Orlando Magic Rumors: Channing Frye is available
As the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to deal with Tristan Thompson‘s contract situation, Zach Lowe of Grantland reports Channing Frye coudl be available.
It did not take long for the first rumor involving an Orlando Magic player to pop up in the never-ending rumor mill. Maybe it popping up in the preseason seems a bit soon, but here it is laid bare for everyone to stew on.
Zach Lowe of Grantland broke down the game of poker that continues to go on between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Tristan Thompson and dropped the note that if the Cavaliers are in need of some power forward help while waiting on Thompson, the Magic have reportedly made Channing Frye available:
"Sources around the league say Channing Frye is available now for very little, though Magic officials deny it."
Read as much as you want between the lines.
There is no denying Frye had his struggles in his first year of his four-year deal with the Magic. Despite shooting 39.3 percent from beyond the arc, the second best 3-point shooting percentage of his career, Frye did not have a good season. Frye even admitted it was an “embarrassing” season for him.
Frye in particular has been very honest about his performance last season and rededicated himself this offseason to make this year better. We will have more on that in a little bit.
It was undeniable that Frye and Nikola Vucevic were a poor frontcourt pairing. His defense could not make up for whatever advantage he provided offensively.
Frye’s role entering this season was seemingly up in the air. It seemed fairly certain he would slot in as the backup power forward, but Jason Smith and Andrew Nicholson are still around and there is still a remote possibility Dewayne Dedmon, Tobias Harris and Aaron Gordon take up all the power forward minutes.
The disappointment in Frye’s first year certainly could be enough to lead the Magic to trade him.
And a situation like Cleveland’s certainly could be enough to make them pull the trigger on a deal that may not be the best for the franchise financially. The Cavaliers, as Lowe points out, are without several key players that could fill Thompson’s spot while they continue to negotiate a new contract with him. Anderson Varejao is coming back from an Achilles injury, Timofey Mozgov had offseason surgery, Iman Shumpert is out and Kevin Love is returning from a major injury too.
It is not a pretty situation. Thus Lowe seems to suggest the Cavaliers could use their rather large trade exception and find a stop gap to fill the void. If Frye can be had for cheap (a spare pick plus some of that trade exception), that would be appealing.
The second line to that rumor though is the key one. The Magic are denying they are shopping Frye or looking to trade him in any way. At this point of the season, it would be really immature to speculate on any serious trade discussions. Trades rarely happen at this time of year (unless you are trading James Harden to the Rockets).
In all likelihood, this is a rumor to bank away for later on in the year.