The trade market for Terrence Ross, Gary Harris starts to take shape

The Orlando Magic are going to be pretty active at the trade deadline.

That is the lot of a rebuilding team. Without a clear hierarchy or firm plan for how to move forward beyond developing young players, the team wants to maintain some cap flexibility and get value for players they are not likely to retain.

The goal right now from a roster-building perspective is to put the team’s young players in the best place to grow and staying nimble enough to make a push if there is a sudden breakthrough.

With the worst record in the league and likely grabbing one of the top-five picks in the upcoming draft, the Magic are not likely ready to push some chips to the center of the table — although there is still plenty the team can probably do with their extra cap room this offseason.

The most immediate issue ahead of the Feb. 10 trade deadline is handling the contracts of Gary Harris and Terrence Ross.

The buyers in the league — teams trying to solidify their playoff positioning — are likely circling the Magic trying to grab one of these two veterans off the Magic’s roster.

It is fair to assume the Magic will trade one if not both of these players at the trade deadline.

The Orlando Magic are going to be listening to offers for veterans Gary Harris and Terrence Ross and likely will swing a deal for one, if not both. Their market is starting to take shape.

According to Marc Stein (Subscription Required), that seems to be the going thought around the league. And there is plenty of reporting to suggest the Magic are looking for a first-round pick in return for both of these players.

That might still be some wishful thinking at this stage of the process. We are in something akin to the middle game of trade negotiations with two weeks to go before the deadline. Teams will probably start honing in on the serious offers this week or next week before finalizing deals.

If the Magic are open to or determined to trade Harris or Ross, they should have plenty of suitors. What playoff team could not use a player like these two?

Both have been playing a whole lot better of late and would clearly help any team in need of shooting for their playoff runs.

Harris is averaging 11.6 points per game and shooting a 53.0-percent effective field goal percentage. He has come on stronger of late, averaging 15.3 points per game and shooting 39.0-percent from beyond the arc in his last 15 games.

Ross has had a similar jump to his game.

Ross is averaging 11.7 points per game with a 47.7-percent effective field goal percentage. But he is scoring 13.4 points per game with 37.2-percent shooting from deep in his last 11 games.

No player has likely had as much trouble adjusting to the team’s poor bench groups or the reality of a rebuild than him. Defenses have been able to key in on him and deny him the ball.

Undoubtedly Ross would thrive in a more balanced offensive attack. And teams know he can be a valuable weapon off the bench.

Both Harris and Ross have friendly contracts that can get dealt too. There should be plenty of reasonable and enticing offers for the Magic. They could literally be dealing with a “highest bidder” situation as they skim through multiple offers.

Harris’ $20.4 million deal is set to expire at the end of the season. And Ross has a salary of $12.5 million and then a salary of $11.5 million next year before he hits free agency.

Teams will not find that too onerous. And those salary amounts are large enough to net some good returns.

Not to mention the Magic sit comfortably $22.9 million below the luxury tax line and are set to come into somewhere near $34 million in cap room for next year (before accounting for the team’s draft pick, which would drop it below the $30-million threshold).

The Magic also have a $17.5-million trade exception they can use. Orlando has plenty it can wield to accomplish something at the deadline.

The most immediate thing will be reviewing what they can do with Ross and Harris.

Their desire to get a first-round pick will limit some of what they can grab — especially with the need to do some salary matching. Orlando will certainly be at least willing to entertain becoming a salary dumping ground.

Stein reports the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams that will be gunning for these two veteran players. Both could certainly use him.

The Lakers are trying to pawn off Kendrick Nunn and his two-year deal at $5-million. But the Magic are going to want more.

They want a first-round pick and the Lakers have little else to offer to match salaries. They almost would be required to include Talen Horton-Tucker to make salaries match and cut their payroll a bit.

Horton-Tucker has two years left on his deal at $21.3-million. The 2024 season is a player option. That is not too onerous especially if the Magic do not see themselves as free-agent players yet. The team has the cap room to absorb this kind of salary and still go out and add players to help this team further develop.

The Magic’s focus right now should be trying to align their contracts for the right time to hit free agency. That is clearly not now.

There is at least something there for Ross.

It is becoming pretty clear the Lakers will have to attach Horton-Tucker to Nunn’s contract to shed some payroll or get better production. There will be a lot of team’s receiving that offer from the Lakers to try to save their season.

For the Jazz, the best they could likely offer is Joe Ingles and a first for Terrence Ross. Ingles could become either a buyout candidate or finish the year with the Magic. His contract expires at the end of the season.

The Magic in both situations hold the higher-salary player in the deal and teams would have to amass the players to match them.

The point is that finding a deal is not necessarily the hard part. Finding a deal that fits the Magic’s needs will be the difficult part for the team.

Orlando clearly wants a first-round pick out of any of these deals. That or a young player with a high-priced veteran seems like the best the team can do — think something similar to the deal the Magic got for Aaron Gordon, but likely on a smaller scale.

Using their trade exception and their extra cap room, the Magic could also be a good third team to help facilitate a trade.

The market though is clearly starting to flesh out. And the Lakers and Jazz certainly will not be the only teams on the lookout for valuable veterans.