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

The NBA Trade Deadline is off and running already this season.

The day started with the debut of Kyrie Irving in a Dallas Mavericks uniform. And then when all the games Wednesday ended, all Hell broke loose throughout the league.

Two MVP players have moved already with Russell Westbrook going to the Utah Jazz (but for how long?) and Kevin Durant going to the Phoenix Suns. Already too one of the biggest dominoes fell with the Toronto Raptors seemingly doubling down on their team to acquire big man Jakob Poeltl.

Everything in the NBA is an interconnected web. And the Suns upping the ante by acquiring Durant (I swear I am not burying that lead) will surely start a bit of an arms race in a super tight Western Conference to keep up.

That is going to create a ton more action at the deadline.

The NBA trade deadline always has a lot of fireworks going on as two MVPs got dealt Wednesday night. As the clock ticks down, we break down what each deal means for the Orlando Magic.

The Orlando Magic are not expected to do a ton of things. They have some veteran players that other teams might be eyeing and some contracts they might be looking to ship out. Gary Harris is the player most other teams are likely trying to pry from Orlando. Meanwhile, the Magic are likely trying to find new homes for Mo Bamba and Terrence Ross.

Orlando is negotiating from a position of power though. They have a lot of young players and a ton of cap flexibility. The Magic are a team that could be ready to buy and make some serious steps.

We all know what the Magic need. They need shooting desperately. But it is still tough to get a sense of what the Magic are hoping to do at the deadline.

We will wait and break down whatever Orlando does separately. But as a service to you, we will break down what every trade deadline deal means for the Magic specifically.

This is the overnight and early edition and will be updated, with a new edition starting after around noon Eastern time to round out the day.

How every NBA trade deadline deal affects the Orlando Magic

Center Dominoes

The whole league has been waiting on the Toronto Raptors during this trade deadline. Everyone has been trying to figure out what the Raptors will do and what direction they will go.

They have two big-name players on expiring contracts in Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. They have another young player who seems to be itching for more playing time in OG Anunoby. All the while, the Raptors struggled in the standings falling out of the play-in position but still within striking distance.

Would the Toronto Raptors try to retain these players and make another push into the playoffs? Would they sell off the expiring contracts to get equal value back and remain competitive? Or would the Raptors do a major sell-off and start a rebuild?

Some thought that was possible.

Everyone wondered what the Raptors would do.

Late Wednesday night, everyone started to get an answer. Toronto acquired one of the biggest names available at the deadline and seemingly set the whole deadline in motion.

Jakob Poeltl is heading back to Toronto:

A team that is about to rebuild certainly is not going to give up a first-round pick. And several big-name teams were hunting around for Poeltl, including reportedly the Boston Celtics.

This reported trade takes two things off the board:

First, we know the Raptors are not doing a complete rebuild. They may still look to move VanVleet or Trent before the deadline to recoup some value before they hit free agency. But they are likely looking for equal value back. There is no pawning off unused players for them.

That could make it tough for the Orlando Magic to make a deal to acquire VanVleet at the deadline — and now the Phoenix Suns are off the board as a potential team looking for an extra star to boost their team with the deal they just made (see the Kevin Durant slide, I may rearrange slides as the day goes on).

What this also does is eliminate a big domino in the center sweepstakes. Teams that missed out on Jakob Poeltl will now turn to their backup options which include Mo Bamba. Getting this deal done so early may well open the doors for a Bamba deal to happen later on in the day.

The whole market waits on the stars to fall before it gets moving. Toronto making this deal — along with the Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant questions getting solved — helps clarify the issue.

How every NBA trade deadline deal affects the Orlando Magic

Kevin Durant on the move

I do not mean to bury the lead here. The Kevin Durant deal is a seismic trade that changes the league fundamentally.

The Phoenix Suns are 8-2 in their last 10 games to climb above the Play-In line. But they did not look like a championship-level team with Devin Booker out.

Now that he is back, this team is re-aiming itself for a title. And that is what bringing in Durant will do.

Phoenix was disappointed with its second-round exit from last year. This is the kind of deal the franchise has been working on since the offseason when Durant originally requested a trade.

That is obviously on the top end. The most immediate effect of this is the Brooklyn Nets still look like a pretty decent team.

The Nets get a budding young star in Mikal Bridges to build themselves around. And they have always played scrappy — hello Cam Thomas and his surprising scoring burst the last three games — when they have been down their stars. Brooklyn was a title contender because of their stars but also because of how good that supporting cast is.

The Nets are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference and well clear of missing the playoffs. There is no reason to think Brooklyn will not be Playoff-bound. Do not think Orlando is going to pass Brooklyn in its quest to make the postseason.

But this deal should be a bit instructive of what it will take to get a superstar player when the Magic are ready. The Suns did not have to give up any of their key star players to get this deal done. They kept Devin Booker, they kept Chris Paul and they kept Deandre Ayton.

It cost them one player on his rookie extension contract, a disgruntled veteran and another young player nearing the end of his rookie deal. Plus a boatload of draft picks.

The Magic have all of those elements. They have a ton of draft picks to spend. They have several players on their rookie extensions (Wendell Carter, Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac) and even a good veteran in Gary Harris if that is what they want to do.

The point is the Magic have all the pieces to make a superstar trade when they are ready. Now may not be the time, but it could be soon.

How every NBA trade deadline deal affects the Orlando Magic

Lakers save themselves

The Los Angeles Lakers made a huge mistake acquiring Russell Westbrook.

It was obvious they made a mistake from the moment they made that deal. LeBron James was not a floor spacer and Russell Westbrook certainly was not one either. And on top of that the Lakers seemed to systematically trade all of their shooting.

This deal helps them clear that deck a bit more. It gives them a solid defender in Jarred Vanderbilt and a decent shooter in Malik Beasley. Not to mention another shooter and scorer on the perimeter in D’Angelo Russell.

The question in the immediate aftermath of this trade was whether the Lakers would pursue more shooting to bolster that lineup.

A favorite trade among Magic fans has the team swapping Terrence Ross for Patrick Beverley. The salaries match and it gives the Lakers some shooting that they need.

The Lakers already gave up one of the few first-round picks they have, but returning a second in addition to Beverley might be enough for Orlando. I would suspect the Magic would simply buy out Beverley and the rest of his one-year, $13 million contract. He becomes a free agent this offseason.

The Magic do this if Ross is determined to get to the Lakers as a trade is the only way to manage the Lakers’ tax bill in response.

The real impact of this deal comes from the Utah Jazz though.

The Jazz gave up a key player in Mike Conley. He has clearly slowed some of late, but he still gives the Jazz a ton of stability. That has become apparent as Utah has started to fade after the team’s hot start.

The Utah Jazz are 10-14 in their last 24 games, including a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday with the trade becoming official. The Utah Jazz are on the cusp of falling out of play-in position (the team is a half game up on the Portland Trail Blazers who lead the Golden State Warriors in a tight game in the fourth quarter as I write this).

The Jazz are just two games from falling below the Lakers for 13th. Instead of staying in the postseason race, it sure seems like the Jazz are happy to slide down a few spots and increase their Lottery odds.

It feels unlikely Westbrook will ever suit up for the Jazz, considering his history with fans in the city. The Chicago Bulls are already being rumored as a potential destination if he seeks a buyout.

The could have the Jazz slipping from their current spot deep into the Lottery. The Magic are currently slotted fifth in the Lottery odds. The Jazz would have to do some serious losing to catch them.

But crazier things have happened and the Magic are trying to win.

How every NBA trade deadline deal affects the Orlando Magic

The Kyrie Irving trade

The trade deadline got off to a wild start last Friday when Kyrie Irving formally requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, ending a tumultuous tenure both on and off the court for one of the league’s special ball handlers and players but one of its most divisive and quizzical players off it.

Irving certainly needed a fresh start. But everyone around the league is wondering two things out of this deal:

First, whether Irving can fit in alongside Luka Doncic to lift the Dallas Mavericks and essentially save their season. And second, whether Irving will implode another team as he did in Cleveland and Boston before he got to Brooklyn.

Despite Irving’s talent and skill, there were probably not a lot of teams lining up to get Irving.

This deal does not have much to do with the Orlando Magic unless you believe in conspiracy theories, which since we are talking about Irving, we might as well dive into.

The Magic are one of the few teams with cap room this offseason, but they would not have enough cap room to sign Irving at the salary he is likely seeking. Not without some extreme maneuvering. Supposedly Irving going to Dallas is a sign the Mavericks are willing to give him the salary he is looking for and retain him using Bird Rights.

Orlando likely is not the kind of team Irving was looking to go to in free agency just as the Magic are not likely a team or culture that could absorb Irving’s special brand of chaos.

For the conspiracy-minded then, this seems to be a situation to watch because Irving has had such a history of blowing up the franchises he has been with and leaving them out to dry unless they act quickly. And the Mavericks became a team desperate enough to need Irving to help them return to the Western Conference Finals this year (they probably will not, but this at least gets them back in the conversation to advance in the Playoffs).

The joke among Magic fans has been that, eventually, Luka Doncic will find his way back to playing with his friend and coach Jamahl Mosley. If Doncic ever did ask out of Dallas, that certainly seems like a possibility. But that is probably still down the road. . . unless things really blow up.

Doncic has a player option for the 2027 season. So there is still some waiting to do before the Mavericks really start to freak out.

How every NBA trade deadline deal affects the Orlando Magic

Shoot your shot

This is the kind of move the Orlando Magic have been making for a while now. They have traded away some of their veteran players and expiring contracts to take a flier on a young player who needed a second chance.

That is something some Magic fans thought the team might do for Cameron Reddish. Instead, it is the Portland Trail Blazers who will take that flier on him while giving up an expiring contract in Josh Hart to get the deal done.

Reddish has played in only 20 games this year, averaging 8.4 points per game with 30.4-percent shooting from beyond the arc. it is getting harder to figure out what everyone is believing in from the former 10th overall pick from the 2019 NBA Draft. He just has never found a footing in the NBA.

Josh Hart is the real interesting piece of this deal. Unlike Reddish, Hart has a solid track record as a decent defender and shooter. He is hitting 9.5 points per game and 30.4 percent shooting. Those are not great numbers. But for the Knicks, this is a move meant to help them avoid the Play-In Tournament.

Hart has a player option for next year too. So the Knicks should have him around for next year. If Hart opts out, he could end up being an option for the Magic to pursue in free agency.

That might be a bit far-fetched. The Magic need shooting and Hart has been a fairly inconsistent shooter throughout his career. Still, he fits the style of player Orlando typically pursues. If he does hit free agency, it would not surprise me if the Magic chase after him.

For now, it seems like Hart will have this year and next year with the Knicks.