3) Kyle O’Quinn, $2.1 million/2 yrs., RFA 2015
Kyle O’Quinn might be the biggest bargain and the biggest risk on the Magic roster when it comes to trades.
First, O’Quinn is a second round pick from a small school. He has brought himself into the league by his own bootstraps and his hard work to scratch out a living and a place in teh Magic’s rotation is proof of his work ethic and his skill.
Second, there are very few big men with O’Quinn’s kind of skill. He has expanded his range to the 3-point line, but is fine working out of the high post. The Magic severely under utilize his passing ability from the high post. His post game is limited, but he can play a great high-low game with a post-up center.
Third, O’Quinn is a pretty good defender. He has good timing on blocking shots which is impressive for a player standing at 6-foot-10.
There is a lot O’Quinn can improve upon, but he has clearly earned a ton more consideration. Of any player on the Magic roster, O’Quinn is the most likely to be priced out of their range and the emergence of Dewayne Dedmon has made O’Quinn somewhat expendable.
This is not a direct call to trade Kyle O’Quinn, but now might be the time to cash in.
O’Quinn will be a restricted free agent, giving the Magic the right to match any offer he gets. It is quite likely someone will throw a good chunk of their mid-level exception at him. Everyone seems to think it will be O’Quinn’s hometown Knicks should they miss out on Greg Monroe and Marc Gasol this summer.
Skilled big men are very hard to find. And O’Quinn is definitely third among those post players, but would not be the worst thing for the Knicks to acquire. Again, his ability to pass out of the high post has been under used by the Magic. He would do wonders in the triangle.
The last time the Magic were in this situation with a backup point guard, they opted to match Marcin Gortat‘s big deal and figured they would be able to cash in on Gortat as an asset. That may not exactly be the case with O’Quinn. He may not quite garner that kind of an offer.
Just like with Tobias Harris, the Magic have a very big decision to make with Kyle O’Quinn. He is going to get a significant increase in his salary and the Magic really have to judge his value. There is not a lot you can get for him right now though without absorbing more salary. A team that acquires him knows they will have to pay this summer.
Next: No. 2: Nikola Vucevic