2019 Summer Orlando Magic Free Agency and trade

[MasterGMer]

Magic will have 18M in cap space if we do not resign Vuc and Ross. That number could increase if we stretch Mozgov.

I know resign Vuc is the priority.

But could we trade Fournier and sign a Free Agent? Does the logistic work? Can we clear more cap space beyond Vuc and Ross?

I am very interested in Kemba Walker. Walker with Vuc, 2 all stars, pick and roll could be deadly. Coach Clifford was the game changer for Kemba in CHA. So that could be a possibility.

What about Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, JJ Reddick, if we clear more cap space?

[MoMM]

Yes, it's possible, we can trade him for a player with a cheaper salary, and then this player for another one even cheaper and so on.

Another option is to trade him to a team with cap space, so it's instant cap space.

And finally, we can trade him for JR Smith, because only 1M of his salary is guaranteed, so it would clear a lot of money.

To sum up, everything is possible, but very unlikely, especially if we renounce Vuc and Ross, cuz no good FA will want to come to Orlando without a good roster

[Max Power]

I think the Magic probably end up with one of Ross or Vucevic. I’d like to keep both but if we do decide to make moves and enter this seasons free agency class I think Kemba makes a lot of sense. I love Jimmy Butlers game and intensity and would welcome him, I love Tobias Harris scoring ability but where would he fit with Gordon and Isaac here? We do still need that alpha male type on this team so Kemba or Butler would be great but I feel like we get that type of player next summer. Ridding ourselves of Fournier could be addition by subtraction.

[MasterGMer]

Yes, it's possible, we can trade him for a player with a cheaper salary, and then this player for another one even cheaper and so on.

Another option is to trade him to a team with cap space, so it's instant cap space.

And finally, we can trade him for JR Smith, because only 1M of his salary is guaranteed, so it would clear a lot of money.

To sum up, everything is possible, but very unlikely, especially if we renounce Vuc and Ross, cuz no good FA will want to come to Orlando without a good roster

If salary has to match, how does that clear for more cap space?

[MartinsIzAfraud]

I think the Magic probably end up with one of Ross or Vucevic. I’d like to keep both but if we do decide to make moves and enter this seasons free agency class I think Kemba makes a lot of sense. I love Jimmy Butlers game and intensity and would welcome him, I love Tobias Harris scoring ability but where would he fit with Gordon and Isaac here? We do still need that alpha male type on this team so Kemba or Butler would be great but I feel like we get that type of player next summer. Ridding ourselves of Fournier could be addition by subtraction.

If Vuc doesn’t come back I could see TRoss leaving as well. It almost sounded as if TRoss said he’ll wait for Vuc to make his decision then he’ll make his.

[Max Power]

Martins, I can definitely see that happening too. None of the post season interviews I’ve read from Vuc, Ross or Weltman were very concrete one way or the other. All are being very coy.

[Def Swami]

JR Smith has an one of the more interesting contracts in the league. His contract can be declined before the season and a team could shed $15 million in cap space. The Cavs are tanking and have no interest in being good. They're in the business of taking on bigger contracts while adding picks and young players.

I'm not sure what the market is for the JR Smith contract, but if I were the Magic, and not thrilled with the prospects at #16 in the draft, I'd package Mozgov (expiring in 1 year) and the #16 pick for JR Smith and decline the contract to open up another $15 million in cap space. Or maybe just move Fournier for Smith in a deal straight up? Then, the Magic might be able to open closer to a max deal to add someone like D'Angelo Russell, or offer a contract to Malcolm Brogdon. Or they could use that money to go after someone like Bojan Bogdonavic. Or shore up their bench scoring by adding some cheaper guys like Seth Curry, Wayne Ellington, or Reggie Bullock on short term deals.

[MasterGMer]

JR Smith has an one of the more interesting contracts in the league. His contract can be declined before the season and a team could shed $15 million in cap space. The Cavs are tanking and have no interest in being good. They're in the business of taking on bigger contracts while adding picks and young players.

I'm not sure what the market is for the JR Smith contract, but if I were the Magic, and not thrilled with the prospects at #16 in the draft, I'd package Mozgov (expiring in 1 year) and the #16 pick for JR Smith and decline the contract to open up another $15 million in cap space. Or maybe just move Fournier for Smith in a deal straight up? Then, the Magic might be able to open closer to a max deal to add someone like D'Angelo Russell, or offer a contract to Malcolm Brogdon. Or they could use that money to go after someone like Bojan Bogdonavic. Or shore up their bench scoring by adding some cheaper guys like Seth Curry, Wayne Ellington, or Reggie Bullock on short term deals.

How much cap space do we have before July without Vuc and Ross? Grant has 3.7 million un-guaranteed and Jerell Martin has 3.5 million un-guaranteed. We have 83 million guaranteed and the cap is 109 million. That is 26 million in cap space without Vuc and Ross. Plus we can stretch Mozgov and that would open up another 12 million.

Could we resign Vuc with a short term contract and sign another UFA?

Am I right with my calculation?

[tiderulz]

Magic will have 18M in cap space if we do not resign Vuc and Ross. That number could increase if we stretch Mozgov.

I know resign Vuc is the priority.

But could we trade Fournier and sign a Free Agent? Does the logistic work? Can we clear more cap space beyond Vuc and Ross?

I am very interested in Kemba Walker. Walker with Vuc, 2 all stars, pick and roll could be deadly. Coach Clifford was the game changer for Kemba in CHA. So that could be a possibility.

What about Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, JJ Reddick, if we clear more cap space?

think Kemba can be paid near $30mil. we dont have a shot at him.

[fendilim]

I think it gets tricky if we try to let go of Evan while trying to re-sign Vuc and Ross. How do you convince them we’re trying to win if we will just let go of Evan after only one year of bad shooting for salary cap? Seems to be too premature if we make a move like this. I dont think such a move will help convince Vuc and Ross to stay.

[drsd]

If the Magic is committed to Fultz as a starter next season, Augustin is an interesting trade chip to bolster the bench.

[zaymon]

If the Magic is committed to Fultz as a starter next season, Augustin is an interesting trade chip to bolster the bench.

With Fultz injury history it would be risky to trade starting capable reserve. If hype Weltman and Hammond create around Markelle is real we dont need Kemba, we need secondary ball handler for the bench along Ross and big development of issac and Gordon handle/shooting, which Isaac specifically said are his priorities ( love it).

[fendilim]

If the Magic is committed to Fultz as a starter next season, Augustin is an interesting trade chip to bolster the bench.

I think thats the worst thing we can make this offseason.

[zaymon]

If we want to make our team stronger next year not weaker we need to resign Vucevic and then its in our best interest is to resign Ross but he has some replacements ( Bogdanovic, Lamb, Rivers, Hood). If we dont resign Vucevic his money will be hard to spend. Upgrading Pg will be hard, I dont think stars want to sign here yet, and Fultz is in Magic plans. I dont see reasonable replacement for Fournier this year. Starter level forward would mean degrading JI or AG to the bench which we dont want. Imo we can let Vucevic go and try to bolster our scoring from the bench through free agency or resign him and try to upgrade our bench through draft and international signing( like Birch/ Briscoe)

[MoMM]

Yes, it's possible, we can trade him for a player with a cheaper salary, and then this player for another one even cheaper and so on.

Another option is to trade him to a team with cap space, so it's instant cap space.

And finally, we can trade him for JR Smith, because only 1M of his salary is guaranteed, so it would clear a lot of money.

To sum up, everything is possible, but very unlikely, especially if we renounce Vuc and Ross, cuz no good FA will want to come to Orlando without a good roster

If salary has to match, how does that clear for more cap space?

Salaries don't need to match 100%, they have some margin, I think it's 25% + 100k, IIRC.

Evan for JR: https://basketball.realgm.com/tradechecker/saved_trade/7191206

[MoMM]

If the Magic is committed to Fultz as a starter next season, Augustin is an interesting trade chip to bolster the bench.

I think thats the worst thing we can make this offseason.

Agreed, btw, if Fultz pans out, we could have DJ boosting our bench, not trading for another player that might improve it.

[NotACat]

Yes, it's possible, we can trade him for a player with a cheaper salary, and then this player for another one even cheaper and so on.

Another option is to trade him to a team with cap space, so it's instant cap space.

And finally, we can trade him for JR Smith, because only 1M of his salary is guaranteed, so it would clear a lot of money.

To sum up, everything is possible, but very unlikely, especially if we renounce Vuc and Ross, cuz no good FA will want to come to Orlando without a good roster

If salary has to match, how does that clear for more cap space?

Salaries don't need to match 100%, they have some margin, I think it's 25% + 100k, IIRC.

Evan for JR: https://basketball.realgm.com/tradechecker/saved_trade/7191206

They're going to want a pick as well. I don't think we're moving Evan yet.

[MoMM]

JR Smith has an one of the more interesting contracts in the league. His contract can be declined before the season and a team could shed $15 million in cap space. The Cavs are tanking and have no interest in being good. They're in the business of taking on bigger contracts while adding picks and young players.

I'm not sure what the market is for the JR Smith contract, but if I were the Magic, and not thrilled with the prospects at #16 in the draft, I'd package Mozgov (expiring in 1 year) and the #16 pick for JR Smith and decline the contract to open up another $15 million in cap space. Or maybe just move Fournier for Smith in a deal straight up? Then, the Magic might be able to open closer to a max deal to add someone like D'Angelo Russell, or offer a contract to Malcolm Brogdon. Or they could use that money to go after someone like Bojan Bogdonavic. Or shore up their bench scoring by adding some cheaper guys like Seth Curry, Wayne Ellington, or Reggie Bullock on short term deals.

How much cap space do we have before July without Vuc and Ross? Grant has 3.7 million un-guaranteed and Jerell Martin has 3.5 million un-guaranteed. We have 83 million guaranteed and the cap is 109 million. That is 26 million in cap space without Vuc and Ross. Plus we can stretch Mozgov and that would open up another 12 million.

Could we resign Vuc with a short term contract and sign another UFA?

Am I right with my calculation?

Even before re-signing them, we have some cap holds so the cap is not cleared until we re-sign them, someone else signs them or we renounce their rights.

Cap hold for Vuc is 19.1M and for TRoss is 15.7M, so at least for TRoss's case it's better to re-sign him before trying to sign another FA, because we will have more cap space this way (assuming his new contract will be lower than 16M). As for Vuc, it's very likely it will be higher than 19M, so we could wait before re-signing him, sign some FAs and then re-sign him going over the cap, cuz we have his Bird rights.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/orlando-magic/cap/2019/

[MoMM]

If salary has to match, how does that clear for more cap space?

Salaries don't need to match 100%, they have some margin, I think it's 25% + 100k, IIRC.

Evan for JR: https://basketball.realgm.com/tradechecker/saved_trade/7191206

They're going to want a pick as well. I don't think we're moving Evan yet.

For sure, they would be really dumb to trade JR for Evan without acquiring extra assets.

Yes, agreed we won't trade Evan yet, only way is if we trade for a better player along with Bamba, AG or Isaac, IMO. And this case might depend on the other team, if they really want to rebuild (Cavs for JR) or just change some players (Blazers for McCollum) If the team is trying to rebuild, they might prefer Mozgov, because he expires one year earlier.

[Cosmic_Backlash]

I think for the Magic to go forward we have to move away from a Vuc centered offense and committing to Vuc could lead to similar results for a couple more years. For replacements, I'd STRONGLY consider Nerlens as a potential high value for cost center now. This guy is entering the prime of his career in age, learned this year he has to take a minor role sometimes for the good of the team, and after his pay day debacle I think if we can lock him into a decent long term deal he'd take. May 4/28 for Nerlen's can be done?


After that, the Magic desperately need a back up PF and SG. Maybe Jamychel Green can be had? I'm worried he'd be too expensive though, he played really well this year. I'd try to get SG through the draft. As much as I want a PG, I'd be worried we're clogging there now. I feel reasonably good about DJ, Markelle, MCW, Briscoe next year. This of course means we need to sign MCW to a deal Maybe a 2 year 6 million? Drafting NAW, Coby White, would be a win. In the 2nd round maybe pick up a Center than Pick & Roll well?

(Markelle/DJ) / (Markelle/DJ) / MCW / Briscoe
Fournier / NAW / MCW
Isaac / Iwundu/ MCW
AG / Green
Nerlens / Bamba

We run the offense more through Markelle (provided he's healthy) & AG next year. I think Nerlen's could help take us to another level defensively. Green would really solidify the 2nd unit next year and DJ could fill in the scoring role that Ross had this year.

I'd see if we can do 4/28 for Nerlens, 3/27 for Green, 2/6 for MCW.