Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass)

Moderators: Texas Chuck, BullyKing, Andre Roberstan, loserX, Trader_Joe, Mamba4Goat, pacers33granger, MoneyTalks41890, HartfordWhalers

Grade the Orlando offseason

A
9
8%
A-
8
7%
B+
25
21%
B
19
16%
B-
10
8%
C+
8
7%
C
7
6%
C-
15
13%
D
8
7%
F
9
8%
 
Total votes: 118

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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#341 » by Illmatic12 » Thu Aug 4, 2016 10:42 pm

Skin wrote:Payton is going to have to improve as a shooter. Whether or not he does or not will determine how long he stays in that role. But Biyombo is locked in for 4 years and it's more of a matter of Payton fitting in with him than him fitting in with Payton. If the Magic find a PG who can shoot via trade during the season or some other way next summer, then all this fuss about Biyombo is temporary. In the meantime, heck, if there's going to be all these missed shots like you guys are referring to, then having a good rebounding C and put back machine is all the more important to have. Vogel did a great job figuring out how to get the best out of Roy Hibbert. There's high confidence for him to get the best out of Biyombo.

Payton certainly needs significant improvement, currently his performance significantly hampers the Magic's ceiling. This season is setting up to be a referendum on his career in Orlando.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#342 » by Texas Chuck » Thu Aug 4, 2016 10:45 pm

orlando_joe wrote:wow after reading a little of this seems like magic should get the #1 pick next summer and the GM fired ...doomed to be the worst team that made the worst choices ever by a gm ...guess the fact that 50 voted B- or better most all be homers that know nothing about the team needs or moves voting blindly..as stated by a few posters...



This sort of post really isn't constructive. IF you are happy with your team's moves it really shouldn't matter to you what the rest of us think. But there were a lot of really strong objective posters raising some legitimate questions about some of the moves the Magic made. But maybe you just think our regs here are ignorant randoms off the internet.

So here are some national writers thoughts on the Magic off-season:

Fox Sports gave them a D

http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/nba-free-agency-grades-draft-offseason-golden-state-warriors-kevin-durant-lakers-bulls-071116

CBS Sports has them among the most baffling teams

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2016-nba-free-agency-best-deals-biggest-surprises-and-most-baffling-moves/


I think this thread is as much about one specific Magic fan not being able to handle any criticism of all of his team's moves as it is some sort of unfair persecution of Orlando.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#343 » by orlando_joe » Thu Aug 4, 2016 11:05 pm

pointing out the fact that 50 voted b- or better is just ME one random fan? ok. b- is above avg
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#344 » by Texas Chuck » Thu Aug 4, 2016 11:13 pm

orlando_joe wrote:pointing out the fact that 50 voted b- or better is just ME one random fan? ok. b- is above avg



I wasn't referring to you. IF you actually read the thread it becomes quite clear why it has so many pages. Most of the non-Magic fans itt are countering absurd and frequently factually wrong claims made again mostly by one poster. Who is trivially easy to identify.


I'd imagine that yes most of the positive votes are from Magic fans. Probably not all, but a significant portion. Just like for just about every off-season thread I'd expect the fanbase of that team to like their off-season more than the board as a whole. There might be one or two exceptions, but no more than that.

Having an emotional investment in one's team doing well is going to impact how most people evaluate their own team's performance. IT's why when I'm curious about how the Mavs off-season looks I don't go to the Mavs board, but come here to get a much more objective evaluation.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#345 » by orlando_joe » Thu Aug 4, 2016 11:18 pm

I misunderstood..my bad
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#346 » by wise1-2 » Thu Aug 4, 2016 11:47 pm

Texas Chuck wrote:I know I will get needless blowback on this, but you do realize you don't actually have to hit the salary floor, right? And that other teams have gotten assets at the deadline for taking on contracts while getting themselves to the floor. So you can't defend bad one-year signings because of the floor. Sorry.


No need to apologize. I understand you dont need to hit the salary cap. The consequence of that is you have the remaining money split up to the players on your roster. Essentially, your giving kids not only guaranteed playing time, but also an unwarranted raise. That isn't a great idea IMO, especially when you're determined to build a work-hard culture (see work ethic/character focus in his draft picks). Hennigan did not want his young guys feeling entitled. He wanted them to work hard and earn their minutes/money. I understand you can take on bad contracts for assets, but usually those assets are insignificant and the players don't contribute much. Hennigan signed Gordon and Frye for their shooting. The team needed spacing. Anyway, isn't trading Frye for a second round pick similar to taking on a bad contract for a second round pick? You're using your cap space by signing someone and then trading that guy for an asset. Not only that but you're not paying him money to go away. You're paying him to actually play. Furthermore, guys like Ben Gordon and Frye are needed as salary filler if you want to make a big trade in case you need to match salary. All of their assets were on a rookie scale contract.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#347 » by wise1-2 » Thu Aug 4, 2016 11:50 pm

Texas Chuck wrote:
orlando_joe wrote:wow after reading a little of this seems like magic should get the #1 pick next summer and the GM fired ...doomed to be the worst team that made the worst choices ever by a gm ...guess the fact that 50 voted B- or better most all be homers that know nothing about the team needs or moves voting blindly..as stated by a few posters...



This sort of post really isn't constructive. IF you are happy with your team's moves it really shouldn't matter to you what the rest of us think. But there were a lot of really strong objective posters raising some legitimate questions about some of the moves the Magic made. But maybe you just think our regs here are ignorant randoms off the internet.

So here are some national writers thoughts on the Magic off-season:

Fox Sports gave them a D

http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/nba-free-agency-grades-draft-offseason-golden-state-warriors-kevin-durant-lakers-bulls-071116

CBS Sports has them among the most baffling teams

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2016-nba-free-agency-best-deals-biggest-surprises-and-most-baffling-moves/


I think this thread is as much about one specific Magic fan not being able to handle any criticism of all of his team's moves as it is some sort of unfair persecution of Orlando.

The thing is they've criticized almost every move Hennigan has made, and they were wrong the vast majority of the time. It's hard to take them seriously at this point. I trust in Hennigan way more than these writers or my judgement.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#348 » by wise1-2 » Thu Aug 4, 2016 11:54 pm

Texas Chuck wrote:
orlando_joe wrote:pointing out the fact that 50 voted b- or better is just ME one random fan? ok. b- is above avg



I wasn't referring to you. IF you actually read the thread it becomes quite clear why it has so many pages. Most of the non-Magic fans itt are countering absurd and frequently factually wrong claims made again mostly by one poster. Who is trivially easy to identify.


I'd imagine that yes most of the positive votes are from Magic fans. Probably not all, but a significant portion. Just like for just about every off-season thread I'd expect the fanbase of that team to like their off-season more than the board as a whole. There might be one or two exceptions, but no more than that.

Having an emotional investment in one's team doing well is going to impact how most people evaluate their own team's performance. IT's why when I'm curious about how the Mavs off-season looks I don't go to the Mavs board, but come here to get a much more objective evaluation.

Lol you never answered my question. Do you now see why it makes sense to say Harris was replaced with Biyombo?
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#349 » by Texas Chuck » Fri Aug 5, 2016 12:02 am

wise1-2 wrote:The thing is they've criticized almost every move Hennigan has made, and they were wrong the vast majority of the time. It's hard to take them seriously at this point. I trust in Hennigan way more than these writers or my judgement.



I'd say the Magic' record during his tenure is such that I don't believe you can definitively claim he's proven anyone wrong, can you? And I'm glad you trust Hennigan. My issue with you is your stubborn unwillingness to listen to a single argument about why some of us feel he's not above questioning. Of course I don't feel like a single GM is above questioning and that includes guys like Buford and Riley.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#350 » by Texas Chuck » Fri Aug 5, 2016 12:04 am

wise1-2 wrote:Lol you never answered my question. Do you now see why it makes sense to say Harris was replaced with Biyombo?




This has been answered at length by multiple posters including me. I see no need to get back into it with you at this time.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#351 » by Skin » Fri Aug 5, 2016 1:42 am

Colbinii wrote:
Skin wrote:Every single player on that list is not a better offensive player than Biyombo.
Yes they are. The biggest things between a lot of those players and Biyombo is the fact that you can dump it down low to them and they will make a play, Biyimbo can't.
Look at AST%, Bogut: 14.8%, Lopez: 8.5%, Jordan: 5.3%, Gobert: 7.4%, Biyombo: 2.4%. All of these players are a lot better passers than Biyombo, even DJ is a better passer.
Next, you can look at OBPM, Bogut: -.6, Lopez: .1, Jordan: -.4, Gobert: -1.1, Biyombo: -2.4. None of these players are anywhere near as bad as Biyombo. There is a reason all of these players have higher USG% than Biyombo besides Gobert, and that is because an offense can actually utilize them in the post.
You can even look at ESPN ORPM; Bogut: -2.24, Lopez: -.95, Jodan: +.35, Gobert: -1.55, Biyombo: -2.97.
Now, the most important thing you can base this on, is not stats, but actually watching how these players operate in the post, and how their respective teams use them in the post. Just watching the games it should be clear that Biyombo isn't even on a level of Gobert offensively, let alone the rest of these players.
I don't even know what you're basing that off of.
Every statistic that measures offensive impact.
Certainly not PER36.
This would be an awful way to conclude how good a player is offensively.
I have an assumption that you're just looking at his PPG. But that's just lazy.
Nah, I would assume that Loser_X is actually watching the games.
Put Biyombo next to Chris Paul and I bet the quality of his shots and PPG raise dramatically compared to playing with ball hogs such as Lowry and Kemba in the past.
Lowry isn't a ball-hog. Lowry was an all-star in part because of his way to run the offense, not his ball-hogging. Biyombo isn't anywhere close to the finisher that DeAndre is around the rim, so it wouldn't be the same swapping Biyombo and DJ.
DeAndre is a great benefactor.
I actually think Chris Paul benefits more from DJ than the other way around. Is there a PG in the league that couldn't throw lobs to DJ? No, they all could, because he is a fantastic off-ball player in the post.
The rest of those guys are in striking range.
Gobert is, sure, but his offensive trajectory is higher than Biyombo currently.
Howard has been a featured player and Adams is on the upswing, so I can concede some there.
Both of these players are much better offensively than Biyombo. I don't think the comparison can be had. And Joakim Noah? The Bulls ran the offense partly through for the past 4 years.
The point remains, having a Center that defends the post, rebounds and blocks shots is a bigger priority and fundamental need. They don't cripple your line up and waste minutes on the floor.
This isn't true. In your starting line-up you need two-way players. Look at the teams in the Finals and their Bigs. Love, great offensive player and he played great defense in the NBA Finals. Tristan Thompson, player well on both sides of the ball. Draymond Green? Fantastic on both ends. When GSW subbed in Ezeli (comparable level player to Biyombo) they got crushed; slaughtered.

You can't tell me in a vacuum that the Biyombo signing was bad. You have to justify it by saying it's bad "in that line up that can't shoot". But again, you are misguided.
He isn't misguided though. He is using every piece of evidence he has, that the magic are a poor 3 pt shooting team and lost their best floor spacer, Channing Frye.
The Magic are going to test the versatility limits of their players this year. Hennigan added 3 players who shoot near a 40% clip from 3 in Augustin, Meeks, and Wilcox.
This should benefit the team in terms of spacing, but none of those players will get more than 15-20 MPG unless you want to be in the lottery.
He got rid of one inconsistent shooter in Dipo and gave those minutes to Fournier.
First, Fournier already played 32 MPG and started in 71 games. I don't think he is going to be "taking Dipo's minutes", that will be Mario I assume. Second, Oladipo shot the 3rd best on the team (not counting Frye who was traded, Illyasova who played in 22 games) and was .1% worse than Mario. He was one of your best 3 pt shooters last season.
Ibaka and Vucevic can shoot.
Yes, for me Ibaka/Dipo are going to be essentially a wash in terms of impact on the team.
In an interview, Vogel even said he will test Vucevic as a corner 3 shooter and put him in position to expand his game and give him some extended minutes at PF.
He definitely has the skills to do so, well, except for guarding other team's 4's. That is going to look like a nightmare trying to chase stretch 4's around.
Payton is going to set up Biyombo for easy baskets like he's never had from a previous PG before.
Lowry is a better passer, so I am not sure how this is going to be the case. Biyombo also had the luxury of playing with a team where all focus was on Lowry/DD and spacing throughout the lineup.

Theoretically (I'm not asking for names), how should've the Magic addressed their depth around their young lottery picks that they are trying to develop?
I think they should have gone after a more proven commodity at the wing and have Hezonja play 20-24 mpg in a 6th man role. I do like the Ibaka trade, but with their cap space, I would have liked to see them get a better 3+D player to put on the roster if they were really serious about making the playoffs, rather than DJ Augustin, the corpses of Meeks and Wilcox.

Obviously, time will tell how the Magic do. I am excited to see how the team progresses, and I do think the Green signing wasn't as bad as some people are making it out to be. I still think they are a season away from making the post-sesaon in a much improved Eastern Conference, but they will definitely be a fun team to watch with a great head coach.

Good post, you made good points that make me think twice. But it is so chopped up, that it's hard to respond easily to. I guess I'll try to address the main points. Whether or not Biyombo is or isn't comparable to those guys offensively is a secondary point. We could throw senseless stats out there to make all kinds of points. The main point is that he isn't a good offensive player, which I can agree with. I don't think Magic fans are hoping that he's a better offensive player than he is advertised as. What we are hoping for is an upgrade in our post defense and that is where Biyombo should be able to deliver.

Now whether or not his defense can be enough to overcompensate his offense and be a championship piece? I think it's too early to say either way. He's young and in his prime. Far from a finished product. For his age, he definitely showed a lot of poise in the playoffs and took another step forward in his game. You made a good point there saying that you need 2 way ability. Nobody is going to criticize the advantage of having a good 2 way player at any position. So I can agree with that, BUT at C, if you're choosing between offense and defense, defense is a bigger priority and a must have. There have been Centers on championship teams and contenders that haven't been world beaters on offense.

What matters is how the team is built around those kinds of Centers. Right now, the Magic are still developing their young players. That is their top priority. What makes this signing sensible is that Biyombo is in the same age range (all jokes aside) as the Magic's young core. They can grow together and figure things out together. There is a core being built here. The Magic have shown no signs of throwing Vucevic out of the picture. Their strengths and weaknesses compliment each other and allow the Magic to play according to the flow of the game instead of being forced into a situation because of the lack of other options.

Will Biyombo be in a better or worse situation in ORL than TOR? My guess is things will largely be the same for him. I disagree that Lowry is a better passer than Payton and that Derozan offers more spacing than Fournier. ...and yes, Fournier will be stepping into the starting SG spot that is now vacated by Dipo's departure. Fournier played out of position a lot last year as our SF. Our defense was hurt because of it. But we needed his offensive impact so that is why we played Dipo at SG, Fournier at SF and Gordon at PF. Everything was off balance last season. We are much more sound coming into 2016. We're finally playing players at positions they can succeed in.

In response to the veteran additions, I disagree. The focus is for Gordon to succeed at SF. If he fails Hezonja is the next project there. Adding a proven commodity at the wing like a Harrison Barnes or Chandler Parsons is giving up too early on our Top 5 lottery picks. I do agree however that Hezonja should step into a 6th man role and can see him eating up minutes at SG and SF... even PG is not entirely out of the picture. Meeks is a 3rd string even if healthy. Too much critique made of that move. We gave up a late 2nd pick from CLE. It goes Fournier/Hezonja/Meeks/Wilcox. Speaking of Wilcox, he's not the old CJ Wilcox. He's the 25 year old who shot 42% from 3 off 7.8 3FGA per game in the D-League last year. His shot is coming around all Hennigan had to do was reverse the waive on Devyn Marble and instead ship him off to LAC. Augustin off the bench is fine. $7M per is going to look better and better as each summer comes along. Green, we agree is fine. The theory behind these types of pick ups are sound.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#352 » by Skin » Fri Aug 5, 2016 1:51 am

Texas Chuck wrote:
wise1-2 wrote:The thing is they've criticized almost every move Hennigan has made, and they were wrong the vast majority of the time. It's hard to take them seriously at this point. I trust in Hennigan way more than these writers or my judgement.



I'd say the Magic' record during his tenure is such that I don't believe you can definitively claim he's proven anyone wrong, can you? And I'm glad you trust Hennigan. My issue with you is your stubborn unwillingness to listen to a single argument about why some of us feel he's not above questioning. Of course I don't feel like a single GM is above questioning and that includes guys like Buford and Riley.

The Magic have improved every year with their record since Hennigan pushed the restart button. He's been tactful about not ruining the integrity of the game by purposely tanking. Much to the dismay of pro-tankers wishing the Magic would've picked higher in their drafts. The return he received out of his trades may not reflect well on the overall record, but they have been well from a value standpoint. Howard trade was bashed. Redick for Tobias was bashed. Afflalo for Fournier was bashed. Plus, he's been able to resign our players at better than expected prices (Vuc/Fournier). He hasn't made a draft pick worth bashing yet either. He doesn't let rumors leak. He stays true to his vision/philosophy. I'm a big fan. Otis Smith had much bigger success, but I hated him. He ran into a lot of luck.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#353 » by wise1-2 » Fri Aug 5, 2016 4:30 am

Texas Chuck wrote:
wise1-2 wrote:The thing is they've criticized almost every move Hennigan has made, and they were wrong the vast majority of the time. It's hard to take them seriously at this point. I trust in Hennigan way more than these writers or my judgement.



I'd say the Magic' record during his tenure is such that I don't believe you can definitively claim he's proven anyone wrong, can you? And I'm glad you trust Hennigan. My issue with you is your stubborn unwillingness to listen to a single argument about why some of us feel he's not above questioning. Of course I don't feel like a single GM is above questioning and that includes guys like Buford and Riley.

I never said he's infallible. He did hire Vaughn. He drafted Oladipo over Giannis (even though I understand Giannis at 2 would've been so risky, and for a new GM its basically career suicide if he didn't pan out). I can see how you can question the Oladipo trade, but I'm giving it time because I don't want to criticize hennigan again only to end up wrong. It's hard to say the move was a good or bad one yet. At this point I dont love it, but i'll wait before calling it a disaster and claiming Hennigan a terrible GM. I understand if people hate it, but I thought they would've learned not to be so fast to trash Hennigan's moves. They've already made their minds about the trade and subsequently claimed Hennigan to be incompetent. I've seen this movie before. It was titled "Robbed Hennigan" and was based on the Dwight trade that everyone trashed. In the end, Rob came out on top.

The critics mentioned specific trades/moves and called them a failure. The JJ Redick trade, the Afflalo trade, the Howard trade, were some. As time passed those moved proved to be good moves, regardless of their record. That is why I think Hennigan has EARNED the benefit of the doubt. I didn't like most of Hennigan's moves, but he proved me and everyone else wrong time and time again. So excuse me if I have more faith in that guy than some wannabe GMs that are unlikely to ever work in an NBA FO. Their grades mean nothing to me at this point. I think Hennigan has more foresight in his pinkie finger than all of them combined.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#354 » by wise1-2 » Fri Aug 5, 2016 4:33 am

Texas Chuck wrote:
wise1-2 wrote:Lol you never answered my question. Do you now see why it makes sense to say Harris was replaced with Biyombo?




This has been answered at length by multiple posters including me. I see no need to get back into it with you at this time.

Vogel saying Biyombo was our main target, and Martins saying they always wanted to make big moves in 2017 FA means nothing to you? I see you just avoided the question again... and you say I'm stubborn? LMAO. Excuse me if I challenge your thoughts and am not submissive to mods like most posters in this forum. I do think there is a lot that you criticized that you just don't understand. That's okay. I don't expect you to know everything about every team, just because you're a mod on this forum. I can guarantee you I've followed everything magic related much closer than you have since I am a magic fan. I've watched almost all of their games these past few years. I do understand why trading Harris was necessary, and I understand why Hennigan signed guys like Gordon, Frye, etc. I understand the benefits they brought to the team on and off the court. Like I said if you don't sign these guys and reach near the salary floor, you're giving your young guys undeserved playing time and money. I don't believe that helps build the culture that Hennigan has repeatedly emphasized in his moves/interviews. You didn't see it that way before so I thought I'd share my point of view. Instead of trashing it from the get-go and saying "Nope, you're wrong, sorry", hear me out first. There might be some factors you haven't considered.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#355 » by Texas Chuck » Fri Aug 5, 2016 1:01 pm

wise1-2 wrote:Excuse me if I challenge your thoughts and am not submissive to mods like most posters in this forum. I do think there is a lot that you criticized that you just don't understand. That's okay. I don't expect you to know everything about every team, just because you're a mod on this forum. I can guarantee you I've followed everything magic related much closer than you have since I am a magic fan. I've watched almost all of their games these past few years. I do understand why trading Harris was necessary, and I understand why Hennigan signed guys like Gordon, Frye, etc. I understand the benefits they brought to the team on and off the court. Like I said if you don't sign these guys and reach near the salary floor, you're giving your young guys undeserved playing time and money. I don't believe that helps build the culture that Hennigan has repeatedly emphasized in his moves/interviews. You didn't see it that way before so I thought I'd share my point of view. Instead of trashing it from the get-go and saying "Nope, you're wrong, sorry", hear me out first. There might be some factors you haven't considered.



I don't care if you challenge me. And please don't insult our posters by calling them submissive. And please don't insult our Mods by implying that we expect everyone to fall in line behind our opinions. Both of those ideas are beyond ludicrous. And they do nothing to further constructive dialogue.

I believe you that you have followed the Magic closer than I have. Without question that gives you some advantages over me in regards to the team. I have no problems admitting that. Of course, there is the potential that you have less objectivity on the team because of your fan attachment (you would be hardly alone in that).

I didn't trash your opinion from the get-go, and it should be more than obvious that I have fully heard you out. But because I haven't agreed that every move the team made this summer was great, you assume I haven't considered them. Just maybe I have considered them and simply disagree?

You are under this impression that anyone who criticizes the Magic just must not understand because how could anyone question Hennigan. When I have made it clear I think all GM's can and should be questioned at times. Look at how much the Pau Gasol signing was criticized in the Spurs off-season for instance---and sorry mate, but Buford has earned way more benefit of the doubt than Hennigan.

Now let's move on already. No one is persecuting the Magic here.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#356 » by tiderulz » Fri Aug 5, 2016 4:51 pm

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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#357 » by Skin » Fri Aug 5, 2016 6:37 pm

NinjaSheppard wrote:I am not sure why Orlando fans are so offended by people hating their offseason.

Jeff Green is a horrible basketball player. He is so bad that the Clippers had his bird rights and didn''t want to offer him a one year deal despite having no alternatives. Giving him 15 million isn't a good move.

The Ibaka trade has universally been viewed as a negative for Orlando and if they want to keep him they are going to have to give him 30 mil a year for at least 4 years.

DJ Augustin is whatever. Biyombo is fine but he plays the same position as their best player and the two guys can't play together. Gordon is the team's most intriguing prospect except he is clearly best at the 4 and he will play out of position. You can play him at the 4 and Ibaka at the 5 but again you are spending 30 mil a year on two centers that aren't playing in that case.

The team is likely going to defend well enough that they aren't going to be capable of getting a high lottery pick while not good enough to make the playoffs. This is the worst place to possibly be in. They traded Harris for capspace and used it on nothing.

I don't see how anyone can pretend their offseason is anywhere near a B+. Bondom's C- was probably generous.

Magic fans are not devastated by the Jeff Green signing because everyone knows that it's temporary. The Clippers made the mistake of giving up a lottery protected first round pick for him because their expectations for him were to be a starter and help them in their playoff push. ORL's expectations are different. For us, he is a temporary depth signing. A veteran who has 8 years of experience bouncing around on winning teams and that is someone that our young players like Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezonja can lean on. The Magic don't need him to be anything more than the player he's already been.
“Having Jeff Green and those guys is going to make our practices more competitive, it’s going to translate over to the court and we’re going to be a better team,” says Gordon.

This move has more pros than cons.
1) The Magic could trade him during the season as an attractive expiring contract.
2) The Magic could trade him during the season to a contender looking for a boost off the bench.
3) The Magic have an added $15M in cap flexibility in the Summer of 2017 if they don't trade him first.
4) Green is an 8 year survivor in the NBA who has found a niche in the league as a versatile SF/PF.
5) He can be a veteran to lean on for Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezonja.
6) He can be step up in case of an injury or slump.
7) Unafraid of big moments. The Magic lost 16 games within 5 points last year.


The negative perception on the Ibaka trade is that the Magic gave up too much. I won't disagree, but nobody is saying this is a negative addition for the Magic based on his fit on the team and the weaknesses that he helps to fix. The Magic are a better basketball team even after the loss of Oladipo and Sabonis because they had the depth to replace Oladipo with Fournier and Hezonja. They needed to make a move to balance out the roster. Why not go for the ideal fit? Having the Bird Rights to Ibaka put the Magic in the driver's seat to sign him next summer and who knows. If he enjoys his year, maybe he signs an early extension like Westbrook did. Ibaka will get what he deserves in FA. Nothing wrong with paying a player what he deserves.


Augustin is whatever. But for a team hoping to break into the playoffs, he's going to help a lot more than last year's backups.. Shabazz Napier and CJ Watson (who had the longest stint on the DL from a strained calf in the history of the NBA, lol). His acquisition doesn't confuse or affect any move the Magic make to address their PG of the future. His $7M per year is going to look better and better as each summer goes along. Good teams have to make smart, affordable signings to address depth.

Biyombo solidifies our post defense where Ibaka and Vucevic fall short. The Magic have the ability to make great use of their depth and various strengths to combat opponents at different parts of the game. This is their best rotation among bigs that they've had in as long as I can remember. Plus, they have a developmental talent in Stephen Zimmerman.

Aaron Gordon is a small ball PF ONLY. I keep hearing people talk about him as if he's some kind of full time 2 way PF that deserves to start all day at PF. They don't know what they are talking about. He has no post game and he can't defend bigs. On the other hand he has the explosiveness, length, size and speed to dominate defensively at the 3. His shot must continue to develop, but he has sufficient ball handling, passing and driving skills to lean on. Hell, Lebron shot .309, Jimmy Buckets shot .312, Wiggins shot .300, Giannis shot .257 from 3. Yes, Aaron Gordon has to improve, but too many critics are focused on it. What matters is how he is asked to play and how he responds to it. At 20 years old, the Magic have all the right to believe in him and do everything they can to create an environment around him and give him the chance to step into a huge role and hope he reaches stardom. Skiles misused him last year in as some kind of no-good-stretch-4 and giving him spotty minutes. Vogel is going to flip the script and expand his role.

This team may very well end up just outside of the playoffs. The East got tougher this summer, but at least the Magic are finally making moves to round out their roster, defining their core, and have a coach who can lead them to where they want to go.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#358 » by Def Swami » Fri Aug 5, 2016 7:28 pm

Holy **** at this thread. :o
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#359 » by PennytoShaq » Fri Aug 5, 2016 9:23 pm

It's all about flexibility.

OKC will be paying Oladipo a max or letting him walk and Orlando already knew they didn't want to do that. Oladipo had 3 years of major to minutes to prove he was a go to scorer, and he was not. Evan Fournier is the better player at SG if you want a shooter there (you do), and he cost less. OKC fans will soon realize Oladipo is going to give them a huge night and then fall off a cliff the next. That may work since they have Russel, but it doesn't work for us.

OKC got a nice prospect who made zero sense on the Orlando roster. We have had a lot of soft PF's who could shoot. It didn't do anything for us. Instead Orlando realized this was a super weak draft and added him in the trade.

If Ibaka is good, we resign him. If he is bad we let him go. Add him and Jeff Green leaving and the Magic will have more money than most teams next summer when free agency has a more talented class.

It's clear that the Magic are not done. They have some duplicate talent. I do think that the experiment of Gordon at SF is a good one. Why? He is our star player and he wants to play SF. Instead of forcing him down low, the Magic are allowing him to show out at SF and prove he can do it. It's a small gamble with a huge payoff. If Gordon translates to the 3, the Magic finally have a star wing player who can also defend players like Paul George and LBJ extremely well. They have a guy who says "these guys believed and me and let me play SF" and guys like that tend to stay on their team and not be disgruntled.

If Gordon fails, it is a lot easier to sit him down and explain he can be a star at PF. To be honest, I see the evolution of the Magic as a smaller team with Gordon at the 4 and Bizmack at the 5. I think that lineup will be rather effective and extremely switchy, especially if they can get the answers at PG and SF.

But in the meantime, I want to see what Vogel can pull off with Gordon at the 3 and Ibaka at 4. If it works out, that is a rather nice tandem. Additionally the Magic don't need to look to find a SF until they see what Mario can bring this year, so letting Gordon play that slot and Mario paying 2 and 3 is the right choice. This has Vogel's fingeprints on it, and I don't think anyone can argue with his track record of developing players.

The Magic picked young guys they love - Bizmack, Mario and Gordon and bet that Vogel can develop them into great players. Based on history, this is a very smart move. If it fails, they have the flexibility to pivot quickly.
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Re: Orlando early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Smitty731/HowardMass) 

Post#360 » by Melvinlocker » Sat Aug 6, 2016 3:23 pm

I voted B. Regarding the potential of AG, I think he has been on par with some other great combo forwards.
So far, Aaron seems to be right on schedule.

Paul George

20 years old (rookie)- Usage rate 17.8%, 7.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 20.7 minutes.

21 years old (2nd year)- Usage rate 19.3%, 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 29.7 minutes.

22 years old (3rd year)- Usage rate 23.5%, 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 37.6 minutes.


Shawn Marion

21 years old (rookie)- Usage rate 19.6%, 10.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 24.7 minutes.

22 years old (2nd year)- Usage rate 22.2%, 17.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 36.2 minutes.

23 years old (3rd year)- Usage rate 23.3%, 19.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 38.4 minutes.


Andre Iguodala

21 years old (rookie)- Usage rate 12.8%, 9.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 32.8 minutes.

22 years old (2nd year)- Usage rate 14.7%, 12.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 37.6 minutes.

23 years old (3rd year)- Usage rate 22.6%, 18.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 40.3 minutes.


Gerald Wallace

21 years old (3rd year)- Usage rate 14.4%, 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 9.1 minutes.

22 years old (4th year)- Usage rate 19.9%, 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 30.7 minutes.

23 years old (5th year)- Usage rate 19.3%, 15.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 34.5 minutes.


Aaron Gordon

19 years old (rookie)- Usage rate 15.5%, 5.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.7 assists

20 years old (2nd year)- Usage rate 17.3%, 9.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists

21 years old (3nd year)- ?????

22 years old (4th year)- ?????


Here's a more in depth look at a 20 year old AG, to his 21 year old counter parts:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&y1=2016&p1=gordoaa01&y2=2005&p2=iguodan01&y3=2004&p3=wallage01&y4=2000&p4=mariosh01&y5=2012&p5=georgpa01&p6=
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