Fansided

Where do the Orlando Magic go from here?

By Andrew Bernucca

ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 5: Head Coach Frank Vogel of the Orlando Magic looks on during a preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks on October 5, 2017 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 5: Head Coach Frank Vogel of the Orlando Magic looks on during a preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks on October 5, 2017 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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This past Sunday night, the Orlando Magic lost 114-110 to the Detroit Pistons. The loss was their fifth straight and drops them to 11-20 on the season, which has them in the no. 13 slot in the Eastern Conference.

Roughly five weeks ago I had written about how it looked like the Magic may have finally flipped the script after their 6-4 start. Alas, I was clearly a victim of sample size.

All that being said, this season is not an exception for the Magic but has unfortunately become the rule. Orlando still hasn’t made the playoffs since trading Dwight Howard in the summer of 2012 under then GM Rob Hennigan. The Magic won the Howard trade, and the plan was to rebuild, but fast forward five seasons and the rebuilding is still ongoing.

Hennigan was fired back in April, and President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman brought in John Hammond from the Milwaukee Bucks to replace him.

Hammond hasn’t had enough time to make an impact yet, but he has made acceptable moves so far. He drafted Jonathan Isaac — who is still an unknown at this point — and signed Shelvin Mack, Jonathon Simmons, Wesley Iwundu and Khem Birch to multi-year deals. He rounded out the offseason by signing Aaron Afflalo and Marreese Speights to one-year deals.

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Essentially, Hammond is still trying to make a meal with groceries he didn’t buy, but it might be time for him to start making some trips to the grocery store.

Before we start making hypothetical moves with the Magic roster it’s important to identify the quality pieces, or the ones who aren’t worth moving.

Aaron Gordon is the centerpiece of this team, his rookie deal will end this summer and he will most likely receive a max offer sheet as a free agent, which the Magic will match. Isaac is still on his rookie deal and still has raw potential and upside, so he’s not getting moved unless someone offers the kitchen sink for him. Simmons is probably the best contract on the team at 18-million over three-seasons yet he’s fourth on the team in scoring and minutes per game.

The players who aren’t worth trading are Elfrid Payton (the point guard who cares more about his hair than his jump shot) and Terrence Ross. Payton is on the last year of his deal, and Ross is on a cheap two-year deal which means he probably wouldn’t yield more than a like-for-like swap. The one-year deals of Afflalo and Speights have zero trade-value, as does the minimum contract of Birch.

After looking at the good and the worthless, it’s time to peer in at the bad. The Magic only have one bad contract on their roster, but it is bad enough to hamstring them in terms of making deals for the next three seasons. That contract is Bismack Biyombo’s which has two-years left with a player option for the third, and he’s due 17-million for all three of those seasons. Hennigan gave Biyombo this deal after one strong playoff series, where he only played well because of match-ups and now the contract is virtually immovable.

Now, it’s time for the fun stuff, the pieces the Magic can move in ways allowing them to regain financial flexibility. Those two pieces are Evan Fournier and Nikola Vucevic. It may sound strange to suggest a team who wants to improve quickly should trade two of their top three players, but these are the assets with real trade value. Not all the groceries at Hammond’s disposal are useless.

Even though Fournier is a top-three player on the Magic and one of their best trade assets, that says more about the Magic roster than it says about Fournier. The Frenchman averaging 18.3 points a night is currently owed 17 million over each of the next four seasons, is a sub par defender and plays a position where teams can find plenty of cheaper options. Finding realistic trades for the wing rocking a man bun wasn’t easy, but here are some.

The Magic send Fournier to the Jazz for Derrick Favors expiring deal and a second round pick. I’m not sure if the Jazz do this now but if it was offered this past summer they might have taken this. Now they know Donovan Mitchell can score in this league though, it seems unlikely.

The Magic send Fournier to the Kings for George Hill, straight up. Hill has voiced his concerns recently about the Kings lack of competitiveness, maybe if he speaks out enough this deal gets done. Moving Hill would open up minutes for De’Aaron Fox, and it would also give Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic opportunities to run the show as well. For the Magic, they get their first solid point guard since the days of Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard in the pick-and-roll, and Hill ends up on a team possibly competing for a playoff spot.

The Magic send Fournier to the Clippers for Lou Williams and Wesley Johnson. The Clippers make this trade happen by using their DeAndre Liggins trade exception. For Magic fans, I know this seems pretty pointless but Williams is a solid rest-of-season replacement for Fournier and then he comes off the cap. Johnson gives you an extra wing who only has two years on his deal. This is a salary dump for the Magic and quite frankly, they could do a lot worse if they choose to go that route with Fournier.

This is the last one for Fournier. The Magic send Fournier to the Pelicans for Solomon Hill, Alexis Ajinca and the Pelicans 2018 first round pick. Ajinca has two-years left on his deal and Hill has three. This isn’t the best salary dump move out there but it gets them another pick in the draft. The Pelicans are desperate to add wings who are legitimate NBA players and scorers to alleviate some of the pressure on their twin tower combo, and they have to be willing to move some draft picks to make it happen.

As tough as it was to find trades for Fournier, it was even more difficult to find potential trades for Vucevic. Although he’s having an admirable season and is on a much friendlier contract — owed 12.25-million for the next two seasons — not many teams are on the hunt for a center lacking defensive versatility. However, I did find two somewhat realistic trades and then two where you may have to suspend belief.

The Magic send Vucevic to the Jazz for Favors and a second round pick. Yes, you read this earlier with Fournier in Vucevic’s place. It’s believed the Jazz are interested in finding Favors a new home, one where he’ll get consistent minutes which he deserves. Vucevic gives them a center offering a different look from Rudy Gobert. He’s a good low-post player, decent passer and spaces the floor as a 5. If Gobert gets in foul trouble or has injury issues Ekpe Udoh offers rim protection and switchability as a fill-in next to Vucevic.

The Magic send Vucevic to the Kings with Mario Hezonja for Hill. This is another one you read earlier and the Magic still need the stars to align for this trade which doesn’t include a star. It’s tough to see the Kings pulling the trigger on this one as Vucevic would only take minutes anyway from Willie Cauley-Stein and Skal Labissiere, but he would give their young guards a more experienced 5 to develop chemistry with.

The Magic send Vucevic to the Cavaliers for Channing Frye and Ante Zizic. The Magic get back a young piece in this trade and Frye’s deal is expiring. The Cavs could potentially have interest in adding another legitimate NBA big to their roster, but Vucevic would be useless in a Finals match-up with the Warriors.

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The Magic send Vucevic to the Bucks for Mirza Teletovic and Thon Maker. I think the Magic would really like this trade because it adds a potentially exciting piece to their core. The Bucks add a center who isn’t John Henson and get away from the Teletovic deal. Again, this doesn’t seem likely with the Bucks having high hopes for Maker, but it’s hard to come up with much else for Vucevic and the Magic.

In short, the likely scenario is Hammond stands pat until the summer time and then explores trade options. By then, Vucevic’s deal will be an expiring deal and becomes a greater negotiation tool. Holding on to Fournier to keep a professional scorer on the roster makes sense as well. The Magic still have plenty of draft picks for the future, and wouldn’t be in too bad of shape if not for the Biyombo contract. Hammond could choose to see the Biyombo deal out while adding young players along the way and just maybe he’ll transform Orlando into a free agent destination again. That was a luxury Hammond never had during his time in Milwaukee.

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