Official Speculation Thread ‘19-'20 I: Big decisions on the horizon

[pepe1991]

This is going to be long one....

If you extend that theory to everybody, it's like saying good defense on their best players isn't translatable if the team's defensive rating isn't good. Players can have individually good defensive outings every game and not make a dent in ratings. If Lillard's 50 point game wasn't enough for the win, and everybody else's offensive ratings were terrible and dragged the overall down, would you say Lillard's offensive impact didn't translate? Of course it did.. it means that there was impact elsewhere from other players that didn't add to it.

That's why nobody uses 1 game sample size. But if you find pattern in something through 87 games than it's fair to make objective opinion based on it. For Magic, as "passable" as Gordon and Isaac were this year as duo, in both cases team played better when one of them was replaced by Ross.
That's quantifiable, measurable fact.
Lillard has in this playoffs net rating of +11,4. Only fool would question his impact on that series and numbers support it. As i said, his +11 net rating makes him best starter on both teams. But that's not all, he also had highest TS% on both teams and highest PIE.

I just explained that... you can judge him but you will experience more push back because most people judge players on their strengths and their current roles, age, contract, no matter what they think will happen in the future with them. Donovan Mitchell just had a pretty terrible playoffs offensively and some Jazz fans are criticizing the hell out of him but the others know it's his 2nd year and that he can improve and that he is young.. I bet if this was his 5th/6th year and he was up for a contract, he would have more criticism because of more expectations and experience.

What's his strenght? Invididual defense? So how did Leonard average 28 ppg on 60% TS and Siakam played way above his season averages ( from 16,9 to over 22 ppg ) on 59% TS if he played good defense on them?
What's other strenght in his game ? Rim protection? 5 blocks, Raptors had 47,4 points in paint per game.
Let's go deeper, how people shot in paint, against Magic, inside 3 feet
Ibaka 75%
Gasol 100%
Leonard 69%
Vleet 65%
Lowry 56%

So, Magic rim protection was only solid against Lowry, others scored at will.
Conclusion: his strenghts did not translate.

Well that matters if the fouls are BS or not, and +/- isn't everything but don't act like you have not used this before to justify subpar games from players.. it's especially impressive in games where we're being blown out by 20-30 points because that's harder to come by. Since he wasn't even involved really offensively, and just watching the game, his defense WAS good in those minutes.

Cool story, could sell to somebody who didn't watch game. Not me tho.
He went out after 3 min and 29 sec.
Up to the point he had "big 5 stats" penta zero. but team was up 6-11 , so he had +5.

Isaac enters a game on start of second Q
Result 28:26.
After 1 min and 44 sec he makes 3rd foul on charge. Result is 31-28, +/- is now +2 ,yet still positive ,despite him still doing virtually nothing .
Jonathan Isaac leaves game

Third Q
enters a game . Result 58-42 ( -16)
gets 2 rebounds and 2 misses in first play.
Additionally he gets 2 more rebounds in next 3 min.
JI leaves game at 3:22 mark, after 8 additional min played.
Result now is 74-60 (- 12)
So for that period he gets +/- of +4 despite not really scoring or doing anything worth talking but rebounds ( all defensive ones).

4th Q
Result 92-75
He enters with 8:21 to play
leaves after 110 sec for Gordon , with 94-75 result (gets+2 for "contribution")

I actually can't belive that you used this utter trash of a game to make a point.

Again, you didn't really answer why all players should be graded the same. If you acknowledge and think that Isaac will not be a great offensive player, why would he be (vocally) criticized by you MORE than Vuc or Fournier or DJ? If he's not criticized more, you certainly respond to his struggles more than others and are more welcome to discuss it. If Vuc's reasoning (in your mind) could simply be "shut down by a great defensive center + doubles" (which was true) and say Fournier's is "had a bad year" (which was true), why can't Isaac's be "is young and not there yet offensively" (which is also true)?

You don't hold superstars by same standards as role players, but role players are held to pretty objective, realistic standards in league of their own. You simply can't deflat critit on somebody who averages more FGA than points ( and shoots below 30% ) by saying " he is not shooter". No s***, but this is not NFL where you can only participate on one side of the floor and act other does not exist. It's 50-50 game.
Why da F should anybody even talk about DJ and Evan when EVERYBODY AGREES THEY SUCKED apart from both having ONE GOOD GAME.
This is so worthless to even ponit out and that's key reason why nobody- brings out.
Yet people act like Isaac should have zero blame , and always back to point out on Vuc, DJ and Evan and their struggles, like Isaac didn't contribute to that any more than them. He did. Just keep equal standards for everybody. THEY ALL SUCKED.

Just confused why he is the one that should be benched when he's shown nothing but improvement this year.

There is term in my lagnuage in lose translation it's " even kick in ass is step forward" and that can be said for him. He was borderline unplayable last year.

I don't agree with that at all. I don't think ANYBODY is saying that Isaac didn't play poorly on offense this playoff series.. with some of those numbers, you can't argue that.. and not to compare him to this guy (although I think the worst case where I wouldn't be disappointed, is him turning into Aminu), but I'm sure if Portland had McCollum, Lillard, Nurkic, (not comparing our offensive options to theirs, just in equivalence of 1st-3rd options) etc all struggling on offense shooting sub-35%, people's last worries are going to be about Aminu or going "Gosh, I wish Aminu didn't suck offensively too, this is something we need to talk and debate about more in depth."

There are litearlly posters here who right after a playoffs said that Magic should run offense through Isaac and Gordon.
Not you. But many did. And many here argue that isaac didn't suck. Where my whole time point is simple -he sucked as much as Evan . I don't think DJ sucked THAT much. He is only reason why Magic won game 1.


What makes me angry is fact that every time other posters argue with me first thing they say is " but Evan sucked" and i'm whole time like " dude i said 5000 times that he was terrible, why are you telling me that?" .
Second thing that gets on my nerves is deflaction of problems. Magic NEED better wing player and better guard. By definition it means Evan,DJ AND ISAAC are ones who should see departure from starting line up. But that somehow insults posters here.

[SOUL]

I think SOUL that you dont understand pepe point of view. I will show you my point which i think is similar.
First we criticize Isaac becouse we expect much from him. I dont think Aminu had the same talent and expectations. He has a small role offensively becouse he cant take bigger. Shooting open 3 is much less dependant on performance of your top options than driving and creating

I don't know if you have similar views if you expect "much" from Isaac. I don't think pepe expects much offensively from him. Aminu averages anywhere from 7.5 to 8.8 shots a game the last 3-4 years, pretty much where Isaac was this year. I do agree that Isaac will have more offensive expectations next year and beyond, but this year, their roles are basically the same.. and Aminu had way more lethal offensive options on the team.

Criticizing Vucevic and Fournier is tough becouse they operate in space created by "role players". Its true that Gordon and Isaac are young but it doesnt matter for the other team and our offense. You think Vuc and Evan would have the same numbers with Lowry, Siakam and Green supporting them?

That creates a dangerous cycle of liability/blame though. Is their success credited to "role players" or their own play? When they struggle, is it because of the other players and not their fault? That's also a hard comparison to make because we simply don't have that team. That supporting question is also weird because would those guys be playing against themselves? Against the Magic? You're kind of saying "put any of our players in a different role" which would work for literally any of our guys. And I think a team with Lowry + this year's Siakam + Green on this team means Fournier's role is completely different and not the 2nd option, while Vuc may not have the "raw numbers" to even make the all star team this year. So they could have more success but less at the same time.

We must accept the point of development our team is in right now. We could play better players than Isaac and make it easier for Vuc and Evan but we decided his development is more important( same as Bamba and Birch, even Clifford said that Bamba is guarantied to get 15 minutes despite being worse than Birch). When you look at lineups, pairing Ross and Evan with one of Gordon/Isaac is better than s5. Why we do it ? Becouse we value long term more than short term. But dont criticize Vucevic and Fournier for carrying a bunch of kids to PO and stealing one game from contender.

I think Bamba is a different story from the other two though. His situation was clearly getting reps + being "thrown into the fire". Clifford was raving about Isaac's impact and role most of the year, so it's not like he was doing him any favors. Maybe early on when he struggled a little bit, but still, he stayed in the lineup because of how he played his role.

The closing lineup with Ross worked a lot, and there were many times I agree that we needed that boost. But a lot of it WAS because of Ross mostly, and if Isaac replaced Gordon or Fournier the games they struggled, it would've made not much of a difference at all.

Vuc isn't getting criticized at all for his season. Not from me at least, it's just that we all thought he wouldn't experience the worst regular season to playoff season PPG drop from all heavy rotation players from all 16 teams.

I disagree about "Fournier" carrying the team this year though. If anything, he was carried until the last few weeks...

[pepe1991]

Magic wanted to develop players and be competitive.
In reality in most cases, it's kind a impossible to do both ,if you don't have some superior young talent. Not case with Magic.

As zaymon said, Magic were forcing Bamba in lineups despite Birch being flat out better player. That's not what contenders would ever do.
Magic forced isaac in starting lineup ,where in reality they could easly get somebody better using MLE , or even play Ross as starter, and sign somebody other to come off bench- just to jusfty draft stock.

There are so many guys better than Iwundu that they could get basically for free ( Casspi and army of guys who are now in Euroleague ) , that they didn't want to sign just to give him fair shot.

That's how gap between great and bad teams gets wider and that's why it's so hard to grow into contender without selling picks and youth for actual players. Most contenders, by default, don't give a flying F about 20-21 years old players. They replace them with somebody who will get them quality 5-15min. 6ers literally traded away former 1# pick just to save cap space.

But as i said, Magic season was more about development than compeating. But that devleopment took unexpected turn when Bamba got hurt and Vuc started to play like allstar.

[SOUL]

That's why nobody uses 1 game sample size. But if you find pattern in something through 87 games than it's fair to make objective opinion based on it. For Magic, as "passable" as Gordon and Isaac were this year as duo, in both cases team played better when one of them was replaced by Ross.
That's quantifiable, measurable fact.

Replied to zaymon with that but like I said, some of those lineups really worked without Isaac, but not in spite of Isaac. Again, if he replaced whoever was struggling in the lineup with Ross there (realistically, all 5 players are not always going to be playing good), I can see similar results happening. Many of those games he was playing perfectly fine, but we needed a 3 point threat. So it's not always an instance of taking out bad Isaac for good Ross.

What's his strenght? Invididual defense? So how did Leonard average 28 ppg on 60% TS and Siakam played way above his season averages ( from 16,9 to over 22 ppg ) on 59% TS if he played good defense on them?

Well like I said I went over the 30 point game and saw he scored 9 on Isaac. In the modern NBA with switching, it's impossible to know just how good a player's defense was on a player. I go by the eye test. For instance, Lowry's first game.. good defense from DJ or simply missed shots? First game of AG vs Kawhi, Kawhi hit a lot of REALLY difficult shots but was contested on every one. Game 3, Gordon and Isaac played similar tough defense and he struggled. Doesn't mean defense was "bad" game 1.

If Isaac plays 10 seconds of hounding defense, Siakam finishes with contested spin around jumper over extended arm versus Isaac putting one arm out lazily after committing to a bad double team.. the TS isn't going to show that. Would you say both are instances of "bad defense" because both went in? That's not how defense should be quantified in the first place, IMO.

That's why team defense IS important. If DJ just lets Lowry past him with zero effort (which happened a lot), he drives inside, either Vuc or Isaac or Gordon have to cover to stop him, ball swings outside for open 3, is that "bad defense" too? Seems too subjective. I just know that I saw him more often than not being up in defenders, not letting them make their first moves easily, covering other player's mistakes, etc.

So, Magic rim protection was only solid against Lowry, others scored at will.
Conclusion: his strenghts did not translate.

Isn't this more indicative of Vucevic though? We know Vucevic's defense is much improved just from eye test + numbers, but his rim protection was still bottom 3 next to Jokic and someone else. Maybe it's easier to say Isaac's didn't translate versus someone that plays inside like Taj Gibson, but being on Kawhi/Siakam who are outside a lot.. eh.. bit of a stretch.

I actually can't belive that you used this utter trash of a game to make a point.

Not exactly my intention to make that a game to point at and say "see, he's great!", more of a his numbers (which were not really there) don't have to be great or even "okay" to be helpful out there. Compared to other guys who if they are not getting stats, are just useless traffic cones.

This is so worthless to even ponit out and that's key reason why nobody- brings out.
Yet people act like Isaac should have zero blame , and always back to point out on Vuc, DJ and Evan and their struggles, like Isaac didn't contribute to that any more than them. He did. Just keep equal standards for everybody. THEY ALL SUCKED.

This is where I agree and disagree. Not having equal standards doesn't mean I don't think he sucked offensively. They all did. He did not contribute more than any other guy that I am disappointed at this playoffs on that end. I think there is room for acknowledging that AND being more disappointed in other players you expected more from on offense because of their history + season play that got them so much respect and admiration in the first place. To me, that means they could have all sucked the same amount and have equal blame in not making the offense better because none of them were the "answer", but it's completely fair to say that some of those guys were called upon to score more as their role all season and because of that, shoulder more responsibility for a failing offense. Clifford hammered that home all year. Players learning their roles and not trying to be more than what they were (at least this year).

There are litearlly posters here who right after a playoffs said that Magic should run offense through Isaac and Gordon.
Not you. But many did. And many here argue that isaac didn't suck. Where my whole time point is simple -he sucked as much as Evan . I don't think DJ sucked THAT much. He is only reason why Magic won game 1.


What makes me angry is fact that every time other posters argue with me first thing they say is " but Evan sucked" and i'm whole time like " dude i said 5000 times that he was terrible, why are you telling me that?" .
Second thing that gets on my nerves is deflaction of problems. Magic NEED better wing player and better guard. By definition it means Evan,DJ AND ISAAC are ones who should see departure from starting line up. But that somehow insults posters here.

Well yeah, people say a lot of crazy stuff here lol. I think they will get a bigger offensive role naturally, but everybody knows that running the offense strictly through those 2 players would not be a great idea for a winning team. Getting them involved in certain areas better will ABSOLUTELY make us a better team. Big difference. Eh, I'm harsh on DJ but appreciate his G1. But take a look at his movements on offense and defense after G1 and it's just dribbling and forcing other people to pick up his defender. Not his best work.

I just agree to disagree on replacing Isaac in the starting lineup. I think every lineup needs a player like him (with an improved offense from him next year, obviously). Not that he is irreplaceable there, just think there is a purpose and that he will get better.

[pepe1991]

Can we now all hug ?
We can dissect 5 games to oblivion , in reality we played team that in their roster have Jermy Lin, who would be our starter, who didn't play for them because they didn't need him. Simply getting beat by better team.

tbh i likes this debates, they are civilized and cotribute to brainstorm.
Unlike one i had two days ago...

[j-ragg]

I wish Vuc and Fournier could switch contracts, would make life a lot easier. Fournier expires. Vuc stays for a couple years on a movable number.

[zaymon]

I wish Vuc and Fournier could switch contracts, would make life a lot easier. Fournier expires. Vuc stays for a couple years on a movable number.

For Vucevic we have 3 more or less capable replacements. At Fournier role (secondary ball handling, shot creation, shooting) we have huge burning hole, its not even sadness and despair its just void without any kind of life.

[OrlandO]

I'm most interested in seeing Gordon finally become a consistent shooter. The only players who shot the 3 worse than him in losses were Grant and MCW. Even Simmons with a limp wrist shot better. Considering half our games were losses that's a big deal. He'll be 24 in his sixth year and he's the SF. Can't be so inconsistent, especially if we're giving JI a pass for being early in development. Fournier also needs to return to form... I would hope that's doable considering his history of shooting. Vuc said he was going to practice threes even more this summer, so if he returns hopefully he can contribute more with long range shooting as well.

[Blue_and_Whte]

Well some prefer trying to put together a team to win a championship not whose ceiling is 40-42 wins per season and first round ousters. Sometimes you have to take a step back in order to move forward.

Contenders are built in many ways. Teams like Toronto, Houston, Boston, Milwaukee etc all were built by gradual gain utilizing all three mechanisms to improve (trade, fa, draft).

For every one of the teams you just posted, there is Atlanta, Charlotte, New Orleans, Sacramento... teams whose ceiling wasnt very high to begin with. If the goal is to just get into the playoffs, sell some tickets and some t shirts for the casual fan to get excited about, then bring back this squad, add a mid tier first round pick, maybe a mid level veteran.

If the goal is a championship-
1. let Vuc walk
2. resign Ross
3. hope to god Fultz and Bamba reach their potential. If we sign Vuc, it is pretty much us saying we messed up the 2018 draft big time. Because by the time that Vuc contract is up, Bambas rookie contract will be up too. If he is just a bench player during those years then we will not know what we truly have with Bamba and he will probably want to leave this organization.

WTF Did I just read?

[Def Swami]

I'm most interested in seeing Gordon finally become a consistent shooter. The only players who shot the 3 worse than him in losses were Grant and MCW. Even Simmons with a limp wrist shot better. Considering half our games were losses that's a big deal. He'll be 24 in his sixth year and he's the SF. Can't be so inconsistent, especially if we're giving JI a pass for being early in development. Fournier also needs to return to form... I would hope that's doable considering his history of shooting. Vuc said he was going to practice threes even more this summer, so if he returns hopefully he can contribute more with long range shooting as well.

That's really why I valued this playoff experience for our team. The playoffs are a completely different game than the regular season. Teams can game plan for your strengths. They game plan for the best players and take away your 1st and 2nd options and moves. The more dynamic players rise in the playoffs. Bob Meyers had a great response on this at the Sloan Conference this year (at 14:04 mark):

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;t=845s

We see players fail in the playoffs season after season and come back next year improving on a skill that was exposed as a weakness. For example, Damian Lillard has gotten better every year because of this; he was flustered and rushed the way he was blitzed on pick n' rolls last year by the Pelicans. He says he worked on managing those reads and his long range shooting and it obviously paid off.

We've been piling on these players all playoffs, but I had low expectations going in. Rarely do first time playoff players excel. It's just a different game with more physicality and intensity and pressure. But that's also how you get better as a team and a great evaluation tool. I'm glad Gordon, Isaac, and Vucevic and the rest of the roster were able to experience that kind of play. They were able to see what a real juggernaut of a team looks like in Toronto. How unstoppable a guy like Kawhi Leonard is. And how narrow the margins of error are in the playoffs. Everyone on this team, especially Gordon, Isaac, and Vucevic are going to go into the off-season and know exactly where their weaknesses are and what they need to work on to excel in the playoffs next year.

I'm excited for Isaac and Gordon's future. Both guys need to work on their offense, but defensively they're a menace and can hang with the best forward combos in the league. In a league where having multiple players able to defend multiple positions is increasingly a luxury (as is showcased by the Raptors), I'm glad we have a couple guys who can play into that. The Raptors are exceptional because their pair of guys can also score and hit 3's. It's in our interest that Gordon and Isaac add that 2nd component to their games. Gordon's outing was somewhat encouraging and you can tell he's learning his niche in the NBA.

[Blue_and_Whte]

I'm most interested in seeing Gordon finally become a consistent shooter. The only players who shot the 3 worse than him in losses were Grant and MCW. Even Simmons with a limp wrist shot better. Considering half our games were losses that's a big deal. He'll be 24 in his sixth year and he's the SF. Can't be so inconsistent, especially if we're giving JI a pass for being early in development. Fournier also needs to return to form... I would hope that's doable considering his history of shooting. Vuc said he was going to practice threes even more this summer, so if he returns hopefully he can contribute more with long range shooting as well.

im hoping bamba and Isaac bulk up and become contributors and then some. We had a good run, these guys got a great lesson they can use to get better. Even if Mo was on the bench, he was able to observe and absorb the atmosphere and from the perspective of being on the outside looking in players can see and learns things guys on the court don’t.

[VFX]

Milwaukee never tanked and they drafted their foundational player with a 16th pick + traded for Middleton and Bledsoe. They are the smallest market and least desirable free agency destination in the NBA.

Toronto acquired their franchise player via trade. They did that by retaining their assets, drafting well regardless of where they picked, and staying competitive. That maximized their assets value and provided the best developmental context for their players.

Boston also acquired their key assets by trade and remaining competitive.

The Magic need to retain the assets that they've developed and use them to flip up when the opportunity arises. That's how those teams got their foundational players.

Vuc is 28. He isn’t going to return value once he signs this next contract. Are you suggesting Isaac or Gordon then? Those are really the only two players that we have “developed” that would return said star.

Yea he can. Vucevic will be in peak prime for 2 more seasons (29 and 30). There are a lot of good players in that age range who have good trade value. Plus his abilities aren't based on athleticism - they are IQ and skill. Plus no one - including Vucevic - knows how much $ his next contract will be for or how it will be structured.

Also, you need different types of assets and contract sizes for transactions of all types. Retaining assets is not just for 1 step instant star. Often its multiple layers with composited transactions. For example, Boston turned vet Tayshun Prince and Marcus Thorton into Isaiah Thomas, they built IT's value (and Crowders) then flipped them for Kyrie Irving.

The best franchises do this, they continuously build ALL their assets values. They do this by staying competitive, draft and develop well regardless of where they pick; they remain opportunistic and maintain desirability in free agency , and they don't waste assets.

Nothing you are saying is untrue in regards to teams building assets. That we aren’t disagreeing about. Using that same logic when looking at Orlando’s roster is where I don’t see this happening with our vets.

Contract value, players perceived potential, injury history, age, and positional rank are the big factors in determining value.

So Vuc is 28, just disappeared in the playoffs, has likely peaked, plays the least valued position for title contenders, and is set to make the largest contract of his career after being a fringe allstar in the eastern conference. Nothing about that on paper sounds like an extremely valuable asset that will, even combined with other assets, land Orlando a centerpiece Star.

Highest valued assets for Orlando are Isaac and AG. Orlando isn’t a free agent destination until we land a star. The last time we were was with Dwight the #1 overall pick to build around and was putting up historic numbers.

In theory everything you are saying is true, but it simply isn’t the case with Orlando currently. There isn’t a star player to draw talent, still have bad contracts on the books, draft positions of lesser value, and run offense through a 28 year old Center in his prime that we didn’t trade before the deadline. I can see a foundation set in place for turning those things into positives this offseason. It depends on the decisions of Weltman and Hammond.

[ChosenSavior]

Some quotes from Jeff Weltman as he was on 96.9 The Game today:

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[MartinsIzAfraud]

Some quotes from Jeff Weltman as he was on 96.9 The Game today:

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I'd be shocked if it's anything more than a 3 year 60M dollar offer...

[j-ragg]

I wish Vuc and Fournier could switch contracts, would make life a lot easier. Fournier expires. Vuc stays for a couple years on a movable number.

For Vucevic we have 3 more or less capable replacements. At Fournier role (secondary ball handling, shot creation, shooting) we have huge burning hole, its not even sadness and despair its just void without any kind of life.

I would disagree. I think we don’t really have anyone who can do what Vuc does (offensively, regular season), but we have plenty of wings that can’t drive past their defender, have tunnel vision, and are below average shooters.

[ChosenSavior]

Spoiler:

Some quotes from Jeff Weltman as he was on 96.9 The Game today:

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I'd be shocked if it's anything more than a 3 year 60M dollar offer...

I agree. He is even aware of the fact that his playoff performance may have hurt his market value. I believe they have a number in place and if he is not willing to accept that number then they will move on to plan B. I am glad they are aware of their cap restraints due to the bad contracts we still have on the roster and do not want to mess that up any further.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

Spoiler:

Some quotes from Jeff Weltman as he was on 96.9 The Game today:

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I'd be shocked if it's anything more than a 3 year 60M dollar offer...

I agree. He is even aware of the fact that his playoff performance may have hurt his market value. I believe they have a number in place and if he is not willing to accept that number then they will move on to plan B. I am glad they are aware of their cap restraints due to the bad contracts we still have on the roster and do not want to mess that up any further.

If Vuc doesn't come back then would you bring back TRoss and would he want to come back?

[OrlandO]

Some quotes from Jeff Weltman as he was on 96.9 The Game today:

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He also said Vuc is a "big priority for us" and said "we'll do our best to bring him back." And when talking about how they negotiate with their free agents, he said it's important not to low ball and offend them. Mentioned AG has the same agent. There is no question in my mind weltman and cliff are looking to re-sign him at this point. The question is the $$$. I think it's going to take 26+ million to let him walk.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

Some quotes from Jeff Weltman as he was on 96.9 The Game today:

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He also said Vuc is a "big priority for us" and said "we'll do our best to bring him back." And when talking about how they negotiate with their free agents, he said it's important not to low ball and offend them. Mentioned AG has the same agent. There is no question in my mind weltman and cliff are looking to re-sign him at this point. The question is the $$$. I think it's going to take 26+ million to let him walk.

It's all GM talk at the end of the day. He's not going to devalue his FA while at the same time saying i'm not going to screw the future by capping this team out. They're definitely not going to low ball because that's an easy way to screw yourself with that agent later in life.

I think 26M is high, extremely high especially considering if you bring Vuc back you'd absolutely have to bring back TRoss. I have Orlando in the 18-23M range.

[ChosenSavior]

Some quotes from Jeff Weltman as he was on 96.9 The Game today:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

He also said Vuc is a "big priority for us" and said "we'll do our best to bring him back." And when talking about how they negotiate with their free agents, he said it's important not to low ball and offend them. Mentioned AG has the same agent. There is no question in my mind weltman and cliff are looking to re-sign him at this point. The question is the $$$. I think it's going to take 26+ million to let him walk.

Yeah I know that he said that. I am sure he will do what is necessary to bring him back but not at the cost of ruining the cap space further. Yeah if he gets a max deal from another team then I do think he will leave. If not, then there is definitely a high probability that he will stay here in Orlando.