The Orlando Magic are searching the trade market to improve their roster no doubt. The latest rumor has them targeting a point guard and offering big.
There is no secret the Orlando Magic are shopping for a deal these days. The team may still be looking for some improvement and fishing for a big fish to save their sinking Playoff hopes, but they are searching the trade market. That is about all anyone could say with any type of certainty.
How desperate they are for this big fish is still a big question, of course. Especially as the team continues to fade down the standings.
The Magic though appear to be trying to go after the big players expected to be available in this trade market. And they do not appear to be holding back on what they will offer.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports the Magic offered the Miami Heat a package that included Nikola Vucevic and a first round pick for Goran Dragic.
"The most substantive trade proposal generating buzz among the various team officials, scouts and agents assembled this week at the Hershey Centre: Orlando, according to league sources, recently tried to engage Miami on a Goran Dragic deal in which the Magic were said to be offering center Nikola Vucevic and a future first-round pick.The Heat, of course, already have a well-compensated starting center in Hassan Whiteside and, sources say, had no interest in Orlando’s pitch. The South Beachers continue to leave the impression that they’re resistant to surrendering Dragic before the Feb. 23 trade deadline."
It is quite the explosive and juicy rumor. There have been rumors connecting the Magic to Dragic before. Orlando, at a certain point, was in need of some consistent point guard play.
Maybe that has changed with Elfrid Payton‘s more consistent play of late. Elfrid Payton scored 20 points in leading the Magic to a win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
This reported offer does seem like a lot for a player like Dragic — averaging 19.4 points per game and 6.3 assists per game with a few years left on his contract with a backloaded salary that starts at $17 million next year.
And so it is important to remember when it comes to rumors that language is important and that they are just that — rumors. They are not completed deals. And when the reported offer was delivered and the details not told are just as important as the one reported.
It is also important to remember these things leak for a reason. Perhaps the Heat are trying to tell the world just how much it will cost to get Dragic. A solid double-double player like Nikola Vucevic and a first round pick is not enough.
Or perhaps the Heat simply do not need Vucevic since they have Hassan Whiteside and young Willie Reed to build with. Vucevic may not be in the Heat’s plans — and the Magic went for a Hail Mary to get something done.
Deconstructing a rumor is busy work. And if something sounds too good to be true or too ridiculous it almost likely is. Except when it is not (like last year’s Tobias Harris deal, perhaps).
The big takeaway it would seem is the Magic have been and likely are still exploring deals. And, if this offer is true, they are willing to invest big in a player they believe in. Judging by the multiple rumors coming from ESPN regarding Dragic, the Magic are targeting the rival point guard.
Maybe conditions changed since this call came. Maybe the offer is not quite as reported or not as full in its reporting.
Next: Injuries provide opportunity for Mario Hezonja
The Magic are searching the trade market for whatever they are looking for with just a month to go before the deadline.