7 trades involving Aaron Gordon and the Orlando Magic

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are like the Orlando Magic at the bottom of the standings. They are a team trying to plan their next steps.

No team is probably as big of a seller as the Rockets. They are even trying to move Victor Oladipo on before he hits free agency this offseason.

Houston though still wants to be active at the deadline it seems. The Rockets are trying to reshape their team too. Although into what is unclear. John Wall and Christian Wood are a start. Although it is hard to say to what. They will have a high draft pick to play with so long as they end up in the top five (otherwise the Oklahoma City Thunder can swap picks).

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The Magic probably have little interest in the big money players the Rockets could offer. John Wall’s contract is way too big and he would displace Markelle Fultz.

Fans want the team to go after Oladipo. But the Magic probably are not interested in that contract unless Oladipo pledges to re-sign with the team this offseason. Orlando probably does not have an interest in a max deal with the regularly injured shooting guard (even with a different front office that does not have the baggage from his tenure in Orlando).

As was reported elsewhere, the Rockets might be looking to make a similar three-team trade as the one they made in the James Harden deal to net the asset they want — Aaron Gordon.

Trying to predict a three-team trade is extremely difficult. I always caution anyone pitching a three-team deal that the more teams you add, the more complicated things get.

Finding a home for Oladipo is doubly difficult because whoever is acquiring him will need to feel he will re-sign there. And that narrows the list considerably.

But what would the Magic want from the Rockets? Not much. A third team is almost completely necessary. So let’s pick the New York Knicks, who are rumored to be interested in a deal involving him.

There is actually one that makes some sense.

This is just a sketch of what a three-team trade would look like and how complicated it might get.

The Magic and the Rockets might also fight some over draft capital from the New York Knicks. And Orlando would likely buy out a player like Elfrid Payton if they acquired him (this deal works to cut some payroll too).

But what the Magic get out of a deal like this is taking a shot at a young player like Kevin Knox and first dibs to re-sign a young shooter like Ben McLemore. They acquire a veteran guard in Austin Rivers who can fill a rotation role next year too.

Rivers has been out of the rotation for the Knicks as they have made their playoff push. But he was averaging 7.3 points per game and shooting 36.4-percent from beyond the arc. His ability to play both guard positions and have outburst games might make him more valuable to the team.

Not to mention, it would bring Rivers home. He was certainly a player the Magic might have looked at last summer in free agency.

Again, care less about the specific players in the rumor and the kind of players the Magic might target. For Gordon, the Magic want to bring back a player who fits into the rotation and a future prospect that can grow with the roster.

Maybe this kind of three-team deal is not so far-fetched. The framework exists to make it work if the two teams can find a workable third team.