How every NBA trade deadline deal affects the Orlando Magic – Late Edition

How every NBA trade deadline deal affects the Orlando Magic

The second draft

Every year around the trade deadline, teams give up on their first-round picks that are just not getting it and seek to recoup some value for them instead of facing the tough decision to extend them and give them a bigger contract.

This is an area where young and developing teams really seek to take advantage. The Orlando Magic did this to grab Markelle Fultz and give him a second chance to reclaim his career in a new atmosphere. They did the same virtually with Bol Bol, albeit Bol was a second-round pick.

This could have been another opportunity for the Magic to add some young talent to their team. There were a few teams that let go of their former first-round picks.

None were bigger than the trade of James Wiseman from the Golden State Warriors to the Detroit Pistons.

The Warriors made James Wiseman the second pick in the 2020 Draft. Wiseman dealt with injuries and NCAA sanctions in his freshman year at Memphis and continued to deal with injuries in his rookie year with the Warriors.

The idea of grooming a young player to develop alongside the ending stages of the Stephen Curry dynasty never materialized. Wiseman just could not see the floor.

Suddenly the Warriors were back to competing for a title and they did not have the time to develop a raw center trying to get healthy. He still has struggled to see the court.

That made him a perfect candidate to move along in a second draft. The Warriors grabbed a player they know they can rely on to help them win a title in return. That is the simplicity of this deal.

Meanwhile, Wiseman goes to a low-pressure situation to develop and make some mistakes with a struggling Pistons team (ignore the logjam among big men for now).

Another similar trade occurred with the Philadelphia 76ers shipping Matisse Thybulle to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The 76ers had clearly soured some on Matisse Thybulle. Nobody doubts his defensive acumen and ability. But his shooting struggles were just becoming too much for a team competing at the highest levels. They needed someone who could shoot a bit more.

So the Sixers will give a second draft opportunity to Jalen McDaniels, who is less of a shooter and more of a spark plug. While the Blazers fill in with some much-needed wing defense to bolster their backcourt. That will be a big boost to Portland.

Although even Portland’s goals are unclear right now.

These are opportunities the Magic used to hunt out. But the magic not really looking to swap young players or find these opportunities shows the team is no longer looking to collect young players anymore.

These are the kind of deals that get done at the deadline.