The Orlando Magic are going to be at the center of a lot of trade rumors with their uncertain future. They are doing their homework now to prepare.
The Orlando Magic might be one of the teams at the center of the trade deadline. The team is stuck between trying to make the Playoffs and take advantage of the team’s surprising start and still trying to build for the future.
They are not quite buyers, looking to add that last piece to win now. But they are certainly not sellers, willing to give up the season for the future.
At least, not at this point.
Still, the Magic will have some of the most attractive trade deadline assets before the Feb. 7 deadline with expiring contracts playing at career levels in Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross plus Jonathon Simmons‘ non-guaranteed deal for next year. Orlando has some money to move around if the team wants to make a deal.
With the Magic sitting in eighth place and still squarely in the Playoff race, the team seems less likely to make a deal to return solely future assets. The Magic know they could lose both Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross in free agency. But the short-term goal of returning to the Playoffs and building from there is likely too much to pass up for a franchise that has been absent from meaningful games for six years.
To say the least, like everything else, the Magic are waiting to see how their season plays out before deciding what to do. And they appear to be preparing for every eventuality.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reports the Magic are “looking for deals” and certainly they are getting plenty of calls too. Other reports suggest Orlando is getting a lot of interest for players like Ross. And Kyler seems to confirm that.
The Magic seem to be in a bit of a holding pattern. But it feels like they are acting like they are searching for a deal to make their team better. Whether that is to make a deal this season or to chase a potential free agent in the offseason — Orlando is due to have somewhere norther of $25 million in cap room before dealing with Vucevic and Ross.
Kyler reports the team is doing its work on several point guard prospects:
"The Magic, according to sources, have started doing due diligence on some of the notable would-be free agent point guards, and they do have eyes for both Boston’s Terry Rozier and Brooklyn’s D’Angelo Russell. Rozier is considered the top option, but there is expected to be significant demand for Rozier, if and when he hits free agency."
None of that should be a surprise. Fans have sniffed out the Magic’s need for a point guard and it is undoubtedly one of the team’s biggest holes to fill — whether it is upgrading starter D.J. Augustin or adding some much-needed depth off the bench.
With several other long-term pieces in place, it is certainly an area the team can find some improvement.
The players Kyler mentioned are believed to be part of the growing point guard market.
Russell will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and could come at a steep price. Considering the Brooklyn Nets just extended Spencer Dinwiddie, they may not be as enticed to keep D’Angelo Russell around. The deadline might be the time for them to strike.
Russell has shown himself to be a gifted scorer, averaging 18.0 points per game with a 49.5 percent effective field goal percentage and 6.2 assists per game. In many respects, Russell too is having a career year this season.
Working against any kind of deal between the Magic and Nets would be the competitive realities. Brooklyn is currently a half-game behind Orlando for the final Playoff spot. It would be hard to imagine either team willing to do something that might help the other solidify their playoff positioning.
As for Rozier, his name has also come up in plenty of trade discussions since before the season began. With Kyrie Irving announcing his intention to stay with the Boston Celtics when he becomes a free agent this summer, it felt like Terry Rozier was extraneous. He would never get starter’s minutes in the Celtics’ crowded backcourt with Irving around. And Boston cannot pay everyone.
Rozier is averaging 8.6 points per game on a 47.4 percent effective field goal percentage with 2.5 assists per game. He has never been a consistent starter in the league, but there are still plenty of teams who believe he can be it seems.
With his restricted free agency upcoming, it is hard to tell what a team might be willing to pay for him to wriggle him free from whatever team holds his rights.
In either case, it appears the Magic are indeed knee deep doing their homework on players who could be available at the trade deadline and also understanding what they might be worth in the upcoming free agency market (where almost every team will have plenty of cap room to burn).
That is all part of the consideration of what they will do at the trade deadline.
Things are still in the early stages for sure. The Magic are not certain what they will do quite yet either. They have to wait and see how this team and season plays out before ironing out a firm trade deadline strategy.
But they are doing their homework. This will not be the last anyone hears about the Magic before the deadline.