Orlando Magic’s focus on picks will make it tough to deal at deadline

The NBA’s trade season is almost set to begin.

Wednesday (Dec. 15) is when most players who signed new contracts in the offseason become eligible for trades. It further marks the starting gun for the two-month sprint to the NBA’s Feb. 10 trade deadline.

It is never a dull moment and already there are plenty of big names that seem to be on the market — Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner and even Jaylen Brown, to name a few.

Buckle up.

The Orlando Magic are not likely to get involved in any of these major trade discussions. That is not where the team is at in its development. They are still assessing their players and figuring out what they have on the team.

But Orlando still needs to be active. And the team is still trying to set up its future.

The Orlando Magic are gearing up for the trade deadline. Their focus on the future and their assessments of their own team make it hard to see a deal today.

Trading veteran players for draft picks or young players would still be a risky proposition for this team. For now, it reportedly sounds like the Magic are keeping their interest in draft picks as they evaluate deals for their two veteran wings.

That will make it difficult to find a deal that makes sense. The Magic are not going to make a deal just to make a deal.

The fact is the Magic are still looking at an incomplete picture.

Orlando is still in the first year of its development and still assessing the players it has on the roster.

The Magic have not even seen the team with Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac. They should get both back fairly soon. And Jalen Suggs may return from his injury at some point in January.

The Magic will have time to assess and evaluate their roster at that point. If they even have that time.

It will be tough for Orlando to separate itself from any of the team’s young players and make a splashy move for that reason.

Time keeps marching on though. The Magic have a valuable expiring contract in Gary Harris that they might try to deal. And they have Terrence Ross too, a valuable veteran with an additional year left on his contract who is ripe for trade.

Both Harris and Ross have had disappointing starts to their seasons. But everyone around the league knows what Ross is capable of — just ask the New York Knicks after he dropped 22 points in the fourth quarter of an Orlando Magic win earlier this year.

And Ross will surely generate plenty of interest.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Magic are keeping their price high for Ross. The team is seeking draft capital — and specifically first-round picks — for those inquiring about Ross.

Ross may well be one of the most valuable role players available at this year’s trade deadline. Any playoff-caliber team that needs extra shooting will almost certainly be hunting for Ross. Even with some of the struggles he is having this year.

Ross is averaging 10.8 points per game and shooting only 30.2-percent from beyond the arc. These are his worst numbers since joining the Magic.

However, those are weighed down by an incredibly slow start. In Ross’ last six games, he is averaging 15.0 points per game and making 32.3-percent of his 3-pointers.

Certainly being part of some weakened Magic bench groups has hurt Ross’ overall statistics too.

But teams around the league know how vital Ross was to the Magic’s playoff teams in 2019 and 2020. And they certainly could create better situations for the veteran guard to boost their own playoff hopes.

There will be plenty of suitors for Ross, whether it is contending teams in need of shooting like the Philadelphia 76ers or Chicago Bulls or playoff teams like the Los Angeles Lakers or New York Knicks who need that extra boost.

The real question is what the Magic are looking for in a deal. Clearly, it will be some future asset.

Ross’ $12-million salary will force the Magic to take on some salary — and adding a veteran to replace Ross whether on an expiring contract or someone they can hold on the roster for a while. But the focus on adding another draft pick may make things difficult.

The teams trading for Ross likely are not looking to give up an unprotected pick. The ones that are will probably have picks in the high 20s.

And while Orlando should rightfully look to add to their cache of future assets to use in trades down the road and keep a long-term vision to their team, they are also already loaded with young players.

Orlando might find it difficult to add another two rookies to next year’s roster if they picked up another 2022 first-round pick in addition to all the young players already on the roster.

The Magic do have a lot of cap room for the summer of 2022. So they are in a position to eat some salary to get off Ross’ contract in return for a young player or a valuable future pick. Figuring out the right valuation and what fits the team’s timeline and progress will be the trickier part.

That is one of the bigger challenges right now. It all goes back to the problem the Magic have from the beginning:

They have yet to evaluate their full roster to understand it and where it should progress next.

So the Magic are going to ask a lot for now. It is the right bargaining position with so much time before the deadline and before the team can clarify its goals and needs to continue to developing.

Until that goal is clearer, it is going to be hard to envision any trades that are beyond pie in the sky.

But the Magic are listening. And they have plenty to offer and think about in the next two months.