at point guard.

fendilim · Post #52 » by **fendilim** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 9:29 am

Howard Mass wrote:I still maintain that Hezonja will eventually start at SF this season.

Gordon at the 3 would make this team tough defensively but you need Hezonja out there with Fournier on the wings to open things up especially with Elfrid Payton at point guard.

I really think eventually that will be the case.

Mc-o · Post #53 » by **Mc-o** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 11:49 am

Howard Mass wrote:I still maintain that Hezonja will eventually start at SF this season.

Gordon at the 3 would make this team tough defensively but you need Hezonja out there with Fournier on the wings to open things up especially with Elfrid Payton at point guard.

I agree the best case scenario would be that Mario Gordon and EP break out and then we can get rid of one of our centers , more than likely Vuc , to balance out are roster . A lineup of ibaka Gordon Mario Fournier and EP , would be fun to watch !!

yoyojw17 · Post #54 » by **yoyojw17** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 11:50 am

Dennis Reynolds wrote:
T-Cat wrote:
Blue_and_Whte wrote:http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/17145557/the-orlando-magic-fighting-become-viable-again
Just a couple of quips

Who on this team has to in him to be that vocal leader? That's the only thing this team is missing IMO

Is Marcus Smart available?

This never gets old:

Watch on YouTube

Wanna know what gets old soon? Watching Smart's offensive highlights.

35% from the field and 25% from 3.... 3 assist in 27 min.... all for better on the ball defense that Payton could still be reasonably good at.... oh and i guy that doesn't seem to have a position in this league.... I'll pass.

yoyojw17 · Post #55 » by **yoyojw17** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 12:18 pm

Mc-o wrote:
Howard Mass wrote:I still maintain that Hezonja will eventually start at SF this season.

Gordon at the 3 would make this team tough defensively but you need Hezonja out there with Fournier on the wings to open things up especially with Elfrid Payton at point guard.

I agree the best case scenario would be that Mario Gordon and EP break out and then we can get rid of one of our centers , more than likely Vuc , to balance out are roster . A lineup of ibaka Gordon Mario Fournier and EP , would be fun to watch !!

YUP.... they would totally change the complexion of the season and i would be giddy! Well... we don't have to be thaaaaaat Hasty until we have to re-up on payton and gordon's contracts.... which will still be in two years! lol.... that's two years in which we can make some noise.

Mc-o · Post #56 » by **Mc-o** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 12:28 pm

yoyojw17 wrote:
Mc-o wrote:
Howard Mass wrote:I still maintain that Hezonja will eventually start at SF this season.

Gordon at the 3 would make this team tough defensively but you need Hezonja out there with Fournier on the wings to open things up especially with Elfrid Payton at point guard.

I agree the best case scenario would be that Mario Gordon and EP break out and then we can get rid of one of our centers , more than likely Vuc , to balance out are roster . A lineup of ibaka Gordon Mario Fournier and EP , would be fun to watch !!

YUP.... the would totally change the complexion of the season and i would be giddy! Well... we don't have to be thaaaaaat Haste until we have to re-up on payton and gordon's contracts.... which will still be in two years! lol.... that's two years in which we can make some noise.

I think just Mario breaking out would change the season , then we will really have a team that can morph into any style of basketball

Blue_and_Whte · Post #57 » by **Blue_and_Whte** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 12:40 pm

KingRobb02 wrote: There is ongoing talk about this in the "Vogal(sic) to us Goron Like PG" thread

My bad

Gomagic44 · Post #58 » by **Gomagic44** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 1:06 pm

I hope Mario breaks out, but even if he does, that does not make Vuc expendable. Vuc is on a fantastic contract, even if he is a backup by then. He is also a great center. Great attitude, great hustle. Total professional. I'll never forget him saying in response to "what is it like to fill dwight howards spot?" "I am a more skilled player". And he is, and I hope he is here when we make our run! :nod:

Blue_and_Whte · Post #59 » by **Blue_and_Whte** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 1:17 pm

Gomagic44 wrote:I hope Mario breaks out, but even if he does, that does not make Vuc expendable. Vuc is on a fantastic contract, even if he is a backup by then. He is also a great center. Great attitude, great hustle. Total professional. I'll never forget him saying in response to "what is it like to fill dwight howards spot?" "I am a more skilled player". And he is, and I hope he is here when we make our run!

We don't need to make any more changes to what remains of our core until next offseason unless of course its a massive upgrade. Hell I'd be ok waiting at least two more seasons. We've changed coaches like underwear creating an unstable environment for our players so in turn I don't think we fully know what we have.

OrlChamps2030 · Post #60 » by **OrlChamps2030** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 1:20 pm

Howard Mass wrote:I still maintain that Hezonja will eventually start at SF this season.

Gordon at the 3 would make this team tough defensively but you need Hezonja out there with Fournier on the wings to open things up especially with Elfrid Payton at point guard.

Really? Gordon looked way farther ahead than Hezonja last season. I really can't see that happening.