2024 Free Agency-Palooza Live Show!
the big day is here it is free agency it starts in 30 minutes so let’s get you ready with the big news for the orlandoo magic what’s possible what their plans are and answer your questions as we prepare to react live to the first moments of free agency it is June 30th it is time for lock on Magic Live you are locked on Magic your daily Orlando Magic podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday and you are indeed locked on Magic today is June 30th 2024 it will be July 1st 2024 the NBA New Year the calendar flips over contracts roll over and we enter a brand new NBA calendar year my name is Philip Rosman Reich I should put that back up my name is Philip Rosman Reich I’m the senior writer over at orlandomagic.com of course follow me on Twitter Philip rror on today’s episode of lock on Magic we’re gonna go over everything you need to know to get ready for free agency which again starts in about 30 minutes if you’re watching us live on YouTube if you’re listening to us um you can skip ahead 30 minutes uh to get to the live reaction to free agency I’m going to take this time of course to answer your questions I do see your comments there on the YouTube page I will be getting to those very very shortly um and prepare to kind of preview preview what we can expect from the orlandoo magic things that may be relevant tomorrow or could be irrelevant here in 30 minutes as well we’re going to get to all that coming up here in just a moment but first I want to thank you all again for making lock on Magic part of your day every day no matter when you listen to us whether you’re watching us live listening to us first thing the morning or whenever you listen to us we truly appreciate you making lock on Magic part of your day every day remember there’s a great lock on podcast covering every single team in the NBA just search for lockedown and the team you’re looking for the lockon podcast Network it’s your team every day today’s episode of lockdown magic is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more as the playoffs have wound down as Sports except for baseball and soccer go dormant this summer fandel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long visit fanduel.com lockon to get started that’s what I get for going off script um obviously let’s let’s let’s just address the elephant in the room first um last night Adrian wowski of ESPN reporting that Paul George the big fish in free agency the guy that is potentially the only Max free agent who is going to move teams this this off season will’ll take a meeting with the LA Clippers the team that that that holds his rights at the moment uh the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic now reporting has come out here in the last few hours I think I think it’s I think we could say last few hours that suggest the Philadelphia 76ers are indeed the favorites to land Paul George and I don’t think that’s necessarily a surprise I’ve had Paul George as a a sort of shorefire Philadelphia 76er for a while they have an MVP candidate in Joel embiid they have a ton of resources still to still add to their roster they are closer to a championship or at least more provably closer to a championship than the Orlando Magic this is not to knock the Orlando Magic I’m GNA come back to them here in a second um but it always a felt like the magic weren’t quite ready to fully commit to everything Paul George is um as I said on my previous pods talking about Paul George I don’t have a basketball reason not to pursue Paul George there’s a lot to say about Paul George he is still an All-Star level player he is an elite catch and shoot three-point shooter would give the magic that element that they so desperately need and he gives them the versatility as someone who can attack can create can be a a score in his own right Beyond just three-point shooting that kind of Versatility is what the magic are looking for plus he has the size plus we know he can play some defense the concerns with Paul George have always been about injuries he’s uh he had a good he had a healthy season last year but he has struggled with injuries throughout his career and age he is entering his year 34 season if you sign him to a four-year deal he will be 38 this is Paul George going for his last big contract I have been very skeptical on the magic pursuing Paul George on two fronts first that the magic would want to commit essentially all of their $50 million in cap room to Paul George to one player they have multiple needs on this roster we’re going to address those here in a minute but the magic have multiple needs on their roster I don’t think they can fully commit to one player and maintain the depth that has been the Hallmark of this team over the last several years the years are also very concerning um I think the magic want to maintain some nimbleness maintain some Financial flexibility while the salary cap is going to increase we saw that the salary cap numbers come in today a little bit lower than expected 140.5 million $140.5 million salary cap next year’s cap will jump up to 154 they are anticipating a 10% raise in the salary cap because of the new TV deal but the magic laws will be paying fron Vagner poo banero and jayen Suggs over the next two years I think the magic want to maintain some Financial flexibility we’ll get to some strategies here in our next segment so I as much excit as there is and and we’ll I’ll I’ll dip into the comments here in a minute um as much excitement as there is about uh about Paul George and the potential of Paul George I don’t think he is the right move for this team at the moment but that’s not the point of all this is that’s that’s not the point of the report that came out from Ro yesterday I think a lot of magic fans have been potentially excited about the potential bringing in Paul George someone’s going to pay him the money it’s who’s going to give him the max is he going to convince Philadelphia to give him essentially a $200 million deal two year 200 million four years the magic may the magic may not the point of it is though the magic are in the room and this is the important thing to think about as we get out into free agency and get out into this transaction window Jeff welman said I believe he said it after the season if he didn’t say it he said it Monday uh during during before the draft there are now doors open for the Orlando Magic that have not been opened before there are now conversations this team can have with agents with free agents with with people around the league that they have not been able to have really in a decade think about this s magic had this much cap room last year they had a ton of a cap room last year and all they could really manage and the potential like everyone could see oh Palo B Carroll is going to be an All-Star very very soon this team was the last team eliminated from playoff contention you know they were essentially a 500 team after from December to the end of the season everyone could see this magic team was coming and yet the biggest free agent the magic got was a two-year $22 million overpay for Joe Engles now some of that I think was intentional some of that I think was Jeff wman saying I believe in what we have I believe in the culture we’re building let’s keep it together let’s give this team a chance to grow let’s see what we have before we go out and make moves and adjustments but now things have changed Pao vano is an All-Star and the way that he performed in the playoffs averaging about 28 points per game three 30-point games in the playoffs a 34o outing uh in or 38o outing in game seven the magic getting to a game seven in a first round playoff series with this young team that served notice around the league that told everyone around the league the magic are ready to win it opened those doors it opened the door for the magic to have this conversation with Paul George because the Detroit Pistons have just as much cap room as as the magic do the Detroit Pistons aren’t having conversations with anybody maybe they’ll jump in Splash a but you know put a big brown sack with a dollar sign on it in front of Isaiah hartenstein and say please come here but any player who is serious about about winning no offense to our friends that locked on Pistons no one who’s serious about winning is going to go visit the Detroit Pistons right now the magic may not be the favorites to land Paul George but they are in the room and that means every move and this should be obvious but every move the magic make from here on out is about winning it’s about getting this team closer to a championship every trade everything we talk about now is about that goal I would argue a lot of this offseason is not necess is about making the team better don’t get me wrong but it’s about setting the chess board for when the magic don’t have this Capital they have a two-year window to spend some money and obviously you have to spend some money this year to get to 90% of the salary cap so that they can get luxury tax payments and and and avoid that that massive cap hold the magic have the magic are going to spend this summer The question is how aggressive are they going to be and being in the room with Paul George having that door open to them should mean that they are very very aggressive this is as Jeff welman loves to tell us an exciting time to be a magic fan it really is because while the magic may not end up signing Paul George and I’m again we’ll see we’ll see if I’m lying here in 20 minutes um I am skeptical I am skeptical that they will give a a fouryear deal to Paul George I’m skeptical that they would give a four-year Max to Paul George um they’re not they’re not desperate to win a championship they know their window is open but not closing them um I am very skeptical that the magic would do would would would kind of push all their chips in for Paul George at his age with his injury history knowing this team’s hesitancy to spend their their their desire to be financially responsible their desire to be financially Nimble I don’t think this is their Allin move but also it’s very clear the magic are in that room they’re in that conversation and they have to be thinking about those big moves to push this team forward and make them contenders so if Paul George is at the boo what is we’ll talk about some of the other free agency rumors I’ll get to your comments and questions we’ll get to that coming up here in just a moment but first today’s episode of lockon magic is brought you by friends at FanDuel look summer is not the best time in sports unless you’re a big baseball fan and if you’re a big baseball fan then it is a great time in sports but NBA’s done NHL’s done NFL is on the horizon college football is not happening no college basketball summer can be a little bit empty when it comes to a sports fans but FanDuel has a way to keep the sports going whenever you want all you have to do is open the app and dream up bets anytime you’re in the mood and this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long whether you’re betting on Futures like the magic winning the championship I believe the magic have the lowest odds to win the championship among all teams that won that that uh made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference especially before free agency go hop in and get put some money on the magic uh you got WNBA of course soccer big soccer summer going on and MLB so head over to fanduel.com lockon and start making the most out of your summer fanduels official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball I want to thank you for joining us live here on lockon magic or if you’re listening to us on on repeat or after the fact appreciate everyone for listening to lock on Magic after you’re done with us here and my plan is to go till about 7 o’clock so we’ll have plenty of time to get your questions plenty of time to talk about issues with the Orlando Magic um but once you’re done with listen to us be sure to check out the lockon sports today 247 stream Channel that’s going to be your place to go and hear the biggest stories on free agency Sunday from the local experts like me who know what we’re talking about when it comes to this team lock on sports today brings you can’t miss analysis opinions and news streaming 247 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels at part of the lockon podcast Network that’s your team every day so we are doing a live show want to make sure I include you guys here I want to get that big first statement out we’ll talk I’m going to talk a little bit more about where the magic go without Paul Paul GE if they don’t get Paul George what some of the alternative plans might be because I do think the magic are going to be working two maybe three different tracks down here as we think about what the magic are going to do um so we’ll get to that in a minute but let me let me get to some of your questions here on the YouTube because on YouTube and then this is YouTube exclusive so I can check stuff going on on my phone I also have Twitter up on my computer which I don’t usually have up uh when I am uh recording just because I don’t want the distraction so when we get to six we’ll you know the show will change very clearly when we get to 6m Eastern time here on the show but let me get to some of your questions um questions here um uh as as veram says here not a day for conser conservative commentary fil today we think big my friends think big and and look I 100% agree with this 100% the time to think conservatively is is is pretty much over now I I don’t think you’d be Reckless with this I don’t think that you’re reckless and just spending wildly and not thinking about the future you know the magic here this is this is kind of the difference here Philadelphia has to win immediately Joel embiid has is a is is a ticking clock you know he’s got his injuries he’s in his prime the Sixers need to do whatever they can to win a championship this year to me Orlando’s window is three to five years um you know I don’t think you know realistically they’re probably not winning a championship this year so the urgency to do something big isn’t as great but having said that the magick are in a two-year window to spend um we’ve kind of hinted at this you know every everything kind of revolves around this a little bit the magic have this two-year window to spend they have this year they have next year to spend um because fron vogner he’s going to get a $35 million contract at minimum his max is around $38 million I calculated out to 250 something I I did the math I I can actually look this up here real fast uh since I did the math already uh fron vogner will have a Max contract that starts at $ 38.7 million and I was wrong his max his max five-year deal if I mathed correctly is five years $226.1 million on top of this Jaylen Suggs I think we can expect to get a contract somewhere in the 28 to 31 maybe $ 32 million range so fron is probably looking at 33 to 36 37 million contract J Jaylen sugs in that 28 to3 two range pao’s Max is gonna Poo’s Max is going to end up being like 42 million on that first year um don’t worry about the raw numbers more important is the percentage of the cap $38 million is 25% of next year’s projected cap so this is something that’s hanging in the background and this is why the magic not only have to spend to hit the salary floor hit the kind of salary floor this year um they have to spend because this is the chess board they’re going to have with when they hit title contention if this isn’t the year there would be title contenders this is kind of to me sorry this is going to sound conservative veram um to me this season is about continuing to establish who you are it’s to repeat what you did this season repeat and improve you want to improve don’t get me wrong you want to improve but the magic got to prove they can do it all again that they can be a top defensive team again that they can uh that they can kind of take this NE this this next step or or that they could say okay we are established as a playoff team and we’re getting better um that’s to me what this season is is is more about now obviously you want to get better if there’s a chance to to make Commerce finals like Indiana did you do that um this is about establishing your pecking order and about setting the table for those trades that you’re going to be able to make when you don’t have salary cap room anymore when you are capped out when you are dancing with the first apron when you are maybe dancing with the second apron and again that’s why I think throwing all your money at Paul George isn’t the right right idea but it does mean they should still be aggressive they should still be aggressive to to find needs uh it doesn’t necessarily have to be a free agent they can use their cap space in trades I’d put C.J McCollum on my list I’d put Anthony Simons on my list I’d put um der scarland I think has been a name that a lot of people have liked I’d go I’d be calling Washington about Malcolm Brogden we will see what the magic ultimately do but I do agree it is a day to think big it’s a day to be aggressive to fulfill needs and every and and the like but having said that I still think the magic um I still think that the magic are in a position where they want to find players that fit their culture and fit their identity I I think again like I said I think this season is as much about hardening the team’s identity and culture and place in line as much as it is about getting better they they need to get better don’t get me wrong I’m not sitting here saying oh take a step back to take a deep breath and like reflect on what you did no no no keep getting better but I do think it’s still about okay let’s not s you know let’s not sacrifice our defense to get a little bit better offensively um that might be why there might be some hesitancy to take Klay Thompson because he’s not the defender he used to be I still think he’s a pretty good Defender and you got Jaylen Suggs next to him so that’ll help um but that might be why the magic aren’t as interested in tyus Jones as a lot of fans were because tus Jones is not a good Defender he’s on the small side it might be why the magic aren’t as interested in INF for sign as fans are because while Simons is an excellent offensive player he’s never been asked to defend a day in his life so maybe you bring him in here you have confidence that he will fit the defensive culture with a team that will teach him that defense and if you believe that go get anfy Simons he’d be a great fit in this team fits the timeline relatively priced well at 25 million around $25 million a year you know if you if you believe that you go for him um to me that’s that’s kind of where I stand let’s let’s move on to a couple other questions here I want to make sure I get get them all um get to as many of them as I can Janine Richmond says here hey Phil hold the magic should the magic sign PG to the max how does that impact the rest of our players and the Magic’s ability to add any other players the Orlando Magic have roughly $50 million in capital um if the magic were to offer Paul George and Max I believe that would take up if not all of that cap room a significant amount so you’re looking at essentially spending all of your money on Paul George and then you’d have only the room mid-level ception which is about $8 million to add a player a lot of us have suspected the magic declined the option on on moger’s contract with the intent of bringing him back for virtually the same amount giving him a new deal like a two-year 17 million deal um you know giving a little bit of extra money on the back end of that deal uh to bring him back but use that that cap room to to to bring bring him back um that would be the only tool left for the magic so you’d have to enter the trade market and then you don’t have a you don’t have you know you don’t have a lot of leeway I found when I was doing the lock on mock draft that there wasn’t a lot of room to make trades um at had a couple deal most of the deals that I had no one was really interested in Cole Anthony a lot of the deals that I had um involved Wendell Carter and the reason I didn’t execute any trades in the lock on mock draft is just I wasn’t sure the magic were going to get Isaiah hardenstein that that eventually was what kind of slowed me down on the trade market it’s just like I don’t trust that I can beat Oklahoma City for Haren Stein and fill the rest of my rest of the needs that I have um you know like rest of the needs that I have so I ended up not executing any of those deals but to me that’s what that exercise told me and what that exercise informed me about is that is that uh a Carter you know without you know I need a I need a center I need a starting center the Center Market is terrible if you’re not getting Isaiah hartenstein you cannot trade wend Carter but having said that having said that and this is kind of plan B if the magic don’t get Paul George their plan is probably to go after cavius Caldwell Pope uh and and move on from there um if the honestly the Magic’s Plan B if if things are be to be believed Mark Stein on his substack has been reporting that a lot of league league insiders believe the magic and the Oklahoma City Thunder are both gunning for Isaiah hartenstein um you know again he’s probably looking at a two-year 47 48 million contract close to $50 million close to 25 a year um the Thunder obviously very much need a center to put next to Chad holgren um Plan B is probably to go after hartstein and then you go after harste and then as Mike Scot on hoop hype reported if the magic do get hartenstein that means wend Carter is readily available in trades and that there will be I think a lot of suitors who will look at wend Carter and yeah he had a bad year yeah he had the injury but that is a versatile center that is someone that can contribute and help a team um you know a big a big team on that front is New Orleans I’ve had New Orleans the New Orleans pegged as a potential trade partner for the magic for a while while I’ve pitched to some of my New Orleans Friends a wend Carter for CJ McCullum swap there’s been some people are like huh that’s kind of interesting you know there might be some details that need to be worked out I haven’t pitched that to him since the jonay Murray trade it sounds like Brandon Ingram’s kind of the odd man out in that group rather than McCullum mccullum’s not a great defender on a little bit of the small side but I do like him because like Jaylen Suggs he’s a quasi point guard he’s not like a true point guard but he can playmake and pass a little bit and he’s such an excellent shooter and such an excellent off the- ball shooter so he would give a new element to the Magic’s offense and be someone who could read defenses and help and help out so there’s something there I I don’t know if it’s something that would happen but there’s something there but that seems to be you know again like I said I think there’s like three tracks the magic are running on here as we get ready for a free agency the first is Paul George that doesn’t happen uh the you know kcp and some other signings is probably the the the other route and then the other route beyond that is hartenstein and then make some trades and then add some players as as well um I have made uh uh some people have asked me this so I want to pull this up too um what’s your favorite outcome for tonight PG or kcp hartenstein combo uh I will caution this this hour coming up here in seven minutes might be a little bit boring um I think that a lot of the league is going to be waiting on Paul George uh if I were Isaiah Haren Stein’s agent I would be waiting on Paul George to see if the magic come in uh if that’s something that’s out there um and so I don’t know if we’re going to get signings today I don’t know if we’re going to get announcements today or reports today um if Paul George is truly going to take meetings with all three teams and there’s been some skepticism that he that he may actually take those meetings if he’s going to take those meetings then we’re gonna wait because the whole league is going to be in stasis waiting to see what Paul George ends up doing um that’s that’s going to be the truth but uh I think that I think getting both kcp and hartenstein would be tough that would essentially be all of the Magic’s cap room um like I said I think they’ll they’re reserving that 8 million room room mid-level exception for Mo hogner um you you you essentially have to spend all your cap room on those two players because kyp’s probably gonna get a two-year 50 Isaiah hartstein is looking like the same deal so that’s that’s all your cap room so I I think that that would be tough if you’re doing hartenstein you’re if you’re signing hartenstein You’re probably trading Wendell Carter for a starting guard and then I would use my cap room and again this has been my thing all summer uh I think the magic magic summer spending is one like 25 you know one high level contract on a starting level guard or penstein uh and then you trade for a starting level guard and then I’d sign a mid-level shooter to like 10 to 12 million I’ve targeted Gary Trent Jr for that spot and then spend five six seven eight million on a third Center to play behind Mo Vagner when wend Carter or hardstein whoever it is gets hurt uh and then if you have a little bit of money left you could find someone for the minimum give me a veteran point guard to kind of be insurance if Anthony black isn’t ready to play or or if you just need the point guard help so that’s that’s kind of where I’m at with the summer I don’t think they’ll be able to get both um both uh this has been a question I’ve gotten a lot here Mr Dar y Dar C uh says can you explain if we will have cap space next season if we wait to extend fron and Jaylen till next offseason um that question is hard to answer today because we don’t know what the magic are spending now could the magic spend a I don’t think he’d do this but let’s say they do a oneyear $35 million deal with Klay Thompson um let’s let’s just say they say hey we’ll give you we’ll give you 40 why not let’s let’s make it even one year 40 for Klay Thompson say just come here for the money play a year and we’ll figure things out next summer that obviously releases $40 million cap hold pending um for next summer for the Orlando Magic and so they would again have cap room they could spend that cap room for a year um it’s it’s hard to predict what cap space will be the cap is going to increase or is projected to increase by 10% next season because of the new TV deal uh so they they’ll get a little bit of cap room from that a little a little extra cap room from that uh regardless but uh saying saying what the cap space is going to be is I don’t know and because we could sit here and say I don’t no that’s probably a reason to wait um a reason to wait for fron and jaylen’s extension the magic are bring in both back there is no danger in my mind that either player is going to be gone the magic will probably put a contract on the table say hey France here’s a five a fiveyear deal starting at $35 million eight% raises whole nine yards we’re going to put it on the table you could sign it today we’d be happy to bring you back or we can leave it here we’ll keep it on the table here and we will bring it back next year and maybe you’ll be better and we’ll give you a Max uh or it’ll still be here we’re not going to decrease it because we believe in you we just believe that the extra cap room is more valuable at this point we will see what that looks like after free after free agency once free agency calms down get these contract numbers I will do an episode with the c with the cop space with what the Magic’s offseason finances look like for next year we will get to that at we will get to that next after free agency calms down so that that is definitely something that’s that’s hanging around in the background um I have to take a an ad break here but we will talk a little bit more about free agency I’ll continue taking your questions here and then the show begins here in two minutes uh we’ll be we’ll be right back in just a moment okay we are back at it we’re ad Break Free the rest of the show now that’s those are out of the way um we’re back at it here we are at 5:58 PM eastern time we are two minutes away from free agency I’m going to try and do my best to continue answering your questions I do have Twitter loaded up to try and keep track of everything that is going down Ramona shelburn reporting James Harden will return to the Clippers on a two-year $70 million deal so there goes that dream for the Lakers and LeBron um we will see what ends up happening uh happening here in just a moment uh of course um so we’ll we’ll keep I I’ll be trying to keep track if you can in the comments just drop in what’s going on too because I will probably be following uh following that as well let me just make sure I know where I’m at here let me get back to your questions uh Janine Richmond asks what are your realistic free agent targets for the magic um I think Paul and look I don’t think the magic would take this meeting if they didn’t think they had a real shot at Paul George um maybe it’s posturing maybe it’s the agent saying something uh it does feel like Paul George is trying to it feels like Paul George’s Camp is trying to get the Clippers to give him that Max and give him the money that he wants they’ve been bulking at it um you know there’s been the reports that both Philadelphia and Orlando would offer the max if that’s the case if money’s equal I think he picks Philadelphia to be perfectly honest I really do think that I’ve always thought that from the beginning that is a more ready-made championship team I think that can tavius Caldwell Pope is a real option for the magic um two-year $50 million deal sort of like a a Juiced up Joe Eng Les contract uh at the end of the this this is going to sound real conservative and it’s one of the reasons I don’t love the idea but I get it um essentially to me cavius Caldwell Pope is just a better version of uh is just a better version of Gary Harris um they took about the same number of three-pointers they uh you know kcp shot a better percentage kyp is a better bigger Defender than Gary Harris is and and I think his defense has been underrated a little bit in this process um but he doesn’t move the needle significantly essentially the magic would be bringing back you the magic would get better like kcp would be a better player um but they’d be essentially the same team as they were last year so on the continuity front it feels like that fits what the magic typically do um I do think he’s a realistic Target I think again my my my ideal summer has been out a shooter Off the Bench a Gary Trent Jr or buddy hee I think he could get body healed very cheap probably at the at the mid less than the mid level probably at the taxpayer at the non at the roote mid level too at around $8 million if you wanted to to kind of price him at that at that us at that at that point um I do think that that’s a realistic Target and then on the center Front I’ve had Jaylen Smith I’ve been interested in the idea of Andre Drummond for some reason even though he’s not much of an offensive player um It ultimately I do think the magiker can bring back Goa baz on like a two-year $10 million deal I think they’ll pay him they’ll pay him a HomeTown a HomeTown bonus to come back and play that third Center role if that’s what he wants to do I haven’t looked at the guards at the kind of Deep Well of guards but I think you can wait till the end of the summer on that um let’s go through let me go through some of these comments here so I apologize H for that uh can we get in a three- team deal with Nola that involve can we get Simons in a three- team deal with Nola that involves Wendell Carter Jr uh that is absolutely possible um I would I I kind of joke with people um that that um trade fake trades are difficult to make anyway um three team trades are even more difficult to make um but there is something there uh I don’t think Portland is as interested in Wendell Carter as they used to be because they drafted Donovan kingan they’re obviously moving DeAndre Aton around uh perhaps so DeAndre Aon and Robert Williams both seem very available I would not touch DeAndre Aon I am mildly interested in Robert Williams but only with a good insurance policy on the on the third Center option um but yeah I think that’s definitely an option like I said I think that Anthony Simons is interesting but is worth exploring it is worth discussing I’m sure it has been discussed I don’t think he is a magic type player um and again I think this is a fair criticism because this summer is about risk what risks are you willing to tolerate what risks are you willing to make to kind of disrupt and change the chemistry on this team and I think that part is very underrated about this team success is how well everyone liked each other and how invested everyone was not only in each other but in the project as a whole you know mo Vagner said this all along this is this season this past season didn’t exist just because of what we’ve done this season this season existed because of three years of work we put together three years of of working uh working together uh and and I think that that really meant something so the magic have to ask themselves like what what can we gamble on a little bit here what what can we you know maybe say what can we be worse at to be better at something else I don’t think an I think anrey Simon’s defensive questions make it really hard to say okay we need to improve our shooting and playmaking Simons checks those boxes but are we giving up too much defensively and I think that’s again that’s ultimately the question um I think that we have a couple people comment as well about Klay Thompson I don’t think the magic are completely out of the Klay Thompson sweep Stakes I have been very skeptical though of the not of the interest I think there’s interest there but again same deal as Paul George I don’t think they’re willing to pay the money Klay Thompson coming all the way out east I think would be uh I think that’s that is something that’s real about him I I think he’s a little bit hesitant on that and again these high level free agents they want to compete for championships you know Klay Thompson is a is a CH is a CH is is a champion um they want to compete for Champion for Champions and that is to me that is um that is not where the magic are at you know they’re close you know I don’t think we’re as far away as we think you know I think it’s a year or two away um but I I don’t I don’t think we’re there yet um I want to add one more point I I think this is a really really important point to add before I get to the next question again I am keeping an eye on Twitter as well to see uh what news comes down um looks like Kevin Love finalizing a two-year $8 million deal with the heat again stuff that I think we all kind of expected um why am I not seeing shs here did I not put that on okay we’re gonna go to my other account here um yeah there it is okay let’s let’s let’s let’s make sure I’m caught up here Kevin Love uh Luke Cornett signed a one-year deal no surprise there James Harden we talked about we we mentioned at least we don’t need to talk about it Chris Paul’s getting waved okay we’re we’re we’re caught up now um let’s this season is about you know this whole this whole project is about Pao banero um you know the reason why the magic are in this position is because poo banero is that dude and it’s really to me it’s really important to remember as we talk about all these free agents and really to me the goal of free agency the goal of everything right now is how do we make Paulo banero and France Vagner especially make their lives easier um to me that’s the most important thing emphasize their development emphasize their growth give them chances still to explore their games but how do we make their lives easier and at the end of the day like you add a player like Paul George great he elevates this team he makes this team better I’m not going to pretend otherwise uh but the question is how much better is Pao banero going to be this team goes as far as poo banero takes them like all this other stuff is important it needs to get done it you know you need to add to this team you need to get better but this team is poo bankera if Palo vaner becomes a top five player in the league or top 10 player in the league the magic are gonna be Championship contenders if he plateaus in any way they’re gonna be where they’re at if he gets worse in any way they’re gonna fall down this project is about poo banero and that’s a lot to put on one guy I hate doing that but that’s the reality of the league the Mavericks are Luca donic the Pacers are Tyrese halberton the Cavs are Donovan Mitchell the heat are Jimmy Butler the Bucks are Yannis and TMO the Sixers are Joel embi the Nicks are jayen Brunson the wolves are Anthony Edwards the nuggets are Nicole yic the Thunder are Shay gilis Alexander the Lakers are LeBron and AD the suns are Devon Booker and Kevin Durant you can go down the entire list it’s all about the stars and the magic have a really good young star in Palo banero so they’re on the right track they’re on the right path But ultimately their success and and everything else we talk about is about how much better Palo ban Caro gets and and I feel like that is a really important point to to talk about um here’s Rafa kasanova asking odds that Joe Engles is back I mentioned uh I mentioned that um uh we’ll get to the W report here in a minute uh I mentioned earlier that I have that kind of like third point guard spot like kind of SE carved out for a veteran uh essentially I do think the magic need a Joe Engles type on their te just a veteran knows what he’s doing comfortable with whatever the coaching staff wants wants him to do all that stuff I’d like it to be a point guard because it doesn’t seem like the magic are chasing a point guard anymore um and and we know that’s such a big need for this team so just having an old head to kind of organize a team you know I don’t think it’s Chris Paul by the way Chris Paul I think still wants to win wants to compete I don’t think he’s looking to come off the bench I think he’s a little too ball dominant for what the magic are looking for um a little too small for what for who the magic are um so I don’t think it’s it’s possible Joe Engles back I don’t want to say it’s impossible but I think he the magic drafted Tristan to Silva essentially to play Joe Engles minutes um are you going to slide Joe Engles into like chuma okk’s role maybe that’s fine um I think the magic are pretty well set at that forward position I think they’ll add a forward to someone who can play the three maybe the four in free agency as well so I don’t think that that is quite where we’re at here um here’s qu Adrian roer rowski though uh two minutes ago Klay Thompson playing to have discussions with the Mavericks Lakers Clippers and 76ers in the opening hours of free agency sources tell ESPN um notably the magic are not on that list um I do think the Klay to it does very much sound like the Klay Thompson Saga and chases ended I noted uh yesterday uh Anthony Slater of the athletic did not mention the Orlando Magic in his article about Clay Thompson and what and what uh they could do um and so uh and so I’m not so surprised that the magic are not in on Klay Thompson again I think the age the contract length being a contender you look at that list of teams that he’s talking to let me pull it up one more time and let me uh let me pull up one more time Dallas the Lakers Clippers and 76ers um Sixers you know we were just talking about them and Paul George very very good chance there there’s a good chance that they’re gonna end up with both clay and Paul George and that’s a really dangerous team then again that’s what I mean like they’re closer to winning a championship Joel embiid is a better player right now than Palo vanera but Dallas obviously went to the went to the finals Clippers are the Clippers you know high level player in Kawhi Leonard high level player in James Harden still um Lakers are the Lakers with LeBron and AD like that’s that’s still a very dangerous team so not so surprised The Magik are kind of out on Clay Thompson let’s get a draft question and peson asks philli do you think the Silva could be this year’s haime hwz I have actually called him that I’ve said you know this is a player who is a veteran you know Hae hak has stayed at UCLA for all four years years very successful run at UCLA came in and very much understood immediately what he had to do very smart player very versatile player kind of a sneaky athlete I definitely think that there is a comparison between those two players sorry I’m looking at my phone um I think that there is very much a comparison between those two players both in how they operate and how they um and how they kind of approach the game their experience level their skill level um I think that’s very much a very apt comparison it was actually one of the reasons I really liked the sil it’s not just this I thought I loved his skill set I think his skills are very translatable to the NBA I think that he will be able to kind of find a fit with the with the team as he grows and learns um I I look like if you can’t tell I really like The Pick of Tristan D Silva I think he’s a really really good player checks every box the magic want um you know he’s he’s kind of what they thought chumo KK was going to be and chumo chumo was younger but D Silva just does everything to matter like again the Magic’s philosophy and this goes into free agency as well and what the magic are looking looking for the Magic’s philosophy is to have players who do everything they want players to do everything they want players uh they want players to uh be able to playmake from odd positions and to be to be smart on on that front and so it’s it’s got It’s this is how the team is built they want to be big they want to be athletic they want to be versatile and that’s what they saw the Boston Celtics Boston Celtics just won the championship playing this kind of versatile style um that’s who the magic want to be um of note let’s get to some news here um our friend welth God noting on ESPN’s broadcast which I am not watching that the uh Brian whor saying the magic are not spending money until they see what Paul George George is doing um I would let me get into this then um so I meant to get into this earlier let me get into this now um Friday we were all in the building for Tristan D Silva’s introdu press conference and you know I’ve been studying this free agent class and and if you you probably can tell if you’ve listened to me here that I am very lukewarm on this free agency class um I am very lukewarm on this class I I don’t think there is a perfect fit I agree the magic need to spend they have to do something um And Trades are hard I don’t like predicting trades they’re very hard to put together um so they need to do trade they need to do something um it’s not a great free agency class and you know obviously we were there Friday to celebrate trist D Silva and talk about him so we were not asking Jeff welman any free agency questions uh at least in the in the press conference portion of things um but people I was talking to in the building you know maybe not people that would have necessarily inside information The Vibes definitely felt very off about free agency and about the free agents ahead um again I am very skeptical that they’re in on Paul George but but I did hear from some from some people that Paul George kind of has everyone in stasis like they’re going to pursue they’re going to put their they’re going to put their their best foot forward they’re going to see if they can get him um but everyone’s gonna be waiting for him to do his thing he is the Domino you know you got the Chen reaction you got the whole domino board set up he is the Domino that has to fall before anything else happens um that is that is the truth of this matter that is the truth of what we’re seeing here in free agency is he’s the big fish everyone who’s got money is talking to him first they’re not moving until he moves um because the magic will probably tell Isaiah Haren Stein’s agent we are interested but we are pursuing Paul George first give us x amount of days to figure this out give us x amount of hours to figure this out um and if that agent’s smart he’ll either say he’ll either go to Oklahoma City say hey the magic are waiting waiting they are willing to offer this much if you match it we’ll sign today and be done um or he’ll say this is what Thunder are offering I think the match can offer more we got to wait them out because the Thunder aren’t going anywhere there’s only one Center on the market hardenstein controls the Center Market um and so the Center Market also waiting on Isaiah hartstein he’s he’s going to be in demand Detroit’s gonna probably go after him too because they love centers um it’s it’s definitely tricky here um it is it is definitely definitely definitely tricky um because everything is waiting on this uh like it like it like you’re you’re hearing it here now you’re kind of seeing it come out now everybody’s waiting on Paul George so again like I said we’re 15 minutes in we’ve had some small signings some expected signings uh get uh reported nothing’s official till July 6th or 7th um it’s slow this year because Paul George sounds like he’s gonna gonna make his uh decision here he’s gonna gonna weigh some things um let’s get back to some questions then I want to make sure I get that get get to that um Des 10 for greatness ask Philip any chance we make a trade for Trey young um I have always been doubtful of any magic interest in Trey young he is not a good Defender even if he is a Defender who’s trying and I do think he gets a little bit of a bad rap as a Defender he is on the small side I also think he’s just not the kind of point guard the magic are looking for you know the magic are not looking for a point guard that dominates the ball um they got Palo banero they love Palo banero part of what they’re developing Palo banko is he can be a playmaker that he can be a triple double you know I don’t think he’ll be a averaging a triple double guy but getting a triple double should not be rare for Palo Ben Carol you know him making him averaging five assists per game in the playoffs ignore the turnovers for now um that’s part of the growing base honestly I don’t like I remember watching those turnovers in the playoffs and for the most part there are some silly ones in there but for the most part I was like those are turnovers I’m fine poo making because he’s being aggressive he’s trying to keep others involved he’s trying to read the defense he’s dealing with a lot lot of stuff there um that’s who the magic want him to grow into they want fron to keep increasing his turnovers they want Playmakers at every position and Trey young needs the ball in his hands I I I am very I I think honestly the Trey young de Jon Murray exper Trey young is this generation’s alen Iverson and and he’s not Allen Iverson Allen Iverson’s better player but I always believe that you know Allen Iverson is the system he is that he is the only player and you saw when he started to decline when Denver traded in Detroit he couldn’t become a role player he couldn’t play with another star play off someone because Allan Iverson plays one way and that’s not a bad thing Allen Iverson is all-time great love watching Allen Iverson play Trey young one of the alltime great off one of the great off not alltime great but one of the great offensive weapons in this league he makes your offense that much better but he doesn’t play off anybody him and de Jon Murray struggled to kind of find that right balance and I don’t think he would I don’t think he successfully find that balance with poo banero I I I think he it would be a real struggle like would the offense be better sure would they win in the playoffs that I’m not convinced of um and so the assets it would take to get Trey young and it would take a lot because you know Atlanta kind of threw off deant Murray that was their move they’re building around Trey young Trey young is their guy they’re gonna stick with him I think um I just I just don’t think he is a fit for this team uh in in any way shape or form um let’s go through we’ve talked about Paul George plenty um lot of things about point guards yes the magic need a point guard to facilitate but um uh but we’ll see uh see that let’s see here let’s uh let’s talk about this uh time lapse Marvel’s says so Philip is there 100% certainty at this point with all the quote-unquote non- moves the magic have done with some of their current players that they’re about to do something big with either one or more players um so maybe I’m missing where this question’s coming from but let’s let’s I’m going to take it this way so I apologize time lapse if I’m not exactly answering your question here but the big thing that the magic did yesterday was day was was deadline day it was deadline day for uh for for a lot for a lot of things uh for a lot of contracts around the league because today is the calendar year the calendar year flips over it is officially the 20242 season if I were still numbering my episodes by Seasons this is season 9 of lockdown magic today is the season premiere of locked on Magic because it’s July 1st um that is the new NBA season that’s how that’s how that’s how things are split up here um so the magic yesterday had a lot of decisions they had you know Joe Eng Les team option declined that Mo Vagner team option declined that what what that essentially did was that maximize their cap space they have $50 million in cap room to spend a lot of us believe that that you know I was saying to a lot of people like you know if they wave mo mo vager they wave Joe Engles that means they need the cap room for something that they’re going to spend that money on someone or something like I mentioned before Mo Vagner is I I I don’t see a scenario where Mo Vagner is not back with the magic next year I don’t see anyone offering him you know a contract that the magic can’t match or contract that isn’t above that not that that room ml that the magic want to spend on him so I do believe the magic waved him very much understanding I don’t think the magic would have waved him or would have declined the team option without knowing they were bringing him back on that that that that Team friendly deal um or they or if that wasn’t the case that they knew they had a real shot at Paul George again I don’t know if they do I’m still very skeptical that they do but um but you know maybe that W Street is tweet is coming but um everything the magic have done does suggest to me the magic believe they have a shot at Paul George uh and that they needed the money for that um and so I do think that they’ll bring back Mo Vagner um is that a non-m move I mean a lot of this stuff is just procedural um you know so again I think the magic would love to have Joe Engles back but they don’t want back at $11 million they’re done kind of spending $11 million for Vibes and for a veteran player they want someone who’s going to contribute at that price so that is that is kind of where I stand um let’s see here uh let’s go to here Stephen Mory asks what are some theoretical cam Johnson Trad know you probably saw this uh come out earlier today some reporting connecting the magic to cam Johns at the Nets are entertaining trade offers from several teams including the magic for the sweet shooting forward um I I will admit I had trade discussions with lockon Nets about cam Johnson the deal that we had come up with was Wendell Carter a 2025 second and a 2026 first I believe we might have gone with that weird Suns Wizards pick that the magic have um so there is a framework for a deal um like I I told him while we were doing the deal while we were making the negotiations like I I can’t trade Carter until I know I have hartenstein um if the magic do end up signing Isaiah hartenstein and and you know I talked a little bit about him on lockon magic or not on lockon Magic because this is lock on Magic I talked about little little bit on Orlando Magic daily look Isaiah hardenstein really good defending excellent rebounder especially great offensive rebounder a great rim protector um he he he is kind of the the prototypical center we think of great rim protector plays Above the Rim tall at seven foot big like all that stuff my concern with going after hartenstein is he does not do much offensively besides dump downs and um and putbacks which is fine you can you can make a Liv you can make a living on that um you could you can absolutely make a living with that uh but my issue is is his defense significantly better than Wendel Carters and the IT test would tell you no Isaiah hartenstein is bigger he is a better rim protector he’s just a bigger body to move and you know I do agree that maybe Wendel Carter isn’t the answer at Center the the magic might need an Above the Rim uh R protector like har and Stein is um but wendo Carter isn’t that much worse statistically um he is worse I’m not going to sit here and deny that he is a worse Defender and again this is where we talk about risk with wend Carter you have a three-point shooting center you have a spreadable Center uh and I think Carter took too many threes I don’t think he dove into the paint I don’t think he worked paint enough this season um but his ability to make threes is something to Magic need because they’re so bere of shooting elsewhere having a stretchable big is really valuable for this team as they are constructed now if you give me Klay Thompson and Isaiah hartstein maybe my ideas change on that uh but with the all the uncertainty with the magic shooting you know fron voger getting back up to 35% would go a long way um it’s tough so I’ve been very like I think any trade involving the magic the market wants them to trade Jonathan Isaac for anything significant the market wants them to trade Jaylen sugs for anything significant the magic don’t want to do that I think any trade involving the magic involves wendo Carter so if the magic have a trade in place if the magic do have something for Cameron Johnson or for an Anthony Simons or for whoever that that means they got to get Isaiah hartstein first all of its contingent on signing a starting caliber Center like Isaiah hartenstein and like we’re kind of seeing now I think we can all assume this at this point plan a for the Orlando Magic is to get is to get Paul George they are sitting on Paul George first and they will wait for Paul George first right or wrong they will wait for Paul George first and that’s again we’re 24 minutes into free agency right now um and very little of significance has happened and I’m you know I’m scrolling through Twitter as I’m talking about this and people are like come on do something free agency’s boring why do that happen it’s because Paul George is taking meetings everybody is waiting on Paul George um we will be talking about Paul George all week regardless of whether the magic actually have a shot at him or not because everyone is waiting for the Big Fish Everyone is waiting for the the big player to to happen first uh and so I think that is um part of the question as well I want to get to this question this is a good question coming up here uh that came uh about 30 minutes ago so I’m about 30 minutes behind on questions so I do apologize I’m trying to trying to catch up here uh to your comments and questions so keep keep putting them in there keep putting your comments in I will get to them here very shortly um jel McQueen asks give AB a chance to prove himself he’s still a rookie he needs to develop I know he has potential so I’m willing to give him a chance to show what he can do at point guard and I completely agree with this jeel one of the more important things the magic can do this summer or this season is make sure there is a path for these for for Anthony black as well as jet Howard to play um to at least to compete for playing time they both had rookie years they both learned a lot learned a lot by watching um AB got some runs showed some promise now it’s about okay let’s let’s let let’s give him a defined role let’s give him those Marquel folz minutes like literally he’s replacing Marco folz someone someone earlier asked what’s Marco folz gonna get it sounds like he’s goingon to get the non-t taxpayer mle which is about $5 million so he’s probably looking at maybe a two-year 11 or just straight up one year five or one year six to kind of prove that he’s healthy uh and get some playing time it does does feel like there is a little bit of a market for him but again we’re going to watch some of these big big money guys go first before we get to some of the smaller players on the market um but the magic should absolutely be invested in Anthony black if anything if Orlando is hesitant to go after a point guard it’s probably either a they don’t like the point guards available or B they really think Anthony Black’s about to make a good sophomore leap or they think Anthony black is going to be someone that can help fill that Gap and fill that role for this team um I think that is very very possible I loved what Anthony black did last year I thought that Anthony black deserved more looks than he did last year there were definitely stretches where he was better than Markel folz and Markel folz just has trust he’s a veteran he knows what he’s doing Anthony AB had a had his worst game in the worst spot um he played that game against the Knicks that humongous game back in February that we all thought was like okay this is you know we’re playing New York and Indiana on back-to-back games this is a playoff test and we we hyped it up as such and they didn’t perform and I remember watching that game and Jaylen Brunson was just going to town on Anthony black and he looked scared like he looked like a rookie for the first time all year and I think he lost a lot of trust with the coaching staff after that um fair or not I think they were like he’s not ready we can’t depend on him in these big moments to step in in these big moments now if I have a criticism for Jamal Mosley I don’t have much criticism for Jamal Mosley last year but if I have a Critic for him I do think he should have been doing more to prep the team for the playoffs and by that I mean play Anthony black occasionally give you know every five games he gets to play Marquel F’s minutes give him that look just just just kind of dip his toes in the water a little bit just keep him fresh keep him motivated same thing with goab batad Mo Vagner those players were not options in the playoffs because we hadn’t seen either of them since February and so I think planning that out a little bit especially if the magic have the kind of depth that we’re hoping they’re going to have this year where like all 12 players should play um you know and again rookies and young players you know ex you know getting extra leeway on that um we got to see these guys play um because they’re they’re big parts of this team future I absolutely agree that Anthony black should get um should get uh an opportunity um good question here from esan SW Swan Esquire PJ doesn’t sign to tomorrow do we wait to sign other players yes it would appear that the magic are their their plan a is to go after Paul George um like I said everybody is in flux everybody is in stasis until Paul George Signs until Paul George agrees to a deal um and so and so I think that is a real thing so I do I do think and I don’t know when Paul George is gonna decide you know he may be one of those guys that says okay I met with everyone mon Sunday I’m going to sit and talk with my team Monday maybe decision Tuesday maybe decision Wednesday nothing can be signed on paper till July 6 so again or July 7th or whatever it is um so you know there’s gonna be some patience but yeah you know the magic do have to be concerned because if they are going after Isaiah hartstein the um the uh uh uh the the Thunder aren’t going to wait the Thunder are not going after Paul George they they they probably want to get this done they’re probably nervous about their Center position they want to get this done so that is that is definitely uh definitely a thing um Sean Williams asking do you expect Foltz to be back I do not expect marel Foltz back I love Marquel again I talked about that kind of Veteran third guard role folz would be a really good option for that veteran third guard role um but again you want to play Anthony black um and and so I think that I think folz is gone like just for where this team is at the the the shooting that they need what they need to be successful Marco fultz just you know I don’t expect them to bring Gary Harris back I I think I think Harris would also be very helpful for this team um it’s I think that is that is that is something there too um again a lot of people mentioning this I want to bring this point back up about kcp kcp averaged about 10 points per game not much better not that much better than Harris um that’s kind of my conclusion but he is better than Harris um so I do want to do want to note that he would Elevate the team a little bit but again I agree just not as aggressively as I think we all want them to um essentially if the magic sign kavus called Pope it’ll be to the Bruce Brown special like a two-year $50 million deal just an overpay on a short-term deal that you can get out of it really quickly maybe a team option on that second year or non- guarantee on that second year you’re really using him as trade balance and so this is what I’m kind of talking about with this season this season is a little bit about um uh this season is a little bit about uh um what’s it called uh uh uh I’m because sham just tweeted something that I’ll talk about here in a minute this season is about setting the table for uh future trades and for how this team develops and grows as they as they bump up against the salary cap as they bump up against the luxury tax when they don’t have the ability to go out and spend in free agency or kind of be aggressive in trades this is these are the players that you’re trading to get better um and so again I’m not against tus Jones I want like I would not mind signing tus Jones I think he is flawed I don’t think he’s the answer but he is someone that can help you get the answer is is what I’m getting at you need the salaries to help you get the answer uh as as well so lots to get to there um lots lots to talk about um there um let’s go here sham strania reporting uh just a minute ago quote with cap space teams Orlando focused on Wing free agents and youut focused on current roster decisions and Nick’s working to unhard cap sources say the OKC Thunder are in Eugene Oregon set to meet with Isaiah hartenstein so a lot to break down there um a lot to talk about there let me see can I do this let’s uh never mind trying to figure out how to share my screen here but I can’t um let me figure out how to do that nope no no share screen there we go uh screen let’s go sorry let me find my Twitter thing here there it is let’s share that screen let’s share a screen why don’t we here uh here we go uh we don’t want to listen to Stadium there uh so there’s a tweet from Shams Tania with caps space teams Orlando focused on Wing free agents and Utah focused on current roster decisions Nick’s working to unhard cap OKC in Eugene to meet with Isaiah hartstein no surprise there again Oklahoma City desperately wants a big to pair with Isaiah hartenstein they desperately want um or to pair with Chad holgren they desperately want some size they felt like they got beat up a little bit in their playoff series with Dallas with with Daniel Gafford and uh PJ Washington and uh and Derrik Lively especially so no surprise there that that Oklahoma City is going after hartenstein Orlando going after Wing free agents so that would be Paul George that would be cavius Caldwell Pope most likely uh I have Gary Trent Jr and Buddy hee as potential bench options if that’s the way the magic want to go as well so uh I do think that that is that is part of part of this as well and now I have to go back here do this um so I do think that is part of this as well so just some news to get get down there uh as the magic are active they’re doing something um probably waiting for their meeting with with Paul George so that is that is part of what’s going on here um again this is like I’m not here to call you out Mr CJ quz I don’t anticipate the magic trying to do something to just steal headlines like Paul George is a good player like I know there’s concerned about his age I know there’s concerned about his injuries Paul George would Elevate this team like like I I I say this every time I talk about Paul George the reasons I don’t want to chase Paul George are not about his basketball skills he is an excellent basketball player he was a he would be a great basketball player for the Orlando Magic he is an elite elite catch and shoot three-points year last year he shot better on catch and shoot three-pointers than Klay Thompson did um Trey young would grab a ton of headlines no doubt about it really high level player um I don’t think you’d be able to make the cap work to get all of them and then take care of your own guys next year I mean you can do it under the cap but um it would very much hard cap you Trey young I don’t think is the answer for this team I don’t and know yes he is a high assist guy but he needs the ball in his hands a lot I don’t think that’s what the magic are looking for either so you know definitely a lot to to go to go there as well um let’s see here uh ver putting me on the spot that’s so Phil who do you want um I actually like the Klay Thompson idea I’m not going to lie um I think that if it were me I would have I think I would have said the risk that I would have done is I’ll do two for 70 for Klay Thompson I’m not gonna do more than that I want maybe some protections on that second year maybe partially guaranteed that second year I would do two for 70 for Klay Thompson I think that just H to me the biggest thing for the magic this year um is they got increase their three-point volume like like I I Hon like I want them to shoot better from three it’s important they shoot better from three being a bigger threat from three will open everything else up and so even if Klay Thompson is washed even if he is not the same player last year Klay Thompson shot 39% from three it’s the second time in three only the second time in his career he shot worse than 40% from three and so I don’t want him on a long-term deal I don’t want to sign him for four years or anything like that um but Klay Thompson shooting 39% from three and taking eight three-pointers per game would transform this offense it would give this team so much more space and Clay well I don’t think he’s well he’s certainly not the defender he was you know several years ago or before the knee injury um he knows how to defend like he’s not GNA be a like Joe Eng Les wasn’t a good Defender and Klay Thompson’s a better Defender than Joe Engles um but uh but Joe Engles knows where to be on defense like he still did good things defensively like you know you didn’t you know you had to limit him a little bit and and be careful with him and protect him a little bit but he would still make defensive plays and I don’t think and I think Klay Thompson can still do that and so that would so like to me of all the options we had clay was the guy that I really wanted um you know I’ve talked a little bit about kcp I I agree he is not as meaningful an upgrade over Gary Harris he is an upgrade over Gary Harris he would be a better Gary Harris but he would be a better Gary Harris he wouldn’t be a new element to add to this team he wouldn’t increase and improve the playmaking um I think I get going in for Paul George I think it’s too much of a cost like I I’d sit and listen i’ take the meeting but I would I would you know the minute I’m done with that meeting in La I’d go to Eugene and talk to Isaiah hartenstein um I’m not as high on Isaiah hartstein but if I have a deal in place for someone significant you know you know I i’ I’d be for the risk on anony Simons like I’ll be real I I would do the risk on anony Simons I would go for that I’d say okay he’s a young player we can teach him you know if he shows that he can be committed to us um I can we can teach him um to me that is a risk worth doing but it’s it’s hard um the bench guys I’m more I I more know who I would Target on the bench guys like if goo baz doesn’t want to come back to be a third Center Jaylen Smith Andre Drummond are kind of my low-end centers that I would Chase I would Chase Gary Trent Jr to come off the bench um and be your jet Howard Insurance and again it’s all about having guys who can trade it’s all about being able to say okay we got this guy and this guy to trade for a better player you know you get you know you could do you know it’s about setting that table um those are the guys that that I would go after again I I I’m not enamored with this free agent class and I think the magic are looking for very very very specific things uh on this this market so that’s that’s kind of what I think um my good friend meatwad 4343 Aqua aqua H Hunger Force number one in the hood je uh thoughts on Chris Paul could be table setter Pao want and could probably give you 15 to 20 minutes a night uh I don’t hate the idea um there were there was times this year that I would uh think uh there there are there there are gu there are there there were times this year I thought that that he would be a good addition and would be a good uh option for this team uh during the season I thought you know trade for him gives you that point guard stability gives you that veteran um but he’s not the right fit um he is too small you know just we know this team like size uh he is a step slow um he just did not look right all year long and he’s still someone that needs to dominate the ball like I don’t think he could play him off the ball and you know the the trick the tricky part about what the magic are doing is they are looking for very specific types of players to grow and develop around their core and their Three core guys are Pao fron and Jaylen um they’re looking for very specific guys to develop around them uh and and they’re hard to find like the ideal point guard for the Orlando Magic is Derek white Boston is not making Dereck white available anytime soon so you got to find things that are closer you gotta understand what you’re willing to compromise um to to fill the need to improve and to you know maybe try something a little bit new I don’t think the magic want a ball dominant point guard um I’ve kind of been shying away from guys who are you know like Trey young I did my whole die tribe on Trey young he’s just too dominant like he needs the ball too much to be successful and I don’t think the magic are looking for that I think that they’re looking for someone who could spread the floor initiate offense create a little bit for themselves and all that if there’s a trade I would think about doing and I don’t love the contract I don’t love his defense I’ve been really I’ve been floating around that wendo Carter for CJ mullum idea help relieve some C pressure for the Pelicans they obviously just got d Murray um so maybe things are a little bit different they’re not bringing Jonas valentinis back so they desperately need a center um I think that that is something that I would look into doing look into doing because McCullum is a quasi point guard he can play a little point he can pull up he can pull up and create shots for himself you know he doesn’t need to be the guy anymore um but defensively he’s a weak spot and again you’re thinking about the playoffs will this player be able to hang out in the playoffs to me that’s the ultimate question so that’s that’s that’s a difficult issue um let’s see here I’m just gonna I want to make sure I get to [Music] um I need to play point uh I am Matthew Kennison I am not a point guard uh I am a center uh I have told several magic coaches over the uh Matthew can send here asking Philip how much would it be to sign you to play point guard name your price uh I am not a point guard uh I have never been a point guard in my life I have told several magic coaches over the years if you ever need a 61 Center you know where to find me um but that is that is me so um I I I think that’s that’s that’s that’s definitely thing iceb saying welcome to Orlando Daniel th that is not an official thing but yeah I could see that happening I think that he would be a good third Center to have on the roster a veteran guy uh not quite a starter anymore I don’t know if I he’s tough he’s he’s kind of he’s kind of on the back end of he’s certainly on the back end of his career um here’s a good one Daniel Morton asking what do you make of we Park’s consistent Praise of jet Howard uh this is definitely something that I have noted too um that they’re really high on jet Howard and I don’t know if this is them just pumping his ego and saying like look he had a great rookie year like this is them spinning his rookie year and saying look he had a great rookie year he’s looking really good in his workouts he did everything we asked him to do in the g- league you know I think some of it is spin to say like hey we didn’t waste a draft we didn’t waste a lottery pick last year he did everything we asked him to um but this is this is not a a thing that the magic typically do I don’t think the magic usually pump up guys like this um I do think they think jet made some big strides last year um and the stats were okay not great in the g- league but he you know he played well he got his shots up um and again big thing for me the magic can’t be 29th and three-point field goal attempts per game next year they’ve got to take War 3es I don’t care if they necessarily make a better percentage of Threes they should but um they’re 24th in percentage 15th after the All-Star break but after uh January 1 but um they’ve got to take more threes and so how to me like you heard the guys I’m talking about for that bench roll Gary Trent Jr Buddy heel you know Klay Thompson reason I love Klay Thompson is like give me a guy that’s gonna take 10 threes you know Klay Thompson took I think it was 34 games of 10 three-point attempts or more last year the magic had 11 total of players who took 10 or more threes in a game um they need volume Shooters they need guys you’re going to be constant threats from three and so if jet Howard is that and the magic drafted jet Howard to be that um we need to see if he can do that um will he get the opportunity to take 10 threes a game probably not but he’s gonna be out there to shoot like that’s what they want and and like honestly Anthony black is a big story in summer league jet Howard is a huge story in summer league I I you know I don’t know if this is just spin from the Magic’s part and to say like hey we’ve got a rookie coming in his name is jet Howard because he didn’t play for us a ton last last year um but it is definitely definitely notable that the magic are really talking up jet Howard um I I do think that is uh that that is definitely a a thing here um let’s see here let’s uh make sure I’m grabbing everything I’m just keeping an eye on the news I don’t think again like I don’t think we’re gonna get news today um I’ve been pretty bullish on that I think a the league has really done I think really put the fear of God into people to tamper to to kind of like not do the excess like negotiating uh that we’ve seen before the clock before the clock starts um it sounds like you know Paul like regardless of of anything else if Paul George is going to actually take meetings it takes time to take meetings he actually has to go through these meetings um and so I think that I think that is that is uh definitely a definitely something I think that is that I think that is why we’re in this delay is because Paul George has to be the first Domino to fall the he sets the market for everyone else sets the cap room teams off you know because like you have three cap room team you have two cap room teams that a lot of people want to join sitting there in a meeting with Paul George first then things happen so it’s just it’s Domino um Ty nles good idea here Aaron holiday you’re in Orlando Magic not in Orlando Magic yet that’s just him saying that um I like Aaron Holliday good good kind of back you know at this point back a bench guy uh good insurance for jet Howard if that’s that’s where they want to go though not uh the greatest uh greatest shooter yet but definitely something something to think about there so there are a lot of backend free agents guys I’m not going to sit here deny that um uh not gonna sit here deny that um those guys are very very very very uh available um but uh again you’re G to take care of the big fish first I think that’s that’s what we’re looking at Reggie bulock is not that guy for me Ty Olsa he is he is he is a little bit on the wash side um Jonathan Isaac someone mentioning Jonathan Isaac here in the comments um Jonathan Isaac is going to be staying at 17 million whether what he comes back for after next season will be a fair question to ask um but Jonathan Isaac’s gonna stay under contract I don’t think that that is U much of anything I am catching up here very very quickly because I’ve talked about a lot of the issues um G stalgia I would not expect miles Bridges to be an option for the magic um I don’t think they’re interested in him at all just knowing the Magic’s history um as well um J slim here asking hey Phil what is the chance to Magic trade wendo Carter I addressed this a little bit earlier but I’ll repeat it here as well um if the magic make a trade Wendell Carter is the trade um that is that is the most tradable asset on the roster um and so I think that is that is that is a thing that that is that is a thing um I don’t think it’s necessarily 5050 um if the magic strike out on Paul George I think they go to Isaiah hartenstein next or kavus cell Pope next if they get hartenstein then Carter is probably gone um so again I don’t know what that that that means um Jeffrey cousins with a really good question to ask here because it’s the nitty-gritty stuff that we all care about um will Mt McClung ever wear an Orlando Magic Jersey do you think his defense has improved in the G League um mck mclung should be on an NBA roster um at the very least he should be on a two-way Rost two-way spot and the magic right now have all three of their two-way spots open treveling Queen is a restricted free agent I suspect he will be back on a two-way deal um if not taking one of those last roster spots on the team uh if it were me I would give m mclung one of those two-way two-way spots um this wasn’t a fantastic rookie class he was really good for Oola I think just to keep him on acola and to help Oola out giving him that little bit of extra money would help again like point guard we’re talking about he really improved his point guard skills more than his defense he really improved his point guard skills that was super impressive to me uh that was super impressive to me uh as well and so I think plong really made some strides this year I was really impressive three-point shots come such a long way uh he’s really improved his skills um he to me to me he should be a two-way guy at a minimum on a on an NBA roster at most like he is someone like you know Trevor and queen like that dude is a fringe NBA player like he he should be he should be pretty close to graduating off his two-way contract he just needs opportunity maybe he won’t get that here in Orlando but Matt Mong is like a a right there with him like I I think he’s a really player I don’t know if he’ll be on a magic uniform I don’t know what his plans are um I would like to see him I would like to see him get a two-way spot um get rewarded for his good season with a two-way spot get an opportunity to get a look with this team and see uh what happens there so that’s just something to consider as well uh let’s see what we got let’s see what else we got here we talked about Wendel Carter someone asked me about swerer Osprey I think they will keep the belt on swerve I think they like the young Champion there with swerve um over will Osprey but um uh that that’ll be that I don’t know what that [Music] means sorry I am catching up here because I did my 15 minutes and so I’m catching up to all your comments uh keep bringing questions in by the way we’re I I am planning to stay on until at least seven I’ll probably cut off at seven uh you know again like I said the world is waiting on Paul George uh uh uh the world is waiting on Paul George and so that’s why I don’t think we’re seeing acity quite yet here is a good question a cap question Garrett Scott Haywood asks Philip help me understand how will we afford fron and jayen next summer if we sign a big fish this summer so this is a cap mechanism um you know you probably you’re looking at Tyrese Maxi is the like the clearest example of this but essentially under the salary cap there the salary cap is a soft cap which means you’re allowed to go over the cap so long as that you’re using an exception one of the exceptions is called bird rights the bird rights exception allows you to resign your own free agents so if so you can you can always resign your own free unless you’re hard capped you can always resign your own free agents to anything to no matter what you can always resign your own free agents and bring them back now you’re always responsible for the luxury tax payments or any consequence of bringing those players back but you’re not restricted from resigning your own players so regardless of any regardless of anything else the magic can always resign fron Vagner and Jaylen sucks because they are they’re under contract for more than three years uh and so they have full bird rights now there are some technical things to this as well um there’s a thing called early bird rights if you have a player under contract for two years you can resign them to I believe it’s 175% of their previous salary this is why the Knicks can’t bring back Isaiah hartenstein Isaiah hartstein signed a two-year deal with the Knicks they’ve only had him for two years so they only have early bird rights um that would put them at seven I think it’s 17.5 million dollars that they can resign him and and go over the cap if they sign him to 18 they need they need cap room to sign him they can’t they can’t just say oh well we have 17 and a half early early bird now we have five million no it doesn’t work like that um so that’s why Haren Stein’s gone that’s why the Knicks can’t bring him back they don’t have the cap they don’t have the cap exception to go over the cap to bring him back uh and so the magic you can always resign your own players the reason why a lot of us are saying the magic will wait till next summer to bring them back even if they bring in some big fish is because in order to resign players you have to hold have what’s called a cap hold essentially the NBA says well if you’re going to go over the cap to resign your own player you have to pretend for cap purposes that they are under contract for I think it’s a 110% of their previous salary or something like that or for in their case like 200% not 200% like 110% or whatever it is um you can’t have a situation and this did happen for a while you can’t have a situation where a player is coming off of a second round contract this happened with Manu job I believe Manu job signed a second round contract deal came off that deal and the spur said oh great we have his bird rights let’s go sign a big free agent and then give Manu jobi a max deal the NBA didn’t want that anymore so they said okay yeah if you’re going to resign your own free agents you have to put on your books this Pretend This placeholder figure of 110% of their salary so this is important because with Jaylen Suggs Jaylen Suggs is probably gonna get paid $35 million or 30 you know like I said 28 to $33 million next year his cap hold is only for 23 million so essentially if the magic sign him today to a new contract they’d be throwing away $15 million of cap room that could be really valuable fron vogner is the same deal he’s gonna be paid $38 million next probably next year at you know 38 his max his cap hold I believe is 32 so you know $6 million difference may not be a ton um but essentially this is why you wait this is why the Sixers waited with Tyrese Maxi if they signed excuse me if they signed Tyrese Maxi to a max deal um they would not be able to go after Paul George they’re only able to go after Paul George because Tyrese Maxi SCI agreed to a deal and none of these deals are signed yet they they’re not official till July 7th um so the order you sign them in matters too it’s a c it’s a c it’s a weird cap mechanic um but essentially tyres Maxi signed a deal that is going to pay him starting at $35 million his cap hold is only like 18 so Philadelphia is only right now counting Tyrese Maxi for like 17 18 million but they’re going to sign him for double that that’s why you wait that’s why why you you you you keep your cap room you keep that flexibility because you can always go over the cap to sign your players as long as that cap hold exists on your books when you sign other players when you fit them into your cap you can always use bird rights as an exception and the magic hold bird rights on all of those players I hope that clears that up I think that’s uh you know that is something confusing the salary cap is only getting more confusing right now because there’s new rules under the new CBA um the apron rules are very confusing we will get get to those in due time the magic are not worried about apron rules right now but we will get to those in due time okay let’s uh see what other questions we have um here’s a good here’s a good one one of the trade options pal and LaVine both Seattle guys worked out this summer I’m scared of his contract but the ma but are the magic front office look the magic pure at least by some reports appear willing to offer four-year deal to Paul George I am very skeptical of that I don’t think um I don’t think uh the magic would go with that sack LaVine deal um to me that is the desperate move that is the move of we need to do something we need to be contenders we need to take this risk I don’t think the magic are on the risk taking business right now um maybe they need to be maybe they need to be a little bit more adventurous maybe they need to be a little bit more uh aggressive but I do think I don’t think that’s the aggression the magic want to take I’m like I think they should be more aggressive than cavius calwell Pope but I don’t think they should be Zack aggressive because to me that’s desperate to me that that reaks of desperation now Zack line would help the team don’t get me wrong when he is healthy he is an excellent three-point shooter uh I think he can he’s shown that he can be a good Defender and be part of good defensive teams uh the health is just a major issue and that contract is only going to get worse um that contract will be less onerous as um as the cap increases but uh that is a bad contract um you know that is that is not a contract I would touch but I like I like how this draws us into the next question this is a good question from Jordan and again I apologize I’m about 30 minutes behind on question so I apologize to all of you who have been waiting to have your questions answered here um Jordan Jordan writing I read an article saying Paul George would instanty make Orlando Contender what would that team Dynamic actually look like with all these fors so Paul George just played some shooting guard with the Clippers and essentially like this is a this is a point that I make to a lot of people and I think it’s still doesn’t register um doesn’t register that well with people um your position is who you defend offense positions are fudgy like you could play Anywhere the magic will be happy to play fron Paulo and George together like they there’s no I have no qualms about that I think that works um it’s about defensively and Orlando likes to switch a lot on defense so to me having three bigger Wing players I don’t have a problem with that I I think the fit I think the fit is fine overall what the dynamic is really interesting is where does Paul George get his shots um you know how do you integrate Paul George into into his shots making sure he’s involved making sure fron is involved making sure Paulo isn’t getting his shots um you know I don’t mind Pao decreasing his field goal load if he increases his his efficiency and his percentage um getting Pao some assisted shots would go a long way too you know again things to make his life easier and I think Paul George would do that the the kind of the thing I’ve been kind of telling people about Paul George is like it feels like Paul George wants Superstar money without the Superstar responsibilities and for the magic I don’t love the Superstar money for that but for the magic I like that actually I like I I I don’t mind that mentality because the magic want players that will make that will be better and and increase the talent on the roster but they also don’t want to take the ball away from Palo benero and France Vagner so you know Paul George would probably be the number two guy on that roster at that point and and and get you know Fran’s shots I think would decrease a little bit um the ease of his shots might increase though uh but but Paul George I think would be perfectly happy if oh you know P Po’s gonna work to get me six open threes a game bet I’ll do that did I use that right I don’t know if I did um I I would I he would do that and he’d be happy doing that in my opinion I think he’d be perfectly content doing that uh and so I think there’s a really good fit there I I really do think that there’s a good fit with Paul George and and doing that now uh again do you want to pay $50 million a year for that um that’s that’s the ultimate question do you want to pay $50 million to a guy who pretty clearly doesn’t want to be the guy you know pretty clearly wants to defer to someone else and you know I’m good with that on this roster I think that ultimately helps the Magic roster but yeah it it I think that’s I think again that’s that’s where I’m a little little skeptical of this um I think that’s that’s that’s where I’m a little skeptical on this um let’s see here let’s go let’s let’s keep going through a comments um a lot of people commenting on the Shams Tania Wing uh desire for the magic uh again I think a lot of that is I think a lot of that is the magic do believe in Anthony block off the bench and I think some of that is they um they believe in Jaylen sugs to be point guard um or to man the point and and hold the fort steady and and prove in that regard um I’m skeptical of that but I would agree that in games three and four and five of the playoff series especially after kind of game three the magic had Jaylen Suggs bring the ball up a lot more and organize a lot more and I do think that helped the Magic’s offense and as as Suggs gets more consistent gets more confident I want to see him add back driving to his game a little bit um uh we’ll see um you know we’ll we’ll we’ll see ultimately what they do um a lot of people noting that Chris Haynes who I do not have on my alerts does expect um does expect Paul George to make a decision today let me just see if I can find that I don’t see that I don’t see that tweeted out so I can’t uh confirm that um but you know we’ll see uh he’s got to meet with everyone you know we’ll see we’ll see what he what he ultimately does again um uh again it’s it’s kind of he’s got to go through the meeting he’s got to go through his process and again see see that as well um let’s see here you don’t draft a guy top five to be a backup I don’t get hung up on numbers like I I’ll put this out put this up there um he Anthony black was six so he’s not top five but um you draft a player um you don’t draft the number um you know again i i i people who’ve questioned anth black I say okay who would you pick who’ you pick in that spot um and and I don’t think that is that is uh quite there at the option I am slowly catching up here it is 7 o’ here uh for those that are listening on replay um uh so we are uh certainly moving forward here uh we have sham Str reporting the Clippers are actively working on trades to move Russell Westbrook that could be a move to try and free up a little bit more room uh for Paul George or for something else um again you see a lot of moves right now to to cut salary and all that uh I am trying to get through all my questions here David Ericson uh I am about 30 minutes behind so I am uh trying to move around here I’m trying to go through all my questions again if you have questions please um please uh uh feel free to put them in uh here’s one from Carin Quarry uh again apologies for butchering pronunciations uh what do you think it would take to trade for simonsville or as a loss cause since they drafted their Center already um someone pitched a three team uh deal with New Orleans I think that would be something that would be very possible um in the lockd on mock draft I did have discussions with Mike Richmond we did a whole podcast actually where we did a mock trade discussion with Mike Richmond of lockon blazers the deal that we had the framework for the deal that we kind of came up with was uh was wendo Carter and two first round picks for Robert Williams and Anthony Simons I wanted Williams back as insurance um I thought that he’d be a rim protector a little bit better of an offensive player a little bit more of an offensive player than Isaiah hartenstein was uh and kind of take care of my Center need there um he really insisted on getting Anthony black and I was not willing to put Anthony black in and really I think I I we ultimately not ended up not doing the deal and part of why we didn’t do the deal um is I’m not willing to put draft capital in yet um you know you saw what dejonte Murray went for three first- round picks essentially uh with Dyson Daniel so four first round picks essentially um you’re seeing like Macau Bridges went for five first round picks if I’m the magic I am hoarding my first round picks as much of them as I can and I know the Denver Denver one’s going to come up here I am hoarding my first round picks for that big all-in move for the for the players that again so much of this summer is about setting up the next big move the next big trade um if I’m the magic I am not committing significant draft capital for Anthony Simons and I think that’s ultimately what Portland wants they want draft Capital they’re not interested in players they didn’t really want you know Mike wasn’t super into Cole Anthony I don’t think he was super into wend Carter and I’m sure he’s less into wend Carter now that they have Donovan Clingan um I am saving my draft Capital to make the mcbrides trade to make the Rudy goar trade to make the Deonte Murray trade um I don’t think the magic R is in jante Murray at this juncture but that’s that’s kind of what I’m saving my draft capital for um and so I do think Portland would want draft capital I think Utah for Colin ston wants draft capital and at this for players of that for that level that are non All-Star level I’m not trading anything really more than that 2025 Denver Denver pick and again this is why I think the magic are a little handicapped in trades I I I don’t think they’re super they’re I don’t think they’re going to be super involved in trades because they don’t have a lot they’re willing to give up and a lot that they’re willing to kind of move um oh man there goes there goes the name uh let’s let’s get let’s get this up on the screen here um one of my Center options off off the board sigh Andre Drummond plans to sign a two-year 10 plus million doll deal with Philadelphia 76ers that’s probably that’s probably be a third center around Paul Reed if you’re looking for what the googa Paz Market looks like I think this is it um so but Andre Drummond was a center option that I had on my board um someone that I you know thought would be an interesting option to bring in as that kind of third Center rim protector kind of a more traditional big man Center when you need when you need him for those certain matches UPS um but off the board now with Philadelphia 76ers so there goes one of my free agent targets for the orine mates so so we did get something it took us till 705 took us an hour in the free agency but uh we did get something there um Mr Mr nor 77 says perfect pickup for the magic would be Isaiah Joe from the Thunder they declin as option lights out young shooter overpay and make thunder sweat I like Isaiah Joe um little bit on the small side can play a little bit of point guard maybe um Isaiah Joe would be someone I chase after you know again like8 million $10 million maybe uh I I wouldn’t go crazy on him um but he’s definitely someone there um Pablo escabar asking can we get one of Cleveland’s guards it really sounds like Cleveland’s not gonna break up that group it sounds like they want to try try again with that that forsome um with Jared Allen Evan Mobley Dom Mitchell and Darius Garland um I think any trade involving Darius garland would cost Jaylen Suggs or Jonathan Isaac if not both um probably not both but um it would almost certainly cost jayen Suggs magic are not trading jayen Suggs at this point I I I have no no thought of them trading jayen sugs at this point he is far too important to what this team does far important into this team’s identity to this team’s culture um I I just I just don’t see them making a deal with Cleveland again are they going to invest to draft capital I don’t think Cleveland’s interested in draft picks they want to win right now they want players that are going to help them win they’re not going to trade Darius scarland for nothing um they might do that after they trade if the Donan Mitchell decides to leave um but they want to win uh and so I don’t see them doing that I don’t see them have I don’t see the magic being able to put together the kind of kind of deal to make that work um so yeah so let’s see what we got let’s see what else we got here I know people don’t like my CJ McCollum idea again I’m thinking guard who can shoot a little bit um I agree I don’t love the idea either terrible not a great contract um someone asking about Luke Canard um Luke Canard just not a good enough Defender for me not big enough uh for the kind of positional size the magic like he’s an end of summer guy uh if I could get him for $5 million I would think about it you know two years 10 million with a with you know option or non- guarantee on the second year um don’t don’t love him although appears Canard signed I don’t know if that’s true or not I haven’t seen anything on that so uh we will we will see there um some people suggesting Brandon Ingram for Carter Cole and Denver’s first I don’t love Brandon Ingram as a fit for this team he is not Paul George Paul George is better than Brandon Ingram I would rather have Paul George than Brandon Ingram so I think that is I think that is uh part of that is part of of the the equation there too so that’s that’s that’s uh that’s true um let’s see what else we got um some people thinking maybe Joe Engles comes in as a coach um this is an important issue actually um someone asking you know since Jo Engles won’t get $1 million anywhere really loves in Orlando loves it for his family especially could you see Engles wanting St Orlando beginning his coaching career in the open tippet slot um I think it’s possible the man to bring back Joe Engles I don’t think it’s impossible but um I think Engles wants to be with his family I think that’s the biggest thing that’s that’s one of the big things for him I think the magic are going to hire internal um and promote internally for that tippet spot uh I don’t see them going outside the family for uh for that position I think that they’re looking at you know like uh I I think I think that the shooting coach um blanking his name so I apologize I’m just racked with names at this point and have gone for a minute an hour 40 here um I I think the magic will uh promote internally with that Co with that open coaching spot um so so I’m not expecting anything major I know a lot of people pitched JB biera I was like JB biera wants to be a head coach he’s not gonna come back there um let’s see here uh this a good question from Mr no again 77 Mr nor 77 do you agree that the magic getting a free agent versus trade is important send the message that we are destination place and not just the place you are sent um I think getting to meeting with Paul George says that um I think the fact that Paul George took the meeting with the magic or wanted the meeting with the magic um I think that says that we are a destination that this is a place that that this is a place that players want to come this is a place that is a player is someplace that can gain the interest of a Max Level free agent um I think Pao again to me that’s all about Paulo Paulo van Caro is a guy that is go is gaining respect around the league and so the franchise is gaining respect around the league a lot of a lot of people love Jamal Mosley that is somebody that that a lot of people in this league really respect really adore they love the connection the coaching that he brings um the magic I think R 18 te now that the magic are winning and another year of winning will do even more wonders um now that the magic are winning and they have that guy that that people want to play with and they have a culture that everyone says like this is this this is a group that that plays hard they do the right things um I I I don’t think it’s necessarily about doing things this summer although not being able to get someone good or get someone that that helps you out significantly I think would that speaks more to Jeff welman than anything else because I think getting to meetings shows this is a place where the magic this the magicar place people want to play and people want to be and I think Paul George by even granting the meeting is giving permission to a wide swath of the league to check out Orlando um so again it’s to be in that room alone I think says so much about how far the magic have come um you could kind of tell I am I am running out of steam I’m at 647 here on there so uh uh I am trying to trying to to to get get to as many questions as I can before I log off um Alex ask doesn’t hartstein just clog things up more I think he does a little bit I think the shooting is really really really valuable um for the Orlando Magic uh and I I think that I think that’s I I think Isaiah hartstein defense is significantly better is is significantly enough better than wend Carter who make up for the lack of shooting that you’re Lo losing you figure it out though like that you know you figure it you could figure it out but the magic need more shooting before I think they can make some like hartenstein go good um Iceman writing asking is chuma still on the roster he is not chuma okk is an unrestricted free agent no longer on the roster our friend David lock jumping in here asking once again can I have Jaylen sugs the answer is no um but more seriously are you going to resign moer yes I believe the Orlando Magic will resign Mo Vagner the room the uh room mid-level exception is about $8 million a little bit more than what the magic declined with him I truly believe the magic declined that team option knowing full well that they were going to bring him back on like a two-year uh two-year like $7 million deal like give him a give him an extra year give him give him a little bit of a pay bump on the back end of the deal um I think again either they declin the team option thinking they would need the money to really seriously go after Paul Paul George because they think they have a shot at Paul George or they decline the team option they declin the team option knowing that we’re going to bring him back at virtually the same amount so I do expect the magic to bring back mooger I think I think it would take a really big offer to get mooger off the Orlando Magic um you know something significantly more than the eight million it would probably be like a two-year 25 twoyear 30 something like that would be like okay we get it go you know you double your salary go go go enjoy go enjoy where else but um I really do like I I I I don’t think mooger is going anywhere for the Orlando Magic as you can tell I am running very much out of steam here uh so I am trying to make sure I get to everybody here before we close shop um uh is that a John Hammond plush over my shoulder uh I spared no expense yesterday at the Universal Orlando at the universal AP uh garage sale so yes that is a Dr John Hammond uh plush over my shoulder I I got a good haul at at Universal yesterday I got an e Spangler rubber ducky uh so very happy about that uh this did a little redecorating here for the new season but yes that is a that is a Dr Hammond Dr John Hammond uh plush doall from Jurassic Park not John Hammond the uh the uh uh uh Jam ameritus of the Orlando Magic here um special adviser to the GM um Daniel Hicks uh I hate to tell you this yes Jaylen sugs is going to get 28 to $33 million now this is this is a really important point to make uh and it’s something I have been talking a little bit about um over the year over over the course of this off seon um don’t think of these numbers in terms of the raw number the raw number is not important um so I think this is really really really important so next year’s salary cap is projected to be let me find that number again sorry I’m find that number real fast give me one second to find this number because I want to I want to do the actual math here for you so get get energized here by math that’s that’s that’s what we do here um so next year’s salary cap is currently projected to be $14.6 million and I actually going to share I can’t share my screen on this um the the salary cap is projected to be $14.6 million so $33 million of 154.50 is just 21% of the cap 21% of the cap this year if let’s just use $141 million would be3 million and for last year’s cap would be like 28 27 million um jayen Suggs is going to get paid that he is going to get paid 20% of the cap um it would be irresponsible not to do that because he’s someone will pay him that he is that valuable to this team um he is going to sign that um uh but you know it it’s it that’s that’s that’s how that’s how that’s how it goes um you know that’s the the the numbers are just going to increase but here’s the good here’s the good news on all those new deals on all these new extensions the cap is going to grow faster than the raises um so like I’ve been telling people the magic are signing players obviously to fit under this year’s cap but the number they’re actually thinking about the number they actually care about is next year’s cap um because that’s going to be the new reality and every year after that that’s the new reality you know right now we have free money like the magic need to spend they need to get to that salary Flor um the magic have to spend that money um but he’s going to get 28 you know I I think Suggs Suggs and his agent are probably hoping to get the Emanuel quickly deal $35 million and you know lockon Jazz our friend David lock is absolutely right these guys are going to be expensive one of the reasons why the magic probably looking at shortterm deals um you know these two-year deals for you know the reason why maybe they wanted Paul George on a two-year deal or Klay Thompson on a two-ear deal or canavis called po on to your deal is because all of these guys are about to get much more expensive now the cap is going to rise and it’s not going to be as terrible like fron vogner if he goes for the max I don’t I think the magic are try and get him at 35 36 and Jaylen Suggs at 33 you know 30 33 somewhere in that range um if these guys go for the max that salary percentage drops every year because the cap is going to rise and so that is part of the equation here but yeah the magic are trying to think of their books and the reason why they have to spend now is because they’re going to be capped out here in two years in two years all this talk we’re g in two years we will worry about the apron we’re not worried about the apron right now in two years we’re going to be worried about the apron starters are going to get a ton of money like that’s the reality I know it’s I know it’s hard to think about this because $30 million sounds like a lot you know Tracy McGrady got peed 6 $15 million when he was a Max free agent Rashard Lewis when he was a Max free agent got paid 17 this stuff has changed completely um Paulo B Caro’s Max contract is going to be $42 million so don’t think about the raw number the raw number is wrong think about the percentage of the cap $ 42 million is going to be 25% of the cap $38 million next year is 25% of the cap jayen sugs getting paid $35 million or $33 million whatever it is that’s only going to be about 20% of the cap that’s where you go and so you want to fill your roster with kind of smaller deals um you know less than 15 and pay your starters big that’s what and that’s what the magic are doing that’s what the magic are set up to do I know the numbers are weird and it’s going to take a little bit of time to adjust and it’s be really hard to adjust because the Caps this new TV deal is going to increase the cap by 10% every year for the next five six seven years but probably for the length of this TV deal it is that giant they they’re literally doubling their revenue it’s going to be big Suggs is getting 30 I’m sorry I’m sorry Daniel like I know it’s hard to wrap your hand around he is getting 30 and if you’re not willing to offer that just trade him now go go ahead and trade him now um it’s that’s that’s just how it goes so so so I apologize for for breaking that breaking that news to you um let’s see if we got anything new going on we got a new report from Shams Uh Kevin Porters agreed to a two-year deal with the LA Clippers okay uh I guess that’s that’s fun um let me see what else we got here I am you can tell I am running out of running out of steam thank you Ray for confirming my correct use of bet um I I I pick up I pick up some some slang from the uh from the team uh uh pick up some slang from being around young people uh a little bit um should we have drafted Derrick Lively or Anthony black I don’t like second guessing um Lively would help I’m not gonna deny that um I was I was I was a little little low on lively but um but five probably would have been high like um uh let’s see I am trying to make sure I get to all your questions and catch up a little bit quicker here so I apologize if I’ve skipped over your question here um and I’m not trying not to repeat questions I know I’ve repeated a little bit on this show um is it possible that the magic are being used for leverage right now 100% I do think I I would say this I don’t think the magic would take a meeting if they didn’t think they were being used as leverage now having said that the magic don’t leak anything so who knows that magic are actually taking that meaning that might be a that might be a uh agent putting their name in there uh so but yes it is very possible Magik are being used for leverage uh knowing to Magic knowing Jeff welman they operate how they operate they’re not worried about what other teams are doing they’re not worried about anything else they’re operating under their plan and what they want to do and again like I said because I think the league is waiting for Paul George and and all the cap teams are kind of tied to Paul George right now everyone’s waiting for Paul George that’s why I don’t think we’ve seen a ton of activity uh so far um uh uh so much activity uh that’s why I don’t think we’re seeing a lot of activity right now uh with with the magic so um let’s see here I’m trying to make sure uh Phil what are your thoughts on Suggs at point guard um I don’t love it I I I don’t think he’s there um I think he can get there and again I think ultimately with the magic and vision is jayen Suggs is Drew holiday they just need to find dere White um Drew holiday is more of a point guard than Jaylen Suggs is but um but I think it’s still worth trying I think they want Jaylen Suggs to have point guard abilities I still think they need like a a true point guard who’s comfortable in the role to settle them down and to to to Really you know be a point guard like think they need a point guard sorry my the sun is coming right in from from my window here it’s that that that time um it it I’m skeptical of it to be perfectly honest just just me I am very skeptical of it um but it is still something I want to explore I don’t want to close the door on it but I want Security on that spot because it was just such a clear need in the playoffs how much the magic needed a point guard they needed another Creator they need another driver and you know suggs’s driving is not what it was his freshman his rookie year his rookie year he averaged like nine drives per game According to second Spectrum this year he was at five or six four or five something like that um his it felt like it felt like the magic and I really appreciate this about I think this was a good decision by them they really rained in his excesses from his rookie year so he wasn’t driving as much or he wasn’t he was more selective about when he attacked now we need to like loosen those reins again and let him drive a little bit more and let him get to get downhill and get to the basket and I think that’s really the big thing that we’re missing uh from him uh really missing from from what the magic are trying to do I’m G to try and get out of the Sun a little bit because uh the sun is like right my apartment faces West so the sun is like right there that’s so I always usually wait till after dinner to record but obviously we’re we’re we’re waiting on things to happen here uh let me see is there not that I don’t know I don’t think we can answer that um what would a Max Paul George contract look like for the magic um I I didn’t go through these rules specifically but I think the max the magic could offers their entire cap room is essentially a four-year $200 million deal um a little bit more than 200 I don’t think they give him raises um but I think he’s looking for for 50 a year um you know I think that’s that’s that’s the deal um here’s a good question step-by-step photography and video ask I wonder how front-loaded Max contracts can be well a lot of Max contracts are tied directly to the percentage of the cap so they C they can be front loaded in that you put the percentage of the cap in the first year the maximum and minimum uh raises that you can or the maximum raises you can have and the maximum decreases you can have is 8% so you could frontload a contract where you give him the max of 25 you give him the max salary uh on the front end of the deal and then decrease it by 8% each year so that is that is definitely something you can do um again I’m sorry I’m getting washed out because the sun is literally right behind me um I know if this helps I don’t know I don’t know let’s not waste time um but yeah it it front loading Max contracts would be really really hard I I think George might be open to that but again he’s looking for that last big payday so usually when you frontload a contract you pay significant on the front end to get the benefit on the back end um but that’s not what he’s doing here um let’s see here let’s make sure I’m getting all uh about this yeah you know I don’t know uh go fund me for curtains and blinds yeah my my blinds are down again literally literally my apartment faces West and so around this time every night the Sun comes right into my apartment and there’s very little I can do so I apologize I’m a podcast I’m not a I do video but I’m not a podcast and guess what I have gotten to the end of the questions I’ve gotten updated all the way to the end we’ve gone here and guess what Jeff zilet coming through with us uh coming through with us with some news right at the end of the show cavius cwell Pope leaving the Denver Nuggets and heading to the Orlando Magic is that a fake Jeff silate no it isn’t okay good our friend Jeff silate of USA Today reporting cavius called while Pope is leaving the nuggets and headed to the Orlando Magic on a threeyear deal I am told um this would suggest the magic are not talking to Paul George or have done talk talk to Paul George but tavius callwell Pope excellent three-point shooter uh excellent Defender like we’ve kind of said he is a uh Gary Harris plus like he is a bigger Gary Harris he is a better shooter than Gary Harris he’s a better Defender than Gary Harris he is someone that um he is someone that uh will enhance what what they were doing last year he will make that better um we don’t have the details of the contract yet a three-year deal I would suspect if it’s a three-year deal it is not for that 25 sorry it is not for that $25 million um that we talk 25 million or that 2-year 50 that we were talking about my bet is that this is a little bit more reasonable maybe on the $18 million range maybe 19 maybe three for 60 um I would bet that there are non that there’s a non- guarantee on that third year that that third year is an option option deal but uh this is kind of the move we all expected very Baseline move very much a um very much a guy that enhances what the magic did last year gives them a better version of what they had last year without changing too much um I’m a big believer in the horse Grant Theory uh having a guy who’s been on championship teams that has been on very good teams in the past in Parts wisdom to those young teams um I think that’s really really valuable for for young teams especially uh so I am not at all shocked that this is what the magic ultimately did I’m not shocked that this is where the magic start I think that I I think that this is again a relatively safe move on the Magic’s part um but uh I but I think this does make the team better I think this does make the team appreciably better uh someone asking kcp backup or starter next year not that one sorry um this one uh kcp is going to start you know you don’t sign a guy to a $20 million contract or whatever the case may be I if I were predict in I don’t have the numbers yet if I were predicting it would be 3 for 60 um or 3 for 61 62 give him a little extra money somewhere but um my bet my bet is that is is that he’s coming in around $20 million again just good trade Ballance too in the future but I’d bet there’s a team option or non- guarantee on that third year if I if I were guessing um and he’s gonna start like like he he would he’s going to he started for the Nuggets he is an excellent Defender excellent really good three-point shoter maybe not the the greatest not like a standout spot up shooter you know spot up shooting is about the same as Gary Harris he is a better version of Gary Harris he will stay healthy uh he’s been on championship teams he he’s a much more aggressive and physical Defender um so so on that front he is a better option than uh he is a better option than Gary Harris so the magic do get better here with cavius calwell Pope I I 100% believe this um the question now is comes next um and here’s the number actually uh we actually get the number now three years 60 sorry let add that to Stage uh we actually get the number now three years $66 million deal so that’s $22 million straight um starting shooting guard uh seam ston with the number here three years $66 million uh again Rel I I think this is a fair price like I said I didn’t think they were gonna get the two for 50 um I think that this is a a good spot this this does make jayen sugs the starting point guard as many of you are predicting um whether this means the magic are done whether this means the magic will do more uh is certainly a fair question um you know again a lot of people asking here what do you think this meets to Magic’s plans for the rest of free agency do we turn to hartenstein so here’s what let’s do some math magic paying $22 million for cavius Cola pop if they have about $50 million in cap room that means they have $38 million left that would be enough to go after Isaiah hartenstein so if that is the plan they can still offer that two for 50 or three for another three for 60 why not um they can still offer that deal for isaah hardenstein so my again my big thing my my thought when the magic were supposedly chasing um Paul George was that I don’t think that the magic should throw their money at one guy they need multiple players they need multiple high-end players um so I didn’t think they should throw their money at one guy at like Paul George um but I think that I think that now you know you can go after multiple players so maybe hartenstein still a play again like I’ve kind of mentioned I I’m looking for some Wing help too I think Gary Trent Jr would be played so you have 38 that’s roughly let’s estimate $38 million in cap room left you could go spend 25 of that on uh Isaiah heart and shine if you want and then you’ve got 13 left to spend on someone else so there is still a lot to get to here now I think that this is a fair criticism Blake Bier staff saying he only made 1 Point 63 points pointers per game last year I don’t get this um and this was my concern too so cavius calwell Pope essentially and I did a podcast on this last week um you know that I did a podcast on this last week in fact let’s uh let’s play that game I can’t okay uh We’re not gonna play that game today um uh I did a podcast on that last week I’m actually gonna pull it up for you here uh you can go here uh let’s find it where’ you go where’d you go where’d you go uh sorry I’m I’m I’m I’m promoting myself here uh where are you case for kavus calwell Pope I know you’re right here somewhere I don’t know where you went uh I know I did it there’s the case for GU Paul George whatever it’s it’s somewhere it’s it’s somewhere in my archive sorry um I don’t mean to waste time here uh but um yes he only made a 1.63 pointers per game last year um and my concern with that is that he the Nugget so the magic were 29th in the league in three-point attempts for game last year the Nuggets were 30th um that’s the that was my biggest issue with kavi scell pop his stats they won’t directly translate to the magic because they have Nicole yic um one of my concerns is that kcp wouldn’t give the magic the shot volume that they’re that they’re that they probably need from the position and and what and again what I think they need is the shot volume so I share some of your skepticism but at the very least kcp is a better version of Gary Harris um Gary Harris was fine you know I am a notable Gary Harris Defender I am a notable let’s try this actually I am a notable Gary Harris Defender um I think that sorry uh I think that Gary Harris got a bad rap from fans he’s kind of the the scapegoat in a lot of ways um he did what was asked him um and I would always argue that you need to get him more shots because if he’s getting the ball that usually means the magic are moving the ball well kcp has the same issue and and and that would always be my concern with bringing in a guy like kcp and bringing in a player like cavius calwell Pope um and third year player option for for Caldwell Pope per Shams let’s add him to the stage there third year player option for calwell Pope per sham so very honestly very player friendly deal at that point um but kcp like look at the end of the day the goal is to get better um you know did the magic get significantly better here no I would I would agree with that uh I don’t think that they got like 100% better with this move did they get better today though did they get better adding cavius calwell Pope absolutely they did absolutely they got better with kavus call hope he has a better version of Gary Harris he’s gonna make he fits defensively he fits their needs offensively they absolutely got better today with this uh so the magic do only have 28 million sorry I I I didn’t math well they have $28 million a cap room they’re out on Paul George Klay Thompson they’re probably they’ve probably been eliminated from that a while ago anyway um so you know the magic did their thing you know they they did their thing Clifford Rafael asking what about Lonnie Walker I would like him as an end bench guy as well I think that’s that’s a good option I think he fits with the magic want to do um but again that’s an end of summer guy you know we’ll we’ll get to we’ll get to that as well okay taking minutes away from abjet um I don’t think so um you know honestly so the Saturday flight says uh is he taking minutes away from uh ab and Jet uh to me that answer is no um to me me that answer is uh to me that answer is no because AB is playing Marquel foltz’s minutes jet Howard is essentially going to be playing Caleb Houston’s minutes you hope or or kind of sliding in there uh kyp is playing Gary Harris’s minutes um and you’ll probably get a little bit more so yes they will take a little bit little bit of time from them but um kcp kcp is is GNA he’s going to help like the team the team got better like you know is it the giant step forward no um but the team got better today for sure I I I absolutely absolutely believe that and you know again he’s been in the playoffs he’s been a champion he’s a two-time NBA champion 2020 with the Lakers 2023 with the Nuggets he absolutely makes this team better so I I do really I I like this signing um again it’s not the it’s not the like runaway home run signing this is like you know we’re we’re we’re getting on base you know get singles and doubles here um he does make this team better they’re going to look similar to what they look like last year though um that’s that’s that’s that’s where the magic at again they have $28 million of cap room left to spend um that’s that’s going to be that’s gonna be a boost for this team so I like what the magic did here um I I like that I like I like the signing uh overall we’ll we’ll dive more into the signing tomorrow um so we’ll dive more into the signing on tomorrow’s episode of Locked on Magic uh I I I have a Tristan D Silva interview in my back pocket as well but yes I am you could kind of tell I’m running out of steam a little bit here it’s been two hours of of live broadcasting um Andrew Canal 100% mean sugs at point I absolutely agree with this um you know again this is kind of the big question the magic are not addressing that point guard role in a meaningful way um one of my drawbacks on cavius cwell Pope is certainly that he is not a playmaker um he’s a good decision maker like he will make good decisions he’s not going to hurt you on that front but he’s not a playmaker he is going to be a spot up shooter he’s actually pretty good pullup shooter too um uh but he is he going to make this team better significantly so the magic clearly believe jayen sugs can develop his point guard skills to the level that they need him to uh and and that I think is ultimately a good thing for for the Orlando Magic so uh we did get a signing in we did get that that in before we shut down um and and I’m glad that we did uh as well uh so you know we’ve gone two hours here um for for us um I will take last questions here in a minute uh in a minute but um I want to thank everyone who joined us here for this live look sorry I’m responding to the comments um uh kcp signing does not mean there’s room left for Paul George magic have now you know three years $66 million assuming it’s flat that’s $22 million magic had about $50 million a c room magic only have 28 million left Paul George is looking for 50 so magic are off the board for Paul George um Gary Harris is still not under contract Gary Harris is a free agent so they’re not worried about that a junr saying your thumbnail is ominous now I think we all kind of saw that that was the direction the team was going I tried to I tried to be predictive and when all the Paul George stuff came out yesterday I was like I need to change my thumbnail to Paul George to be a little more enticing but now we know that what the magic are doing now we know who the magic have signed so we’ll dive a lot more into kavus callwell Pope what he brings to the Orlando Magic on tomorrow’s episode of lockon magic uh as well I want to make sure I I hit questions here and catch my breath a little bit um essent like kind of people are talking about this um this is this is kind of the magic standing Pat um you know Orlando Adams this has been a criticism of the Orlando Magic and Jeff welman if we’re okay with standing Pat then we should have just resigned our guys to cheaper contracts and keep the great team chemistry that is true but here’s the other problem Orlando um teams are required to spend 90% of the cap um this year uh and if you don’t spend 90% of the cap by opening day um if if you don’t if you don’t put don’t spend 90% of the cap by by the beginning of the regular season then um you don’t get the luxury tax payments so you don’t so all the luxury tax payments are split between the non-t tax paying teams um so you don’t get the luxury tax payments and you get a cap hold for the difference to get you to 90% uh so they had to spend money like they needed to spend and Gary Harris like again at the end of the day did the magic get better today like this is the question did the magic do the biggest thing no but did the magic get better today I I I may have my question about cavius callwell Pope for the big picture but yes the magic got better today the magic 100% got better today and if that’s the biggest takeaway that you can make from all this I have questions I have all of that the magic got better today gavius cwell Pope is a better version of Gary Harris at minimum uh he is he is an excellent Defender a much more physical and bigger Defender than Gary Harris he is as good if not better of a shooter than Gary Harris he’s been on championship teams before you know this this is this is a good signing for Orlando this is a good player um this is this is a the magic got better today at the end of the day that’s that’s the question you got to ask and I think they did now there weren’t a lot of opportunities in free agency I’ve been joking with people all day that if the magic sign if the magic didn’t get Paul GE whoever didn’t get Paul George between the Sixers and the magic the loser was going to get gavius cwell pop that’s the drop off and so yeah if you expected magic at Paul George today’s disappointing because kavus callwell Pope is not Paul George but the magic did get better today the question now is what comes next so I assume the magic are you know they’ve taken care of gavius callwell Pope hopefully they’re on the next flight to Eugene Oregon to meet with Isaiah hartstein um that would be the next big move the magic have about $28 million of cap room left to spend will the question is will they spend it on one big player like isaah hartenstein or will they spend it on several players will they look to add some depth they bolster their bench a little bit um that’s that’s the next question for the Orlando Magic that’s the next question that this team faces um he’s going to help I I I want to I want to I I want to make that clear like he is going to make this team better um and again is he going to dramatically make this team better probably not you know know there he doesn’t solve the big problems on this team but the magic still won 47 games last year like I like yes there are issues the team needs to resolve and kcp helps a little bit with the shooting issue um not the volume issue but the shooting issue but he does make this team better I I want that to be abundantly clear so we’ll see what the magic end up doing next we’ll see uh where the magic go from here um there’s there is definitely a lot to go and look he’s he’s a healthier he’s healthier too I think that’s that’s the part I forgot to mention thank you shanon Thomas for mentioning that he is healthier than Harris he does all the things Harris does but does it better so if you’re looking to straight upgrade of a position the magic won 47 games last year it’s it’s not like they were a failure last season um ultimately the end goal is Paulo B Caro has to be better like Po vaner gets better France vogner get rebounds with his shooting Jaylen Suggs continues his Improvement that’s going to be that’s going to help the match get a lot better too and so yes you know is this the most exciting signing in the world no but kcp makes this team better and and it’s gonna be really excit you know I’ll be really excited to see him play this year and I think that he will help this team out a ton a ton for you know I think he will help this team out a lot um you know it’s it’s it doesn’t solve the big issues so I I get that um I get that it doesn’t solve the big issues the point guard the playmaking the setting things up he helps with shooting I think he has gravity as a shooter um but you know it it he helps he helps doesn’t solve big issues but he does help and does help this team improve um so you know there is still obviously a lot more work to do for the Orlando Magic they are not done but this is this is the big signing for um this is the this is the big signing for the Orlando Magic uh or this is the first signing for the orl magic at least for for this team and so a lot to to break down here over the next um next thing and and as several people are mentioning like kcp was was on all defensive team ballots let me see if I can pull those up here NBA all defensive team voting let me see if I could pull that up uh here we go um let’s see here voting all defensive team all defensive team here we go so ke but this is this is another really important point then uh cavius Caldwell Pope received 11 all defensive second team votes I want to repeat that like like honestly like let’s let me let me throw this up here let me throw this up here so y’all can see it on on on the stream cavius calwell Pope received 11 all defensive team votes you could see them right here right there so again like I know the magic have a lot of defense and you know some people are mentioning names like magic can still go get tus Jones if they want Daniel caps if you want tyus Jones they can still sign him he just won’t be a he just won’t be a starter um is a Simon’s deal still still an option it’s still an option he doesn’t have a place to start anymore but yes yes it’s still an option um they have they could go get Isaiah hartenstein if they want um but Kus call well Pope checks a lot of boxes for the match excellent Defender good three-point shooter good size for First Position selfless player you know you know what he’s gonna give you um he’s a better version of Gary Harris like at at at minimum that’s what the magic have is a better version of Gary Harris and so I again is that worth $22 million a year in this environment probably is um you know magic down to about $30 million in cap room now um but you know magic their starting lineup set starting lineup looks pretty good I’m not I’m not going to deny that and and obviously they still have a lot of work to do um yeah so we got our big we got our big signing we got our big news if you made it to the end of the show if you’re listening on uh if you’re listening on replay I appreciate that thanks for getting to two hours and 15 minutes I am very much running out of steam um so I’m gonna wrap up shop here um we will have a lot more on the magic signing cavius called will Pope be sure to follow my socials Philip rore OMD at omic daily for the latest free agent goings on here uh with the orine no magic they’re they’re definitely not done they’ve still got money to spend they’re still going to spend it so uh we will get to all that you can of course follow me on Twitter Philip romd if you haven’t done so already enjoyed the show check out locked on Magic you subscribe wherever you download podcast as well as check out the YouTube page which you’re watching right now if you’re listening to me uh live as well for the L on the Orlando Magic be sure to check out Orlando Magic daily.com I’ll break down some thoughts on gavius callwell Pop here in a in a bit too um you can check that out at Orlando Magic da.com follow us there of course at omic da and for even more Orlando Magic content including my final player grades um you can check out the Orlando magichub patreon.com orlandomagic Hub as always be sure to check out the lockdown Sports a 247 streaming Channel as well for the latest on Sports around the world from local experts who know their team best okay uh that is all I have for the for for today you can tell I am running out of steam talking for two hours and 15 minutes is a lot for me um but the Orlin magic got better today I think that honestly that’s a big takeaway there are still big questions to ask big questions to see a lot of it still comes from internal development but the orando no magic did some good work today or it appears they did some good work today uh and we’ll see how they move forward from here but that is it for me I tapping out um I wanted to get all the way to 7 I’m here at 7:45 uh so I appreciate everyone who joined us for this live free agency paloa show I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of lockdown match we’ll be back tomorrow to talk about Kevin T cavius calwell Pope and what the signing means I’ll have an episode with locked on Buffs disc discussing Tristan D Silva later on in the week as well um it’s my birthday week it’s a holiday week as well so we’ll have uh we’ll be taking some time as well I may be back here and I may be back with a bonus episode later today as well to talk more about gavius callwell Pope instead of saving that for tomorrow but we’ll see how I feel um thanks again everyone for joining the live stream thanks again for everyone who made it to the end if you’re listening on Replay for Orlando Magic daily and locked on Magic this has been Philip Ross and Reich see you again next time for another episode of Locked on Magic spare no expenses people peace out e
The big day is finally here! The NBA gets ready for free agency as the starting gun goes off at 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 30. I am breaking down what the Magic could, should and might do and reacting live to all the signings.
1 Comment
KCP is a solid get. Does this really make Suggs the point guard now? KCP started on two champions, so he can help the youngsters deal with things when the team is struggling.