Orlando Magic Daily
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5 things to watch for at the NBA Draft Combine

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Feb 1, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies guard Markelle Fultz (20) shoots a layup against the USC Trojans during the first half at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies guard Markelle Fultz (20) shoots a layup against the USC Trojans during the first half at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 18, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) drives to the basket as Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) and center Lucas Nogueira (92) defend during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 18, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) drives to the basket as Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) and center Lucas Nogueira (92) defend during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Churning the rumor mill

NBA executives are like you and me. They procrastinate and wait for deadlines to make decisions. They also like to talk. And the industry itself is pretty incestuous (Rob Hennigan will surface on a team somewhere after next season just like Jacque Vaughn did with the San Antonio Spurs after he was fired and is now with the Brooklyn Nets).

Put a bunch of NBA executives in the same room together and eventually, they will start talking. It may be something basic or it may be hypothetical, but things will start moving on the NBA trade market with so many people in the same room.

Remember, the early list of Magic general manager candidates — including the first rumors of the team’s interest in Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin — leaked at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a draft league for college seniors.

The NBA Draft Combine is a much bigger gathering of NBA executives and decision makers than the PIT. And so the conversations will begin.

While Matt Lloyd may not be the one making the ultimate decisions for the Magic on Draft night, he will lay the seeds for potential moves the Magic will make. Just like he is a continuation of the conversations former general manager Rob Hennigan may have had toward the end of the season as the team began planning its future.

The direction is unclear, but the Magic have to see what is out there at least.

As I detailed earlier this week, the Magic are going to have to rely on trades to improve their roster. The team roughly has $13-16 million in cap space. That is likely only enough to sign some role players to come off the bench rather than anything significant. So if Orlando is interested in making significant improvements, it will have to come in a trade.

None of the deals the Magic begin discussing may leak this week. They may be seeds for something that happens later on this year. These initial conversations will be important as the magic try to figure out what is available to them.

But some things will leak. It is impossible not to with so much media and executives in one place. And so the NBA’s rumor mill will begin churning again.