The Orlando Magic Upgraded Their Roster But Remain Patient | Episode 176 | Orlando Magic Podcast

The Orlando Magic Upgraded Their Roster But Remain Patient | Episode 176 | Orlando Magic Podcast

[Applause] in order for the magic to work you have to truly believe in the magic welcome to let’s talk magic an Orlando Magic UK podcast tonight is technically the first episode of the new season we’re filming on July the 4th 2024 that means it’s a big happy Independence Day to our friends viewers and listeners across the pond in the USA specifically in Orlando firstly tonight we’re joined by a skater boy who doesn’t want to see see you later [Laughter] marel Gary you’ve had that line up since Tuesday haven’t you the moment you said you were at that AAL living gig and I was like I’m hosting this week I was like this is coming G yeah yeah no I’m really good thank you mate um obviously yeah went to the gig LaVine Simple Plan absolutely brilliant uh so much so that I wanted to go on the Wednesday in Manchester but uh wasn’t able to but uh yeah very well thank you mate um obviously lots to talk about in in the magic world so uh yeah excited good the I bet you that I bet you that war account’s been taken some hammering from Cardiff if he looked at his IP we did the patreon call and that’s what G was being called the Welsh w know we Pro I know along with stat aren’t you the Valle yeah I know I know that’s a throwback that is a big throwback but it is I haven’t got quite the music introduction for you Paul but how is it’s the king of the Mosh Pit himself those things in Mansfield Miss really good pal thank you very much yes uh been uh busy busy busy but H yeah really good how’s you doing mate well we know you’ve not been feeling 100% having missed last weeks yeah I’ve got to say coover is grim like I sat here now I I chugged an energy drink before we came on uh on there just to try and per up a bit that’s how uh bad it is it’s it’s nearly it’s it’s gone half a in the UK now so it could be a long night ahead for me because it was it was a pretty big energy drink put it that way but G you got to tell us about your day in school mate oh absolutely pal I’m back in work and my lovely training teachers who I think a couple of them watched this actually did come through if you watching this on YouTube with signed by them Orlando Magic Paul with which was massively appreciated uh yeah it was their graduation so well done I know a couple of them are actual basketball fans so nice appreciation that is mate quality that well impressed yeah I was as well I couldn’t believe it actually well impressed at that that’s really good yeah it’s class um if you’re watching or you even listening now you’ll notice that we don’t have the third of the Three Lions so Mr Mikey Clark is missing tonight look a G’s face you watching I forgot something swiss cheese last week we had the introduction in Slovenia yeah in Slovenian yeah this I was expecting something Swiss G yeah I even just even even if it was just a piece of cheese yeah yeah I had some earlier t or something of that [Laughter] nature the display behind having a cuckoo lock on it I know I know I failed you this week maybe you can yodel for us at the [Laughter] end oh God so we’re gonna be having an interesting chat about free agency if you’re watching social platforms you’ll notice that’s what the magic fan base are rightly talking about um it’s causing opinions it’s causing a little bit of divide in some cases but if you would like to see the new Orlando Magic players or the old ones returning why not check out our Attraction part our our part attraction tickets um apart from not just theme parks in Orlando attraction tickets sell Orlando Magic tickets at hugely competitive prices so when you’re booing your next holiday use our Link in the description and see what they have to offer you can also look at our website let’s talk magic.com for all of our affiliate links and discount codes which includes the NBA Store and Fanatics which don’t just sell the NBA jersey they sell Euros jerseys and all the clubs of the uh British leagues in particular but the European leagues are dropping their new shirts this season and a lot of them are available on Fanatics including your uh lot Gary well we not we sold out two months worth of stock in in a day that’s a proper club that is me yeah you know it’s nice to see a club in the Northeast you know really represent thank you very much I I’ll keep I’ll keep I’ll keep neutral for this before I get like people at my door with sticks and stuff all right but so the biggest the magic made an early Splash in free agency gez just made my dear there by signing cavius Coldwell pop from the Denver Nuggets pop predominantly a two guard he can play small forward he’s won rings with Denver and the LA Lakers then say that he brings experience strong defense and good outside shooting he’s a former number eight pick and he signed a threeyear deal with the magic so Paul it’s only right for me to start with you you were the first person on this pod to mention pop what’s your take on the signing and are you happy I’m I’m very happy at just having picked him up um it was interesting to see Draymond Green talking about it shows that the magic are serious in that they’ve been able to attract a player like cwell pope now I know that there’s some Discord between Magic fans as to whether he’s a good pickup or not um I do entirely understand the view that perhaps he’s not the scorer that we needed um however I was reading um an interview with one of the Denver correspondents who’d been asked by somebody from the magic side of things why it’s a good pickup for us and their view was that if you want a guy who is willing to accept any role within a team and play in the way that he is asked then he is that guy he is the consumate professional the consumate teammate and able to play in many many different roles within his position we’ve already spoke about his ability to provide accurate shooting uh previously granted it’s not volume however when you are hitting at a good percentage rate that contains a threat which is going to spread the floor for us his defense is outstanding um I was also reading in that same interview that uh his state of goal for last season was to be a member of one of the defensive teams of the Season he didn’t attain that but that shows that he is serious about working in that environment now you put him potentially alongside Jaylen sugs or you never know we might see some more changes yet um but when you’ve got a guy who is stating that that’s what he wants to be he is suited very much to our style of play so yeah I’m very pleased with it we’ll see what we get as to does he increase his volume of shooting um we’ll see if he helps spread the floor for the team ultimately um once we get into the season but I think when you put him alongside sugs who carries a three-point threat not the greatest but he was improving during last season you throw Frans into the mix who yes we all know had a little bit of a dip in his efficiency from three but is still capable Pao was certainly improving from range last season and assuming that we’ still that we’re starting with Wendell at the center we know that at times he can also hit the three you then put in potentially Off the Bench a ji who shoted improved last season Cole Anthony Mo Vagner each of them carries somewhat of a three-point threaten I think it’s helped us throw in the free agent sorry not the free agency I the uh drafting of D Silva and I think it shows that uh they’ve looked at what the needs are and are trying to address that so yeah I’m very pleased very pleased with it good stuff um there was one question Gary that came in from the mailbag um some details of which have kind of come to light in uh you know recent days but Angus uh was asking do you think the magic front office were ever serious about clay or Paul George or do you think kcp was always the target I think the stuff with Clay Thompson shows that there had been some type of sound and out had happened because there’s been you know like we just we disappeared from the race but there has been this it looks as though he’s made it pretty clear about where he was willing and not willing to play by the sounds I just reading between the lines um obviously we’re in the like a WhatsApp group together for the Pod and there was the patreon call as well which I was on for a little bit I was very under the weather and I just said I’ve got to log off here I can’t stay on but um my nightmare scenario was that the magic were going to hang around for Paul George and almost be the 2 am in the nightclub you know like where it’s like what I know what’s left type of thing and uh I had this image of the magic doing that um I think we we had an idea I think we knew when Paul George went to Philly that the red carpet was going out and they were the preferred bid and I think we also rightly made contact with pop and I believe the plan became on Sunday evening to get pop and probably possibly hartenstein I think that might have been the plan I’m just hypothesizing there but I think we’d obviously spoken to CLA and he’s made his preference known that’s reading between the lines and then I think Paul George if we’ waited I think we would have got an audience possibly but I think he was always going to go to Philly because that much further down the he needs to win in two years and joelb Joel gives him that shot Nick nurse gives him that shot now so really I think the magic looked at it and went actually we can get somebody here who can help us can upgrade and I think that’s what the they did they got pop and I I think we probably were looking at Haron sign because it was later but the gorg sign and afterwards tells me a little bit about where that might have been and I know that’s that’s I haven’t got any inside information that’s just where that’s my hypothetical on that I’m not convinced we were ever in the conversation for Paul George I’ll be honest with you I think it might have been more with him um a case of as we’ve said before as getting mentioned in the conversation it’s nice to be mentioned but as a way of pressing others to get um the market moving I again there’s been suggestions I think it was W who suggested that we offered uh Klay Thompson a similar deal to that that we’ve offered uh CW Pope um but ultimately for us it’s been as simple as kcp yes forget the start of the alphabet that’s where we’re going simple as kcp so if you want to download Paul’s new track it’s [Laughter] available Jackson’s mixup oh I I would pay for that I would I would I would I would download that nobody else might but I would download it g I’m gonna throw the mailbag back to you I can’t be but Gary Clark asked was this the best move or would you have preferred CLA PG or someone else Gary added that he was excited to see um kentavius called wellp on the floor for the magic and he thinks he offers an upgrade of both so yes it’s a very good question um it’s easy to fall in love with you know a superstar a Paul George a Klay Thompson you know Kay’s got you know a lot of experience he’s got a couple of championships Paul George multiple you know all staff for many many years uh and you know still at the top of his game when he’s what 34 you know seeking that sort of a contract but it’s the contract and the length of the contract is what really really sort of stands out um and you just don’t want to be hampered so when push comes to shove um the right deal was to keep the flexibility get kcp in who you know he’s a very very good player he isn’t a Paul George but he probably offers just as much on the defensive end um obviously doesn’t have the offensive press that you do get with Paul George um but it keeps the flexibility it gives an option for an out in you know two three years and um the possibility to go after another free agent when Paulo is more in his prime Paulo and France I should say um so obviously you’re going to get a lot of people on uh tinet and Magic Twitter and everything obviously a little bit upset maybe you know they were expecting to have a superstar have a you know three-point Gunslinger and Klay Thompson um whereas it’s probably the non-sexy um player of the three um but it’s someone like you guys have mentioned defensively he’s um you know striving to be in the all defense team stick in with Suggs and Isaac and um something that I guess missed in in the NBA circles is you know points off turnovers and forcing turnovers and if you’ve got you know two dogs in there like kcp and Suggs you know hounding and really wearing down these great offensive players then um it’s only going to set everybody else up and I I I think it’s a really good move really good move that offers a lot of flexibility going forward so um would I preferred them you you could think of it two ways but I’d probably rather the flexibility given the choice yeah so like Paul you GNA come in there I think in I I I never heard the fact that I didn’t particularly want us to sign either Paul George or Klay Thompson um um I think it would have been a wrong move I think that kcp is in Denver he was that fifth option as far as scoring goes but he is in this article I’ve referring to he was referred to by the Denver Nuggets uh correspondent as an elite shooter um he’s prepared to take he has scored 30 points or more on a few occasions but when you’re not that main player how often are you getting that opportunity to rack the points up so perhaps we see a bigger um offensive contribution from him um I think the only thing about him that that does concern me is that he’s not necessarily the best at [Music] um creating his own shot necessarily he I think he’s better where he’s got other offensive options around him and that’s my one concern at the signing in respect of kcp but I think of the I think of the three that we’re talking about here he would have been the one I would personally have chosen Simply Be simply based on age and likely availability we both we’ve all said that we need we can’t keep carrying injured players yeah that’s been the issue for us for the last few seasons Klay Thompson has missed a lot of games as a result of injury Paul George has missed a lot of games as a result of injury there’s no point us paying massive wages to somebody if they’re just going to warm the bench um and um so in that respect again it’s another bonus in my view for taking kcp over the other two I’m just looking at his field goal percentage uh from down Town last couple of Seasons so just over 40% last year 42 the year prior 39 41 38 so you look at those five years um and he also shot 89% from the line last year 82 the year prior 89 86 so you’re getting a you know a knockdown shooter um given the opportunity and with all the focus is going to be on Fran and Paulo you can’t leave kcp open um so it’s really um you know we’ve got what we need there and a shoter is going to spread the floor and keep defenses you know um from going to sleep on him yeah I think we we all agree that he upgrades the magic um like offensively like we know Gary Harris hasn’t quite been there for the magic probably through injury but we needed somebody who’s going to give us 12 to 14 points probably from the two guard position on a on a good a good shooting percentage and Paul looks like he can give us that and so he’s available Paul as you say he can play um he hasn’t hopefully it’s not a jinx but he hasn’t got an injury record so hopefully this is somebody we can have like a a healthy amount of games from who can continue that shooting and you’ve just mentioned there sorry Gary you’ve just mentioned there though but he’s somebody who is capable of giving you 12 14 points comfortably per game how many games that we played last season were those points the ones that were missing from that position and how many games when you’re talking about the guy being an upgrade in the defensive end how many points is he going to be able to help us prevent conceding that you’ve got I think sometimes you have to look beyond the box score you can’t just take it as a box score this guy only gets this many there’s more to it than that I would I would also add as well when you’re talking defensively and we’ve obviously got options at the guard spots you know we might have Mark felds back we might not but if you look at a four guard rotation and it’s more than that sugs kcp Gary Harris Anthony black how many teams in the NBA have got four guards of that defensive level to rotate around on the court yeah you know I think Gary Harris will see a bit of time small forward I think P might as well in some like rotations but that’s there’s not many four guard rotations who got that level of Defense available um so that’ll be interesting to see going forward on a team that’s identity is defensive so I think that’s interesting um so Jonathan Isaac so I think we probably agree the next big move was the magic extending GI if anybody forgotten we all saw what a healthy GI brings and means to the magic last season five years $84 million typical fashion this declines um g i to come to you what what’s your take what’s your take on well obviously you know the magic had seen enough from what he did last season especially when healthy towards the end of the season obviously we hope that you know we see more of him on the floor um you know we might see him set out a couple of backto backs just to make absolutely sure but you know 17 18 million on average per season uh for someone of his ability um it’s a snip in today’s market you know you look at some of the other contracts banded about at the moment um some of them you know astronomical really so to to lock him in for five years um but you know dare I say it well first first of all I think he’s got some sort of insurance policy on on that contract um I I don’t know the absolute ins and outs of it because I’ve been a bit busy in the last couple of days but I’m sure it’s to do you know uh with his previous injury so something we might be able to to come off if um if we have to but you know touch would that’s not going to happen um but we just mentioned the defensive um tenacity of the magic and you know he’s he’s right in there uh as one of the star warts who who actually brings that so having a healthy Jonathan Isaac um especially that that price we’re giv him um I like the deal a lot how about yourself um I think what we talked on here about like I think I drew the comparison with n Reed and i’ said if the magic really had be looking around that and the games that ji had missed before for the magic when we peered him when he’s being hurt essentially so gii getting a mega contract for me I think would have been not knocking the guy but I think it would have been a little bit Rich if we’ gone crazy with the deal so I think the deal we got um reflects that we’ve invested in him over a long period whereas we haven’t paid a huge amount for a player of that ability which is kind of I think him investing in us a little bit as well maybe he’s just to thank you maybe back Paul Paul’s nodding a bit there as well so I think he’s in agreement I I think it’s a genius move by the magic yeah absolutely genius and it could only be done now this is the only season we could have done this in by ex by renegotiating and extending him we’ve been able to do what we we’ve been able to do um it could only have been done in this in this window apparently um you’ve locked in one of the League’s Premier Defenders for five years at as Jus said 18 million a year and now we all know that that is considerably more this season and then it declines that decline is perfectly timed for as we look to extend France Jaylen and Paulo it gives us a huge amount of flexibility there it also is timed as the Sal as the cap increases I think next season by 10% I think it’s 10% season on season during this CBA now um so we have given ourselves the flexibility to pay Jonathan Isaac now to have him locked in to have him say yeah I want to be here and I want to stay to be able to extend the other guys that we have to look at in in the future and if things don’t work out and we do choose to move on we have structured this contract in such a way that it becomes very very movable but one thing on ji can we stop talking about him being a potential Center we saw it didn’t work stop stop people please stop considering him as being our starting center it’s it’s not going to be we know his role no no not a starting center I think if it’s situational if somebody goes small then if you have him on the their five so to speak yeah i’ I’d still rather in play his position mate I’m not going to lie no that’s fine that’s fine I’m not going to lie but I think it’s an absolute genius move by the magic yeah yeah so we’re fairly happy with that so I’m I’m going to do this one as a tag team so Mo ARG and Jo Engles will start we know we know why Mojo and all that okay I think Paul you texted straight up to say Mojo’s gone and all this type of stuff yeah I was in Austin Powers moment for a second I was like what they’ve done to [Laughter] Paul so we saw the magic didn’t take up Mo’s deal none of us were shocked so we were like we knew that was coming that he was probably you know more our would be you know like not with the magic briefly he then got a new deal surprise nobody this one’s two years of 22 million um G I’m going to start with you and then I’m going to come to Paul on the next one what’s your take on this are you happy with Mo Vagner are you it’s not surprising is it no not at all um worst kept secret out there I think everyone expected him his brothers on the team you want to keep the Vagner household happy no matter what um you know you want these to Ona roster uh for a very long time it’s it’s a it’s a very good deal 11 million a season um in comparison and I know we’re going to talk about a certain um other Center who signed elsewhere in a little bit um who’s making a silly amount of money um obviously we fancied having him on our team anyway back to Mo Arna you know he he puts up points in bunches uh a real spark plug um defensively can bring the intensity he can really sort of rally a team when the team needs a lift he can even poke their you know favorite play you know their best player uh just to change the atmosphere change the dynamic of a game you know we’ve seen him do it to donic um he just acts like he doesn’t care doesn’t he sometimes um and you’ve got to love him and I’ve said this before it’s like having a Robbie Savage on your team brilliant it was it was written in um the some some where they were grading the the uh deals and the the one for Mo it started out saying um this is a guy if he’s on your if he’s if he’s not on your team you hate him if he’s on your team you love him and my first reaction was it’s worth 11 million a year to just have him back for for that um annoyance factor that he brings that disruption that he brings he’s great I’m delighted that we’ve got him back yeah and it’s only you know three million above the mid-level exception which is fantastic uh deal for us and yeah like you said Paul those Cleveland fans didn’t like him in the uh playoffs did they he gets behind it he gets under everybody’s skin fantastic and uh long like long may it continue so Paul I’m going to come to you this the news came out on on Wednesday night that Jo Engles is gone and has joined the Minnesota Timberwolves so I’m going to ask you two questions one how do you feel about this we’re in therapy here and secondly uh does this hurt more V I’m not sure I’ll start with the second part I’m not sure it hurts Mo because he was he had production before um Joe arrived with the team uh he had a phenomenal understanding with Joe Engles so yes there’s going to be an adjustment but I don’t necessarily think it hurts um Mo vogner’s play for the magic but yeah they had a great understanding um I think that Joe Engles will be missed by the team far more than a lot of magic fans have realized I know we didn’t get the Joe Engles sharp shooting at any point with the team really unfortunately um but he was such a vocal part of the bench coaching the young guys consistently um and we also saw him the same way as as Mo could he was able to get under the skin of his opponents um any team that he played for he just managed to RI those guys that he was mates with and that he played with um my I didn’t expect him to come back I’ll be honest with you I didn’t expect us to pick him up this season uh My Hope was that we would have uh found a way of getting him to sort of think about retirement and bringing him into the coaching staff that would have been that would have been my ideal if we could have got him back as part of the coaching staff so you still got that impact from the guy on the bench but without um the not to be cruel but the blank production but he was I when with the ball in hand the man could see a pass M I think I do think we’re going to miss him a little bit without a doubt I think he’s uh his his overall presence rather than his actual production was a huge part of the step we took last year I I was shocked I I thought I thought he had the last roster spot I really did um so I got a bit of a shock when I saw the W bomb for that one um I do think it’s potentially to the detriment of the team because of what he brings in the locker room like we we did an overpar for him last season in the playoffs I think that exposed a little bit on the court perhaps where shortcomings were however what he’s done for the locker room what he did for the edge of the team what he did do in some games for the bench unit you couldn’t deny I thought he would kind of got that big deal to get a small deal coming to stay so I was a little bit shocked how you know the magic have matured they’ve learned a lot last season the front officer of opinion that they’re mature enough and there are other leaders and strong voices in there but I guess time will tell so gorab bardi um we we’re going to come on it a little bit but we’ve been linked with Isaiah hartenstein um I thought as I’ve said earlier in the in the Pod I thought this was a bit more likely as we got through Sunday evening and we got rewards it opening up alongside kcp uh rumors were starting to swirl of a meeting between har and Stein and orc and then the magic hartenstein signs for 87 $87 million three years with OKC the magic would then announce the return of Gorga three years at 25 so G I’m going to start here um what’s your take on this is it big money for a third string or do does this tell us more about where goog’s rule is well let me just pick up on the hartenstein thing because I’ve been alluding to it all all evening and it’s a lot of money isn’t it for someone who put up eight points eight rebounds I know we had a fantastic playoff with the Knicks um does his job very well um solid defensively is he worth 28 million a season for three years I don’t know I don’t know so you you flip that around then to the magic obviously wendal’s on what 11 Goa eight and then you’ve got U Mo 11 so you’ve almost got the three centers just over around 30 million compared to that one player with 28 um and you’re going to get a lot more reliability out of you know a combination of those three um yeah I I I’m happy Go’s back um we we’ve seen you know what he can do he’s obviously he’s still quite young he’s what 24 at the moment he does he does but he did look like he slimmed down a little bit I don’t know if you noticed in the um obviously Cole Anthony’s been FaceTiming everyone who’s managed to get the bag um and he did look at a lot Slimmer and obviously playing for Georgia as well um what he brings uh he’s solid he came in you know back in November December where wendal went down with that injury against the Jazz uh we were winning games it was just a shame really that you know he went back to the bench when Wendell came back but at times during the season we were you know calling for Goa to come in especially when um you know wendal and mo were struggling against those big Europeans your valent Tunis is um getting a little bit bullied perhaps and Go’s kind of got a bit of a different game where you know you can keep them away from the basket a little bit better so um and we’ve talked about this before it’s kind of situational with the centers you know you start Wendell most the scoring punch that comes on and then you can stick goer on to do the dirty work um so I I’m happy that he’s back I don’t think it’s an overpay um it’s again in around the mid-level exception kind of money we’ve got it to spend and again it’s an easily movable piece should it need to be um included in anything in the future yeah I think you’ve just mentioned something there G as well about Cole saying about him FaceTiming for me that’s shown just what an important piece within the team he is for that glue that chemistry he’s the guy who is ringing everybody up you know talking congratulating he is a huge piece I genuinely hope that we don’t see him in trades I think it’s it would be a huge loss for the chemistry of the locker room and hopefully we start to see Cole get back to where he was prior to whatever issues he had last season Still A Guy I thought you were gonna say that and you were hoping that Cole would be phoning marel tonight but there we go I I I when when the question was being asked about who’s who we’ve got one r the spot left if who you picking are you taking Marquel or are you taking Joe Eng Les I genely thought it would be Marquel I still don’t think it’s I still don’t think it’s beyond the Realms of possibility I wonder if there’s something being worked on in the background conversations with Marquel or El conversations elsewhere but it’s surely got to be that position that we’re looking at now yeah the longer it goes on the more nervous I get should we get a resolu soon you might you never know mate he might end up wearing the purple and gold don’t don’t you be sick but to join JJ I mean that would be an awful season for you that would be an awful offseason for you I’ve already had to take a photo of JJ down it would be an awful so offseason for you mate I know but aren’t they that’s there there’s is such a hilarious summer it’s brilliant loving it honestly if that happens I’m going to rent out a church a room in a church on like a Thursday morning at 11:00 for a coffee and cakes morning for people to come and sit with G and just like I coming back to hartenstein just feels like a big overpay for somebody if you’re having him as a center he’s behind hren chat um but the kind of indications are with that money that he’s going to be perhaps starting at the four so you’re asking somebody to play a different position I think CAD will play the four I think he’s been brought in whether he starts I think he’ll finish and my friend who’s a KC fan I said he asked what I thought and I said I think it’s kcp and hartenstein but I was like I think you guys are talking to hartenstein he’s an over peer but he’s right for the Thunder I think the Thunder oh is it hits their needs 100% man yeah he need they needed some they needed somebody tough big who would go in and do the dirty work and let the rest of them play and I think they’ve got someone to do that a body to stop chat getting like manhandled by bigger Guys somebody can put in and do that job so I think they have overed and I think he’s probably his agents done a hell of a job because he’d be saying oh by the way Orlando’s waiting or whoever else cuz he he will have had teams waiting because of when from he’s going to stay in New York and take a peer cut all of a sudden we’re getting Linked In OK he’s linked so I think it’s it sounded good until someone’s waved the major money under his nose and for OKC the way their capup works and their draft picks they could do it yeah it was worth it it was worth that price to them because of what I think he’s going to give cat now can be the weak side defender in that so I think he’ll make cat home even better personally um so I think they’ve had a good offseason OKC genuinely them are the Pacers yeah I agree Wes will be loving this by the way yeah the Pacers they they’ve both had really good offseasons yeah yeah Paul I’m G I’m gonna ask you this question because I I see you as a the Gary Harris expert of the of the group I don’t know what sort of comment that is on me but thank you the ma the magic have brought him uh brought him back two years we think it’s about 15 million I was shocked at this to be fair I thought he was I thought he was gone I was like convinced say Gary Harris Denver or something like that Paul what what what’s your take on this right first of all I I don’t get the complete meltdown that people have had I was shocked I thought he was gone did not expect him to be back with the team for another season I thought we’d seen the last uh Gary in Magic uniform during the playoffs would I have been upset at that no not really let’s be honest um as good a three and D guy as he is he hasn’t he didn’t have a great season for us last year um however we’ve brought him back on a very team-friendly deal a very movable deal and we’ve brought him back not as the starting two two go guard I don’t think you’ve necessarily even seen him as the leading guy to come off the bench for the shooting guard position I think you you’re looking at him potentially being a third option you’ve brought a a guy in Back to the team who is um a veteran presence who can offer you something and equally in reducing those minutes perhaps we see a greater availability from Gary so ultimately I don’t think it’s an awful deal I was very surprised at it and I do think that it’s the sort of deal that we may well see moved as part of a trade at a later point now I do understand that that can’t be until December due to the um CBA agreements that there are in place but I think that’s going to be potentially a deal that we see able to be added into a trade if we are needing to do anything come um the mid part of the season it’s a very very movable contract the guy the guy is still one of those players that lots of teams will look at and think he can do a job for us and I think that’s what we’ve looked and thought he can do a job for us we know his game he knows everybody else on this team so let’s bring him back but as a third four third option you could well see a different player as a result I think there’s a lot to be said about him him coming in as a mentor as well for um jet Howard obviously you know jet will be fighting for his minutes also um so having a veteran guy in the locker room and obviously the front office is impressed with you know um his personality and perhaps the way he conducts himself with the younger players um I did have a quick look at the uh got my little stat thing going again um just to prove how good a deal that kcp thing uh trade Trade sign in is so Gary Harris’s numbers from downtown and obviously we thought he was pretty good right so last year 37% year before 43 so that’s an up year 38 36 32 34 33 that’s going back you know 5 six years now so you’ve got kcp who shooting you know considerably better percentage um on probably a little bit more volume than Gary Harris there as well and so it just shows how good that kcp signing is absolutely to have to have Gary Harris as a foil to yeah kcp to have him as you’ve said as a mentor and also potential backup to B Caleb Houston be jet Howard helping along you know the Silva as well it’s it’s a good bring it’s a good piece of business no need to meltdown about it I know that we we all expected him to be gone and probably it’s not the sexiest of signin again but it’s a solid move it’s a solid piece of business so I think this is like a nice segue because obviously we’ve seen a lot of chat and there’s there’s people who are like if you’re watching up at the roof seeing y great this is what we want we’ve seen prayers for the magic from some journalists even though do tend to want to talk about the Denver Nuggets and not us that’s a separate matter um but our offseason overall so far so we’ve got the draft we’ve got free agency we’ve got what with the magic have done I’m going to start with G what grade would you give the magic for this off do you want do you want to go first car can if you want go on you go first give steal your thunder I want to give us a B minus for it because I think we like we all we all had that where we know we know the magic front offers don’t really like things so it’s kind of there whenever anything’s on Twitter you’re like wait say the magic announced this I looked at it and I was kind of like when we got into the swing of things I couldn’t see Paul George I couldn’t I really couldn’t I thought the only way we were going to get him was if he got to a point where he entered a room with Jamal Mosley I was like if he physically sits in the room with Jamal Mosley maybe but I wasn’t thrilled at the idea of a four-year deal for Paul George GE two years great four years doesn’t fit the magic there was a part of me that was kind of like at the right price when it was coming out about CLA Thompson and what he might appeared I was kind of like you know if we can do this on two years with a team option for the third which I didn’t say is massively possible i’ kind of warmed a bit to that yeah but in my mind I think we’ve done what we needed to do and we’ve kept we’ve brought back and we’ve given ourselves options I’m quite happy with with the pop signing as you’ve said g it’s not a sexy signing those other two would be I’m quite happy with it but there is a little bit of me because of where we were pumped up to be and on the back of the playoffs and such and you know a pretty good draft I was kind of like which is part of the B minus I was kind of like could you just imagine like the media Spotlight if the magic had SE na Clair Thompson on that deal so I think there’s a little bit of me which is I don’t want to say overwhelmed or deflated but it was just a little bit back to Earth a little bit Yeah but and we look at it and Philly have got better New York have got better Milwaukee right now even though I think this could change her in there and Boston are in there so Orlando was in that second rung which is where we were last season we’re in that second rung the East there’s some teams that are out of it now so we’re in that second rung with I think Cleveland are in there with us for example there’s one team uh Miami if the fit will be in there but we’re we’re in that Indiana of course are in there but we’re in that second run of the easn conference so I think we’re probably around about where we were but we have got the potential for our star players to get better so if if France Vagner goes back to 353 6% from three if kcp opens that up for him and he can do that a little bit more France is probably then on 22 again and I think it’s very very realistic that Paulo’s going to do 25 plus so if your top two guys if we are on this Boston build if our top two guys are putting up 47 48 between them relatively efficiently you’ve got a chance so that’s where I’m out there I’m trying to just tell myself longer term well especially with a great defensive team as well holds holds opponent you know to one of the you know in the top top three top five whatever it is I think we’ve given ourselves a let’s see how the season starts but I said this off a if some let’s just hypothetically say Phoenix say Durant doeses what he did in Brooklyn and did gets himself out which I could see happening I do think we’ve got the assets to get Devon Booker yeah um that’s that’s kind of where I’m at yeah that’s good observation mate um for me I’d probably go with a b um as we’ve said you know all the players uh we’ve got an upgrade in kcp we’ve drafted a very uh very good rookie who hopefully should be able to come in and do a job um a lot of the disappointment on you know social media be we’re running it back again but we have got that upgrade um we’re expecting more of a development from France and poo um obviously we need to finish um finish the roster out um but we’ve kept the flexibility and I think that’s key flexibility and we’ve got the draft picks we got two draft picks next year we got one year after we got two the following year in the first round you keep that flexibility um and as you mentioned a disgruntled star will come available at some point and um you put yourself in that position you know we’re lurking like you say in that second tier in the Eastern Conference and someone’s going to go I could I could help them out and um you never know so I’d probably stick it with a b um with a potentially good B plus if they if they do the right thing with the last roster spot but I’ll I’ll leave that to your imagination what they should do me mate I’m I’m strong B very much trending towards a B+ um I I still think we’ve got a deep roster I think we’ve got a really deep roster I think they’ve only improved it by bringing in kcp I think the silver is a quality draft um we are you going to be surprised if we’re outside the top three defensively it’ be a shock I think so and so we’ve what we’ve done is is build on our identity and build on what this team does well whilst addressing hopefully some of the needs uh the contracts that we’ve brought in or renegotiated we don’t have a single bad contract on this team and in fact we have a lot of very very movable contracts huge huge thing we have you’ve said it g about the we own all our future picks we own a couple of others we’ve got various I think a couple of pick swaps available as well something like that yeah and multiple sack arounders yeah Paulo you’ve got an absolute superstar in the in the making you’ve got France you’ve got Jaylen both guys are capable of getting into an All-Star team I think ultimately um you know so many good things happening with this squad and we have a lot of potential so yeah you can’t I don’t I just don’t think you can be mad at what we’ve done I think it’s a really good offseason see what we do with the two ways now I mean it’s uh is tring’s back Queen back Trav traveling Queen sign today yeah the two way’ hope M MCL maybe get the second one but we shall see and then we’ve got a third haven’t we you’ve got three again this season so there’s there still still potential guys to come in and provide that assistance there as well I I think it’s been a good offseason I’m quite happy I would rather have a steady carefully thought out build rather than that single flashy move that harms the team because we’ve seen so many flashy moves harm teams MH I’d rather the patient build I like it yeah I’m gonna I’m gonna kind of end on this a bit Paul what you’ve just said there because I know with our patreon in our Discord group and I’ll I’ll shout the members out in a moment for their support pod Father Phil loves hay Northwestern made a I think it was a valid point I think I do think it’s got a valid point of the only way we’re going to get an elite star now is to make that trade and we’ve all kind of touched on that there and he said well right now Zack lavine’s available as an if you were exemplifying it I think we’ve got our probably our own views on lavine’s contract but where would we stand on the magic trading for a star because we’ve probably stockpiled the contracts we’re can agree um and it’s something we might consider so like where do we stand and who might it be I I’ve given the the Devon Booker example but I do think Paul what you ended with there just to like finish the Pod off this week we do not want to be in my opinion the Brooklyn Nets we do not want to be the Phoenix Suns cuz I think they are two teams who have gone down there let’s throw a big three together and it’s it’s been disastrous we we were the first team to play a Brooklyn’s big three if you remember when they got the when and it it never happened it just did it didn’t occur um I know some teams seem to be moving away from that model now so it’s just an open question to end it I think if we are going to do it the player might be Devon Booker I do think it’s something we might consider based on how we’re doing just wondering based on what Phil said where you guys are on that who would it be IFA um I have zero idea who it would be I’m not going to lie um I’m terrible at these things however I’d want somebody of good character I want a character guy I don’t want the Primadonna um we I Boston I think have done this the right way they got their two stars out of the draft they got them as a result of Brooklyn’s flashy move that didn’t work the one flashy move that Boston made with that Squad was bringing in Kyrie Irving and it didn’t work move him on there’s not really made any I don’t think there’s any other great flashy moves that they’ve made in respect of who they’ve brought in they’ve brought in guys that suit the the needs of the team um perhaps you could argue that bringing in KP is a is a flashy move but other than that has they really made any big splashes in the market they’ve they’ve picked people up that work for their need and I would still rather go with that the they’ve kind of bought law particularly on like Drew holiday and Derek white haven’t they like they’ve got Derek white that kind of unlocked potential and ultimately we we would love to have Derek white like that’s kind of what we would need right now that player and then Drew holiday they got him where he kind of just been discarded to bring in Lillard which really hasn’t worked for Milwaukee on paper it looked great three-point Gunner alongside Yannis and even that hasn’t I would so I would rather us do something methodical rather than the flashy move I’m not a f of the flashy move absolutely absolutely G you a fan of the flashy or was a flashy Mo no no I I I agree totally agree you know you look at some of the you know the dynasties um in the last 20 years you know golden state did it the right way they drafted clay they drafted staff Draymond you look at the San Antonio Spurs in the late 90s early naughties chob Tim Duncan um you know they had great success um so you kind of the draft is the best way to do it um just thinking out loud of players you know Zack LaVine was mentioned there you know you wouldn’t touch him with the barge P because of that contract there talks of Chicago offering a pick to go with it just to to get off that contract but that that you know uh is the big reset button um the only two I can think to come to mind obviously you mentioned them Booker possibly dearon fox in Sacramento um is he that character guy though I’m not sure um obviously point guard it would sort the point guard situation out um and the other one that’s been banded around in recent weeks you know Anthony Simons Orlando native from Portland I think he’s a lot more getable than dearon Fox but you know if that if that would have happened I think it would have happened by now um and we wouldn’t have seen all the signings that we’ve seen so uh no develop it the way we’re doing it is the right way to do it but you know somebody really really really good does come available you’ve got it you’ve got it y look at it absolutely because you’ve only got a small window with these players um and you know unfortunately some of them W go on to pastures new um so when you’ve got that chance you need to take that chance and put yourself in a position to to try and win that Championship I’ve got to be honest G when you were talking there about Golden State I absolutely winced because what’s happening now and when you look at like they’ve got kaminga but how it’s developed where they could have had I think lamelo ball they could have had they could have had shenon in there think that would have been a pretty big way to start rebuilding if they hading alongside Seth I think their front office probably changed from uh the time they drafted all those you know Stars yeah the recent ones change again maybe any more for any more guys I just want to ask one question we’ve been talking about our own offseason and we’ve already mentioned that we think the Pacers have had a great offseason seon that OKC have been nailing it um who’s who for you has really fell short not had a good good one so far oh that’s a toughy Chicago yep I’m going to throw the Lakers in there again I they’ve just for what they were supposed to be aiming for and who LeBron was supposed to have said that I’m willing to take a pay cut for um they’ve just landed nobody they are in some di Straits when you look at how far over they are in the in the cap how how little of their own uh future drafts picks they own it’s uh it’s a difficult situation for the uh for the Lakers Camp I’m guessing at this moment in time looking at it um what about you Gary Golden State yeah I think it’s I think it’s looking as though it’s reaching the end I think the loss of CLA Thompson is probably morale morale wise if you’re Steph Curry that’s going to hurt you and yeah they’ve tried to make a few moves to bring it back but I’m not so sure that’s going to do it buddy heeld went there today he did I’m going say with Landing buddy hee does that change the it’s not an awful deal is it 21 million but they’ve got they’ve got to at some point I think gamble on this and go right what have we got in kaminga and even give Moses Moody a shot that’s I think it’s they’re they’re at that point now where Draymond looko was ready to blow the times last season um they’ve lost clear even step isn’t quite at the level he was before so I think they’re kind of edging nearer and nearer to the end now and you know we we’ve we’ve seen a good Dynasty there but it looks as though it’s when Clea went I was like this is going to be hard for you guys now so probably Golden State but I think it’s natural wastage as they would say in the business World Miami yeah that’s a good shot actually they didn’t get a free agent until was it yesterday I must missed they picked up yesterday Alec Burks all right okay yeah that’s not awful signing for them he does fit their their style of play very much yeah I think they Kev left back as well yeah on about with the Rosen aren’t they now for him yeah you could see thatle B though couldn’t you yeah you could so although he’s being linked with the Spurs and Kings now apparently so we’ll see see but I don’t think they’ve lit anything up this this offseason yeah just just interested guys yeah you I think I think you look at the bottom of the East and Brooklyn Chicago and Washington look as though they’ve got them three slots sewn up already um I’d be honest I think there’s question marks about some of and I’m not hating on Scotty barns here there’s question marks on the Raptors on the money they’ve spent um and I think Scotty barns is an Allstar like I do think he’s that level of talent but I think what what the got around him’s going to need some more yeah you know there we go it’s a good question you need your favorite to uh to make a a a rise this season he’ll rise to the [Laughter] occasion oh Grady yeah you you love it g you love it right on that bombshell I think we’ll say I’ll go with that safe um that’s going to do it for this week thanks for listening watching um before we go we want to say a big thank you to our patrons who help us with the show so thanks for your incredible support Barry con Paulo and France warmth Ole law Gary Clark Angus Craig Dylan Holden Alan K Tom son Mark Joss sha Mo Liam radborne Andy Lindley Stuart Benes drum drum drummy drum drum poda Phil loves hisy Northwestern and Welcome to our newest member Michael Martin who joined us so thank you very much for for joining the club Michael it’s massively appreciated and welcome on board cheers Bud um I think G might have sent you a message about linking up in the Discord group so hopefully have yeah um if you’re interested in joining our patreon have three T’s available we’ve got Varian benefits please visit patreon.com let talk magic if you wish to join the guys today so I think that’s going to do it this week so the third lion for Mikey for G Paul and for myself as always go magic

In this episode of Let’s Talk Magic, the hosts discuss the recent signings and moves made by the Orlando Magic in free agency. They start by welcoming the listeners and discussing the significance of July 4th, Independence Day. They then dive into the signings of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jonathan Isaac, Mo Wagner, and Goga Bitadze. The hosts share their thoughts on each signing and discuss the impact these players will have on the team. They also touch on the potential departure of Markelle Fultz and the importance of team chemistry. In this conversation, the hosts discuss the recent offseason moves of various NBA teams. They analyze the signings and trades made by the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Indiana Pacers, among others. They also evaluate the performance of teams like the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers, highlighting areas where they fell short. The hosts express their preference for a patient and methodical approach to team-building rather than flashy moves. They also speculate on potential trade targets for the Magic and emphasise the importance of character and fit when acquiring star players.

00:00 Introduction
06:44 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: A Valuable Addition
27:14 Joe Ingles: Departures and Impact
33:17 Goga Bitadze: A Backup Center with Defensive Skills
37:49 Grading the Orlando Magic’s Offseason
40:42 Building Through the Draft
45:17 Exploring the Possibility of Trading for a Star Player
49:28 Teams with Good Offseasons: Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder
53:47 Teams Falling Short: Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors
01:03:00 Thanking Patreon Supporters and Inviting New Members

🔵 Welcome to our weekly podcast Let’s Talk Magic, covering the Orlando Magic with your hosts Paul Bacon, Mikey Clark, Geraint Jones & Gary Craggs.

📌 If you like the videos, hit the Like button, Subscribe and turn on Notifications. Thank you for supporting the channel! Go Magic!

🎢 Planning Your Next Holiday to Orlando? Then check out our partner Attraction Tickets to buy your Orlando Magic tickets, theme park and attraction tickets to DisneyWorld, Universal Studios, Seaworld and more. Visit Attraction Tickets using this link: https://tinyurl.com/2jv2wy6u

🔔 Subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive content and benefits: https://www.patreon.com/letstalkmagic

🎽 Shop Let’s Talk Magic Merchandise: https://letstalkmagic.teemill.com

🏀 Shop NBA Store EU: https://nbastore.vwz6.net/X6kjg (Use discount code MAGICUK10 for 10% off)

🏈 Shop Fanatics UK: https://fanatics.ncw6.net/RAbNX (Use discount code MAGICUK10 for 10% off)

📱 Follow Let’s Talk Magic on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letstalkmagicpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_letstalkmagic
X: https://twitter.com/_LetsTalkMagic
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@_letstalkmagic
Website: https://www.letstalkmagic.com