NBA Free Agency 2017: One trade every team should make
Orlando Magic
The Magic are a franchise clearing the debris from the helter-skelter dealings of a GM on the hotseat. New Orlando GM, John Hammond, knows from his days in Milwaukee that bottoming out is the best path to acquiring transcendent talent.
Starting a new tenure, especially with a franchise accustomed to losing, comes with a long leash. Hammond would have the slack to blow things up and play the long game. Orlando owns all their future picks, so they should accumulate as many ping pong balls as possible.
There are shadow tanking moves, there are regular tanking moves, and there are blatant, spit in the face of convention tanking moves. This trade definitely fits the latter. It might not make sense on paper, but ask yourself: would you rather win 30 games and get the sixth pick or win 15 and have the inside track for first overall? I’m in the second camp. If you’re gonna be bad, might as well be really bad. Plus, this would also open up space on Orlando’s cap sheet.
The Grizzlies’ top players aren’t getting any younger. Marc Gasol’s 32 and Mike Conley will be 30 at the start of the season. If they want to give it a real shot with this group, they need complementary pieces around them.
Memphis handed Chandler Parsons quite the handsome deal last summer, making him the 15th highest paid player in the league. It’s already an albatross. Parsons was (in theory) the extra piece to help the Grizzlies become true challengers for the Western throne, but his injury-plagued 2016-17 was a net-zero and no one knows if his knees will ever hold up. Evan Fournier would give them most of what Parsons was supposed to, without the health question marks. Memphis has done well with post-up specialists and Nikola Vucevic can slide into Zach Randolph’s current vacancy. D.J. Augustin comes as the price of doing business, but he can give useful backup minutes.
For the Magic, this would be a radical move along the fringes of Sam Hinkie’s darkest fever dreams.
Fournier and Vucevic are fine players, but they’re not franchise-altering forces. Take a step back to take two steps forward. And who knows, maybe coming back home would be a healing tonic for Parsons. If his body continues to fail him, the probability of landing a high pick in the loaded 2018 draft goes up.
Do what’s right, John, steer into the skid.