3 trades that would help the Orlando Magic hit restart
By Tim Monaghan
The Hard Reset
This third hypothetical trade hurts the most because he’s easily Orlando’s best player on not just this team, but for the last three years.
An unquestioned leader who should be venerated since he is one of Orlando’s best players in franchise history, Nikola Vucevic would make sense to trade if the team wants to hit the reset button.
After all, he has the most trade value on the team with a reasonable contract and numbers that should warrant another All-Star selection.
One team that makes the most sense to trade for him is the Boston Celtics. A team who has underachieved immensely this season, but are still above .500 and a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference. They are only a year removed from an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
Vucevic could put them right back in finals contention.
Even better, they have multiple young assets who could help Orlando. That is what happens when you have so many recent first-round picks.
Grant Williams, Aaron Nesmith, Robert Williams, Payton Pritchard, Romeo Langford and Carsen Edwards all come to mind. One of them was even discussed in depth as a potential draft pick target mentioned by this website for this team.
Orlando Magic
They still have their own first-round pick and even would be amenable to including somebody like Marcus Smart, who is a scrappy role player who always makes his team better when he is on the floor. Smart would be a terrific fit to start the rest of the way in Orlando’s backcourt or at least be a sixth man.
Even a guy like Tristan Thompson or Daniel Theis could suffice as a stopgap center. A trade that makes sense would be something like Nikola Vucevic and Michael Carter-Williams for Marcus Smart, Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard and a 2021 first-rounder.
This entails that Orlando is willing to give up on this year, but likely improves their long-term prospects.
Plus, it would lead them to likely have a better pick in the lottery. This is definitely an option to consider if they still believe Mohamed Bamba can turn it around and live up to his draft potential.
He would have an opportunity to start and hopefully produce. Orlando likely has to choose soon between him and Vucevic going forward.
Next. Terrence Ross has found his spark. dark
Why not get it over with at the trade deadline — one way or another? This will definitely be an intriguing next month to see what the future holds in the Magic Kingdom.