Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag Volume 37: The gift under the tree

Trade Deadline Dreaming

From Kevin Garces via e-mail

"With the start of the trade season  which player or players can you see being traded? Also who would you like us to get in return?Sry for the double question"

Once December 15 comes around, everyone begins thinking about trades. We are already hearing some rumors about one player — we will talk plenty about it and that player throughout this mailbag.

The Orlando Magic are in a weird place where they are at the crossroads. They have enough to make the playoffs, but not make noise. But they are still young enough that they can be patient and figure out the best way to grow.

Not to mention, the Magic went through six years of hell in the lottery ringer. The franchise likes winning and likes being in the playoffs. They have no reason to hit a hard reset or go backward unnecessarily.

The next move — or big move — the Magic make will be a move to push a lot of their chips in. It is now about finding that move. Because, again, clearly the Magic do not have enough to compete for much but a surprise trip out of the first round or a few games in that series. This team has a lot of flaws.

It will not surprise me if the Magic are in the running for any number of big names that might hit the trade market. It is easy to envision reasons for the Magic to pursue any of these players. They have players they could look to part with — unfortunately, it looks like Aaron Gordon is the biggest piece to move to make that kind of deal work.

Evan Fournier is already the center of several rumors though. His strong play this season — 19.2 points per game and 56.9 percent effective field goal percentage — and his option for the upcoming season should bring some potential value.

But the Magic’s main goal remains to make the playoffs. And so it is difficult to envision any deal coming together at this point.

I think Orlando will wait until the summer to make the big deal that is inevitably coming next. I think Evan Fournier is very much in the same boat the team was at with Nikola Vucevic last year. The team is not going to move him unless the price is right and it clearly advances the team.

Orlando Magic

So I think the big move waits. I could see the Magic making a small move before the deadline to bolster their playoff chances.

They have Wesley Iwundu on an expiring deal (he is a restricted free agent this offseason) and D.J. Augustin on an expiring deal. Wesley Iwundu is essentially out of the rotation — although the Magic definitely value his versatility when they need him. D.J. Augustin is still valuable as a backup point guard, but they have confidence in Michael Carter-Williams. If he is healthy, Augustin feels a bit more expendable.

Orlando obviously needs shooting. That is the most immediate need. So I expect Orlando will be hunting everything it can for that.

But the big move — the move that brings in a big star — probably waits.

Maybe the Magic flip a high-priced veteran for a young player they think is ready to breakthrough. But Orlando needs to shed some salary too. The Magic cannot pay everyone and Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz are going to hit restricted free agency in 2021. It might be time to consolidate or divide some of the money they are spending.

The Magic have big decisions coming up in the next few months. But before the deadline, I anticipate they will be active in some rumors but ultimately fairly quiet to prepare for a big offseason for change.