Mapping the Orlando Magic’s Offseason: What to do with all their cap room
it is Memorial Day the official beginning of Summer and the off season is not too far away on today’s episode of lock on Magic we dive into what the magic might do with all that beautiful cap room and how the future is coming faster than you think it’s all on today’s episode of lock on Magic you are locked on Magic your daily Orlando Magic podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday and you are indeed locked on Magic today is May 26th it will be May 27th 2024 my name is Philip rosik I’m the senior writer over at orlandomagic.com you course find me on Twitter Philip rrd on today’s episode of lock down magic we have part two of our conversation with Keith Smith of spot trk we talk all about what the magic might actually do this offseason what how they could use their cap room and how they’re using this summer to prepare for the future Beyond if you missed it you can check out part one of the conversation in our previous episode of lock on Magic where we chatted about what success does for the magic and how it changes their approach this offseason we’ll get to a lot more on what the magic will do now that we’re done looking back kind of more will be our dividing line of when we start looking forward rather than looking back I got a few more looking back episodes come play in but we’ll look forward today on locked on Magic we’ll get to that coming up here in just a moment but first we want to thank you again for making lockdown magic part of your day every day no matter when you listen to us whether it’s first in the morning whether it’s right when we upload you truly appreciate you making lockdown magic part of your day every day remember this great lock on podcast covering every single team in the NBA to search for lockon and the team you’re looking for the lockdown podcast Network it’s your team every day now without any further Ado let’s get to it part two of our conversation with Keith Smith of spot track let’s let’s let’s get into that then uh and kind of get into the nuts and bolts of of what the magic can do this offseason and and I want to we I want to end the end the end the conversation end the show talking about the extensions and the new TV deal um which you know you you you kind of put a lot of what’s going to happen with the NBA here in perspective and and and get into why this season this offseason especially feels important for because of the way things are going to be moving down down the road um the EST like the magic have cap room this offseason um they’ve had cap room the last few off Seasons they’ve kind of pitched to roll it over um it feels like they’re gonna spend it this this offseason like you know I like I’m not against bringing Gary Harris back I I think that’ll you know get a lot lot of commenters going as on on the when when this premiere’s live um but I’m I’m against Gary Harris coming back as your starter um I don’t think he’s a starter especially with what the magic need from the guard spot um but kind of what when you look at the Magic’s cap room you know we laid a little bit out how much how much are you estimating that they have to spend and how how should they kind of manipulate maneuver so there is no team I have worked reworked and reworked again the estimate on more than the magic and a lot of that is because there is they’ve built in so much flexibility so if we assume nothing happens with any of guys who have guaranteed money on the books very quickly that’s Cole Anthony which did you know Cole Anthony has the most guaranteed money for next season like a lot of people I don’t think realize that Jonathan Isaac has the biggest contract but it’s non- guaranteed guaranteed Co at 12.9 is an extension we anticipate they’re going to guarantee that deal he’s not going and that’s honestly that’s one of the ones I’ve really changed on because when I was doing their projections back and just so everybody knows my first projection for next like when I do my first look at 2025 cap space will be in mid to late July after free agency is basically more or less wrapped up this offseason when the rosters are settled and we all go enjoy we all actually get to enjoy summer for exactly then I’ll come out with here’s what we’re already looking at pre there with Isaac I wrote him off because I was like I don’t I don’t think he’s ever going to play and it’s or play meaningful minutes so they’re going to wipe that away and go that’s changed now it’s they’re going to guarantee that contract bring him back there was a world midseason where I said maybe they wave him with the idea of let’s bring you back at 10 million for next year but we’re going to do a three-year $30 million contract at 10 million a year or something like that I think that’s even now too risky with some of the other teams that have cap space I think they just they’ll guarantee it and figure it out if nothing else if he gets hurt it’s a tradable 17.4 million contract that you could throw into a deal so where I’m at with their guaranteed money uh for uh which is for let let me make sure I get this right seven players they have about 66 million on the books then I have him keeping Isaac and Houston a couple people have questioned why Caleb Houston he was the first guy they went anytime someone was hurt right he got minutes anytime one of the wings or guards was out he was the first one who got got a starting spot or got got minutes when one of those guys was out Jamal Mosley likes him and he’s not bad giving giving up on a 21 year old is usually a that that’s at least shown he can play a little bit is usually a bad idea here’s the other thing too makes $2 million the minimum cap roster charge is 1.6 million it’s not enough to to Just Bounce a guy who who’s shown at least he can play a little bit so now you’ve got th those uh nine players right you’ve got the nine guys plus those two non- guaranteed plus the first round pick at 18 now that puts him at 89 million so if we just went with that on the books the magic would have about 49 A5 million based off of conversations I’ve had with folks just gut feel right now I don’t see them necessarily just renouncing and moving on from Marquel folz and saying completely out of the fold I think there’s a world where they say we want to keep his bird rights just in case we need another guard just in case we need to bring him back he’s not coming back on the contract he was on previous it probably have to be you know a little less than than what he made Midel yeah midlevel there yeah and that means you’re wiping away all the rest so you’re you’re declining the team option for Eng Les you’re declining the team option from a Vagner but what’s important to note is the team option ones you have to make those decisions before free agency starts the cap holds and the like so folz Gary Harris if they did move on from mingles and vogner’s team options they’re they cap holds as free agents you don’t have to do anything with those until you need to so the big thing is even when we say the Philadelphia 76ers or the Detroit Pistons because those are the two everybody repeats all the time have 60 plus million in cap space they don’t to start the off season they’re going to have to announce free agents they’re going to have to do stuff to get there you don’t have to do any of that until you get there so my estimate for the magic if you keep fols in the fold with this cap hold is about 25.2 million low right people keep saying I thought they had 40 plus million but you bounce FS out of there now you’re up to 49 A5 million let’s just say there was a world where they like you know we’re done with Jonathan Isaac too get rid of him and heck why not let’s say Caleb Houston’s gone as well now we’re at $ 66.6 million in cap space probably not a great number for certain uh areas of the internet to be on that that combination of three digits but it is what it is that it’s just math I promise it’s just math um but yeah that Anthony black is on the roster that is true right um but that is where you get to a place where it is a position where it is let’s just be very um you know understanding with the magic of they’re I will be shocked if they don’t use cap space this summer just because there’s so much of it so readily available with that last thing on not all of those calculations also involve either doing the process which the magic have done in the past is agreeing not to sign former first round pick Fran Vasquez again or finally for the love of God please just renounce his draft rights so I can get him off my cap sheet I don’t need him on there anymore he is now just in case anybody’s wondering he is actually fully retired from playing professional basketball but it doesn’t matter the cap hold still sits on the books till the magic do something with it so let’s just renounce his draft right I don’t think we have to worry about another team swooping in and signing your former first round pick anymore it’s it’s it’s probably time to do that um I think I think we’ll all celebrate you know when you when you when he when that finally happens please let me know so we can let the world know and celebrate appropriately um we’ll pop a bottle of Spanish wine somewhere and yeah yeah something something like to the I I don’t even remember what year he was drafted now two 2005 2005 the nearly 20 year run of uh of his draft rights on the books maybe maybe for sentimental purposes and round number purposes they should wait till next summer I mean I still I still I still I still wear the draft hat from that year it’s it’s my it’s my it’s my lucky hat so let’s take a quick break from our conversation tell you give you a quick word from our friends over at eBay Motors passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you’re into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with more than 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you will always find exactly what you’re looking for and with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors you’re burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it’s easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusion Supply eBay guarantee fit is only available to us customers today’s episode of lock down now that you’re you’re listening to today’s episode of lockdown magic I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore it’s Memorial day but if you’re like me you spend a lot of time working from home you’re looking for the best sports analysis and frankly you’re not going to find it on your TV I’m sorry you’re not going to find it from the national networks they just want to shout at you no one likes that you can take a little shouting here and there but you don’t want to be put on edge you want the best analysis from the people who know their team’s best and that’s what lock on sports day brings you it is a free 247 sports streaming Channel program for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the screaming with can’t miss analysis opinions and news from local experts who know their team best it’s now streaming on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day so so uh you know like so like you said like there are a lot of different match machinations and you know I like I’ve been telling people you know I’ve been telling people I’m kind of 5050 on keep keeping or letting Joe Eng Les walk because like he’s a super valuable veteran that’s an 11 million doll trade piece you can move around but very clearly kind of Eng Les is is on his is kind of on his way on his way out as Vol as good as he was for the locker room for this team the magic are kind of graduating from a place where they should be paying a Joe Engles 11 million a year to be a good locker room presence like that like that last summer that was a we need we’re spending money because we are required to spend money and it’s a it takes a premium to get veterans to play for a young unproven team and look Jo let me jump in there real quick if I can because this is a really important thing you said we’re spending money because we need to spend money under the new CBA the big thing everybody focuses on is second apron second apron second apron this we’ll get years what’s that we’ll get there in like five years yeah yeah yeah you kind of hope the magic are good enough that that becomes a concern right that means we’re title contenders here in Orlando I think second April up here that the idea was let’s push those teams down Warriors Clippers what the Nets were becoming what the Celtics Sixers are now like not Sixers suns are now like you want to push those teams down closer to in range with everybody else but on the other end got completely skipped over by a lot of people was the NBA basically said hey if you don’t spend to the salary floor by the end of the off seon there is no more going into the season with 4050 million in cap space just sitting on your books and then like what the Spurs and the Pacers were a couple years ago they were everybody’s third favorite third team into any uh trade machine trade because it was hey these guys like they’re not really gonna want that con oh just dump them on the Spurs they’ll take him and send them a pick and and we’re good and we’ll call it even now what happens is if you hit the end of the off season and you are under the floor an artificial cap hold gets put on your books that essentially wipes away that flexibility so there’s no more world where you can be 40 million under the cap because the NBA eats that up why did they do that if you go in 40 million under the cap that doesn’t introduce any new money into the system because what you’re doing if you trade for a player who makes $30 million that player already makes $30 million they want team spending so you want to take the very super expensive teams drive them down they were trying to drive up the less expensive teams here we’re be watching I put my hands very close they’re never going to be even like this that’s not going to be a thing but let’s put everybody a little bit closer want everyone in a window yeah exactly we want everybody within 10 20 million of each other on either side so that way we’re not having some teams sit out and don’t spend while other teams spend and also we don’t need these teams that are just we’re not going to spend we’re just going to Forever and Always collect that luxury tax check from the other teams that did spend and go so that’s that’s a really important note the magic have to use some of their cap flexibility this summer simply because they have to spend some of wherever they land out yeah there’s a world where you could do that just by pick up these options resign these guys and we’re already over the cap and we just move forward with almost the exact same team sure you could do that I don’t think that’s going to be how it goes but that that that is out there I will also say this too with like Eng Les and Vagner I very much believe there is a world that their their options get declined because they’re both let’s face it they’re a little overpaid on those contracts for what they are Vagner less so Eng Les definitely a little Engles wasn’t overpay because when you’re wanted when yeah when you’re a young team that hasn’t done anything you got to you got to pay a premium to convince veterans there’s a world where they don’t make the playoffs without his in oh absolutely you so I think though decline those they may both be back anyway on just on new contracts for a little less money and it may be contracts where it is hey so we had the room exception that’s now going to go to go to Mo Vagner which keeps him at about eight million and we can fill it that way after we use our cap space and hey Joe we we have five million left in cap space remember last year when you probably should have made five million and we gave you 11 hey we’ll give you five now can we kind of now we’re we’re evening it up on both ends yeah sure let’s go I’m happy here let’s move forward or Joe Engles may just be in the phase of his career where it is who’s the next young team I can jump to to help yo go I mean that could be where we’re at but he seems to like it here seems to be happy here in Orlando so I I would not rule It Out by any means if it is Magic declin those those team options because I think in those cases it is it’s it’s it’s just strategy it’s how you make the math work but those guys may be back anyway yeah and I’ll I’ll push back on on that this a little bit I I think it’s very very unlikely that they declined that that team opt that team option on Mo Vagner he was just so important to making that bench group function and had such a good season honestly I feel 8 million is a bargain for him and that that he could you know there’s I know there’s not a lot of cap room in this environment but obviously there’s a reason for him to still be in Orlando like I think he I think he really enjoys playing with his brother you know he owes a lot to the magic for kind of rescuing his career and kind of giving and giving him a role um and the magic you know though exactly what they’re getting from Mo Vagner like like I think I think he kind of take that for granted too that you know yes guys want to expand and grow their roles but the magic know what moer is going to give them in the minutes they give him off that off the bench and know that he’ll be good for a couple games where he finish where he finishes and he gives them a little bit of an edge that you know that these a lot of these guys are a bunch of nice guys which is great Mo vager gives you know mo vager and Joe Engles gave them a little bit of an edge that that that definely showed up and helped them bow knocks guys down and then looks at him and laughs at him like that he flexes to the bench like people people think he’s showing the other team up but that like that’s just that’s just Bogner and I’ll keep it clean for the show here every team needs an a-hole right like every team needs somebody like that he’s what what that is for the magic he’s an irritant like he he’s somebody who gets under people’s skin but that’s you need that if you’re going to be a good team I’ll push back to your push back okay and say this I think they declined his team option but only because they already something lined up to anyway I think he will be back I just think to maximize their flexibility this summer in their spending power he goes I think what probably the most likely path is they decline his team option he gets a very similar type deal around 8 million where it is either that comes out of leftover cap space or they just give him the room exception and say you get the room exception when all is said and done it is when anybody looks up his his uh salary history it’ll look like the magic picked up as option but I think in functionality it’ll be slightly slightly different just because I think they’re going to want to maximize that cap space to get there because that you you would you and they the challenge for the magic is it’s just that that decision has to be made before free agency opens now we’re all grown-ups here we can all be adults tampering happens the magic already have a somewhat of an idea of guys that they can get guys that are interested in the magic have already let the magic know they’re interested as long as you don’t work some complicated three- team deal that involves signing trades and everything else and then you leak it to the media week ahead of free agency opening we can all be grown-ups and know where these things are going like the D’Angelo Russell stuff came out the other day I don’t know how much I buy that I don’t know that he’s necessarily a magic player but fine I’m sure there’s already some sense of where the two sides are at if that’s the direction they want to go so that that is part of it with if you do see his option get declined that tells me they’ve got they they they have a plan they’re ready to go They’re not going to do it just because H we’ll see you know I me that’s probably not a thing so just you know everybody needs to be let’s just all be grown-ups on this yeah a lot of like they can’t maybe have direct conversations but there are back channels there are back rooms where they’re talking they’re not Tex in because the NBA can ask for your texts um you know like there’s reason there’s a reason hey you know dandel Russell really likes Disney he really wants to live near uh to live when Universal opens that new park he he’s really interested in being there to go to go how to train dragon know right yeah he just wants to be right down the road he loves Nintendo and wants to see Nintendo and just so you’re aware like it’s stuff like that is you know where where that that’s out there so yeah yeah yeah and and and like and I and I would I would agree with that like if if the magic all of a sudden declin all these team options and on I think June 29th is the date that that that to me is like the tide coming coming back and we know what’s what’s coming and and obviously the draft is going to happen before and before we kind of get to the next phase of what this summer well honestly what this summer is really about for the magic we’re going to we’re going to have the draft obviously beforehand and I I I would anticipate that it’s not you know obviously cap room is not just about free agents I know that’s a big thing that you remind everybody I try to remind everyone that too um it really feels like this you know there’s not a lot of money going around there’s not a lot of money to spend this summer there are a lot of teams that fell short of what they wanted to do you know Cleveland Phoenix Lakers Nuggets now uh Qui you know quippers didn’t Advance obviously the Pelicans the Kings there are a lot of teams I feel like are going to be looking to make some major major moves and trades um that I think there are two aspects to this that we have to we have to think about how how open to trades should the magic be as opposed to dealing with free dealing with free agency and maybe some of the uncertainty of free agency very I I think tra trades are the way th this summer I I think that’s going to be how this happens over on NBA front off show Trevor Lane and I have already branded Ed it summer of the trade because they’re one as you said there’s only a handful of teams that have cap space of those teams only a couple of them have true max cap space and there’s very few free agents worth spending anything near that on but it’ll come out my eventual top 50 free agents will be out on spot track uh relatively soon here probably of the top 10 of that 50 eight of them are not very likely to change teams like they’re just they’re free agents so we have to put them on the list but they’re probably staying right where they are we’re not like there’s a reason we’re not talking about James Harden and talk you know talking about Tyrese Max le Lebron like like Emanuel quickley has been kind of thrown in there a little bit i’ but I’m still very skeptical Tonto gonna match everything yeah yeah you’d have to you would Pas seak like those guys aren’t going anywhere yeah for quickly because I get asked about him a lot by Magic fans you’d probably have to go to a Max offer sheet to get to to Blink on that and that’s that that’s where gone a little too far right and that that will cause you issues down the line first off I know we want to get into in a minute here so for the magic I think trades are definitely going to be heavily involved here because I’ll just use Zack LaVine just as the example let’s say the magic let’s say they go 25 million in cap space well of the 40 plus million he’s going to make now you don’t really have to match all that much to get him you only have to get to like 10 12 million to match to get him because you’re going to use the rest through cap space to bring him in so that just makes the whole process that much easier because you’re not in a spot where it is all right I got to send this out that a couple people say but should the magic be in a spot where they’re open to trading draft picks sure don’t get crazy about it I don’t think you need to be hey you want four that Denver pick next year that top five Denver pick I’ve been trying to you know I’ve been trying to Hawk Out two years of my mock trades yeah move that out I’m even okay if they want to move out one of their own picks within the next couple of years because we’re in a point where those should probably be late teens early 20s picks that’s that’s where the team is headed so I don’t get silly we don’t need to do four picks and pick swaps on the intervening years yeah I mean I guess if you know I don’t I don’t even know who but the best one of the lnba guys becomes available all right then yeah that’s where you want to go sure I know I guess he don’t have a problem there um but I’d be very open to moving draft Capital because there is such a thing as being too young and one of the things that’s going to work against the magic slightly here is a lot of these guys all need paid at the same time and when I say same time that’s within a year or two of each other and if they all get paid what we think they might get paid all of a sudden you’re running into well wait a minute you don’t need to repeat that by being so precious with we have to keep every draft pick we have look at the Memphis Grizzlies they are kind of in a lot of ways I think set almost a little bit of a blueprint for the magic where it was build through the draft draft and develop your own supplement with occasional signings here and there the occasional trade here and there but we’re really going to build it up this way and then what happened with the Grizzlies was they landed in a place where now all of a sudden and this year’s different because the wheels came off and everything fell apart but a very good team but now you don’t have room for all those guys you’re drafting guys like zier Williams some of the other guys that they’re starting to cut bait on and move on from even if those guys are like they’re pretty good you just run out of roster spots it you just becomes a numbers game at that point so that’s where for the magic you you you’ve got your young Talent based let’s not be so precious about trading draft picks let’s be reasonable if there’s a trade that comes up then you got to move a couple draft picks in I’d be all over doing a trade like that yeah and and and the magic you know when we get to the trade discussions like the magic have to can’t be so married to their play to their players like the players you’re married to are Pao frons and and Jaylen Suggs probably those are probably your three guys that matter most everyone else you have to at least be willing to have a discussion about um yeah because you know like look my understanding of the way the magic operated at the trade deadline this year I know a lot of fans are like this is why the magic need to go get shooting why did they go get Alec Burks or go get this guy or that guy it’s just like everything I heard the mag up were just really afraid to break up the group midseason because the chemistry was just so good uh like even like I even told people like even a guy like marel Foltz who’s you know very clearly kind of on it you know not maybe not kind of more on his way out um doesn’t really fit what the magic need from the spot everyone on the team just loves the dude like everybody’s about that dude and everything he’s about and everything he represents they’re not going to let him go so go so easily and so you know the magic now are kind of at a point where like they got a you know we talked a little about Wendell Carter whether he’s the answer of Center they got to ask themselves that question you know you know Cole you know Cole Anthony and wend Carter are kind of the two big contracts they have to trade like they have to really think about okay can you know is this trade worth it to to move those guys and Cole Anthony’s a big culture guy too wendo Carter’s a big culture guy too honestly like I don’t I think Marquel and Wendell’s voices carry a lot of weight with that group um and so you have you know you do have to be a little bit careful there but the second one thing on that do you remember what Jeff Waltman said in his opening press conference when he was hired by the magic what so long ago now I think it was I think it might have been Josh Robbins who was still here think he might have been the one who asked how do you go about fixing the culture here do you remember his response to that uh besides saying he hates the word burn in my memory he hates the word culture and he said I’ve never seen a bad team with good culture or a good team with bad culture like it’s always he he was like it’s just a word people use and like then he went on to explain how yes we want to draft good people who are good players and and that’s now now I think the two things he’s most known for is this guy’s a great person who we think is going to be a great player and it’s a great time to be in or basketball IQ yeah yeah High B yeah and wingspan he doesn’t say it but we know he loves it oh no he he joked so I forget I think it was after his second draft he C he came in after oh yeah I remember he came in and he joked with all of us yeah long night long players like they they know the joke oh yeah he’s he’s he’s very aware of what what gets said but and then I I didn’t like I was mentioned there he loves the it’s a great time to be an Orlando Magic fan like he’s been saying that almost since day one coule yeah finally finally paid off right but I think the culture thing though even though he may say I hate that word there is truth to it you have to be very careful when a group does like each other they’ve grown together they’ve really built into something you have to be very careful as you unfortunately part of that is you do have to take some of that away because if you want to be better you got to remove some of it you just got to be careful how you go about doing that and that’s I I think they’re going to be be very cautious in the way they do that and they’re not going to bring in people who are yeah I gu kind of known for being a little bit of a selfish jerk but he can really score he can really shoot they’re not going to make moves like that I don’t think that’s going to be a thing I think they’re going to be very smart and strategic about the players they bring in and guess what the good news is you can find players who can score and shoot that aren’t kind of jerks and now if we were one player away here from being a championship contender in Orlando then you your tolerates for a guy who’s kind of an idiot that changes a little bit because it’s that that guy could push us over the top and you kind of go a little bit of a different direction right now we’re not quite there yet for sure for sure and and I think I think that’s a really good point you did mention that this is a summer of Trades and I think the other part that that plays into this I don’t think it necessarily should affect the magic and the way they operate and the things they want to do but I do think there’s a little bit of a keeping up with the Joneses because there are you know to say to say the goal next year is to get out of the first round or like the magic all said it at Exit reviews the goal is to get home court advantage there’s only four of those spots there’s only four spots to get out of home court advantage and let’s just assume Boston Philadelphia and Milwaukee are taking three of those spots um you know I know obviously Philadelphia had a b down year because the injuries to embiid they’re not going anywhere they’re GNA come back with vengeance Milwaukee was the SE was the three seed had jannis and TMO out you know they still got Daman will they got a lot of things to figure out but that’s still a very very good team Cleveland’s probably not going anywhere Indiana’s probably not going anywhere Miami’s going to bounce back with a vengeance it we we can all assume the Knicks aren’t going anywhere the Nicks aren’t going anywhere um this is like it it honestly feels like the eight teams for the playoffs are set for a little while um depending on what Cleveland does obviously but yeah do you have to keep up with the Joneses here do the magic have to you know I don’t think the magic want to do something just to do something they’re going to do something that addresses their needs and I think they understand there’s still a lot of internal growth to come but do the magic have to keep up with the Joneses to some extent yeah I think they do to to a reasonable then you cuz some of what they have going for them especially compared to some of the other teams that are like in their grouping the East other than maybe Indiana is they can Bank on a lot of internal Improvement still to come because they are so young but if you bank on that so much you’re G to run yourself into trouble if it doesn’t doesn’t happen and let’s face it nobody hits on 100% with draft picks and with Player Development some guys will will fall through some guys won’t work out so so you have to be very cautious of making that just everything you’re going to do so yeah so there’s a little bit of keeping up with the rest of the teams in the conference because you not only you trying to catch the ones in front of you you got to keep an eye on the teams behind you too like you mentioned because Philly’s probably gonna be better Miami we’ll see if they take the reg season any more serious you know with that but the Knicks are going to be a good team again Cleveland we’ll see but should be a good team again Indiana’s going to get better a couple of the teams that fell out like there’s a world where you could see maybe at Atlanta flips this the right way and they’re back in the mix uh Chicago at times has been okay maybe Toronto has a quick flip and they’re right back into it I think some of the teams further down like Detroit Washington uh Charlotte did they’re they’re far enough back you’re not overly worried uh Brooklyn’s another team that could flip things very very quickly too so you just GNA be very careful of just you don’t want to all right we did it we got there now let’s just let all the young guys improve young linear young Improvement is not linear it doesn’t work that way sometimes guys don’t get better sometimes injuries happen that impact that so so yeah you want to try to push through to go get players that can lift you build out your depth a little bit I don’t know that the magic are going to walk away from this offseason with everybody being like holy cow they made the Allin of Allin trades they’re not gonna win the summer yeah but think they will come away with all right they made moves that made a lot of sense and there are guys who really fit around this this group and they’ve got their Stars Paulo and fron are the guys they hope grow into being uh for Paulo’s case multi-time All-Star all-nba level guy fron All-Star level guy that’s where you hope and I I don’t know that it happens this summer because you have another busy summer but let’s figure out what happened to Fran’s jump shot like whatever went on there that’s like to me that is the single biggest mystery in the league other than there were moments this year where I thought he looked tired and he wasn’t getting the lift on his shot and his legs weren’t in it the way they were which is kind of understandably an extremely long summer I don’t know what happened some of it just be honestly some of it just became mental at a certain point like you can see him passing up shots and just hesitating that’s the thing that bothered me most honestly was when he started moving out of some of the shots that he should have taken because then it into it initially started with missed three-pointers then it was I’m going to skip the three-pointer dribble into an 18-footer that didn’t go in then it became all right now I’m going to try to get all the way into the paint and then that’s where I thought he got himself in even more trouble so that’s just let’s solve that mystery I don’t know who you know send him to the chip henglin School of shooting or whatever it needs to be or just show him old tape or whatever and remind him some maybe needs to sleep with a you’re a good shooter message playing in his ears every night I don’t know but get his jump shot figured out will do that here all night yeah yeah all the way to the Olympics right it’ll be be be letting them know but yeah I there’s the that’s where I think we’re not going to see that superstar Summer but I think you’re G to see a summer where it’s gonna we’re gonna walk away and say man it I didn’t make enough of moves X Y and Z that the magic made but boy I like that team now they’ve got good depth they made moves that made sense and that’s where there there’s a lot of guys like that that be available whether it be through trade there’s a couple kind of I think a little undervalued free agents now that people aren’t really talking about and the nice thing for the magic is you could even overpay a guy or two if you did it on like a two-year deal right you could kind of go in and say hey uh if they were really like Malik monk we gotta have him and everybody else is like hey we talked out at 20 million the magic could say hey we we’ll give you 25 that’s I’m going to tip into being a bad contract let’s go 25 is probably more more like the floor I’ve been like capped at 23 loon Kings guy thinks 23 is the number yeah 23 25 I mean that’s you know at that point year we’ll talk about why that’s not important in a minute yeah exactly so but if you said I don’t know even if it was the Klay Thompson long rubbered thing of you know what hey we really want him we’re GNA give him a a deal that’s functionally a one-year deal for 30 million all right not not going to bother me there’s almost no contract you could give out that’s bad if it’s one year because you’re you’re just in a place where s right that’s fine you’re just roll your cap over another year yeah exactly y so that’s where I think you know well we’re gonna see them make very smart moves with all this stuff I want to thank Keith once again for hopping on I told him when we recorded that we were gonna try and squeeze it into 30 minutes make it one episode he said sure we we’ve never talked before thought we’d have two we’re g to make it a three-part episode three-part episode here so we’ll be back tomorrow with Keith Smith we’re going to close the show out talking about the effects of the new NBA du TV deal and what that means for extension talks for fron Vagner and Jaylen sugs we’re going to get to that on tomorrow’s episode of lock on Magic as we close out our conversation with Keith Smith so I want to thank him for taking the time giving me three days of beautiful beautiful beautiful sweet content love that uh about about us um you can of course find him on Twitter at ke Smith NBA Twitter or X whatever it’s called Keith NBA and find all his great work at spot track that’s SP tac.com uh check out his great work there he’s slowly going to be getting to the magic offseason preview we’ll be sure to link that as well when he gets to it it’s going in playoff and order that put teams have been eliminated magic we’re the last team eliminated from the first round it’s you know we we’re we’re back in the line here but that’s going to do it for me today I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of Locked on Match course find me on Twitter orx Philip rror OMD subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcast that you’re tuned in himay Google Spotify Odyssey and all the fun bed on podcast to your podcast enabled listing device you can also check us out on YouTube search for lockon Magic for the latest on the Orlando Magic be sure to check out orlandomagic daily.com you can find us there on Twitter at o Magic daily and also be sure to check out my patreon page the Orlando magichub you can find that at patreon.com orlandomagic HUB I’ve wrapped up my season review on there my usual postseason review that I do on Orlando Magic daily I move that to the Orlando Magic hub I’ll be moving on to player evaluations here for the next week or so I’ll probably combine a few players but I will be doing uh well I’ll be doing my player evaluations on the patreon page so be sure to check that out at patreon.com orlandomagic HUB and as always thank you for your support like I said on tomorrow’s episode of lock on Magic we will dive into the new NBA TV deal what that means for extensions for France Vagner and Jaylen Suggs and how the magic handle that and handle free agency with the new cap climate that’s coming we’ll also probably also dive into um dive into uh some Recaps of the weekend that was in the NBA Playoffs want to stay current on what’s going on there we’ll delay draft Tuesday to Wednesday we’ll talk draft on Wednesday but that’s going to do it for me today I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of lockdown match be sure to check out the lockdown sports today 247 streaming Channel on YouTube as well as on Amazon Fire TV get all the great analysis from local experts on all the big stories in Sports not just basketball in sports from people who know their teams best check it out today that’s locked on sports today on YouTube TV YouTube as well as on Amazon Fire TV that’s going to do it for me today though I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of lockdown magic for Orlando Magic daily and lockdown magic this has been Philip Rossman Reich we’ll see you again next time for another episode of lock on Magic for
The Orlando Magic face a lot of key decisions as they aim to improve their roster this offseason. The biggest one is to ask what to do with all of their cap room. And then how do they add to their roster and stay up with an improving Eastern Conference. In part 2 of our conversation with Keith Smith of Spotrac, we dive into what options the Magic have ahead of them and how they should manage their roster this offseason.
Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOMagic?sid=YouTube
Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA
#OrlandoMagic #PaoloBanchero #nba
Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
eBay Motors
From brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.
PrizePicks
Go to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnba and use code lockedonnba for a first deposit match up to $100!
Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.
FanDuel
FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARANTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.
FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
