NBA Draft Rumors: Orlando Magic no longer a player to trade with Cavaliers for no. 1 pick
By Jack Crosby
Heading into Thursday, and even as early as Thursday morning, as the NBA Draft is nearly set to get underway, the Orlando Magic were considered the front runners to deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the no. 1 overall pick. They were the favorite because they were offering the no. 4 and no. 12 picks, along with forward Arron Afflalo.
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Well, not long into Thursday morning, that potential deal exploded in everyone’s face as the Magic did end up dealing Afflalo, only not to the Cavaliers, rather they sent him back to the Denver Nuggets for the no. 56 overall pick and Evan Fournier.
With that move, as ESPN’s Jeff Goodman points out, the blockbuster deal between the Cavaliers and Magic is all but dead.
Difficult to imagine Orlando being a major player now to obtain No. 1 pick from Cleveland after dealing Afflalo to Denver. He was key chip.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 26, 2014
Afflalo was indeed the key piece as he was the proven commodity in all of this. While stocking up draft picks isn’t necessarily bad, you never know what you’re truly getting until the players hit the floor. With Afflalo, the Cavaliers knew what they were getting.
Now, as Thursday moves along here, the Cavaliers are in the tightest spot they’ve been in since they were awarded the no. 1 pick in the lottery.