Orlando Magic: Deadline Day Likely A Quiet One

With the trade deadline almost upon us, it seems the Orlando Magic won’t be doing too much business as we head into the business end of the season. Whether that’s a mistake or not divides opinion however. Some think that with this team lottery bound once more, standing still with what they have and taking stock is the way to go.

Nothing wrong with that, and probably the smartest long term move to make. There is considerable young talent on this roster and there’s no point making any last minute panic moves. This team isn’t really going anywhere right now anyway. Despite these facts though, here are some moves I wish the Magic would (and wouldn’t) make ahead of the deadline.

Feb 10, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jason Terry (31) dribbles the ball around Rockets forward Josh Smith (5) and Phoenix Suns guard Isaiah Thomas (3) at US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

The move this team is most likely to make regards young forward Maurice Harkless. Various sources claiming that the Magic would be willing to part with the young gun for as little as a second round pick or two. Why? I have absolutely no idea.

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He’s seen his minutes decrease every year since his rookie campaign, despite the fact he showed considerable promise when he first came into the league.

He’s still on his rookie deal, and so doesn’t cost a ton of money to keep around. Next year is the last of his first contract in this league, and he’ll be making less than $3 million. When given the chance, he has shown he can be a factor on both ends of the court. Wing players who can do that, even to an average standard, do not grow on trees.

For this reason, and many more, keeping him makes just so much sense.

But if you are going to get rid of the guy, try get a little more out of whatever team is panicking the most before they can no longer conduct any trade activity. This is where it gets tough though. Again, Orlando is seemingly going nowhere fast, so bringing in veterans doesn’t make a ton of sense.

This team has some of them (who we’ll return to in a minute) and it hasn’t exactly helped the team move forward much. Adding a veteran only takes minutes away from a Victor Oladipo or Nikola Vucevic type, young players who need the time to become the players this franchise hopes they can be.

So I’m all for keeping Harkless. I really think he would prove to be one of those players who could come back to haunt the team at a later date. Something else I’d be up for doing before the deadline, or at least over the next year, is moving Channing Frye along. I’ve said it before, he’s an underrated player and appears to be an all-around good guy. He’s a great voice in the locker room.

But for whatever reason, it just hasn’t happened for him in Orlando so far.

It’s gotten better for him, he’s now a 39 percent three-point shooter after starting the season slowly. He spaces the floor so well, but I think that skill is undervalued by this team. Maybe that’s the wrong term to use, but a contending team could utilize what he can do on the court so much better.

I’m not quite at the point where I’m tweeting #FreeChanningFrye when the Magic play, but I’m not too far away either. He could help a contender out immediately and there could be nice returns involved as well, so I wouldn’t mind seeing this happen.

With all the talk of Goran Dragic possibly moving, it would be great to think Orlando could get involved here. If they traded for him he’d easily be their best player, even if it meant stunting the growth of rookie point guard Elfrid Payton. There are so many reasons why this will never happen, so I’m not really going to entertain it here.

All I’ll say is this, if Dragic verbally committed to Orlando after the season if a trade was done (he’s an unrestricted free agent) then of course it would make sense to go for him.

The problem? He’s so unlikely to commit to what is still a rebuild project, there’s not even a point in trying. The only other points worth mentioning here are that offering Tobias Harris (An unrestricted free agent who is likely to see a big offer sheet from elsewhere) could get their attention, and that Dragic would get to be the man in a city that’s great to live in. Alright that’s it, I’m done, fantasy over. But seriously though Goran if you’re reading this, do consider the Magic your next destination.

The Suns do have another point guard though, one who is contracted the next couple of years at a manageable rate. That would be Isaiah Thomas, and inquiring about his services might be worth a punt. Yes this team has Payton, but really this is a team that needs all the talent it can get in order to push for the playoffs again.

If they’re desperate to offload Harkless, why not bundle him with Andrew Nicholson and even Ben Gordon‘s expiring contract (He’s in year one of a two-year deal, but next season’s is a team option), maybe even a draft pick too and see if Phoenix bite.

Other than that, there’s not a ton out there now at the right price worth talking about, so it figures to be a quiet passing of the deadline for this team. Harkless seems likely to be moved though, and I’ll never understand why he was gradually fazed out. It’ll be a case of players going out and probably not coming in though, in what will likely be minimal roster changes heading into March.

Not unsurprising, probably not even a bad thing, just not all that exciting either. Kind of like the way this season has gone.

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