Orlando Magic Podcast – Ep. 198 – “Future“

Orlando Magic Podcast – Ep. 198 – “Future“

live from Orlando Florida you’re listening to the Orlando Magic HQ podcast the voice of magic fans join us every week for a unique fan perspective on all of the latest Magic news and updates the show starts now what’s up magic fans welcome back to another episode of the Orlando Magic HQ podcast brought to you by the believe podcast Network in B on online where your host Al myself Anthony today is Friday May 31st and uh currently we’re recording this Thursday night and right now the Dallas Mavericks they are stomping on the Minnesota timber wolves it looks like Dallas is going to make it into the NBA finals against the Boston Celtics and when I look at the uh the Celtics making it into the finals man it’s it’s a team that you know we have shown that we’ve been able to beat during the season obviously you know the playoffs is a little bit of a different animal but uh you take a look at the Celtics you take a look at you know the Indiana Pacers the the Knicks that they’ve they’ve struggled with injuries um man the the east in my opinion from a future perspective is is looking it’s looking a little wide open man um obviously you have teams like Milwaukee that you know they struggled with um with Giannis being hurt and you know obviously they added Damen Lillard so that that was still a little bit of a different Dynamic Doc Rivers joining them you know midseason so they’re they’re still looking to get acclimated together and then you know uh Philadelphia with Joel embiid struggling with his injuries and you know there’s talks about you know them wanting to add Jimmy Butler and whole lot of things man so you still you know the East is still very very competitive but I like where we’re at in terms of a a progression and and looking into the future so there there’s a lot to be excited for uh you know in the in the very near future for the Orlando Magic and you know in today’s episode uh you know we’ve been we’ve been gone for a couple weeks uh we Allan and I we we took a well- needed uh break for the off season not a whole lot of uh Magic news happening but we we do have some topics to to cover today you know from Jaylen Suggs uh getting a an all defense n to uh some of the rumors that that we’ve have heard are hearing and then and um man how cool would it be for us to kind of play uh imaginary general manager and discuss some of our our mock trades that that we have seen online but before we get into all that good stuff a quick word from our sponsors bet online b line is your number one source for the NBA and NHL playoffs this season every stat every matchup and even live ons while the games are being played when the game’s over head on over to our online casino and get in on game of blackjack or poker and unwind with one of our over 150 slot games head to the website today to get in on the action don’t forget to use promo code believe for your 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit bet online the game starts here so before we get into the topics that we discussed out uh what’s up man how how’s your offseason been so far um and what are your thoughts so far on some of the things that we have been hearing uh in Magic World yeah man so to start it off as you mentioned much needed two weeks off got to disconnect a little bit head to the beach uh Memorial Day weekend see some family um so much needed sun and time away so uh I S grinding it back here and getting ready for the offseason right we’re about to hit June this is when things get interesting you got the draft around the corner you got free agency at the end of the month so we are right there this is a crucial month leading up to you know like what should be a very interesting offseason for the Orlando Magic so um much need break but I’m excited to see what happens over the next 30 days uh 30 to 45 days um a lot could change uh with the Magic roster what we’re headed for next season so a lot to look forward to um and then based on what you’re talking about the offseason 2 like all these rumors that we’re hearing some new players that we haven’t heard about before or we haven’t discussed in previous episodes we’ll talk about them today but it’s exciting to see the magic you know be linked to not only Superstars like Klay Thompson and Paul George Malik Monk but then you got new names now like D’Angelo Russell Malik Beasley tyus Jones you know we’ll see what happens we’ll talk about it throughout the episode but it’s exciting to see the magic be mentioned with all these players it’s been years since we’ve been players in free agency and that’s about to change here in about 30 days yeah man that that’s that’s really been my my biggest thing in off season you know obviously losing out to Cleveland uh was a little disappointing but man you you think back of the strides that the magic have made and and how you know Cleveland they they they pretty much got destroyed by uh the the Boston Celtics and and you take a look at you know their coaching situation where you know Donovan Mitchell they’re they’re trying to move Heaven and Earth to make sure that you know they’re able to convince him to stay um and it’s a reminder man that the magic are in a really good situation they’re in a good situation with their Player Development they’re in a good situation in terms of you know draft capital and and you know the assets that we have from from a youth perspective and and even the growth that we’ve seen with with Coach Mo you’re you’re talking about you know your your head coach came in second place for for Coach of the Year you have Jaylen Suggs who um you know second Team all defense you have Jonathan Isaac who finally had a healthy season and if he was able to play all season long with maybe a few extra more minutes man he he’s another person that we would have had get all defensive honors because he Jonathan Isaac is is just that dude defensively um so really really a lot to look forward to uh you even take a look at you know the Minnesota Timberwolves who uh for the most part have been kind of a laughing stock team for for a little while like what what are you doing with you know Carl Anthony towns and Rudy goar and Anthony Edwards was was definitely an allar On The Rise but we were still waiting for that moment and and they they did it this year man like they they really were able to get it together and obviously it’s I’m sure it’s a little disappointing for them that they’re not going to make it into the finals because they’re they’re really getting destroyed by Dallas um but man huge growth for them and if there’s one thing that I absolutely love to see is seeing these small Market teams uh get some of the shine because you know that’s that’s a that’s a a a recipe that you know can be mimicked in in essence where you know the magic small Market team like we we can still make things happen like you don’t we’re no longer in the era where you know super teams have to exist right you you’re able to develop from within Carl Anthony towns uh Anthony Edwards you you can you can really win basketball games and and you can make a competitive team through the draft unless you’re a team like the Detroit Pistons other than that um you know the the the recipe for winning is is there and uh we’re we’re just we’re just on the cusp of it um so that let’s let’s jump right into it so first and foremost let’s let’s get into the news wend Carter to undergo surgery on fractured left hand which obviously man it’s it’s you don’t want to see any of your players get uh go through a surgery because there’s always a a risk of them losing a lot of time from my understanding he should be good at go by the start of training camp but you know this is some some of the things I really struggled with uh with Jaylen Suggs for instance and you know there was a stretch where he didn’t have a full healthy off seon um until last season right and that that in my opinion really hindered his development when no Carter who struggled with his injury this season it took him a good little while to kind of get the wheels rolling again so the fact that you know this off season is going to be another one of those trying to get healthy trying to get back you know it it’s it’s not something that I’m looking forward to um glad that he’s taking the procedures that he needs to so that can get back to 100% but when Wendell was playing really good basketball man our team looked completely different and and you know this was a rocky season for him um but really hoping that you know we we can get him back at at full strength uh coming towards a training camp so how unfortunate is it for this surgery and what what are your thoughts on W going through yeah well I mean for the magic to deci side to do that it must mean that something wasn’t healed properly something came loose so I’m glad they’re taking the action of of getting it corrected as soon as possible hopefully to your point he’ll be able to be playing basketball again you know sometime maybe July August and he gets back into his regular offseason training to your point man when he was on it he was on it and one big thing that I will give him credit for is the fact that he was able to shoot the ball way better this season from three-point range so if that continues to improve that’s a huge asset to us um but defense at least where he needs to get better at you know rebounding the ball being that big man that he is um but I hope it turns out okay I think it’s something serious so we should see him have a healthy offseason otherwise once his heals um but we need Wendell to be around and be healthy next year now I will say there’s some rumors out there too which we’re hearing about the magic potentially looking to upgrade you know the big man position so does that mean that Wendell is a guy that we potentially may look to trade um who knows I don’t think we’re quite there just yet but at the same time something to think about yeah I mean go has uh it was reported that he obviously wants to come back and that that’s that’s pretty it’s the awesome thing about our team right when you when you talk about our team everybody wants to come back there there’s not there hasn’t been one exit interview where somebody seemed to I think the most disappoined person that um at least came across that way was maybe jet Howard that you know wish he could have did more um you know but this is still a uh a you know last season was a red shirt season for him so I still really like and and and back with the decision- making that they did with J Howard where they they put him in the G league for him to get developed and I’m I’m really interested to see what he’s able to do um this upcoming season but um man it’s it’s Marquel folz is another player where he you know he’s he’s came out verly and said you know he wants to be a part of what the magic are getting into in the future like he wants to be a part of what we’re building will do we feel the same way back is really going to be the question right um and that’s that’s that’s the fasc anything about this off season that the magic have an opportunity to really address a lot of our needs the playoffs allowed for us to be able to truly see you know those weaknesses right even though obviously we’ve seen all season long but even more so when they’re highlighted in the capacity that they were during during the playoffs so the magic have a lot of different routes where they can kind of take this off season um a huge indicator is going to be during the draft do the magic decide to keep the draft and the way that you and I have always discusted was all right well jet Howard last season was his red shirt season in my eyes this year coming up is going to be J Howard’s rookie Seasons the way that I’m viewing it right um so it would be a little weird or not necessarily weird but you know how much space and room for development are we going to have for this draft and and part of the part that is a little unfortunate is the fact that this draft is being viewed as as a really weak draft so good and bad good in the sense of you know we don’t have a lottery pick this year so we’re really not missing out um but bad in the sense where you know maybe teams across the league they’re not really viewing you know our our pick our first round pick this year with with a ton of value yeah I agree with you I I would honestly be surprised if the magic actually end up using the pick um that’s where maybe they Trade It days before or the day of the draft you know remember there’s a two-day draft now the first round and then the second round will be on Thursday um so who knows how active they will be you know that afternoon before the draft or again during the draft itself but again I don’t see how they add another Young Piece of this team that is so young already um unless they fall in love with a particular guy and that guy happens to fall to their lap by 18 maybe in that situation that may be the case but I don’t see it happening to be honest with you yeah I mean bring bring me a Zach Ed and throw him into the g-league or playing whatever I I would love a big body at at the center presid but that’s that’s just me uh Jaylen Suggs he second Team all defensive team honors which is huge um and a little stupid at the same time if I’m being 100% honest with you you got uh the first year where they decided to to do positionist um you know selections which inight right cuz when the news first came out I thought man they should have been done this a long time ago why are we forcing you know certain people ahead of other people because of position right so the fact that they made it position list was was awesome until we we had a horse in the race and and actually got some of the honors and then they kind of flipped in just put a bunch of big men uh to win first team all defense and then kind of you know sidekicked all the the guards to the second team but um you know really huge honors for Jaylen Suggs um obviously I we all felt he definitely deserve all defensive honors um but you never really know when it comes to the magic like you really never know if we’re if we’re really uh going to get recognized because there’s been time after time where we felt certain individuals certain players should have been recognized for certain aspects and and they don’t even get nominated they don’t even come close right uh so the fact that you know he he’s able to represent the magic from a defensive level when you talk about you know the the magic being you know a top team in the NBA from a defensive standpoint and and obviously coach Mo’s having a huge offensive uh you know process and and chemistry and and culture that he’s built and jayen the sugs has been the leader of that um has been awesome so really huge congrats to Jaylen Suggs welld deserved um and now once you get those honors That’s it man you you you thought you had a reputation before now there’s an even bigger reputation cuz we’re expecting that same intensity nonstop uh because you’re you’re all team defense and and even if you look if you look at the names that you know one or that were on um second team on defense you have Alex Caruso Jaylen Suggs Derek white jayen McDaniels and Drew holidays and Drew holiday and from you know a voting perspective you know he came he came second he came right behind Alex kuso so uh Jaylen Suggs with well-deserved honors but definitely pass with those honors um you know pretty heavily against you know the the rest of the people in that group yeah it’s just funny to your point how you have all the big guys you know in the first team and then you have guys like Drew holiday you know who’s known to be one of the best defenders in the NBA come out in the second team you know it’s kind of surprising to me uh but to your point jayen sus man well deserved I am not concerned one bit about this guy thinking you know like oh my God you know it’s too much pressure on me now to be a defensive player of the year candidate or or a first or second team defensive player the uh Team once again I expect him to be there once again year after year after year year what we saw from him last year is only building confidence in my mind this guy has a confidence at an alltime high heading into the off season he’s only going to get better so this is the first of many to come for Jaylen sucks but to your to your point welld deserved this guy hustled this guy showed it every single night played so hard man every single possession a possession of the Season nothing better that that I can say about jayen sucks his past season again well well deserved yeah now now as we transition to the rumor Mill this rumor mill is stacked when I mean stacked I mean it’s it’s if if if we were to have popcorn bag of rumors like we are overflooded with the amount of rumors and and popcorn I don’t know that was probably a stupid analogy but it made sense in my mind um there’s so much like every and this is the awesome part right the magic now making into the playoffs uh young team great Direction now we’re being mentioned with everybody right there there’s talks about the magic wanting to upgrade Center position there’s talks about the magic uh looking to upgrade you know their their guard position like there’s there’s there’s so many different ways and we we’ve already talked about it there’s so many different ways that the magic could go um there’s so many of these rumors that I I there’s it’s impossible for us to really pinpoint and hit each one of these and give our thoughts on each one of these so what I think that we should do out is I’m going to read all of them and then I want you to tell me which one you hope plays out or which one in you the most right all right’s do it um magic continued to be linked to Malik monk that’s one that we’ve been hearing for a little while right magic are considered plus 300 uh favorites to land Brandon Ingram this is from bvat Sports magic Have Eyes on D’Angelo Russell in free agency from the athletic the ra the Rockets magic Warriors all suitors for Malik Beasley New York Times keep an eye on the Sixers Spurs and Magic as potential shooters for kcp uh Ty Jones have also been linked to the magic this is a name that we keep hearing consistently uh Klay Thompson wants to win don’t expect him to chase the largest possible offer from the Detroit Pistons or Charlotte Hornets even if that’s correct financial leverage move but there are plenty of cap space teams with a clear upward path to contention than the Warriors that includes the Oklahoma City Thunder Philadelphia 76ers and you guessed it the Orlando Magic New York Times Anon Anthony Simons has been brought up in a lot of different podcasts as a perfect fit for the Orlando Magic uh are we considered one of those podcasts to talk about anony Simonson yeah maybe not we could be we should be we we should talk about it more uh Mel Bridges expected to be available this summer as a Nets embark on a rebuild should the magic consider him he’s he’s been a name that I’ve seen in mock trades um and then just today we saw a awesome awesome double post double stories right of Jaylen Suggs and Trey young I don’t know if they were working out together but they were in the same vicinity in the gym and they were dapping each other up and then they put nice little Emojis with like a star being shot in handshake so that that that has to mean something right but uh Trey young posted it jayen sugs reposted it so there’s there’s a connection there now we’re reading too much into it because there’s nothing going on um but still something to keep an eye on right so a long list which one do you like the most Miss like half of them can you read it once again I’m just messing with you so there is a lot of names in that list right like we talked about early in the episode that’s the beauty of it it’s the fact that again it’s been years since free agency meant anything to us free agency meant getting joe Eng Les free agency meant alfha ruk aminu free agency meant you know um Jonathan Simmons a few years back that was the extent of our free agency other than bringing back our own guys teren STW nicoa vuvi AG so for the first time in a long long time and unfortunately last time this happened we made a mess out of it it was 2016 when we brought in you know uh Evan Fon on a big contract and then we gave money to um who was it the time that we we paid like crazy uh well Ibaka was on the team right so that was a bad move there so that the last time that I can remember the magic having money to spend and like freely go out there and spend money but this year is different we have unique needs we have a young team we’re building we know exactly what those weaknesses are one thing I will say is surprising to you to see so many guards in this list they’re all pretty much guards the only forward really is Michael Bridges but outside of him it’s all guards is that surprising to you or do you think that it’s a clear message of what the magic want to do this off season and who they want to acquire um I I think I think it’s an area where we’re not solidified in right you you have Jaylen Suggs who you know played point guard in Gonzaga um came to the NBA and you know we we played him he’s more of a two guard right um because we really we Marquel wasn’t playing the level that we needed him to be Cole Anthony was Better Off the Bench um you know Gary Harris is a veteran that you wanted his veteran presence and his ability to stretch a floor uh you know to to be a part of that starting unit so you move Jaylen Suggs at the point guard position then you you bring in Gary Harris but you know Jaylen Suggs he’s most effective at the two guard position did he do a good job handling the point yeah man he he did uh let’s not let’s not kid ourselves he did a really good job could it be better 100% right um so this is where the flexibility comes in you know can you bring in a a two guard to to play with you know jayen Suggs it’s the rumors that we heard about you know Paul George Paul George comes around you can put Paul George at at at the two jayen sugs you keep running him at at the point and then oh by the way just in case anything changes in the future you still have Anthony black cooking in the back right so we’re still waiting to see what what he can bring in his development right um or if the magic decide to go a different route and let’s say Trey young right Trey young you put him him at the point guard position they you have Jaylen sugs at the two you know part of the issue that people don’t like about Trey young could be contract it could be size it could be the fact that he’s a con on defense there’s so many different aspects that people don’t like Trey young me personally I love Trey young I would love to bring his offensive ability to the Orlando Magic it’d be great do I think it’s going to happen probably not but I would love to see it um I know a lot of people would disagree but magic struggle with shooting this is someone that would open up the floor drastically for fron and and Paulo to be able to to work now what makes the magic so unique is the fact that you can get by with Jaylen Suggs at the point guard because you have Paulo and frond that can lead the offense and and can handle a lot of the dribbling responsibility so you know it’s it’s it’s it’s the guard position is is getting the most Focus um but you know it’s the magic could also do absolutely nothing like there’s a there’s a real possibility that we won’t do nothing and that that is that is fact and from the exit interviews that we heard from Jeff welman to other his what history has told us are you willing to accept if the magic don’t do anything and we run it back would you be would you be upset and before you answer that right you think about how the magic have improved improv from last year to this year by only adding Joe Les crazy I I me personally would I be disappointed yeah I might be disappointed but this team leveled up players developed jayen Suggs turned into a monster out of nowhere like there’s there’s room for internal growth um so again my question to you is would you be disappointed I would be just because we’ve known for years the weaknesses of our team right that is shooting that is offense so it’s time to to improve on that a little bit doesn’t have to be drastic right I still think that a guy like Malik monk I think like a guy like even Malik Bisley just a veteran that can shoot the ball that can be reliable that’s kind of what we need um taus Jones a point guard that can bring the ball up create the offense but also hit that open three something as little as that in my opinion would go a long way for this team to your point they are close they don’t need to change much no matter what I don’t expect any major trades in this offseason I don’t expect any major Acquisitions so you hear about you know Paul George you hear about Clay Thompson honestly we would love to wake up or or start free agency on sat that Sunday night June 30th and the first tweet be W saying Paul George has agreed to a contract with the Orlando Magic trust me we’re going to go live we’re going to throw party we’re going to have shots on this podcast live as we’re recording it however more than likely that won’t happen so I still think that the magic are going to play it safe they’re going to add some pieces around that are going to complement the locker room that are going to complement France Paulo jayen sugs and the rest of the guys they’re building around so with that being said yes I would be disappointed if they just say hey you know what let’s bring everyone everyone back and by that I mean marel folz is back uh Joe Engles is back everyone like at some point you got to show to Paulo and France like hey man we know what we need to improve on here’s a little help we’re not quite there yet we’re GNA spend money eventually or make some big traits eventually but for now let’s try this at least at least that I want to see some effort from the offseason to fix a weakness that we’ve had for over 10 years which is shooting the ball that’s got to change yeah I think for me my expectation is you know at the very least like let’s let’s bolster up our death like we we have a a strong basketball team we we really do and my issue is that the second unit played a very very good had a very good season for a majority of the season but there’s times where they just went missing for the playoffs it felt like they just went missing and that was a big part of our strength it’s part of the reason why we relied on our second unit so much um I I would love I would love for us to be able to add shooting and rebounding um defensive uh Rim protection would be huge it would be Mass him it would be awesome just because we we put so much stress on Paulo and France on the offensive end that I’ll be honest with you man there there’s times I’m watching Paulo and he like dude you just let that dude like do effortlessly you just watching him and there’s there’s a lot of that and I have to remind myself that you know Paulo is a beast offensively and a lot of his his force and a lot of his you know uh you know energy that he exhausts is on the offensive end I don’t blame him for letting the ball like just drive pass by especially if you have Jonathan IR taking the back like like waiting you know that’s that’s his job that’s his Focus that’s that’s what he Prides himself in um I would love more of that you know Jonathan I man I’m I’m really hoping that this season we’re we’re able to see him just a little bit more um but also you you run the risk of you know playing him more him getting more injured right it’s this stuff that that we don’t want to see so um the ma the magic can go in so many different ways um out of out of all the different rumors that we talked about um I I I really I really hope that we do like I wouldn’t be mad at and I know people are going to disagree but I wouldn’t be mad at bringing a player like D’Angelo Russell like someone that uh you know wouldn’t wouldn’t break the bank uh can bring you a lot of offense as a bigger guard um PE people complain a lot about you know is he a locker room issue like maybe yes maybe no like we can’t we can’t judge him from a lot like I haven’t heard anything from a locker room perspective recently like in the last three four years like you know maybe his rookie year he had the issue with um you know Swaggy P and the phone thing but that that’s that’s about it man he’s he’s a rookie he was 19 years old like what do you expect him to do right um and I feel like some of that just kind of you know kind of followed him along and and created this bad reputation but when when he was playing for Brooklyn and he uh helped that team make it all the way to the playoffs like you know this was a this was a player back then that I wanted him to run the offense for us uh with Evan and and Aaron Gordon and V you know so uh he’s somebody that I’m keeping an eye on wouldn’t mind seeing him um because in my opinion it’s really going to come down to how the magic value Anthony black like if the magic value Anthony black as an individual who they believe will be able to get his shot going in the future right and they believe that Anthony black is the future point guard of this team then you don’t want to invest you know a crazy contract to a a Trey young because you you fully believe in Anthony Black’s ability to uh you know be a two-way player for you and and you can’t deny Anthony Black’s size like how amazing with this big basketball team be of 6’1 at your small forward position your power forward power forward position your five position uh you got your shooting guard that that’s it’s a 6’4 dog that plays like he’s 6’9 and then you have a 6′ s point guard you you would be a fearful basketball team to play against and I would love for that to happen um so I I I don’t I wouldn’t want to give up on Anthony black and we’re going to go over some of the um monk trades that we’ve seen online Anthony black is is name is heavily in those mock trades I’m not sure if I’m ready to give up on Anthony black especially if we haven’t really seen him but at the same time he’s your bargaining chip like it’s for a team like Atlanta that they have the number one pick and they they may want to uh blow everything up you know is if Trey young is the guy that you like you you can entice with with Trey with uh with anony black if you know um Murray is the other player that you like then you have you know opportunities there too so um I’m I’m curious to see man they again we can go so many different ways the question is which route is the best route to make sure you don’t f up what you currently have cuz what you have right now is special so that’s why I think if I was wearing the GM hat what I would do is I would probably I like your D’Angelo suggestion but to your point if you like Anthony black if it’s your future point guard you really kind of go in that direction which makes sense really good Defender great size he show that he can shoot the ball by the way like he wasn’t like he struggled to shoot the ball at all this this year so he’s only going to get better with an offseason to work on that shot that’s where I think you throw $25 million on Malik mon can say hey man be that special six men that you were in Sacramento be that here for us meaning you’re going to play 30 minutes a night even though you’re coming off the bench you’re going to shoot plenty and you’re going to playmake plenty that’s you did at Sacramento we want you to do the same thing here in Orlando to help our young guys kind of continue to develop I like that because he fits a timeline he’s again he still a young player in this league but he’s got experience he’s a proven scorer again he should have won six men of the year so how many times can you say I’m GNA go in free agency and and get the Sixth Man of the Year into my team so that’s a guy that I really really like I think he can add a lot to our team um and then you allow you know Anthony black that opportunity to run the point if that’s the way you want to go um another big name for me not I don’t think the Nets would do this Michel Bridges this would require the magic to shift himself a little bit this would require them to play you know jayen Su at the point France probably be the two and then Mel Bridges will be the three so I know we’ve heard plenty on social media okay we don’t want to see France of the two that’s impossible never it’s never going to work but at the end of the day we’ve heard many many times positioning back basketball that’s what the magic want to play forget about positions throw guys that can play and play the right way this is a guy that is a 3 andd solidified player in this league with a ton of experience with a decent contract too I wouldn’t be opposed to that but again it would require us making a trade to make that happen and if we are making a trade and trading assets for a player he’s a big one in my list one of the top guys but probably not as high as a guy like Trey young or Murray from the Hawks or a guy like s uh afy Simmons from the from the Blazers I think that those guys in my opinion whether it’s again Murray or a Trey young or Simmons in my mind are going to be top of list for me so again that is only considering the fact that hey Anthony black is not that guy we want a point guard upgrade you go in that direction otherwise Malik punk I’m happy with or simply a guy that can score the ball but again does not disrupt the locker room disrupt what we’ve built so far which again it hasn’t been easy to get to this point how do we add to it that’s the idea yeah and that’s that’s my thoughts um behind you know adding somebody like D’Angelo Russell whether it’s D’Angelo Russell tyus Jones is is being able to have a placeholder until Anthony black is is ready so I’m not I’m not saying give D’Angelo Russell a you know fouryear you know $120 million contract give him something reasonable two year maybe a a player option um and give him the reings right now until Anthony black earns it right get to a point where you know he earns that starting spot over D’Angelo Russell very similar to kind of Jaylen Suggs Jaylen Suggs was you know a player that we brought out of the bench last year and he put a was in a starting role and he took over the point guard roll away from you know Marquel folz he he went out there he earned it right so um I I think that that’s that’s an Avenue that that the magic could take now let’s let’s look into these mock trades these mock trades I didn’t make them up they came from Bleacher Report um I’m almost embarrassed reading the first one because I’m reading it right now I’m just like dude what are you thinking um and then we we we’ll just kind of go through them give me your thoughts and uh if if you would pull the trigger or if you were pass um this first one and this one is titled Orlando gets offensive uh the magic trade for Darius Garland for again I I I’m just reading this is not I didn’t make this Darius Garland for Jaylen Suggs in a 2025 first round pick easy one for me pass yeah man I how do you jayen Suggs is that that’s the beautiful part about this season like you you talked about the different storylines that that the magic kind of you know created this year and and one of them is you can put Jaylen Suggs in the same category as fron Vagner and Pao B Caroll I think that when you look at it that’s your that’s your core right you can really mix up a lot of what the magic have in their roster but if there’s one thing you do not touch so you do not touch jayen Suggs fron Vagner and Paulo B Carol Point Blank I I can’t I don’t even know like what I don’t I don’t even know why they brought it why why are we including his name did you guys not watch this like this seon you did you not see what he’s done for us I think the idea I was going to say I think the idea there is get offense cuz they know the magic are have struggled offensively for years they’re trying to get more off more offensive but this is not the way you do it right you got cap space you got picks you got different ways to get it done this is not going to be the way jayen Su is going to get paid this offseason and we’re going to add offensive weapons around him not trading him in order to get somebody you know that can bring offense so again on paper if have told me this trade 6 months ago eight months ago you consider it you probably say yes to it but again what we’ve saw from jayen sugs this season he shot the ball so well defensively minded point guard size loved by the city love for the front office love in the locker room why would you disrupt that it makes no sense so again I get the mindset of what they’re thinking in this trade but realistically makes zero sense yeah the obviously the magic we we need we need off offense and this is uh an area a guard position where uh you know we we could use an upgrade um however our identity has it is is is on the defensive end you take out Jaylen Suggs there goes a huge part of your identity and that’s not going to happen all right uh this next one Trey young to the Orlando Magic so Bleacher Report has Trey Young Atlanta Hawks training Trey young to the magic for Cole Anthony Anthony new black J Howard a 2025 first round pick via Denver a 2027 first round pick and a 2029 first round pick swap it’s a tough one man because I love Trey young and one thing to keep in mind as as we keep hearing him linked to the magic our front office loves Trey young like they they wanted to draft him back in the 2018 draft like the fact that moamba felt to us that was not really planned there were rumors that Dallas was going to take uh Mo Bamba at 5 and Trey young would simply fall to us that never happened but the rumors were we were ready that was the expectation Trey young wanted to be in Orlando so fast forward to today if this trade proposal was sent to the magic and say hey this is what it would take I may even add another pick to this to get it done and swe to deal even more to them I think this solves a lot of issues now the one name that I’m like oh my God it’s going to hurt to let go of just for emotional reasons not even because of the Court performance it’s call Anthony right this guy has been through it all with us from the struggling days to now seeing the team make the playoffs he’s been so passionate about the city of Orlando he resigned on a really friendly Team friendly contract it would suck to see him go on a trade but unfortunately with any name out there this this offseason whether it’s Marquel fultz whether it’s Mo Vagner who knows they’re there has to be some tough decisions made and that may be one of them so it would suck to see call Anthony go even Anthony black cuz he’s had he has a lot of potential but you can only get a All-Star player like Trey young at his age at his contract once and this may be the only time you do it so if that’s the the trade that’s proposed to us again I would even add another pick to it just to get it done because again Trey young would drastically change his team from a three-point shooting standpoint and again improve us I think in a major major way next season yeah I mean look you you look at you know Cole Anthony definitely makes sense heading out um majority for me is I’m I’ve never been a fan of smaller guards um Cole Anthony was already you know small guard if you were to keep Cole Anthony and and Trey young like that that just wouldn’t it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense um but man Trey young 25 years old three-time NBA Allstar hopefully I got that information right um but th this is somebody that again man he he can be you know 10t away from the three-point line and he’s a threat like you you H he stretches the floor out that much more um because of his name and and what he’s able to do and I think in my opinion that you know Trey young with Paulo with France with jayen you know I think I think that’s Hollywood status man it’s it’s everything that the magic would want I think that would scare people across the league the magic getting a player like Trey young so um I I wouldn’t the the part that would hurt the most for me is Anthony black that that would part that would be the part that that hurts the most because um you know again his his size what he’s able to do defensively like I I think that you know you can kind of play with it right if if you found a way to be able to keep Anthony black and you know Sub in you know whoever um you know if you can play with the matchup a bit if if he’s able to carve out a role for himself where he’s playing consistent minutes you know night in and night out um and then it’s it’s just from from you know a matchup perspective you know how crazy would it be if you’re able to swap out you know 6′ one 6’2 Trey young for you know 6′ 7 Anthony black defensively like it it gives you that flexibility so that would be the part that hurts the most for me I’m dying for to get rid of that that 2025 first round pick via Denver just so that we’re were able to utilize it to to be able to help bolster this team up um so I I I as much as it would hurt seeing Anthony black go I would definitely pull the trigger all right last one so this one is uh Orlando Magic trading for Michael Porter Jr the trade is Cole Anthony Mo Vagner Joe Engles goodbye and the number 18 pick to the Denver Nuggets for Michael Porter Jr this one’s a weird one I don’t I have no idea why Denver would do this why would Denver do this so I think the thinking there is um I think they are close to the luxury tax they have to get rid of some salary in order to keep that team together and I don’t know why they would choose him over any other guys they have on the team so um I don’t see this one as a realistic trade so I’m just going to say no because I don’t see it happening um and I also don’t see the fit because he’s not known to be a Defender yes he’s a good offensive player but there’s also a lot of injury concerns with the back issues that he’s been dealing with throughout his career so injury concerns not a defensive minded player which again the magic do like and not for nothing but also not a great offensive weapon per se he’s got some some good Seasons as an offensive player but I don’t think he is that guy that you want to say hey like I think he’s gonna make a difference to make you go into the second round next season because you have him on your team I would prefer to go again after Trey young the jonty Murray all the guys out there that have been probably proven a little more um so yeah this is an easy one for me I just don’t see it happening yeah Michael Porter uh signed a 5year 179 million doll contract uh I think we’re good yeah we’re good yeah no all good ke Michael Porter uh we’re we’re going to keep doing these uh mock drafts until you know these mock drafts kind of stop because they they keep they keep incorporating the Orlando Magic in in all these crazy deals so hopefully they they get a lot better um man a lot of key dates coming up for the Magic in the off season you got June 6 NBA Finals 2024 as soon as this is over we start looking into the next season June 26 NBA draft the first round remember this year they are doing first round and second round on different nights June 27 will be the second round of the NBA draft June 30th will be free agency starts at 600 pm I’ll be honest with you I missed the days when free agency started at midnight yep just refreshing refreshing 121 1202 I probably go to bed at 2 in the morning those days every single night cuz I was just so addicted to refreshing Twitter yep I I missed uh the good old days with the drama of Doc Rivers the Clippers and trying to keep DeAndre Jordan and Mark hubin and plains and being locked in the house like I I missed that that was my favorite part of you know free agency um then you got July 12th um to the 22nd NBA Vegas summer league we keep talking about how we’re going to make plans to actually make it out there one of these years maybe not this year but next year we should definitely plan it and then October 21st the last Daye for the magic to agree to a contract extension with fron Vagner and jayen sug so a lot of key dates make sure you put on your calendar um free agency 6:00 p.m. if it was any earlier I probably would have you know requested that day off of work so a lot of dates to be excited for all right um before we end the show um earlier in the podcast I was I was scrolling through uh social media and saw some news that kind of paused made me stop for a second uh Aaron Gordon’s brother Drew Gordon uh unfortunately passed away in a car accident um and this is breaking news from Shams and man um as somebody that that has a brother and I love my brother lit death man I would do anything for him I can’t imagine what Eric Gordon is is feeling like man uh it’s almost a blessing in disguise that the de nuggets are not going into the finals because there’s no way um especially as close as we’ve seen um how he is with with his brother and and you know his his family uh his his nephews and what not so or nieces I’m I’m not sure which one but um man it’s it’s it’s it’s a tough tough situation um and I feel like man your loved ones make sure you hug them tight you let them know that you love them because um I I I just personally feel like we we’ve seen um a lot of Misfortune uh you talk about you know RJ Barrett who just recently lost his brother too um you know if you’re if you’re coming if you’re listening to the podcast from the the Twitter world uh Deb swim uh who was a a very very positive um individual who has been recognized by the Orlando Magic as being one of the best uh fans of the organization also had uh recently passed away so rest in peace to her but um just want to take a moment to to acknowledge and and make sure that you know when you have some time tell tell your family tell your loved ones tell your friends that that you love them man because you you just just never know it’s crazy I had not seen the news about um Drew Gordon man so shocking to hear that for sure uh so rest in peace and again what can you say man to your point we’ve seen this happen a lot lately with like whether it’s celebrities athletes just a lot of names that you don’t expect to be hearing you know passing away lately it’s been a weird 2024 so far but our deepest you know condolences to to Aaron Gordon his family um you mentioned Deb already we we we tweeted about it yesterday on our on our account um some big losses for for the magic Community this week uh again so to your point hug your family hug your friends tell them you love them man because you know we’re here today you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow um that’s why you got to live life day by day making some smart choices but at the same time enjoying life man because we never know what may happen yeah that’s right all right man everyone listening have a good Friday catch you guys in two weeks it’s a wrap for all the latest Magic news and updates visit Orlando Magic hq.com and follow us on Instagram at Orlando Magic HQ and on Twitter at om magic HQ also remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel And subscribe and leave a five-star review on your favorite listening platform

In this episode of the Orlando Magic HQ podcast, Anthony and Al discuss the potential matchups in the NBA Finals and the competitiveness of the Eastern Conference. They also talk about taking a break during the offseason, Jalen Suggs receiving all-defensive team honors, and the numerous rumors surrounding the Magic’s offseason plans. The rumors include potential trades and signings involving players like Malik Monk, Brandon Ingram, D’Angelo Russell, KCP, Clay Thompson, Anfernee Simons, and Mikal Bridges.

They also discuss the possibility of the Magic making no moves in the offseason and relying on internal growth. The conversation revolves around potential offseason moves for the Orlando Magic. The hosts discuss the team’s needs, including shooting, rebounding, and defensive rim protection. They mention potential trade targets like D’Angelo Russell and Michael Bridges, as well as the possibility of acquiring Trey Young. They also discuss the importance of keeping young core players like Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner.

Lastly, Anthony and Al review mock trades from Bleacher Report, expressing their thoughts on each proposal. They also review key dates in the offseason and express condolences for the recent loss of Aaron Gordon’s brother and the passing of a beloved Magic fan.

Timeline:

00:00 Introduction
03:06 Wendell Carter Jr Surgery and Suggs Defensive Team Honors
07:18 Free Agency Rumors and Draft Picks
12:26 Team Needs for the Upcoming Season
37:31 Exploring Potential Trades and Acquisitions
43:16 Key Dates and Events to Look Forward To
45:32 Cherishing Loved Ones and Gratitude

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