Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Community Shootaround: Orlando Magic

December 12th, 2016 at 10:22pm CST by Austin Kent

The Magic made several moves over the course of the offseason suggesting they were hopeful to compete for a playoff bid as early as this season. Five games below .500 mid-way through December, however, it’s clear that they may still have some work to do.

With December 15th fast approaching – the first day that offseason free agent signings are eligible to be traded – speculation has picked up that the club could make a move to add more offense. As discussed earlier this month, the Magic rank 29th in points per possession and could benefit from the addition of a scorer or two.

If a deal is in the cards for Orlando, could Mario Hezonja be a part of the outgoing package as implied by implied by Marc Stein? The club also holds a handful of expiring contracts that could similarly appeal to teams looking to make something happen, including summer acquisitions Serge Ibaka and Jeff Green.

Additionally, let’s not forget the criticism the franchise’s front office faced when they added Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo to a reasonably healthy front court that already included Nikola Vucevic.

Does something have to give if the Magic hope to turn things around?

Weigh in for yourself in the comment section below!

Are Magic, Rockets Logical Trade Partners?

December 12th, 2016 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com believes the Magic and Rockets could be logical trade partners at some point this season, since Houston’s roster is heavy on scorers and Orlando’s is heavy on defensive stoppers.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/10/16

December 10th, 2016 at 10:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Saturday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

10:59pm:

The Magic have recalled center Stephen Zimmerman from their Erie affiliate, the team posted on its website. Zimmerman spent four games with Erie, averaging 21.8 points and 15.5 rebounds per game. He has appeared in two games with Orlando.

3:05pm:

The Pistons have assigned Stanley Johnson, Henry Ellenson, and Michael Gbinije to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Ellenson and Gbinije have already spent some time in Grand Rapids this season, but it’ll be Johnson’s first D-League stint of the season. According to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link), the 2015 eighth overall pick discussed the move with Stan Van Gundy, and will return to the Pistons after playing tonight with the Drive.
Jerian Grant and Paul Zipser have been recalled from the D-League by the Bulls, the club announced in a press release. Both players contributed to the Windy City Bulls’ victory over Canton on Friday night, with Grant making the game-winning shot. R.J. Hunter remains on assignment with the club.
The Hawks don’t have their own D-League affiliate, but they’ve assigned DeAndre’ Bembry back to the Salt Lake City Stars, per Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. In a one-game stint with the Stars earlier this season, Bembry poured in 16 of 22 shots and racked up 35 points.
A day after being assigned to the D-League to practice with the Salt Lake City Stars, Joel Bolomboy has been recalled by the Jazz, according to a team release.
The Lakers have sent rookie big man Ivica Zubac back to the D-League, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Zubac will suit up tonight for the Los Angeles D-Fenders in their game against Austin.

Magic Open To Moving Mario Hezonja?

December 9th, 2016 at 3:52pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Magic reportedly will look to the trade market in order to add some offense and Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) believes that evidence is starting to suggest that Orlando may be willing to move Mario Hezonja in the right deal.

Coach Frank Vogel said the team is considering a D-League assignment for Hezonja, as Brian K. Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel relays (Twitter link). The small forward has only seen action in six of the team’s last 15 games.

In the limited minutes during his sophomore season, Hezonja has struggled to produce. He’s only scoring 12.2 points per 36 minutes and he’s shooting 30.6% from the field, a figure which includes a wintry 17.2% from behind the arc. His player efficiency rating is an abysmal 2.3.

The Magic want to win this season and Hezonja isn’t helping them right now. However, he’s still only 21 years old and rival teams may view GM Rob Hennigan’s hot seat as an opportunity to buy-low on a former top-5 pick. Trading Hezonja may be Orlando’s best option if it wants to bring back someone who can move the needle for this team.

Should the Magic deal Hezonja? If so, what should they look to get in return? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

Magic Are Ready To Trade For Scorers

December 5th, 2016 at 7:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ranked 29th in points per possession, the Magic will turn to the trade market for help on offense, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.

Robbins cites a league source with knowledge of the situation, but it’s obvious to anyone who has watched the Magic that they need to find some scoring. The offseason trade for Serge Ibaka and the signing of Bismack Biyombo have helped Orlando build the NBA’s third best defense in points per possession, but a lack of offense has limited the Magic in a 9-12 start.

Robbins isn’t sure who Orlando’s front office might want to part with, but he lists four players with expiring contracts, which are usually attractive to teams hoping to cut salary. They are Ibaka, Jeff Green, Jodie Meeks and C.J. Wilcox. In addition, C.J. Watson has just a $1MM guarantee on his 2017/18 contract.

The unofficial start of the trading season is December 15th, when most of the offseason free agent signees are eligible to be dealt.

Meeks Set To Make Season Debut

December 2nd, 2016 at 8:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Offseason trade acquisition, Jodie Meeks, is set to make his season debut for the Magic this evening, the team announced. The 29-year-old underwent foot surgery back in July after missing all but three games in 2015/16, and will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

Kings Notes: Cousins, Casspi, Gay, Stauskas

November 30th, 2016 at 7:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kings coach Dave Joerger has gone back to a bigger starting lineup in an effort to improve the team’s defense, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Kosta Koufos is back with the starters, being used at center with DeMarcus Cousins at power forward. Joerger briefly tried a small-ball starting lineup, but wasn’t satisfied with the results. “I’m trying to protect DeMarcus a little bit by letting Kosta take the hits on a bigger guy like [Washington Wizards center Marcin] Gortat,” Joerger said. “And defensively more pick-and-rolls and try to save [Cousins’] legs for the end.”

There’s more news out of Sacramento:

Cousins continues to put up incredible numbers, averaging 28.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per night, but the Kings need more production from their complementary players, writes James Ham of CSNBayArea. “We’ve just got to be better,” Omri Casspi said after Monday’s overtime loss at Washington. “Our bench guys and our role players have to do a better job of helping DeMarcus. It feels like he’s doing anything he can to win the game for us. We’ve just got to be better.”
Rudy Gay confirmed that he has left Octagon Basketball, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Gay, who has suggested that he won’t be re-signing with Sacramento after he becomes a free agent next summer, may be joining Roc Nation, an agency headed by rapper Jay Z (Twitter link). However, he told Jones that the change isn’t related to his impending free agency (Twitter link).
Nik Stauskas says it doesn’t bother him to hear that the Kings feel like they should have drafted someone else in 2014, Jones posts on Facebook. Owner Vivek Ranadive recently told Amick that he preferred Magic guard Elfrid Payton over Stauskas as the No. 8 pick. “Like I said, they did me a favor sending me here to Philadelphia,” Stauskas replied. “I’ve had a really good opportunity to play even though I hadn’t been performing though my first year with the Sixers. I’m thankful that the organization gave me an opportunity, they drafted me, but if they felt like the made a mistake by drafting me then they felt like they made a mistake. I can’t do anything about it now.”

Rob Hennigan On Hot Seat In Orlando?

November 29th, 2016 at 7:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Magic GM Rob Hennigan could be out of a job if Orlando can’t turn its season around, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel.

Hennigan had hoped to point the team on a path toward the playoffs with two controversial offseason moves. First came a draft-night trade with the Thunder that brought veteran power forward Serge Ibaka to Orlando in exchange for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the rights to 11th pick Domantas Sabonis. Next, Hennigan signed Raptors backup center Bismack Biyombo to a $72MM contract over four years.

The moves were designed to improve the Magic’s defense, but the team has encountered so much trouble scoring that it hasn’t mattered. New coach Frank Vogel made three lineup changes this week in an effort to find more offense, but so far all that has done is anger center Nikola Vucevic, who was sent to the bench in favor of Biyombo.

Hennigan has maneuvered himself into a difficult situation, Schmitz contends. After four straight seasons of missing the playoffs, the team can’t tank without fear of alienating its fan base, and it hasn’t been successful enough to land star players through free agency. All that’s left, the writer suggests, is another dramatic trade in which Hennigan sacrifices some of his newly acquired defense to add more offense.

Also, Hennigan’s draft record has been spotty. Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon, two first-round picks from 2014, have both been removed from the starting lineup, and 2015 first-rounder Mario Hezonja plays just 14 minutes per night. The GM’s best pick was Oladipo in 2013, but he is now in Oklahoma City.

With Orlando off to a 6-11 start through a little more than a month of the season, the clock is rapidly ticking on Hennigan. If he can’t turn the Magic into a playoff team, it may cost him his job.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/28/16

November 28th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

11:00pm:

The Nets have assigned forward Anthony Bennett to their Long Island affiliate, the team announced in a press release. He has played 10 games for Brooklyn, averaging 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per night.

2:32pm:

The Warriors have recalled rookie center Damian Jones from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. It’s not clear if Jones is ready to make his NBA debut quite yet, or if he’s just being called up to practice with Golden State for now.
A day after he was on the receiving end of an emphatic dunk by Wayne Selden, forward Rakeem Christmas has been recalled by the Pacers, according to a team release. Christmas contributed 18 points and seven boards to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants’ win on Sunday.
The Magic have assigned rookie center Stephen Zimmerman to the Erie BayHawks, the team announced today (via Twitter). A second-round pick in June, Zimmerman has only appeared in two regular season games so far for Orlando.
Chris McCullough continues to be shuttled back and forth between the Brooklyn Nets and the Long Island Nets. The team announced today in a press release that he has been sent back to the D-League, where he has appeared in four games so far for Long Island, averaging 17.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG.

Eastern Notes: Vucevic, Mirotic, Canaan, Pistons

November 27th, 2016 at 11:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Magic coach Frank Vogel shook up the starting lineup tonight with D.J. Augustin, Bismack Biyombo and Aaron Gordon replacing Elfrid Payton, Nikola Vucevic and Jeff Green, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The change was prompted by a three-game losing streak, but not much improved with an eight-point loss to the Bucks.

Vucevic promised to keep a professional attitude about the move, but he clearly isn’t endorsing it. “I spoke to Frank about it last night, and obviously I wasn’t happy with the decision they made,” the sixth-year center said to Zach Oliver of OPP Magic Blog. “I didn’t think there was a reason for me to go to the bench, but it’s coach’s decision. All I can do is control what I can control, which is when I’m on the court play to the best of my ability and help the team win. Stay professional and whatever is going on, I’ll keep giving my best and give them my full effort.”

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic hopes to stay in the NBA rather than return to Europe after his contract expires at the end of this season, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. The former Real Madrid star is wrapping up a three-year, $16.6MM deal. He calls Chicago “a great city” and says he wants to continue to take on the challenges that the NBA presents. “I think [the NBA] is the best place I can grow as a player,” Mirotic said. “I was very comfortable in Madrid. … That was a perfect place to stay and be in a comfort zone, to sign another five years. But that’s not who I am. I like the challenges. … And I came here to prove that I’m ready.”
A season and a half in Philadelphia has helped Bulls guard Isaiah Canaan appreciate the chance to be on a winning team, writes Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly. Canaan signed with Chicago over the summer after the Sixers declined to submit a qualifying offer. “I say it was a blessing for the opportunity, just to prove I can help a team out and show what I can bring,” Canaan said. “It was a humbling experience for me just to have to go through something like that and learn not to take anything for granted.”
A June meeting at a Tigers game between Pistons owner Tom Gores and the Ilitch family, which owns the Red Wings, led to the Pistons’ move downtown next season, relays Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press.