martin wrote:

VCoug wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

The Orlando Magic are in a stunning free fall having lost 27 of their last 31 games, which means a fire sale is potentially imminent.

Rival executives expect the Magic to "aggressively hunt" for trades involving point guard Elfrid Payton, shooting guard Evan Fournier, and small forward Mario Hezonja, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.

Fournier, a 25-year-old, is averaging 17.6 points and 2.9 assists while shooting 39 percent from deep. He's on a reasonable contract that sees him making $17 million for the next three seasons

Lee baker and willy

I like Fournier, but he's redundant with THJ already here. It would be cool to have a team France backcourt tho. Is Hexonja playing decently? I'd like to take a gamble, but why trade when you could possibly buy in free agency?

Hezonja's shown flashes but has never been consistently good. He's someone I'd like to take a chance on this summer on a team-friendly deal. Something like 2 years @ $15M with a team option for a 3rd.

..... that's a Baker type deal but times 2

Baker has been worse than Hezonja and we gave him a player option not a team option.

VCoug wrote:

fwk00 wrote:

VCoug wrote:

fwk00 wrote:They may be in the market for a center before long.

Sure, but they're in a position that they'd be able to draft Ayton, Bamba, or Bagley with their 1st round pick. Why are they trading one of those guys for WHG?

They don't lose an early pick, they simply lose a few positions for a sure thing rather than a not-so-sure-thing. Willie can play and he's a memphis kinda guy.

Chalmers comes in as a backup while Jack takes his place. It's not even clear Memphis would lose draft position but if they did it simply puts the Knicks in slightly better draft position something the tank is intended to do.

It's not a few spots, they'd be dropping from 4th to 12th if the season started today. That's not worth it for a guy who can't get off our bench.

You are looking at it from the wrong perspective. Its unclear whether Memphis is playing too win or tank.

Yes. If they're tanking then such a deal makes no sense.

OTOH, if they are playing to win they won't be picking 4. Willie is a lunch-pail player who obviously has untapped talent. He and Jack are economical. Looking at the Knicks, they can feel certain they'll still get a decent pick.

The larger point is that a swap with a team who may have a better draft position is one way to trade off excess talent for a desired return.