What's the good word with Gary Harris?

[Skybox]

He's not exactly a big media guy...I wonder what his intentions are for next season. Does he ring-chase at a discount? Does he go to the highest bidder? Does he return to familiar places in DEN or ORL? I really like our chances because we can offer him a significant role at SG and decent money (beyond the MLE). I would guess he's young enough that he wants to get paid once more before he starts considering discounts for contenders -We could certainly use the floor spacing and heady defense at our weakest position. His shooting in the second half of the season was more than just good- he looked like he was playing back at the level that got him overpaid in DEN. I think Suggs is ultimately a PG and, even if he starts at SG ahead of Harris, there should be lots of minutes unless one of the others starts miraculously shooting lights out. I like Anthony's potential to tighten it up, but I'd like to move him for a equal upside guy in a more 3 & D mold (Moody? Cam Johnson?)...that would definitely change our Gary Harris outlook, but I think our FO isn't done with our 3 PG tryouts - 4 if you include RJ ...Harris is the only guard on the roster who contributes without needing the ball in his hands.

I think/hope he stays for $15 x 2 years...but I can't find any commentary on his outlook or priorities. There's not a lot of money out there to outbid us, so, unless we hunt much bigger game with our cap space/trade, he might be as good a SG prospect as any out there.

Do you want him back? how badly? Has anybody heard anything about what he wants to do?

[basketballRob]

Suggs and Harris are the only guards that can defend. Remember Hampton and Cole starting and giving up 60 pts. to Kyrie in 3 quarters?

My top rotation guards would be Fultz, Suggs, and Harris.

I think we should just bring back Harris and Bamba. Then try to win until the trade deadline and see what we have.




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[The-Stallion70]

If i'm not mistaken, Gary Harris is a fully unrestrictred free agent correct? So it is Gary's choice where he goes and what offers he gets, we have no control. I think we might like to bring Harris back, but I also like the idea of trading for Kevin Huerter and giving him an extension.

Harris probably was our best 3 point shooter on the team last year but I still feel like we could benefit from going after a true lights out shooter, someone who shoots over 40% for their career.

I like Anthony's potential to tighten it up, but I'd like to move him for a equal upside guy in a more 3 & D mold (Moody? Cam Johnson?)..

I wouldn't give up Cole until Suggs proves he is capable. If Suggs starts to play more under control, starts to score more efficiently and starts to appear to have a handle of things on offense, only then would I be more open to moving Cole.

[cedric76]

I d give him a Jeff green special contract

1yr max contract, it saves our 2023 cap space and he is the solid sg vet we need

Win win

[drsd]

If i'm not mistaken, Gary Harris is a fully unrestrictred free agent correct? So it is Gary's choice where he goes and what offers he gets, we have no control.

I d give him a Jeff green special contract

1yr max contract, it saves our 2023 cap space and he is the solid sg vet we need

Win win

Combining these, the "control" Orlando has is to offer 20-25M for the 2023 season. It might be hard for Harris to decline that.
(By "max". I assume cedric means - the amount required to get Orlando to the floor of the salary line.)

[zaymon]

I think us winning the lottery changes a lot. If we dropped to 5-6 we would still be struggling to aquire potential lead ball handler. With number one we can roll with Banchero and build around him and Franz. It appears Gary Harris is the perfect fit along those two, much better than Fultz and Suggs.
In the end it depends on what Gary wants and what we want.
Weltman seems to care about having enough veterans on the roster and winning the lottery could accelerate our rebuild.
Gary seems like a guy who enjoys building something from scratch like he did in denver. I dont know if starting is his priority, but we will have money and minutes.
At this point i dont care about Anthony and i dont see a reason to prioritize Hamptons minutes.

Suggs/Fultz
Harris/Wagner
Wagner/Bachero
Banchero/Isaac
WCJ

Thats 7 core guys. Rest of the minutes will be distributed among Anthony, Hampton, Okeke, Wagner, Bamba if we resign him, our second pick.
Personally i would trade Anthony and not resign Bamba. Hampton can develop for next 1-2 years on low minutes.
It all changes if we draft Jabari or Holmgren. They dont have skills and athletic ability to project into lead ball handler. Our rebuild would be still on lookout for potential star and our timeline would be propably different than Harris apart from big trade.

[basketballRob]

I think us winning the lottery changes a lot. If we dropped to 5-6 we would still be struggling to aquire potential lead ball handler. With number one we can roll with Banchero and build around him and Franz. It appears Gary Harris is the perfect fit along those two, much better than Fultz and Suggs.
In the end it depends on what Gary wants and what we want.
Weltman seems to care about having enough veterans on the roster and winning the lottery could accelerate our rebuild.
Gary seems like a guy who enjoys building something from scratch like he did in denver. I dont know if starting is his priority, but we will have money and minutes.
At this point i dont care about Anthony and i dont see a reason to prioritize Hamptons minutes.

Suggs/Fultz
Harris/Wagner
Wagner/Bachero
Banchero/Isaac
WCJ

Thats 7 core guys. Rest of the minutes will be distributed among Anthony, Hampton, Okeke, Wagner, Bamba if we resign him, our second pick.
Personally i would trade Anthony and not resign Bamba. Hampton can develop for next 1-2 years on low minutes.
It all changes if we draft Jabari or Holmgren. They dont have skills and athletic ability to project into lead ball handler. Our rebuild would be still on lookout for potential star and our timeline would be propably different than Harris apart from big trade.

I would try to trade Cole for Simons. That would save Portland some money and they'll likely be drafting another guard with the 7th pick. We could also give them the 32nd pick.

Simons was posting positive things about the city of Orlando on his IG timeline and would probably accept a trade here. He's named after Penny and wears #1.

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[jonbob17]

Harris is not very good anymore, and hasn't been for a while. Let him walk. If we were going to take a chance on someone we could sign for cheap and move to a contender it should have been Otto Porter.

He'll probably get an MLE from a contender hoping he can still shoot and defend at an average level, which I guess last year qualifies as.
Definitely not worth blocking our young guys from minutes.

[zaymon]

Harris is not very good anymore, and hasn't been for a while. Let him walk. If we were going to take a chance on someone we could sign for cheap and move to a contender it should have been Otto Porter.

He'll probably get an MLE from a contender hoping he can still shoot and defend at an average level, which I guess last year qualifies as.
Definitely not worth blocking our young guys from minutes.

He is the only guard who can really play at both ends on our team. Practicing with him is more valueable for Suggs and company than few more minutes. He is still only 27 and seems to be behind his injuries. Prime years.

[jonbob17]

Harris is not very good anymore, and hasn't been for a while. Let him walk. If we were going to take a chance on someone we could sign for cheap and move to a contender it should have been Otto Porter.

He'll probably get an MLE from a contender hoping he can still shoot and defend at an average level, which I guess last year qualifies as.
Definitely not worth blocking our young guys from minutes.

He is the only guard who can really play at both ends on our team. Practicing with him is more valueable for Suggs and company than few more minutes. He is still only 27 and seems to be behind his injuries. Prime years.

The last time he had a good season was 2017-18. He has this reputation of being a good two way player. DPM has him as a negative pretty much every year. TBH i'd rather see what Cole can do. Can he turn into a reliable 6th man? If he gets better at finishing, I don't see why not. Let's force feed minutes to Suggs, Fultz, Cole, and RJ, and even Wagner a bit at the 2.

I am sure he can be valuable somewhere, but not as a starter, or a high usage role.

[Skybox]

[quote="The-Stallion70"]If i'm not mistaken, Gary Harris is a fully unrestrictred free agent correct? So it is Gary's choice where he goes and what offers he gets, we have no control. I think we might like to bring Harris back, but I also like the idea of trading for Kevin Huerter and giving him an extension.

I like Huerter and he’d drop right in but he already got a 4 yr extension around 15-19 per. That’s similar to Evan, Duncan Robinson…and those teams would pay you to take them (I would for a frp). Cam Johnson is similar and will be due for a big raise in a year-Sarver might move him rather than she’ll out his market value.

Younger, rookie deal, biggish guys that bomb threes…Vassell, Moody, Kispert

Idk who the current older, cheaper 3pt specialists are…they might all be on DAL

[D12VCMagic]

I would like to have him back on a reasonable salary. Paolo has to have someone he can kick the ball out to and be confident they will knock down the shot besides Franz.

[fendilim]

By all indications he is a good locker room guy

[Skybox]

We NEED guys like him. Paolo Anand Franz at giant-sized PG make it much more so…going rate is pretty high for a 40% high volume shooter…that’s why he got paid in DEN. He returned to form in the second half. We should not expect to lowball him. He’s not a sexy FA to talk about, but he’s exactly what we need…then, we need another one.

[Bergmaniac]

Harris is not very good anymore, and hasn't been for a while. Let him walk. If we were going to take a chance on someone we could sign for cheap and move to a contender it should have been Otto Porter.

He'll probably get an MLE from a contender hoping he can still shoot and defend at an average level, which I guess last year qualifies as.
Definitely not worth blocking our young guys from minutes.

Harris was very good last season once he got in game shape. He struggled mightily in the first month or so, but after that he was our best guard by some margin for most of last season. From December 1st on he shot 41.3% from 3 on a decent volume, his TS% was 59.9, he played solid defense and he had the best net rating and on/off on the team. And he's still only 27. I'd definitely try to keep him if his salary demands are reasonable.

[Knightro]

I think it is very contingent on what the Magic are actually trying to accomplish this upcoming season.

If they’re trying to win as much as they can, then retaining Harris would be a good idea.

If they’re continuing the tank/evaluation process, then there’s no need to keep him.

I personally think they’re going to continue tanking next season with an eye on next summer as their “this is our time to spend money” moment, so I’d imagine Harris doesn’t return unless it’s on a one-year commitment.

[Skybox]

I think it is very contingent on what the Magic are actually trying to accomplish this upcoming season.

If they’re trying to win as much as they can, then retaining Harris would be a good idea.

If they’re continuing the tank/evaluation process, then there’s no need to keep him.

I personally think they’re going to continue tanking next season with an eye on next summer as their “this is our time to spend money” moment, so I’d imagine Harris doesn’t return unless it’s on a one-year commitment.

you're probably right but

[zaymon]

I think it is very contingent on what the Magic are actually trying to accomplish this upcoming season.

If they’re trying to win as much as they can, then retaining Harris would be a good idea.

If they’re continuing the tank/evaluation process, then there’s no need to keep him.

I personally think they’re going to continue tanking next season with an eye on next summer as their “this is our time to spend money” moment, so I’d imagine Harris doesn’t return unless it’s on a one-year commitment.

I like Harris, but given our roster construction and recent Weltman interview i doubt we will resign him unless we will get some good offer on one of our young guards

[Knightro]

I really think the lineup is gonna be something like this...

G: Fultz, Anthony, Cannady
G: Suggs, Hampton, 1 year vet FA who doesn't expect to play much a la E'Twaun Moore last year
F: F. Wagner, Okeke, Houstan
F: Banchero, Isaac, Bol
C: Carter, 1 year deal FA (could be Bamba on the QO), M. Wagner

Now if they decide to pivot and try to be more competitive next season, then all bets are off on what they will do with their cap space.

[drsd]

We NEED guys like him. Paolo Anand Franz at giant-sized PG make it much more so…going rate is pretty high for a 40% high volume shooter…that’s why he got paid in DEN. He returned to form in the second half. We should not expect to lowball him. He’s not a sexy FA to talk about, but he’s exactly what we need…then, we need another one.

Harris being resigned clarified the guard rotation considerably. It sounds more and more like Isaac is not going to be ready. If we add the re-up of Cannady and M-Wagner, the signing of Banchero and Houstan, and simply letting Bamba walk, Orlando is on opening night:

Fultz/Anthony/Cannady
Harris/Suggs/Hampton
F-Wagner/Ross/Houstan
Banchero/Okeke/Isaac(IR)
Carter/M-Wagner

That looks a lot like the depth chart for game-1. Maybe the Magic sign a combo big, but Harris as a Magician basically ends the management phase of the off-season.

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