3 trade targets the Orlando Magic should avoid

3 trade targets the Orlando Magic should avoid

Bogdan Bogdanović, Atlanta Hawks

Bogdan Bogdanović seems like a great fit at first thought because he is known as a guard with an elite shot who is locked up long term at a reasonable price. This is what the Orlando Magic need.

But he could not be a worse fit for the Magic right now and going into their future.

He is 31, like Malcolm Brogdon, and lacks athletic abilities. He would be in the same athletic realm as their 36-year-old forward, Joe Ingles. For his role, that is not much of a concern. But again, he does not fit the mold of the young, versatile and athletic guards the Magic have.

As mentioned before, the Magic need to get players who can shoot and not bring in players who can already do what the rest of the roster can do. But that does not mean they should shy away from their identity. Getting someone who is just a shooter will not necessarily help, even though it fills a significant need.

Other younger and more athletic players fit the mold the Magic are looking for while also being efficient from three. The Magic need to find shooting but should not get someone restricted as just a shooter.

Bogdanović can shoot, but he struggles to create his own shot and create for others. He can knock down open looks, but only off of others' creation, which limits his offense. He also is a terrible defender who would bring down all aspects of the Magic's game besides shooting, which does not seem worth giving up pieces that could be used in a better trade.

He is also an extremely streaky shooter, which means he sometimes struggles at the one thing that keeps on the floor.

Bogdanović is averaging a career-high 17.1 points per game off the bench for the Atlanta Hawks this season. He is shooting 37.1 percent from three on 8.4 attempts per game. He fills that need for someone who will just put up 3-pointers.

But he has shot less than 40 percent from three in 22 of the 45 games he has played this season, and he has shot less than 40 percent from the field in 16 games, which is more than a third of games this season.

His efficiency is also known to go down in the playoffs.

He is a career 43.9 percent field goal shooter and a 38.5 percent three-point shooter. But in the playoffs, those numbers go down to 41.8 percent and 35.1 percent. Those numbers are not crazy low, but the best role players and players in general step their game up in the biggest moments, not get worse.

Bogdanović is having a career year in scoring, field goals made per game and steals per game. But he also has a career-high in turnovers, a career-low in assists and his second-worst rebounding year.

At 31, it does not look like those numbers will go back up. The Magic need to avoid trading for an aging and declining one-trick pony.