The NBA trade season has been open for a week and it does appear the Orlando Magic are being active. Brian Windhorst reports the Magic are discussing deals.
It has been a week since the NBA’s trade season unofficially opened with the availability of recently signed players on the trade market.
While everyone wants things to happen immediately, there is still a bit of a waiting game as teams more seriously evaluate their needs and the direction their franchises are headed. There are still a lot of games to play and just about every team can still hold onto Playoff dreams, however fleeting.
The Orlando Magic are included in those. And with the pressure to win games mounting, the pressure to find a way to improve the team and will it into some form of consistency to get back more firmly in the Playoff hunt is growing.
No deal is imminent, it is still December and there is a long way to go before the Feb. 23 trade deadline. Orlando is, as expected, not sitting on its hands.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com was on the Lowe Post Podcast with Zach Lowe and reports the Magic have had discussions with the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings for “several weeks.” Windhorst and Lowe discuss the Magic at about the 30-minute mark:
As Lowe describes, there is a solid group of teams — including the Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards and Miami Heat — desperate to remain in the Playoff hunt. That might make it difficult to make any deals as something that does not mutually make either team better could be difficult to swing.
The Magic’s interests in trades likely run the gamut too.
Orlando certainly has expiring contracts like Jeff Green, C.J. Watson or Jodie Meeks they might look to unload to keep much of the core intact. Until the team is out of Playoff contention, the Magic probably are not thinking about trading Serge Ibaka.
That leaves the most likely trade candidates as Elfrid Payton and Nikola Vucevic.
Windhorst says on the podcast the Magic “want” to trade Nikola Vucevic and are “kind of done” with Elfrid Payton. The latter is more surprising because Orlando invested a lot in Payton to acquire him and to continue his development — reportedly the Magic management’s insistence on Payton was a dividing point with former coach Scott Skiles. Vucevic is on a team-friendly contract and should be attractive for his production. He has seemingly shored up his limitations on defense too.
Payton has looked good of late too. The Magic are a better team with him on the floor, despite some of his inconsistencies offensively. When Payton is playing well, the Magic are a very good team.
Windhorst speculates the Magic might get involved in the Goran Dragic conversation to shore up their point guard position.
Another target might be Kings forward Rudy Gay. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reports the Magic’s conversations have centered on Gay.
The conversations Orlando has had with Kings centered on Rudy Gay. https://t.co/HAAbu8ZRJj
— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) December 23, 2016
This is all still very early speculation. They could be serious discussions, they could still be exploratory or they could be something else. It is not entirely clear what exactly all three teams are after.
All three — Portland, Sacramento and Orlando — are still fighting to make the Playoffs and stay in the race. There would seem to be some impetus for a deal.
All this angst, as Lowe puts it, should make for a wild run to the trade deadline in February.
Orlando remains a difficult team to figure. And their trade strategy before the deadline is as up in the air as their play on the court. Seemingly a win streak or a losing streak could tip the team either direction — from desperation and despair to hope and aggression.
Next: Talking Orlando Magic rebuild with 3Guard Rotation
For now, remember these talks are still very early. There is still a long way to go.