I didn’t expect us to do anything and ultimately I’m cool with it. There wasn’t really anyone that was moved that I feel we missed on. Our team is good. Let’s see what kind of playoff team we are and adjust from there. There’s an argument for going all-in right now, but I’m not sure what that trade was. I guess Vucevic, but would have had to dump Saric or Crowder in it as salary too. Plus Ayton of course.
We added Torrey Craig, who I’m not expecting anything major from, but he can play rotation minutes in a pinch. Maybe we feel out the buyout market a bit as well.
We’ve got 4 guys I feel good about in the playoffs(Paul, Booker, Bridges, Crowder), 2 guys I’m optimistic about(Saric and Cam Johnson), and 2 questions, 1 much bigger than the other(Ayton and Cam Payne).
Craig/Gallo/Nader/Frank/Moore/Carter are all guys I’m not counting on in the playoffs, but could all potentially help in a pinch. I put them in order of who I’d trust the most.
As always, Ayton is the big swing piece. If he hits in the playoffs, I feel real good about our team. If he misses, we’re a quick exit. You won’t hear me mention trades again till the offseason, but if Ayton misses, we will 100% need to get rid of him and find a piece that can help us win.
If I were a Magic fan, I don't love that return. The front office was right to decide to rebuild, but I don't think they did that well on the liquidation sale.
Any interest in Terrence Ross? Jalen Smith/Jevon Carter/Moore would do the trick salary wise.
I couldn't support that deal. Jalen has looked pretty bad, but I still want to give him a chance. Ross would have been a significant upgrade over what we have backing up the 2, but I don't think it would have been wise to chase luxuries when we still have needs.