As Tobias Harris rumors boil, a market emerges

With rumors swirling the Orlando Magic are willing to listen to Tobias Harris trade offers, a market for him emerges. What the Magic might do becomes clear.

A little more than 24 hours ago, reports began to fly that were probably whispered and acknowledged but never formally advanced to the news-consuming public. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Monday the Magic are not discouraging offers for Tobias Harris, the player they signed to a four-year, $62 million deal this past summer.

Considering both the team’s 3-16 start to the 2016 calendar year entering Monday’s game in Atlanta and the general position the Magic are in as a team trying to take a step up in one way or another, the Magic should be open to dealing just about anyone. There is no clear star or clear leader on the team and so no player should be completely untouchable.

The Magic are not in a position not to pick up the phone and at least listen.

So rumors like this one that came from My Sports Legion, should not be surprising or earth shattering:

The Magic have likely had “introductory talks” with many teams at this point about many players. This part is not news. It is not even necessarily news that they have had discussions with the Heat. Many teams surely call up other teams to ask about players who might be available trying to get them on the cheap.

What this rumor — and the storm of speculation Stein’s report set off — does is begin to allow the market to emerge.

Take the Heat for example, the Heat are a team looking for some youth and to get a little piece to put them into the Eastern Conference’s upper echelon. Harris is a player who could help them do that with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic around.

Surely Heat fans would love to bring in a talent like Harris to help the team out — assuming he would be a lot more effective as that third option with the space the other players on the floor could provide.

Luol Deng would be a natural player for the Magic to target. He fits a major box for the tam — a veteran to help galvanize the roster. And while he can take over games, he also will not stand in the way or take shots from the young players the Magic still want to push forward.

The problem with the Heat is they do not have much else to offer long term. Deng is set to become a free agent this summer — giving up Harris for him straight up would essentially just be a cap-clearing move. The Heat would need to add more to the deal anyway and the Magic would want more too.

Is a player like Josh McRoberts enough? Could the Magic insist on Justise Winslow, who probably is not available anyway? Would the Magic do this deal to get Hassan Whiteside and offer him the max? Not likely.

Introductory talks can be just that — introductory, and nothing more.

Other teams that emerged on the market shortly after this rumor surfaced included the Toronto Raptors.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported the Raptors have been “aggressive” on the trade market to try to get themselves more ensconced in the Eastern Conference’s upper echelon. With DeMarre Carroll dealing with injuries, the Raptors are in need of a small forward. It can be easy to add two and two together to get some type of number here.

Would the Magic swap for Carroll, currently injured, and take on his 3-and-D play to help fill an immediate need? Are they willing to pay his salary — his $58-million, four-year deal was signed this summer? Is that enough of a return from a team for a player the Magic seemed ready to invest so much in this summer?

Would Toronto throw something else into the pot, as surely they would such as a veteran like Luis Scola or a collection of young players including first-round pick Delon Wright? They seem a more possible trade partner because of the diversity of assets they can offer.

Do the Raptors even want to take on Harris’ long-term salary considering they have to sign DeMar DeRozan this offseason?

Then of course there is the Rudy Gay idea that we have bandied about and discussed — especially with the Sacramento Kings now in complete turmoil.

Harris will attract a lot of attention at the trade deadline. A 23-year-old player no matter what is going to attract a lot of attention. Especially a player with a diverse skill set like Harris.

It is far too early to say what will happen. But the interest does appear to have some legs. It just depends on what the Magic expect to get in return.

What has become clear is if the Magic are going to make any major move to bring in a big-salary player, it almost has to include Harris. The Magic probably would not part with Nikola Vucevic unless they are getting his replacement at center in return. That would limit their options.

Orlando still has a focus on building for the long term and so a short-term fix or a rental is not an option. Trading Harris for such a player would signal their desire to throw a max salary at a free agent in 2017 — and, yes, that does include Kevin Durant.

The market for Harris is still getting established. The Magic are correct to investigate the market.

Next: Poor January has Orlando Magic considering trades

How deep they get into those conversations, that is the part where readers should get skeptical about various reports.