Official Spec Thread: I guess now's the time to blow this dumpster fire up and bask in the glow!

[VFX]

What?

I seriously struggle to interpret half the stuff you say.

Management has now made their team: Fultz/Anthony/Hampton/Isaac/Okeke/Carter/Bamba/high_FRP/other_FRP; plus a named FA.

If those 9+1 do not produce results, Weltman and Hammond will be made unemployed after 2 more seasons.


..

I’m pretty optimistic Orlando won’t earn a top 5 pick next year, but playoffs??? Idk man... that’s a stretch after a complete blow up of the roster.

[Bensational]

What?

I seriously struggle to interpret half the stuff you say.

Management has now made their team: Fultz/Anthony/Hampton/Isaac/Okeke/Carter/Bamba/high_FRP/other_FRP; plus a named FA.

If those 9+1 do not produce results, Weltman and Hammond will be made unemployed after 2 more seasons.


..

What has given you the misconception that WeHam have already formed a foundation for the next iteration of the team? They’ve only just started a rebuild and don’t even know who will be the centrepiece of the build yet.

Seems a massive stretch to assume we’re locked into anyone over the next 2 years, let alone that contention expectations are applied.

[RookieStar]

What?

I seriously struggle to interpret half the stuff you say.

Management has now made their team: Fultz/Anthony/Hampton/Isaac/Okeke/Carter/Bamba/high_FRP/other_FRP; plus a named FA.

If those 9+1 do not produce results, Weltman and Hammond will be made unemployed after 2 more seasons.


..

I’m pretty optimistic Orlando won’t earn a top 5 pick next year, but playoffs??? Idk man... that’s a stretch after a complete blow up of the roster.

Well look at NYK right now. Before this season they were all ready for the tank wars until Thibs arrived and somehow all their players "leveled-up" And it isn't as if their rookies were producing, Obi is getting the Bamba treatment and IQ, as good as he has shown, is still a bench player.

It's the unexpected and lets face it, no one ever thought that Randle could do this, play of Randle plus low-key signing of Rose, steady improvement of RJ and solid team play/defense got them a top seed.

Not far-fetched with our roster and "top" rookies along with FA acquisition that we can be a PO team.

[GelbeWand09]

Management has now made their team: Fultz/Anthony/Hampton/Isaac/Okeke/Carter/Bamba/high_FRP/other_FRP; plus a named FA.

If those 9+1 do not produce results, Weltman and Hammond will be made unemployed after 2 more seasons.


..

I’m pretty optimistic Orlando won’t earn a top 5 pick next year, but playoffs??? Idk man... that’s a stretch after a complete blow up of the roster.

Well look at NYK right now. Before this season they were all ready for the tank wars until Thibs arrived and somehow all their players "leveled-up" And it isn't as if their rookies were producing, Obi is getting the Bamba treatment and IQ, as good as he has shown, is still a bench player.

It's the unexpected and lets face it, no one ever thought that Randle could do this, play of Randle plus low-key signing of Rose, steady improvement of RJ and solid team play/defense got them a top seed.

Not far-fetched with our roster and "top" rookies along with FA acquisition that we can be a PO team.

I like the Knicks & I'm happy they are kinda relevant again but they are pretty much us til Isaac's injury. Even there shot chart looks the same
They are lead too by a late blooming big on middling efficiency, who added a 3 point shot late but still takes a lot of midrange shots.
Like us with JI & Cliff, they have a great defense that compensates for the bad offense in the regular season.

[RookieStar]

I’m pretty optimistic Orlando won’t earn a top 5 pick next year, but playoffs??? Idk man... that’s a stretch after a complete blow up of the roster.

Well look at NYK right now. Before this season they were all ready for the tank wars until Thibs arrived and somehow all their players "leveled-up" And it isn't as if their rookies were producing, Obi is getting the Bamba treatment and IQ, as good as he has shown, is still a bench player.

It's the unexpected and lets face it, no one ever thought that Randle could do this, play of Randle plus low-key signing of Rose, steady improvement of RJ and solid team play/defense got them a top seed.

Not far-fetched with our roster and "top" rookies along with FA acquisition that we can be a PO team.

I like the Knicks & I'm happy they are kinda relevant again but they are pretty much us til Isaac's injury. Even there shot chart looks the same
They are lead too by a late blooming big on middling efficiency, who added a 3 point shot late but still takes a lot of midrange shots.
Like us with JI & Cliff, they have a great defense that compensates for the bad offense in the regular season.

You forgot the : they just used their high draft pick to draft a player playing the same position as their allstar needing an extension LOL

[pepe1991]

I’m pretty optimistic Orlando won’t earn a top 5 pick next year, but playoffs??? Idk man... that’s a stretch after a complete blow up of the roster.

Well look at NYK right now. Before this season they were all ready for the tank wars until Thibs arrived and somehow all their players "leveled-up" And it isn't as if their rookies were producing, Obi is getting the Bamba treatment and IQ, as good as he has shown, is still a bench player.

It's the unexpected and lets face it, no one ever thought that Randle could do this, play of Randle plus low-key signing of Rose, steady improvement of RJ and solid team play/defense got them a top seed.

Not far-fetched with our roster and "top" rookies along with FA acquisition that we can be a PO team.

I like the Knicks & I'm happy they are kinda relevant again but they are pretty much us til Isaac's injury. Even there shot chart looks the same
They are lead too by a late blooming big on middling efficiency, who added a 3 point shot late but still takes a lot of midrange shots.
Like us with JI & Cliff, they have a great defense that compensates for the bad offense in the regular season.

Difference is, they can look at Clippers, if they exit early, and throw max contract at Kawhi and get him.
Where if Magic offer him the max , he would hang up the phone and block their number.

It's easy to become relevant when you are in NY

[GelbeWand09]

Well look at NYK right now. Before this season they were all ready for the tank wars until Thibs arrived and somehow all their players "leveled-up" And it isn't as if their rookies were producing, Obi is getting the Bamba treatment and IQ, as good as he has shown, is still a bench player.

It's the unexpected and lets face it, no one ever thought that Randle could do this, play of Randle plus low-key signing of Rose, steady improvement of RJ and solid team play/defense got them a top seed.

Not far-fetched with our roster and "top" rookies along with FA acquisition that we can be a PO team.

I like the Knicks & I'm happy they are kinda relevant again but they are pretty much us til Isaac's injury. Even there shot chart looks the same
They are lead too by a late blooming big on middling efficiency, who added a 3 point shot late but still takes a lot of midrange shots.
Like us with JI & Cliff, they have a great defense that compensates for the bad offense in the regular season.

Difference is, they can look at Clippers, if they exit early, and throw max contract at Kawhi and get him.
Where if Magic offer him the max , he would hang up the phone and block their number.

It's easy to become relevant when you are in NY

Yea for sure. Bad for them is they became good are a year too late. With there current success, KD & Kyrie probably go to the Knicks instead of the Nets.

[pepe1991]

I like the Knicks & I'm happy they are kinda relevant again but they are pretty much us til Isaac's injury. Even there shot chart looks the same
They are lead too by a late blooming big on middling efficiency, who added a 3 point shot late but still takes a lot of midrange shots.
Like us with JI & Cliff, they have a great defense that compensates for the bad offense in the regular season.

Difference is, they can look at Clippers, if they exit early, and throw max contract at Kawhi and get him.
Where if Magic offer him the max , he would hang up the phone and block their number.

It's easy to become relevant when you are in NY

Yea for sure. Bad for them is they became good are a year too late. With there current success, KD & Kyrie probably go to the Knicks instead of the Nets.

Yea but as usual there will always be some attention seeking star ( or his wife) that will come decisions to move, go there so they can develop their off court brand.


And to be 100% honest, they don't need to land star this year, they just need to upgrade starting PG spot ASAP. Now, do they think Quickley can step into that shoes ? I don't think he can, too soon. That's why getting somebody like Lonzo ( defender & good court vision, not worthless 3 point shooter like ) would do a lot for them.Also implementing heathy ​Michell Robinson into starter could make their defense amazing.

Also what to do with Toppin, Ntkilina & Knox ? are they all done with Knicks?

[drsd]

I’m pretty optimistic Orlando won’t earn a top 5 pick next year, but playoffs??? Idk man... that’s a stretch after a complete blow up of the roster.

Playoffs in the 2022/23 season, or unemployment. I see no other outcome for PBO Weltman and GM Hammond.

Is that fair? Yes: this pair has had ample time to construct a roster, and now that they are committed to a core, it is time to use 2021/22 to go all-in for a playoff push in 2022/23.

..

[drsd]

Seems a massive stretch to assume we’re locked into anyone over the next 2 years, let alone that contention expectations are applied.

This is incorrect metrically. The core players are all indeed locked in for more than 2-years; all of them.

All of these players are under contracts or have team options through the summer of 2023: Isaac, Fultz, Bamba, Carter, Anthony, Okeke, Hampton; and of course the forthcoming two FRPs. (Ross is as well as the only non-core player - revealing how much cap flexibility will come).

Even before the summer FA period the Magic will thus have nine very young players to consider developmentally through 2021/22 as an assessment is made to the 2022/23 season. Will all nine of these players be Magicians in 2022/23: for me it is doubtful. But trades are part of the business of basketball and the team is ready to grow up at this point.

..

[drsd]

Well look at NYK right now. Before this season they were all ready for the tank wars until Thibs arrived and somehow all their players "leveled-up" And it isn't as if their rookies were producing, Obi is getting the Bamba treatment and IQ, as good as he has shown, is still a bench player.

It's the unexpected and lets face it, no one ever thought that Randle could do this, play of Randle plus low-key signing of Rose, steady improvement of RJ and solid team play/defense got them a top seed.

Not far-fetched with our roster and "top" rookies along with FA acquisition that we can be a PO team.

And-1.

I am expecting a pretty boring 2021 off-season considering the FA market.

But I am also expecting an explosive off-season in the Summer of 2022. Both the trade and FA activities could be transformative for this team.

..

[drsd]

I like the Knicks & I'm happy they are kinda relevant again but they are pretty much us til Isaac's injury. Even there shot chart looks the same
They are lead too by a late blooming big on middling efficiency, who added a 3 point shot late but still takes a lot of midrange shots.
Like us with JI & Cliff, they have a great defense that compensates for the bad offense in the regular season.

And-1

If Fultz and Isaac had been fully healthy, I do think the Magic would have been in a bundle with the Hawks and Knicks.

..

[basketballRob]

Read on Twitter

I think the front office feeling relieved after trading 3 veteran starters along with saying signing free agents isn’t part of the plan - pretty clear to me this team will be “organically rebuilding” (in the lottery, mainly playing young guys). Save for a Luka/LBJ level rookie performance of course.

AG, Fournier, Aminu, Clark, and Vuc are basically role players that we were paying around 70% of our cap. Now we can afford to look for bargain players that other teams can't afford to keep.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

[JBSouthpaw]

Read on Twitter

I think the front office feeling relieved after trading 3 veteran starters along with saying signing free agents isn’t part of the plan - pretty clear to me this team will be “organically rebuilding” (in the lottery, mainly playing young guys). Save for a Luka/LBJ level rookie performance of course.

AG, Fournier, Aminu, Clark, and Vuc are basically role players that we were paying around 70% of our cap. Now we can afford to look for bargain players that other teams can't afford to keep.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

The Coup was really getting ChI to take Aminu. I thought that contract was going to hang around our necks.

[OrlChamps2030]

Read on Twitter

I think the front office feeling relieved after trading 3 veteran starters along with saying signing free agents isn’t part of the plan - pretty clear to me this team will be “organically rebuilding” (in the lottery, mainly playing young guys). Save for a Luka/LBJ level rookie performance of course.

AG, Fournier, Aminu, Clark, and Vuc are basically role players that we were paying around 70% of our cap. Now we can afford to look for bargain players that other teams can't afford to keep.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

What bargain role players do you see wanting to come to this team that will provide similar caliber of production to Vucevic, AG, Fournier?

[basketballRob]

I think the front office feeling relieved after trading 3 veteran starters along with saying signing free agents isn’t part of the plan - pretty clear to me this team will be “organically rebuilding” (in the lottery, mainly playing young guys). Save for a Luka/LBJ level rookie performance of course.

AG, Fournier, Aminu, Clark, and Vuc are basically role players that we were paying around 70% of our cap. Now we can afford to look for bargain players that other teams can't afford to keep.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

What bargain role players do you see wanting to come to this team that will provide similar caliber of production to Vucevic, AG, Fournier?

Sure Vuc and Fournier played okay offensively, but were liabilities on defense. If we get players that are slightly above average on both sides they can be just as effective.

Bargains can be found when you have cap space. Look at players like Kyle Lowry, he played for a couple teams and his top salary was 5.7m before the Raptors.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

[OrlChamps2030]

AG, Fournier, Aminu, Clark, and Vuc are basically role players that we were paying around 70% of our cap. Now we can afford to look for bargain players that other teams can't afford to keep.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

What bargain role players do you see wanting to come to this team that will provide similar caliber of production to Vucevic, AG, Fournier?

Sure Vuc and Fournier played okay offensively, but were liabilities on defense. If we get players that are slightly above average on both sides they can be just as effective.

Bargains can be found when you have cap space. Look at players like Kyle Lowry, he played for a couple teams and his top salary was 5.7m before the Raptors.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

Ahhh right.. there’s gotta be plenty of above average 2 way players signing bargain deals with small market lotto teams..

I must have missed the last 10 years when this organizations biggest FA signings were DJ Augustine, Aminu, Frye, Biyombo and Jeff Green..

[The Effect]

What bargain role players do you see wanting to come to this team that will provide similar caliber of production to Vucevic, AG, Fournier?

Sure Vuc and Fournier played okay offensively, but were liabilities on defense. If we get players that are slightly above average on both sides they can be just as effective.

Bargains can be found when you have cap space. Look at players like Kyle Lowry, he played for a couple teams and his top salary was 5.7m before the Raptors.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

Ahhh right.. there’s gotta be plenty of above average 2 way players signing bargain deals with small market lotto teams..

I must have missed the last 10 years when this organizations biggest FA signings were DJ Augustine, Aminu, Frye, Biyombo and Jeff Green..

Umm.... do you really think every FA will only sign with LA, Bos and GS or something?
Unless youre one of the top players in the league, you dont really have the option to be that picky, you go where you can, and most Players sign with who gives them the best combo of $$ (top factor most times) and chance to win (secondary option for most players).

Not every player is durant or lebron and just go anywhere, we clearly arent getting one of those guys, There are plenty of guys who sign with mid and small market teams every single year. I mean it wouldnt be impossible for us to sign a player of say Malcolm Brogdans caliber if he was available. Not advocating for signing them, but say WeHam decided they wanted to sign someone like Spencer Dinwiddie, Gary Trent or Norman Powell, and we had the capspace, do you really think those guys would turn us down if we had the highest offer? Yeah probably not


Also, this team has a track record of signing big time FAs, TMac, Grant hill and rashard lewis (who was the #1 FA available that year) all come to mind

[pepe1991]

What bargain role players do you see wanting to come to this team that will provide similar caliber of production to Vucevic, AG, Fournier?

Sure Vuc and Fournier played okay offensively, but were liabilities on defense. If we get players that are slightly above average on both sides they can be just as effective.

Bargains can be found when you have cap space. Look at players like Kyle Lowry, he played for a couple teams and his top salary was 5.7m before the Raptors.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

Ahhh right.. there’s gotta be plenty of above average 2 way players signing bargain deals with small market lotto teams..

I must have missed the last 10 years when this organizations biggest FA signings were DJ Augustine, Aminu, Frye, Biyombo and Jeff Green..

Biysmack Biyombo, Jeff Green, Jason Smith, Frye... elites...

Just for sake of common sense and logic, Kyle Lowry signed $5,8M a year contract....11 years ago. When $5,8M was actually big money, it was 10% of salary cap since cap was $58M. Equvivalent of it is signing somebody on $18M a year today.
But let's not bother ourselfs with facts when we can talk how our vets killed our defense that showed massive improvments after trade deadline. From 112 to 115,6. As twitter Magic handle already was making fools of dummies who actually got hyped for "best defensive rating in teams history" . Greatest Magic tweet since Selv Mack leading team in assists with 3,9

[RookieStar]

What bargain role players do you see wanting to come to this team that will provide similar caliber of production to Vucevic, AG, Fournier?

Sure Vuc and Fournier played okay offensively, but were liabilities on defense. If we get players that are slightly above average on both sides they can be just as effective.

Bargains can be found when you have cap space. Look at players like Kyle Lowry, he played for a couple teams and his top salary was 5.7m before the Raptors.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

Ahhh right.. there’s gotta be plenty of above average 2 way players signing bargain deals with small market lotto teams..

I must have missed the last 10 years when this organizations biggest FA signings were DJ Augustine, Aminu, Frye, Biyombo and Jeff Green..

Well... let's admit this fact, before Aminu fell off a cliff here, he was good. In fact he was integral to those POR run in the playoffs where he was asked to play anywhere from the 3,4 or 5 positions. He held his own against those elite Western fronline.

He signed with us ( which I admit was a weird one because we still had AG and JI ). I mean my fave MLE signing was Turk and I had to admit I dunno why he signed with us (lol) So that's the proof that "above-average" players can and do sign with us and not just scrubs ( sure we might have to pay higher than what other big markets might offer but why not )