Who the Orlando Magic could target for a trade in the Southwest Division

In the last of our series of articles looking at possible trade targets for the Orlando Magic this offseason, we discuss the Southwest Division.

So far we have picked out one possible Orlando Magic trade target from each team in the Atlantic, Central, Southeast, Northwest and Pacific Divisions that could help address some of the team’s weaknesses.

Last season saw the Magic make it to the playoffs for a second year running but once again it ended in a first-round exit, this time at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks.

The team was good enough defensively, ranking tied for tenth in the league for defensive rating by giving up 109.2 points per 100 possessions despite two serious injuries to defensive maestro Jonathan Isaac.

But offensively there were again big causes for concern. Steve Clifford’s team ranked just 23rd in offensive rating, scoring 107.9 points per 100 possessions. Their shooting was a big reason for the offensive struggles, ranking 25th in 3-point field goal percentage at 34.3 percent and 22nd in 3-point shots made per game at 11.1.

The front office must address these offensive and shooting problems if the team is to move forward.

Key decisions must be made to determine which direction the team will go in. The likes of Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon are on good contracts and could be used as potential trade pieces. While Evan Fournier’s future is still unclear as he ponders over his player option for next year.

Jonathan Isaac’s injury leaves the Magic short at small forward and strengthening in the wing positions with better shooting, regardless of whether Fournier stays, is something that should be prioritized.

Point guard is also an area Orlando may need to look at given the expiring contracts of D.J. Augustin and Michael Carter-Williams.

Here is one player from each team in the Southwest that could help the Magic improve next season…

Eds. Note: The deals proposed here are for instances and examples of what it might take to acquire these players. They do not reflect any actual reporting or indication either team is interested in such a deal.

Memphis Grizzlies: Dillon Brooks

The Memphis Grizzlies are a team with an exciting young core of players on low salaries including Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. That will make trading with the team very tricky. There simply are no big salaries for the Magic to match or even add secondary pieces to.

Memphis is unlikely to want to entertain trade proposals for their young talent which limits the options the Magic have when it comes to any possible deals with Memphis.

Dillon Brooks is seemingly the most sensible and realistic trade target on the Grizzlies roster. The young shooting guard averaged 16.2 points per game last season off 40.7-percent shooting. He shot 35.8-percent from 3-point range, making two per game.

After an injury-hit 2019 season when he played just 18 games, Brooks has since established himself as a key part of a Grizzlies team which almost made it to the postseason. He is offensively skilled and possesses different ways to score while he is an effective ball handler that can create a shot off the dribble.

Brooks has also shown potential on the defensive end. He averaged almost a steal per game last season and finished with a defensive rating of 108.9 for the season while showing he is capable of guarding the better players at his position in the league.

A trade for Brooks would not be easy to pull off, however. He provides good value for his contract and at 24 has plenty of time to get better. Morant and Jackson Jr. are two of the league’s brightest prospects and Brooks is an effective partner for them.

Offering a proven scorer like Evan Fournier could help Memphis improve next season by giving them another veteran to provide seasoning for a playoff run. But it would be a short-term move which sacrifices long-term gain.

The Grizzlies are in a good position and may be reluctant to lose their young talent unless there is a trade they believe would give them a better chance of contending in the postseason over the coming years.

Dallas Mavericks: Tim Hardaway Jr.

Since swapping New York for Dallas, Tim Hardaway Jr. has proven himself to be a valuable contributor for Rick Carlisle’s team.

The shooting guard averaged 15.8 points in 71 games last season and is deadly from 3-point range, making 2.9 threes a game off 39.8-percent shooting. He fills the wing position well and is dependable on defense, something which is very important to Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford.

Like Evan Fournier, Tim Hardaway Jr. has a player option for next season and they are on similar wages making a potential deal simple enough. But while Fournier’s scoring stats were better, Hardaway Jr. has settled in as a consistent third scorer on a team with Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.

With a generational talent like Luka Doncic, Dallas needs to do everything it can to put the pieces around him to win a championship. The Mavericks seem to be doing that, positioning themselves well for the big summer of 2021 to make a free-agent play.

Orlando gives them two options to do that and there is certainly a framework for a relatively straightforward swap including Hardaway Jr., should he opt-in to his contract.

Fournier has been a good player for the Magic over the years but his struggles in the postseason have left many wondering whether the team needs a change at the position. Fournier might do better in a role similar to Hardaway Jr., where he is playing off bigger-name players and as the primary option with bench units.

If Dallas does not like Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon is also a realistic trade option in something like this. As Locked On Mavericks puts it, the Mavericks need players who can create for themselves to give Doncic a break. That makes a player like Fournier or Gordon attractive.

There is at least some interest in what the Magic have to offer. And those are players who may not be able to lead a team full-time beyond the first round. But as secondary options in the starting lineup and primary options off the bench, both Gordon and Fournier could be a real help to a Mavericks team that is starting to feel their title window begin to open.

Hardaway Jr. would fit in well at Orlando and could contribute right away. But for this trade to happen Dallas would really need to feel that Fournier or Gordon are an upgrade on what they currently have and is someone that could help them better contend next season — or feel confident enough that Fournier, at least, can help in 2021 and they have a big fish lined up for the summer.

This is very much a like-for-like swap involving two good shooting guards. Trades should only happen if they are going to benefit both sides and Dallas may be reluctant to swap for someone who, while talented, is not going to have a big impact on improving the team in comparison to what they would be giving up.

Hardaway Jr. would be effective as the Magic’s shooting guard but this trade may not help either team make the strides forward that they are looking for.

New Orleans Pelicans: JJ Redick

The Orlando Magic need better perimeter offense and shooting and there are not many players who are more dependable shooting from beyond the arc than J.J. Redick.

The 36-year-old spent seven years with Orlando after being drafted in 2006 and was part of the team that made the 2009 NBA Finals before leaving in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2013, the first year of the team’s rebuild.

Redick has built his career on stellar shooting and showed he can still be an excellent role player last season despite his age, averaging 15.3 points per game and shooting 45.3-percent both from the field and from three.

Orlando has seriously lacked good 3-point shooting and Redick returning would help address that. He is very much a one-way player and offers little help on defense but would inject some life into an offense that is lacking.

Redick is clearly approaching the end of his career so this move could be seen as more of a quick fix than a long-term solution. But a lack of shooting is holding this team back from progressing and the front office has to come up with an answer sooner rather than later.

But Redick’s real value, and why the New Orleans Pelicans would need a big haul to let him go, is his veteran leadership. For a young Pelicans team especially, the ability for their players to watch him work and for him to provide some guidance and understanding of what it takes to win in the league is vital.

New Orleans Pelicans

Redick has embraced this role too. One of the reasons he chose to sign with New Orleans, risking his personal playoff streak in the process (the 2020 season was the first time in his career he did not play in the postseason), was to mentor a young up-and-coming team like New Orleans.

With the report that New Orleans is considering hiring Stan Van Gundy, his former coach in Orlando, probably makes any chance of the team trading him even smaller.

His contribution to New Orleans last season means Orlando would have to give up something big in return. Aaron Gordon has been an important player for the Magic since he was drafted but stalled last season with his points average dipping to 14.4 and his 3-point percentage to just 30.8 percent.

He remains a good player on both offense and defense and could help the Pelicans improve when it comes to the latter, given that they ranked just 21st for defensive rating by giving up 111.8 points per 100 possessions.

New Orleans also gave up the fifth-highest number of second-chance points per game and the second-highest number of opposition points off turnovers.

Gordon is a smart defensive player but the Magic front office must start working on the team’s offense. He might also be a good pair with Zion Williamson as someone who keeps the team small and nimble at all times.

If Orlando were to bring back the veteran J.J. Redick then they should try for a younger talent too and Josh Hart is another perimeter player that could address the team’s weaknesses.

Houston Rockets: Russell Westbrook

If the Orlando Magic want to make an enormous, blockbuster trade this offseason then this would be just that.

The Houston Rockets failed to bring the city a championship with James Harden leading the team again last season, exiting the playoffs in the conference semifinals to the Los Angeles Lakers. With changes in the front office and coaching team following the departures of Daryl Morey and Mike D’Antoni, there is speculation there could too be changes made on the court.

Russell Westbrook is still one of the league’s leading point guards. He endured an up-and-down year last season, but he still averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 assists and 7.0 rebounds per game in 57 regular-season games.

The former MVP would not necessarily address the Magic’s lack of three-point shooting having only made one per game on 25.8-percent shooting last season but he still displayed the intensity and athleticism that has characterized his time in the NBA.

Russell Westbrook would still be the kind of star the Magic have lacked since Dwight Howard left in 2012

It is not yet clear which direction Houston will decide to go in next and whether Westbrook will be a part of that. The team ultimately could not improve on the Chris Paul and James Harden seasons and the franchise’s next steps will likely be signaled by their head coach appointment.

One thing is for sure, if the Rockets do decide a reset, they will need to reset their cupboard, after spending most of their draft capital to acquire Westbrook.

Markelle Fultz showed huge signs of promise last season in his first full, proper year as an NBA player following his dismal spell at the Philadelphia 76ers. Orlando would probably have to give up two significant players like Markelle Fultz and Aaron Gordon to get Russell Westbrook as well as some draft picks and even that might not be enough.

The chances of getting Westbrook are slim and would require the team to give up a huge amount for a player approaching the end of his career. The front office would have to be extremely confident that he can help the team better compete to the extent that it is worth tearing up what they already have in place.

Orlando has needed a true star since the departure of Dwight Howard all those years ago and while Westbrook would fill that gap, it is not the type of big trade we have come to expect from the Magic.

San Antonio Spurs: DeMar DeRozan

The Orlando Magic need another offensive star to support Nikola Vucevic and despite being in the latter stages of his career, DeMar DeRozan remains a dangerous scorer. And the Magic reportedly inquired about him during the 2019 season. It is hard to imagine that interest waned much.

While the 31-year-old is not a strong or willing three-point shooter, averaging just 0.1 per game off 25.7-percent shooting last season, he is very effective from mid-range and at finishing close to the basket. He averaged 22.1 points per game last season and was very efficient, going 53.1 percent from the field despite his lack of 3-point shooting.

This would certainly be a move that looks to establish the Magic as more competitive in the short-term given DeRozan has a player option for one year on his current deal. The San Antonio Spurs did not make the playoffs last season for the first time since 1997 and with some young, exciting players on the roster, it could be time for a full rebuild.

DeRozan is by far their biggest contract and San Antonio could secure a move that looks toward the future by shifting him. If DeRozan takes up his player option and is on the trade market then the team will likely have several offers to ponder so Orlando would need to make it a good one.

His value would be diminished by the fact that a team signing him would only be guaranteed to have him for a further year but it would still require a team to give up a lot to get him.

In Aaron Gordon, San Antonio would be getting a player who still has plenty of time left to improve and can make a valuable contribution on both ends of the court. He is a valuable trade piece but the front office would have to be prepared to give up draft picks if they want DeRozan.

Evan Fournier also could be someone the Magic offer to acquire him. Other pieces would have to be included to fit DeRozan under the cap with his massive salary.

This move would come down to the front office needing to decide whether sacrificing part of their planned future would be worth it for a year of DeRozan. His offensive skills are clear for all to see but having worked hard to establish a core of young players, this would be a sizable shift for Orlando to make.