While Arron Afflalo’s style of play and reasonable contract have made him one of the more desirable trade targets, it appears that the Magic are inclined to hold onto the 28-year-old beyond tomorrow’s deadline, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski is also hearing that Orlando could revisit trading Afflalo as the NBA Draft approaches in June.
The Magic were reportedly looking for multiple first rounders or young players in exchange for Afflalo, who they may also view as a piece for their future. As Chuck Myron detailed earlier this month in our Trade Candidate series, Afflalo has finally begun to live up to the five-year, $38MM deal the Nuggets gave him in 2011. In his sixth year, the well-rounded shooting guard is averaging 19.4 points, 3.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game while maintaining a healthy PER of 17.29.
Orlando already has the third worst record in the league and with Milwaukee “out in front” in the race for the No. 1 pick by a solid margin, it is unlikely the Magic would settle for anything less than what they consider an appropriate return for Afflalo. With him under contract for at least another year at a fair rate, there doesn’t seem to be any urgency to move the UCLA product.