The Orlando Magic are facing a trade market that seems extremely tight. Teams are hesitant to take on more money. It may make finding a deal hard.
The NBA Trade Deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. Everyone’s attention is on that date and the potential for the Orlando Magic to change their roster.
It seems everyone knows the Magic have to flip over their core and make changes. By all accounts, the Magic are trying to do that.
According to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com, the Magic are making everyone outside of Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac “readily available.” The growing expectation is Elfrid Payton will not be in a Magic uniform next year. Considering he is a restricted free agent the time to trade him would be now to return some value for him instead of letting him walk for nothing.
This is also a time for some wild speculation. And just because indications are the Magic will not make Aaron Gordon available unless it is for a hefty price, plenty of people have taken the report the Magic gauged interest in Gordon in the trade market to construct their own deals.
Even Lowe could not resist, proposing a fake trade where the Cleveland Cavaliers would acquire Gordon for a deal involving the Brooklyn Nets’ first-round pick this year.
All indications now are the Magic merely gauged interest in Gordon and have little interest in acquiring more draft picks. The team does not want to get significantly younger. But that could change closer to the deadline and the team feels the urgency to make a deal.
Things are proving to be extra tricky at this deadline.
The spending splurge of 2016 and, to some extent 2017, has tightened up books around the league. It is estimated only five teams will have cap room this summer. And it seems no one is willing to part with expiring contracts to take on long-term deals to improve the roster in the short-term.
According to Lowe, these factors are making it tough to make any deals before the deadline. Or at least at this early stage.
"Some bad teams with dead money don’t have much incentive to unload it if doing so costs them a first-round pick. Take the Magic: They’d love to get off the horrific deal that will pay Bismack Biyombo $17 million per year through 2019-20, but why should they give up any draft picks to do it now? They stink, they’re OK stinking to chase the No. 1 pick, and they aren’t in danger of going over the tax this season or next. Starting Biyombo helps them stink. The price for dumping his contract will decline the minute the calendar flips to July 1, and it ticks one year closer to expiration.It’s tough finding impact trades in which the situations of two teams align. Good luck if you need a third team. There will be a bunch of deals. There always are. Unexpected stuff will happen. But we may get a pile of smaller, lateral deals — and no blockbuster sequel to the Blake Griffin trade."
Teams simply are unwilling to part with those cost-controlled assets just to unload a bad deal. With the Golden State Warriors dominating the league, no one is willing to push all in on any individual season. Everyone wants to hedge their bets.
Things will undoubtedly move as the teams get closer to the trade deadline.
Watch the Utah Jazz around the deadline. They have expiring deals in Derrick Favors and Rodney Hood. And, being in a market that does not attract a ton of free agents, they might be willing to take on a long-term deal.
Fans have long connected Evan Fournier to the Jazz because of his productivity, his long-term contract and his friendship with Rudy Gobert.
Indeed, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune reports the Magic had at least a “passing interest” in Hood. Utah appears to want a first round pick for the restricted free agent-to-be.
He is the kind of young player the Magic might look to acquire. He is averaging 16.8 points per game while shooting 39.7 percent from beyond the arc. Hood dropped 30 points in the Utah Jazz’s win Monday over the New Orleans Pelicans.
But, Hood has a history of injuries. And his impending restricted free agency means any team that acquires him would have to view him either as a rental or a player worth investing long-term in.
If the Magic want to replace Evan Fournier with Rodney Hood, they might end up paying about the same amount to keep him.
Does that really create the financial flexibility the Magic are seeking?
In the past, the Magic may have taken that bet. Just about any team might have taken that bet. In the past, Orlando might have several assets teams are clamoring to get. And they might be able to get the financial flexibility they seek.
But that is not the market the Magic or any team finds.
Orlando is gauging trade interest in Gordon, it seems because committing to him long term is not a 100 percent guarantee. Ultimately, it seems the Magic will take that chance with Gordon and make that investment.
Next: Orlando Magic Daily Facebook Live: Looking ahead to the trade deadline
They are indeed leaving no stone unturned. Whether that search turns up a deal is yet to be seen.