2017-2018 Record: Shit
Needs: PG, SG, SF, PF, C, Coach, GM, Owner
Strengths: Mascot. Stuff the Magic Dragon is adorable.
POSITION ANALYSIS:
PG - The bad news is that after the Elfrid Payton trade, all that was left was DJ Augustin and Shelvin Mack, which is an absolute abomination. They can't shoot, aren't playmakers, are average defensively and aren't young. On the plus side, they only make 13 million combined.
SG - Evan Fournier, Arron Afflalo, Wesley Iwundu, Rodney Purvis, Jamel Artis. Holy god what a nightmare. None of these guys could start for a conference title participant. None of them can score (noticing a pattern?) and to make matters worse, Fournier is making 17 million for the next 3 years, which makes him untradeable.
SF - Johnathan Simmons, Mario Hezonja, Terrence Ross. Simmons is actually not too bad at 6 million a year, Hezonja is probably gone and Ross is getting 10 million in the last year of his deal. The problem is that, again, they can't shoot. Simmons is a pretty good playmaking slash and kick type but that doesn't work if he has nobody to kick to. Hezonja had moments when Gordon was hurt but the Magic declined the 5th year option and he probably won't be back. Ross was an absolute zero coming from Toronto. Not dependable.
PF - Aaron Gordon, Johnathan Issac, Mo Speights. Issac seems like more of a SF to me but ESPN lists him as a PF so here we are. Reports are that the team will match any offer for Gordon so expect some team to max him out and screw the cap even further. That month where he was lights out from downtown was nice. Every other other month wasn't. Its also very evident that Gordon can't play anywhere but PF so Issac has to slide to the SF, or get blocked from playing time.
C- The absolute disaster masterpiece. 13 million for Nic Vucevic and 17 million for Bismack Biyombo. The NBA's equivalent of Brock Osweiler. The Serge Ibaka trade and the Biyombo signing are the final nails in the first 6 years of this rebuilding effort.
There may not be a team in the league with less talent. There certainly isn't as more forgettable team, their failures are utterly predictable and boring. At least the Nets have a nutty Russian owner doing crazy things.
DRAFT:
Mock Tendencies - Trae Young would be a disaster. Yes he can shoot but he fell apart in college when teams started roughing him up in the second half of the season and he plays no defense. He's only beneficial if he's free to roam around and play like Steph Curry. The only problem is that he isn't that good, is smaller and the team sucks so he' would get all the attention. Bad fit.
Most Orlando-y pick - Mo Bamba. a super tall guy who can't really shoot. Sounds great, lets just slide him in right next to Gordon, Issac, Biyombo, Vucevic, Hezonja, Iwundu and Birch. Shit, we might be out of roster spots.
Better fit - Wendell Carter. This would be nice because it would mean Biyombo and Vucevic aren't playing but they're still getting paid so that would be a tough pill to swallow.
Best move - Trade back, unload a contract and hope Sexton is still available. Don't give a max contract to Gordon under any circumstance. This team is four years from being noticeable.
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