The Orlando Magic are in need of some tinkering and we take a look at five players on the trade market who could potentially help.
Sometimes the trade deadline is about teams discarding talent in attempts to rebuild. There are typically bargains to be found when soliciting talent from the bottom-feeding teams in the league preparing to go in a different direction or retool old rebuilding plans.
That said, no team is looking to simply give talented players away.
The Orlando Magic have some suitable trade pieces to acquire players who can help shore up some deficiencies. The Magic are hardly in desperation mode, but that will not stop Rob Hennigan from looking for ways to better the team.
There is also acquiring expiring contracts while benefitting from the player’s contributions for the latter half of the season with an eye toward free agency. And make no mistake, there will be options for the Magic when the trade deadline nears.
What is worth considering is: Who will be available and can be snagged at a good value, even a bargain?
Remember, these names are mere suggestions and there are no rumors connecting them directly to the Magic. Consider this a survey of the market at the moment.
Next: A Manimal?
Kenneth Faried
The Orlando Magic are still in need of rim protection and rebounding from the 4-spot. Who better to bring aboard than Kenneth Faried?
Faried is somewhat inconsistent but when he is playing his best basketball, he can be dominant.
The Magic would likely have to surrender Tobias Harris in this trade, which makes sense for Denver on a number of levels. The Nuggets would simply slot Harris into Faried’s vacancy and boost their scoring potential while creating some versatility. With Wilson Chandler out for the year, Harris would give the Nuggets a healthy scoring threat for years to come.
It might be hard to part with Harris, but this move would make Orlando a better team. The Magic have enough scoring options to add a guy like Faried.
Faried is making $11.2 million this season and is owed $50 million in the next four years as he starts a four-year extension. There would be some long-term savings in acquiring Faried and giving up Harris, but the Magic would sacrifice some flexibility with Faried’s deal being frontloaded. Making this kind of a deal would potentially mean the Magic want to strike in free agency sooner.
This trade is even enough that it likely would not require the addition of draft picks, and it is doubtful Rob Hennigan would acquiesce if Denver were to insist on it.
The Magic know how teams value Harris. He is a valuable cog in today’s NBA. Faried would be attainable if the Magic wanted to shore up their power forward position with this kind of player.
What Faried brings is a high-energy player who does not need the ball and can help protect the rim, supplementing Vucevic in that category as a power forward.
Next: Washed up Expiring Deal
Joe Johnson
There is little appeal in acquiring Joe Johnson if not for one fact: He has a $24 million expiring deal that would free up a lot of cap room.
With the Magic needing to make decisions on which guys to keep (or which guys to chase, at that), shedding Johnson’s contract at season’s end would set Orlando up favorably for free agency in 2016.
Again, Harris could be chosen as the player to jettison, along with Channing Frye. That would match salaries. There are other ways to skin this cat, but that is a logical way to handle it in many senses.
Yes, this move would most certainly weaken Orlando this season.
But do not be deluded: This Magic team is not yet on the cusp of contention, so barely missing the playoffs or being victims of a first round sweep would hardly be disaster.
If Orlando felt compelled to keep both Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier aboard, this move would make great sense as it would enable them to have plenty of cap room to keep both and add another player in free agency.
However, if Hennigan feels Harris is a better reward than having both Oladipo and Fournier (and possibly another free agent), then it does not jive.
But the appeal of having the cap room and options is there, and the Magic have a glut of depth and talent to develop at shooting guard and small forward —namely, Mario Hezonja and Aaron Gordon.
Losing Harris to gain cap room and playing time for these young players would be smart, even if it did not appear so in the short-term.
Johnson is still capable of taking over games with his scoring and driving. As a half-year rental, he could help the Magic reach the Playoffs.
Next: Southpaw Gunner
Brandon Jennings
This move would help the Magic acquire a needed shooter and scorer to shore up the perimeter shooting. It is not as though Elfrid Payton is a knock-down shooter.
And Jennings is capable of huge nights when he is confidently letting the jumpers fly. It is fairly evidenced by the 50 point game he dropped his rookie season in Milwaukee. While he has not completely matched that level of play throughout his career, the Magic still saw the burst he can have even coming off a rupture Achilles injury.
He would complement Payton quite well. And when the Magic wanted to the pair the two, they could run together as well.
Adding to the appeal, Jennings’ $8 million deal expires at season’s end. So if the experiment did not work out, the Magic could just opt not to re-sign him and use the money elsewhere.
Detroit may be interested in Frye because he represents a pretty nice upgrade over Jonas Jerebko and possibly Marcus Morris at power forward. The Pistons need the shooting from the 4-spot if they are going to contend for a Playoff spot, and Frye has played reasonably well this year which may entice head coach and general manager Stan Van Gundy.
Like Johnson above, Jennings is the kind of player who can go off for large scoring bursts and make 3-pointers at a respectable rate to help spread the floor. Even as a half-year rental, he helps the team in the very short term.
Next: A Defensive 4-man
Taj Gibson
The Magic badly need a strong interior defender and a player who can block some shots, providing a defensive anchor next to Nikola Vucevic.
Bulls’ reserve Taj Gibson has made that his calling card, along with a great ability to follow up missed shots and grab offensive boards.
This move would not radically improve the Magic, and it might hurt in some senses if Frye’s court-stretching abilities were not taken over flawlessly by Andrew Nicholson or if the team could not change styles to fit Gibson in the starting lineup.
Even so, Gibson would help alleviate some of the issues caused by a slow-footed Nikola Vucevic. In short, this would be a move to aid the defensive efforts, while it might cause some issues on the offensive end. Also, Gibson and Aaron Gordon would be a deadly defensive combination.
Gibson is also on a relatively reasonable deal — $17.5 million for the next two years — and his deal expires after next season, giving the Magic tons of short-term flexibility.
Gibson is not seeing a ton of minutes under first-year coach Fred Hoiberg, so it is entirely possible the Bulls may covet Frye’s services and look to move in that direction with their power forward position. Moreover, Pau Gasol has said he is likely to leave this summer, so Frye would give the Bulls a frontcourt player to slot into Gasol’s spot next to Joakim Noah.
Of course the Bulls are in a rather horrible situation not really being able to rebuild with Derrick Rose on the payroll, so it would certainly require putting together an alluring package to get Gibson. The soon-to-be expiring nature of his deal makes him valuable to the Bulls as they rebuild.
That is to say, the Magic would likely need to sweeten the deal with a pick.
In any case, a player like Gibson brings Playoff experience, a hunger to start and bring competition to the roster and a defensive reputation to support the Magic as their rebuild continues.
Next: Big Bodies Never Hurt
Kevin Seraphin
Kevin Seraphin was one we considered as a potential free agent signing, but he opted to sign a one-year deal with the New York Knicks. He has not received an abundance of playing time, appearing in just 24 of the Knicks’ games and averaging 11 minutes per contest.
But the skills he brings to the table would be welcome in Orlando as a backup center, and Andrew Nicholson has suddenly become an attractive piece that teams may want.
Nicholson is in the last year of his rookie deal, so this swap would essentially be sending one expiring contract for another, with both players auditioning for a new contract and role.
Over his career, Seraphin has averaged eight rebounds and 1.7 blocks per-36, so he is not a huge shot swatter, but he does a good job of covering big men in the post with his massive 6’10” 278 pound frame.
The Magic are a bit short on post defenders, or at least the variety that can body up with the bigger centers in the NBA.
This is a move that would likely anger Magic fans who have been so pleased to see Nicholson thrive, but Nicholson’s talents are redundant in some senses with Channing Frye and Tobias Harris both capable of stretching the floor like Nicholson does and a few other power forwards available.
Moreover, the Magic may be priced out of re-signing Nicholson if he keeps playing the way he is. That makes dealing him more likely, though by no means is it a move that is definitely going to occur.
The Magic could go in other directions, shopping Dewayne Dedmon or Jason Smith to bring in, essentially, their replacement in a guy like Seraphin.
What is important for now is to remember a player like Seraphin would be someone the Magic could target as a step up at backup center.