Arron Afflalo wouldn’t mind being traded to a playoff contender, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Afflalo is a rare veteran talent on the Magic’s young roster, and Schmitz notes that at 29, his prime years might be going to waste on a developing Orlando team that figures to remain at the bottom of the standings this season. Afflalo has two years left on an affordable contract that pays him $7.5MM annualy, but the last year is a player option, meaning one of the league’s best shooting guards could become a free agent after the 2014/15 season.
The Magic could draft a point guard with the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft, a move that would slide Victor Oladipo‘s development back over to his natural position–shooting guard, where Afflalo resides. Veteran point guard Jameer Nelson‘s partially guaranteed contract and Afflalo’s value of a deal would make moving either very doable. As we covered in our offseason outlook, the Magic also have plenty of cap room to bring back salary in a trade or sign another veteran guard to slot behind Oladipo in the rotation.
The Magic are displaying organizational patience in building their team, reportedly only looking for second-tier free agents at this stage of their development. While Afflalo has been highly coveted, Orlando insisted on receiving multiple first round draft picks or young players when talks took place before this season’s trade deadline. Most playoff contenders don’t have a surplus of those kind of assets to part with, although Orlando could find their way into a three- or four-team deal for a superstar headed elsewhere, a possibility Schmitz notes.
I would of been suprised if he said he wanted to stay and help them rebuild. Every NBA players want to win a championship so it makes sense that he wants to leave to play for that goal.