Orlando Magic trade rumors and possibilities: Wings edition

Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler

The Denver Nuggets are full of interesting pieces rumored to be on the trade market. Similar to the Magic, the Nuggets have an overloaded frontcourt, but they also have some players who could fit the Magic’s needs to a T.

The shaky-at-best results of the Aaron Gordon small forward experiment thus far have clearly demonstrated a need for the Magic to recalibrate its roster and rotations. With Serge Ibaka receiving most of the minutes at the 4, there is no room for him to consistently play if Gordon is to scale back up to power forward. So, in the meantime, the team has to try to make the most out of what Gordon offers at the 3 – strong defense and mismatches against smaller defenders when playing inside.

So, in the meantime, the team has to try to make the most out of what Gordon offers at the 3 – strong defense and mismatches against smaller defenders when playing inside.

The converse of those strengths has been glaring. Gordon simply is not the type of player to succeed when trying to score from the wing or handle the ball. He also loses matchup advantages when trying to defend many opposing 4s inside, as opposed to using his length to guard smaller 3s.

Denver has two players who could enable Gordon to play the 4 on offense while being able to switch and guard bigger 4s inside and 3s on the perimeter.

Wilson Chandler could be an excellent complement to these strengths and struggles.

So far this season, he has been an excellent outside scorer and 3-point shooter. He is also a serviceable ball handler and can hold his own defend bigger 4s. Opponents’ field goal percentage within six feet of the basket is nine percentage points worse than the league average when Chandler is defending.

Playing him alongside Gordon at the forward position might be exactly what the Magic need to get the most out of their experiment.

While Danilo Gallinari does not quite have the same defensive skill set as Chandler, his ability to stretch the floor while playing as a small-ball power forward could be very useful for the Magic, if Vogel is interested in playing more lineups with Ibaka at center.

Additionally, Gallinari is a proven and highly dependable option on offense.

While Orlando is one of the worst teams in the league in terms of field goal percentage on wide-open 2s, Gallinari’s 44.2 percent field goal percentage with no defenders within six feet is better than any Magic player.

This is especially significant considering the Magic are also fifth in the NBA in total wide-open 2-point opportunities per game.

Although he is not the most adept shot creator, his ability to catch and shoot would be a welcome addition to the Magic offense. He shoots better than 40 percent from 3 and better than 46 percent inside the arc when he does not dribble before a shot. Whereas, the Magic, as a whole, are in the bottom 10 and bottom five in those categories respectively.

On the other end, it is relatively unclear what the Nuggets are seeking in return.

Just like the Magic, their roster construction heading into the season was pretty confusing and frontcourt-heavy. While Orlando will probably be looking to move a frontcourt piece, the Nuggets already have an established rotation of Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic at center, alongside Chandler, Gallinari and Kenneth Faried at the 4.

Additionally, the Nuggets will have a lot of cap space this summer and might just wait until free agency to make any big moves. If they have Ibaka in their sights, for example, it would be more sensible for them to hold off on any moves until his contract ends this year so they do not have to give up any pieces as part of a trade — although securing his Bird Rights might be advantageous too.

The most likely trade scenario would be if Denver feels that they can make a playoff push, their front office may decide to pull the trigger sooner rather than later on a veteran who can shore up their league-worst defense and complement Jokic on offense.

The Nuggets may also look for a sweeter deal possibly involving Mario Hezonja, who still has upside and could provide a scoring punch if given the opportunity to develop on a rebuilding team.

Gallinari and Chandler both would satisfy a number of needs for the Magic, but more complicated for the Magic would be creating an offer package that invites the Nuggets to pull the trigger.