Orlando Magic Trade Value Column 2017

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Jeff Green, Orlando Magic, Marcus Morris, Detroit Pistons

Dec 4, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Orlando Magic forward Jeff Green (34) moves to the basket against Detroit Pistons forward Marcus Morris (13) during the second quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

Category III — The Expirings

8. Jeff Green, $15 million/1 year

The annual exercise of trading Jeff Green at the trade deadline is underway once again. It was what the Magic essentially signed him to do. He has been traded at or near the deadline in each of the past two seasons!

Green came in with little expectations. The Magic had cap room to burn, needed a veteran to fill that spot and felt ready to overpay. If he worked out, they could flip him for younger assets to help them make their Playoff push.

His one-year, $15-million contract is not onerous. If a team is looking to spin off salary and create cap room, the Magic might be happy to do so if it nets them a valuable piece.

No one should be expecting to bring on Green and get more than what he has shown in Orlando or anywhere else in his career. Green is averaging 9.4 points per game and shooting a 43.7 percent effective field goal percentage.

Whatever team wants Green will have to consign him to the bench and a reserve role. That is not what the Magic have afforded to do. They relied on him too much. And letting him walk is not the worst thing in the world if there ends up being no market.

C.J. Watson, Orlando Magic, P.J. Tucker, Phoenix Suns

Nov 23, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard C.J. Watson (32) shoots the ball over Phoenix Suns forward P.J. Tucker (17) during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

7. C.J. Watson, $10 million/2 years, Non-guaranteed 2018

C.J. Watson’s time in Orlando has been rough at times. Injuries kept him from doing much of anything last year. This year, he started the year in a shooting slump. It was hard to find much value for him.

But Frank Vogel kept turning to him, citing his good defensive positioning and the things he does that make a team work even without scoring. It infuriated Magic fans since he was playing ahead of Mario Hezonja and it felt like Watson was doing very little.

The last few weeks have changed some of that narrative.

Watson’s shooting has come back around and his defense has remained solid. As solid as anyone on the team, at least. Watson is the kind of veteran that just has his coach’s trust and plays his role, even if it does not mean a large statistical impact.

Watson also has the benefit of a very friendly contract. He is virtually an expiring contract with just $1 million of his $5 million salary next year guaranteed. If a team needs a veteran point guard off the bench for a Playoff push, the Magic surely would have a taker to flip him for something.

6. Jodie Meeks, $6.5 million/1 years

The Magic might actually want to consider re-signing Jodie Meeks depending on how Terrence Ross, Mario Hezonja or the Draft works out. Meeks has played well for the Magic in the short time he was healthy, helping ignite the team’s offensive capabilities.

It is amazing what a little shooting can do.

The foot injury that kept Meeks out the first 20 games of the season and now the thumb injury for Meeks has put a damper on his season. But in between those two, Meeks was a shooting marvel for a team that lacked a lot of outside shooting.

The Magic were thankful to have Meeks when he was out there. His job was simply to shoot and teams had to give him that respect because he was making shots at a pretty good clip.

If Meeks is close to returning, the Magic could definitely get something of value for him. He may still be a nice throw in on top of that. But the injury history this year does him no favors overall.