That's fantastic for us fans to hear. Unfortunately I don't think we'll quite get there this year.“I want to win it all. I think it’s that simple,” Lillard said. “You know, I just turned 30 and I still feel young, and I am young, you know? But I’m just to that point where, you know, I’ve done just about everything. Off the court I’ve done a lot … and I’ve done a lot on the court: five-time All-Star, this year most likely be five-times All-NBA, I’m having my best year statistically … I’m doing all these things — I haven’t been MVP, which I want to be — but I’m just like, what do I want to walk away with? What really means the most when I’m done playing, where I can look back and I can say I did that, I experienced that? And that’s winning it all.”
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“So I’m to the point where I really want to win it all, and then look back and say ‘I want to come on everybody’s TV show, and let’s talk about what you all said all those years, all those times.’ And we won it all. That’s what it is. That’s just my focus right now. Anything can happen right now. We haven’t played in four months, and our focus is to get into the playoffs and anything is possible, literally, because of the circumstances we are playing under. So going forward, that’s where my mind is, and where I want our team’s mind to be. I want to get it done and win it all.”
What are we lacking?
- A wing defender who can defend LeBron, Giannis, George or Kawhi
- A better back-up PG who can run the offense
otherwise I would say we are in pretty good shape
This offseason we have a lot of assets to spend in a buyers market. If Jody Allen wants to win now is the time.
Draft picks are exciting and always fun to speculate on but we need win now guys not a player who might contribute in 2-3 years, if ever.
So here is my plan.
Orlando - Portland- This deal is two parts, one this salary year and the other in the new salary year
Portland trades:
Anfernee Simons
#14 pick
2021 pick - top 10 protected
Trevor Ariza
Orlando trades:
Aaron Gordon
Mo Bamba
Forbes had an interesting article about trade chatter going on in Orlando. My target Aaron Gordon was mentioned prominently
Gordon was on the block at the trade deadline last February and there was interest from teams like Golden State and Phoenix, but nothing that got close to becoming a workable deal. Gordon bounced back after a rough start but still, the Magic want to give the team over to Jonathan Isaac and Gordon just doesn’t fit with that plan. He has a contract that lines up well for a trade, declining to $18.1 million next year and $16.4 million in the final year of the deal.
Eastern Conference exec: “They were really trying to deal him before the deadline but they weren’t getting the assets back they wanted. It will be easier to move that contract when it’s only got two years left. He’s probably the most likely big name to be traded. He’s a good gamble—he is only 24.”
Aaron Gordon
I've been watching a lot of the Smart Highlights videos on him. They show the godly, the good, the bad and the ugly.
The bad:
- Decision making- One thing that strikes me about AG is that he brings the ball up a lot for the Magic and subsequently makes a lot of stupid decisions with the ball. He tries to do too much with the ball and struggles in complex situations.
- Shooting percentages and shot selection- He takes far too many fadeaways. He thinks too much when he's open. His footwork on his shooting is inconsistent. He has NEVER played with a quality point guard. Jameer Nelson, DJ Augustin, Elfrid Payton and now Markelle Fultz are the guys he's played with in Orlando. Yuck!
But there is hope:
NotACat wrote:I finally got around to writing up a season recap of the Orlando Magic, you can check it out here: https://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/2020/7/15/21325517/orlando-magic-season-recap-so-far
When receiving a pass from Fultz, all the starters (excluding Jonathan Isaac due to sample size), have shot much better from deep:
3pt % when receiving a pass from Fultz
Aaron Gordon
30.1 -> 42.3
+12.2
These numbers are a great sign for the team and the change in Aaron Gordon’s shooting is remarkable. Its clear that Fultz has been able to break down defenses and set up his teammates for great shots. Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon have been taking some ball handling duties away from Fultz, it will be interesting to see how Coach Clifford balances facilitator duties in the restart.
The good:
- He can defend LeBron, Ben Simmons and Giannis about as well as anybody.
- He has a really good eurostep and is great in the open court.
- Fantastic P+R ball-handler. Great first step and just blows past big men
- He abuses SFs in the post.
- He is a pretty good 3 pt shooter from the corner.
- Good high post player where he is a triple threat.
- Good passing skills but makes a lot of simple mistakes.
- Fantastic 2nd and 3rd chance rebounder. Create instant fast breaks since he can board and go
I would love to see what Gordon could do for us at SF and back-up PF. In a more narrowly defined role, getting easy corner looks and scoring off cuts and post up off of switches he could be the SF we're looking for, especially since Collins and Nurkic have improved their long-range shooting.
Mo Bamba
Mo Bamba is very much in Steve Clifford's doghouse. He came into Orlando out of shape after having gained a self reported 28 pounds (of fat). It seems like both the Magic fans and their coaching staff are ready to move on.
In theory he's the ideal third big for Portland. He's long and agile and can hit the 3. He's smart and well spoken but for some reason just can't put it together for more than a game at a time. Here's his detailed scouting report
If we look at this sub-deal at #14 and absorbing Bamba into the TPE then it's basically taking a shot on Bamba over whomever we could draft there. Given the great job the Blazers have done with both Nurkic and Collins I think he is worth taking a flyer on.
Unfortunately we need to limit ourselves to trying to acquire players who are available. I'd love to get Giannis or Anthony Davis but they clearly they are not available.