Orlando Magic Trade Deadline: There's no perfect target, one need brings sacrifice

Orlando Magic Trade Deadline: There's no perfect target

The Tyus Jones Target

Many Orlando Magic fans have focused on the point guard position, specifically on Washington Wizards guard Tyus Jones.

They see Jones' 12.1 points per game, 6.3 assists per game and 39.9 percent 3-point shooting (on 3.7 attempts per game for the speedy Washington Wizards) as exactly what the team needs offensively.

He is a high-assist, low-turnover (0.9 turnovers per game as a first-time starter, and he has never averaged more than 1.0 turnovers per game) guard who can work off the ball as a catch-and-shoot option.

With the Wizards playing at a breakneck pace and speed, Jones makes 40.8 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers (placing him in the top quarter of the league). He makes 46.9 percent of his corner threes this year.

Maybe he is not the volume 3-point shooter the Magic might need to become a better 3-point threat. But he is a threat. Defenses have to account for him.

Just like they have to account for him as a playmaker and a passer. He adds 18.16 points per 75 possessions off assists and +1.98 role-adjusted assist points per 75 possessions, according to Basketball-Index (essentially saying he is a good passer and creator for his role).

For a Magic team in desperate need of offense, everyone has to ask why they wouldn't go for a player like this.

There are concerns, though. There is no such thing as a perfect addition to the team. Every player will require others to step up to cover his weaknesses, just like a player like Jones could help cover the Magic's 3-point weakness. There is always a new dynamic that emerges.

With Jones, specifically, he lacks the size the Magic typically like. At 6-foot-1, Jones is on the small end, going against the Magic's penchant to seek size and versatility. Running a switching scheme with Jones on the floor would be hard.

That size does spell trouble on the defensive end -- not that the Wizards are a great defensive team this year. The Wizards have a 123.0 defensive rating with Jones on the floor, the worst mark of any player on a bad defensive team in the Wizards (they have a 119.8 defensive rating overall).

That may not all be on Jones.

He averages 1.43 steals per 75 possessions and 2.43 deflections per 75 possessions. At least, there would be some suggestion that Jones can be a disruptive defender with a better defensive scheme and better defenders around him.

But there is mystery there. It is uncertain.

So the question returns to the Magic: How much would a player like Jones' shooting be worth? How much do they think they can cover for any shortcomings, real or perceived?