February 10, 2022. Thursday, 3:00 PM, EST.
By this time, the Orlando Magic’s current roster could look a lot different.
The times of refreshing Shams and Woj’s Twitter page have fallen upon us, ladies and gentlemen. Trade season has kicked off and Magic fans are in for yet another interesting trade deadline week.
As Magic fans recall, last year held probably the largest trade deadline in the team’s recent history. The core of Vucevic-Gordon-Fournier came to an end, but it was the elite accumulation of assets by Jeff Weltman and John Hammond that assured Magic fans that they are in good hands when it comes to trades.
Let’s take a look at how these past trades panned out and further analyze the possibilities of this coming trade deadline.
Trade 1: Nikola Vucevic to Chicago
*stats are as of Feb. 6 per nba.com
CHIreceives:
Nikola Vucevic (17.5ppg/11.7rpg)
Al-Farouq Aminu (out of league)
ORLreceives:
Wendell Carter Jr. (13.6ppg/10.3rpg)
Otto Porter Jr. (signed with GSW)
2021 Top 4 Protected 1st round pick (Now Franz Wagner, Top 3 Rookie— averaging 15.8ppg, leading rookies in average and total scoring)
2023 unprotected 1st round pick
Trade Grade for Chicago = B
While this trade may have helped the Bulls secure DeRozan in free agency, that can’t really be a factor when this trade is assessed for pure returns. Vucevic has had a significant drop off year in terms of scoring and efficiency, likely because of the transition from being a number one option to a third option. When considering Wendell Carter Jr. is putting up slightly worse numbers on better defense along with Franz Wagner’s emergence, it’s clear which team benefitted the most from this trade in terms of individual talent. Chicago receives a B simply from considering the winning position they’re in; had they not been winning, this would be a clear one-way lopsided trade.
Trade Grade for Orlando = A+
The Magic got everything they wanted and more out of this trade, mainly in part to Chicago’s willingness to give up on former Duke big man Wendell Carter Jr. just two and a half years into his NBA career. Carter had gotten off to a rocky start in Chicago, yet the potential was always there. It seems as if Coach Mosley and Orlando are doing a great job in unlocking said potential, as Carter Jr. has averaged 15.4 ppg and 10.2 rpg on 53% from the field as of January 5th. While the Franz Wagner draft pick seems like the golden ticket in this draft, one truly can’t blame Chicago fully on that, as it truthfully came down to lottery luck. Chicago did have a 40% chance of keeping their pick, so it was an understandable gamble on their part. To sum up, Orlando moved on from their veteran leader in a push for a rebuild, dumped Aminu’s contract, secured an elite center, and added a 20-yr-old future star. Oh and, did I mention we still own their unprotected 1st rounder next year? Safe to say, Orlando won this trade.
Trade 2: Aaron Gordon to Denver
DENreceives:
Aaron Gordon (14.6ppg/5.6rpg)
Gary Clark (signed with NOLA)
ORLreceives:
Gary Harris (11.6ppg)
R.J. Hampton (7.2ppg)
2025 Top 5 protected 1st round pick
Trade Grade for Denver = A-
Many Denver fans were understandably upset about the moving of Gary Harris, as he was a core piece in their 2019-2020 playoff run and showed flashes of playing at an elite level. As time passed, it’s clear the addition of Aaron Gordon was extremely beneficial to this team in need of versatile defenders. Playing alongside the MVP in Nikola Jokic certainly makes life easier on Gordon, as he’s not expected to create or force offense like he was in Orlando. While Denver experiences injury struggles, Gordon has been a solid contributor to keeping the Nuggets in playoff contention. It also must bring peace of mind to Nuggets fans knowing they didn’t give up all that much to secure the young forward, as Gary Harris has a hefty, expiring contract and RJ Hampton has been experiencing a rocky sophomore season.
Trade Grade for Orlando = B-
Parting ways with former top 4 pick Aaron Gordon was a necessary move for this Orlando team. His game never truly panned out for us, with constant struggles of inconsistency and unsureness of his role within the team. While he isn’t exactly having a breakout year in Denver, it’s clear he’s become a better version of the player we’ve seen for those past 6 years. The main reason Orlando is receiving a B- for this trade is due to the diminishing returns. RJ Hampton and the 2025 FRP are the only real assets gained, as Gary Harris’ value has been diminishing with the expiring contract. Teams will likely only buy low for Harris since he’ll be a free agent in a few months, similar to the Fournier trade I’ll be discussing next.
Trade 3: Evan Fournier to Celtics
BOSreceives:
Evan Fournier (signed with NYK)
ORLreceives:
Two future 2nd round picks.
Trade Grade for both teams = C
This trade really held no magnitude, as neither team really won from it. Boston only had the contributions of Fournier for half a season, as he signed with the New York Knicks in free agency the summer after the trade. As for Orlando, it’s no question why Fournier’s value was that low; it’s a direct result of his expiring contract. No team was willing to shell out real assets for half a season of a role player. Hopefully, Orlando will actually utilize the second round picks acquired I’m the trade and take chances on young players in the upcoming drafts, seeing as they have a knack for giving SRPs up for cash.
What to expect this year at the trade deadline?
The interesting part heading into this year’s trade deadline is how much controversy is geared towards certain players throughout the Magic community. Almost the entire fanbase is content with moving on from guard Terrence Ross. Despite his many “Human Torch” moments who Magic fans will remember for quite some time, most fans seem OK with the idea of trading Ross in order to acquire more assets and open up more playing time for younger players. There is also a possibility that the Magic choose to retain Ross in order to keep a veteran around who has been here and by all accounts enjoys living in Orlando. If they choose to trade him, you can expect the Magic to look for a young player or a 1st round pick in return.
The 28 year-old vet Gary Harris is the player most Magic fans expect to see traded at the trade deadline, but some are against it. Personally, I find it unnecessary to keep Harris as he’ll likely sign with a contender in the offseason — might as well receive something instead of possibly losing him for nothing. Yet once again, the Fournier predicament takes place. Unless there’s a team that deems Harris as an immediate missing piece to a title, any offer surrounding him will be a lowball. It’s really a game of value, do we think half a season of Gary Harris’ shooting off the bench is more valuable than another Fournier-like package? Ultimately, it’s safe to predict Weltman and Hammond will attempt to get some sort of return out of Harris. If no offers are on the table, it’s not the end of the world. Worst case scenario the Magic keep him until the end of the season and he walks, which will result in over $20 million in cap space for the Magic to use in free agency or in other trades.
Now let’s talk about Mo Bamba. The 6th overall pick in the 2018 Draft experienced an unorthodox welcome to the league, as the unexpected All-Star emergence of Nikola Vucevic and numerous injuries and issues with Covid led to the sidelining of Bamba’s development. So far this season the Magic have provided Bamba with plenty of opportunities to grow and prove himself. In the first half of the 2021-2022 NBA season, Bamba has been pretty underwhelming, putting up around 10 points and 8 rebounds in around 26 minutes a contest. Many fans thoroughly expected a breakout season for Bamba, as it would be his first season fully healthy and in position to receive heavy minutes.
The discourse around Mo Bamba’s future with Orlando has been polarizing, to say the least. Some are heavily against moving Bamba, preaching that he still has loads of potential and is too young to give up on and this is with good reason as he has shown flashes of great potential at times this season. Others believe his time is up in Orlando and are hoping he is moved by the deadline in order to bring in more assets. Around one month ago, it was reported the Magic’s front office was seeking a 1st round pick or a young player equivalent in exchange for Bamba. At this time, the Magic were not actively pushing to move Bamba, they were simply listening to offers if they were to present themselves. However with Bamba’s recent poor play and decline in minutes, fans are speculating that trade discussions revolving around Mo have ramped up.
While we’re definitely not in store for a full scale rebuild reminiscent of last year, the Orlando Magic certainly could shake up the roster by Thursday. The days are numbered for some Magic players, the question is, for how many?