- It’s unclear what sort of leaguewide interest there is in Magic forward Aaron Gordon. Lowe points to the Trail Blazers as a potential match, but says the two teams have never seriously discussed a swap involving Gordon and CJ McCollum and isn’t sure whether lesser assets like Zach Collins or Anfernee Simons would appeal to Orlando.
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The Magic have plenty of decisions to make this offseason as the team continues to build its roster. In a new mailbag, The Athletic’s Josh Robbins reflects on how the team may look to improve its personnel.
Robbins notes that finding shooters has not been a priority in the draft for Magic president of basketball Operations Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond, who in recent drafts have focused instead on adding athletic, lengthy prospects.
If the Magic plan to build around point guard Markelle Fultz, Robbins opines that it would behoove the team to at least look for a shooter in 2020 free agency. Robbins also stresses the import of trades to the Magic’s offseason.
The Celtics, Magic, and Wizards are among the teams exploring the possibility of moving up from their current spots in the first round of the draft, league sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.
Boston, which currently holds the 14th, 26th, and 30th overall selections, have offered all three of those picks in an effort to move up into the middle of the lottery, but no one is biting so far, according to O’Connor.
Orlando has the 15th overall pick and is also trying to move into the middle of the lottery, per O’Connor, though it’s not clear what the club is offering to sweeten the pot for potential trade partners. The Magic do hold all of their future first-rounders and could make one of those available if they want to move up badly enough.
As for the Wizards, they’re currently set to pick at No. 9, but O’Connor hears they’re angling to move up from there. General manager Tommy Sheppard acknowledged immediately after August’s draft lottery that trading up would be a possibility for his club, though it’s unclear whether Washington is targeting a specific player or spot. O’Connor wonders if a high-upside prospect like LaMelo Ball might pique the Wizards’ interest, especially if he slips beyond the top few picks.
Plenty of teams picking in the top half of the lottery, including the Timberwolves (No. 1), Warriors (No. 2), and Bulls (No. 4) have reportedly looked into trading down or would have interest in doing so. In other words, there should be options for the Celtics, Magic, Wizards, and any other teams that would like to move up.
However, given this year’s unusual pre-draft process and the perception that the 2020 class lacks star power, it may be a challenge for teams to agree on fair value for swapping picks separated by a few spots. The draft is still more than two weeks away and the league’s transaction moratorium has yet to be lifted, so we’ll have to wait a little longer to see how much movement there is in the first round.
- Josh Robbins of The Athletic predicts which players the Magic will sign and let walk in free agency this year. Orlando finished with a 33-40 record last season, good for eighth-best in the Eastern Conference. Evan Fournier ($17.15MM) and James Ennis ($2.13MM) both hold player options for next season, with D.J. Augustin and Michael Carter-Williams set to reach unrestricted free agency. In addition, Wesley Iwundu ($2MM) and Gary Clark ($1.8MM) are eligible for qualifying offers that would make them restricted free agents, and the club must make a decision on Melvin Frazier Jr.‘s $1.66MM team option.
Alabama’s Kira Lewis Jr. is generating some buzz among teams in the top half of the first round, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, who hears that Lewis has worked out in person for the Magic, Knicks, Pistons, and Bulls within the last week. A previous report indicated that Lewis has had multiple virtual interviews with Phoenix as well.
After being diagnosed in early January with a severe left knee sprain and bone bruise, Magic forward Jonathan Isaac returned to action during the summer restart at Walt Disney World. His comeback was short-lived, however, as he went down with a torn left ACL during Orlando’s second seeding game.
Having suffered such a significant injury to the same knee that had just sidelined him for months, Isaac faced questions about whether he should have returned at all this summer, especially with the Magic viewed as an extreme long shot to make any noise in the postseason. However, he tells Josh Robbins of The Athletic that he has “no regrets” about the decision.
“In retrospect, no, I don’t think I came back too soon,” Isaac said. “I really was ready to go. I didn’t have any doubts about where I was in terms of moving or playing. I mean, you can watch from the clips of when I was playing — I was fine. I was in great shape outside of just my wind getting back. But I was in great shape. I think I was jumping my highest that I’ve done so far in my career.
“So I have no regrets about coming back or the timing that I did,” Isaac continued. “I trusted the staff, and we came to a decision: ‘I’m ready to play.’ It was my decision at the end of the day, and I went with it. And I’m glad I did.”
While his ACL tear is expected to cost Isaac the entire 2020/21 season, he has maintained a positive attitude about his recovery, telling Robbins that he’s not getting “down” or “upset” about the lengthy process. Isaac added that he has been comparing the steps of his recovery to those of teammate Chuma Okeke, who missed the 2019/20 season with a torn ACL of his own.
“I think he’s upbeat,” head coach Steve Clifford said of Isaac. “He’s attacking the rehab with a good, positive attitude, and that’s who he is. That’s the way he’s always been.”
Isaac is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, though it remains to be seen if he and the Magic will seriously attempt to negotiate a new deal while he’s still on the way back from his injury.
- In a new mailbag, Josh Robbins of The Athletic examines the Magic‘s 2020 offseason, including the fate of Wesley Iwundu and which position 2019 first-rounder Chuma Okeke could slot into given the current roster.
4:42pm: Dinwiddie will become the Sixers’ executive vice president of basketball operations, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
1:40pm: Having vowed to make changes to their front office this offseason, the Sixers are expected to bring in Pacers executive Peter Dinwiddie and Magic executive Prosper Karangwa to join GM Elton Brand‘s group, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Dinwiddie has been with the Pacers for nearly a decade and a half, getting his start in ticket sales before eventually transitioning to a front office role, as Scott Agness detailed in a story for The Athletic last year. He received a promotion in 2017 from VP of basketball operations to senior VP of basketball ops, and has played a key role in Indiana’s salary cap management.
Karangwa, meanwhile, joined the Magic as a scout in 2012 after spending several years playing professionally overseas. He was promoted through the department in recent years and was named Orlando’s director of scouting in 2019.
It’s not clear yet what titles Dinwiddie and Karangwa will have in the Sixers’ front office, but reports since August have indicated the team was looking at changing its front office personnel and structure.
The expectation is that Brand will retain his GM role – or receive a promotion and a new title, per Pompey – and be the primary decision-maker going forward, but there are a number of changes happening around him. Executive VP of basketball operations Alex Rucker isn’t expected to return and – as we wrote on Thursday – VP of strategy Sergi Olivia has also left the organization.
Former Kings head coach Dave Joerger is under consideration to join Doc Rivers‘ coaching staff with the Sixers, according to Frank Isola (Twitter link). Joerger, who also coached the Grizzlies, interviewed for the Pacers’ head-coaching vacancy earlier this month.
As things stand, Rivers has not finalized his coaching staff in Philadelphia. Derek Bodner of The Athletic looked at several candidates last week who could join Rivers on the sidelines next season. Some of the names mentioned were Tyronn Lue, Sam Cassell, Armond Hill, and Rex Kalamian.
We have more from around the Atlantic Division:
- Blake Murphy of The Athletic considers possible free-agent center targets for the Raptors, explaining that center is a pressing need for Toronto, even if the team re-signs Serge Ibaka or Marc Gasol. Murphy breaks down multiple free-agent targets into three tiers based on the Raptors’ financial situation, identifying Montrezl Harrell and Danilo Gallinari as expensive options while naming the likes of Jakob Poeltl and Noah Vonleh as more affordable alternatives.
- In his latest mailbag, Rod Beard of The Detroit News suggests that Tyrese Haliburton or Killian Hayes would be a good pick for the Pistons in the 2020 draft. “Most mock drafts I’ve seen have one of those two available, and if they come out with either, they’d be happy with the pick, because they’d have filled a big roster gap,” he writes. The Pistons currently own the seventh overall pick, which means they’re in a prime position to take the best player available. Both Haliburton and Hayes are expected to be lottery picks next month.
- Josh Robbins of The Athletic discusses the potential offseason moves that could be in store for the Magic in his latest mailbag. One of the questions that Robbins answered concerned the future of Evan Fournier. The 27-year-old guard has a $17.2M player option for the 2020/21 season, which he could ultimately decline next month. However, Robbins believes Fournier will likely accept the option due to the dip in NBA revenue as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Last season with Orlando, he averaged 18.5 PPG and shot 39.9% from three-point range.
The Heat lost just three games during the first three rounds against their playoff opponents in the East en route to an NBA Finals appearance this year, eliminating three of the top four seeds in the conference in the process. However, Miami’s impressive postseason run hasn’t made the team the favorite to come out of the East in 2021, according to oddsmakers.
At BetOnline.ag, the Heat are listed at +450 to win the Eastern Conference in ’21, meaning you’d win $450 on a $100 wager should Miami repeat as conference champs. The Bucks (+375), Celtics (+425), and Nets (+425) are currently considered more likely to represent the East in next year’s NBA Finals.
The rest of the odds to win the East next year are as follows, per BetOnline.ag:
- Raptors: +750
- Sixers: +1200
- Bulls: +3300
- Hawks: +3300
- Pacers: +3300
- Wizards: +3300
- Magic: +10000
- Cavaliers: +12500
- Knicks: +12500
- Pistons: +12500
- Hornets: +17500
It’s obviously way too early to forecast the outcome of the 2020/21 season with any confidence. The draft and free agency are still to come, and we don’t know yet which teams will make major splashes on the trade market. If Victor Oladipo is dealt from Indiana to another Eastern team, for example, it could significantly change the conference’s outlook for next season.
Still, anticipated roster moves are at least somewhat baked into BetOnline’s current odds — if the Pacers had a ton of cap room to use this offseason and Oladipo and Myles Turner weren’t viewed as potential trade candidates, it’s a safe bet that they wouldn’t be listed alongside lottery teams Chicago, Atlanta, and Washington on the list above.
So, with the caveat that plenty could change in the coming months to alter the outlook of the East for the 2020/21 season, we want to get your thoughts on the early projections from oddsmakers.
Should the Bucks be considered the favorites to win the East? Should the Heat be listed higher than fourth among Eastern teams? Are the Nets or other teams being overvalued? Are the Pacers or other teams being undervalued? Which team do you like to come out of the East next season? And which club do you view as the best value pick based on the odds listed above?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your early forecast for the Eastern Conference in 2020/21!