Orlando Magic: What Trade Would You Like To See?
By Luke Duffy
There are few things more certain to happen to the Orlando Magic this season than the reality of a trade taking place. At this time it is unclear exactly who will be going where, but before the trade deadline in February, the Magic will have shipped some players out. This also means that Orlando will acquire some new players in the process as well and this can be an exciting prospect for fans. Their minds race at the endless possibilities of combinations of players that may end up wearing the pinstriped uniform and calling the AmWay Center home. I put a question to the rabid fans over at www.pinstripedpost.com late last week about who they would like to see playing for the Magic, both realistically and unrealistically, and the answers were quite surprising. (LeBron James and Kevin Durant were excluded from being selected to add variation.)
Does Kyle Lowry playing for the Magic make sense? Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule
Many names were thrown out by the numerous responses received, ranging from Tony Parker to Dwight Howard to Michael Jordan! Clearly some took the question more seriously than others and yet the same couple of names kept cropping up. To start with the players unlikely to ever play in Orlando, Magic fans held one Stephen Curry in extremely high regard, many individuals claiming he was the player they would most like to see play for them. It makes sense of course, the Magic have the skilled big men to hurt teams on the inside. Having arguably the best shooter in the league bombing away from outside and dropping dimes for those big men would seem a dream combo. The likes of Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris and Maurice Harkless are very young and seeing them grow with a player like Curry running the point would be nothing short of explosive. Sadly this is but a pipe dream though, something that will never be realized.
Moving more into the realms of genuine possibility, the name Kyle Lowry was also thrown into the mix by a couple of more realistic fans. This is an interesting choice and one that was probably overlooked by a great deal of fans out there. With his current club, the Toronto Raptors hinting that every player on their roster bar Jonas Valanciunas is available at the right price, Lowry could be gotten with little fuss. At 27, he still has plenty to give to a team, even if his previous stops with the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets have failed to inspire. Still though he could be a medium term solution to the point guard position, leaving the electric Victor Oladipo to play his preferred role as a shooting guard in what would prove to be a nice backcourt combination. He wouldn’t cost a whole lot and with the right coaching could be a top 15 caliber point guard in a league where the one position is the most important in the modern game.
One name cropped up however, which toed the line between fantasy and reality. To some he will never play for the Magic, others see it as actually being a great possibility and this excites them. His name is Rajon Rondo, the All-Star point guard of the Boston Celtics. Although currently recovering from an ACL injury, there aren’t many who would turn down his services if the opportunity presented itself. Some have said it will never happen, that the Celtics will either build around him and rookie coach Brad Stevens in their quest to become relevant again. Certainly having a player like Rondo speeds up the rebuilding process. Others were quick to point out that Rondo may very well want out of what is not a very promising situation with the Celtics. He is a born winner and there won’t be a great deal of that happening in Beantown for awhile yet. Boston would also have to think long and hard about letting him go as well. They are in full on rebuild mode now and a team can never truly reach the bottom of the pack to start again with an All-Star on their team. Should he leave though, a title contender would be his preferred destination for sure. The only issue with that however, is that every team currently in the championship picture either has a quality point guard of their own or simply can’t afford one. This makes the possibility of him playing in Orlando a little more likely, although it is still a long shot for most.
Dreaming of acquiring star players or thinking up devastating duos is something every fan loves to do. With a team like the Orlando Magic that has come to a point where it can go various ways as an organisation, trade scenarios then become a reality. Fans like to play around and guess what is going to happen next with the team they love, it helps distract them from what can be brutal on court displays for a rebuilding team. So what do you think? Is there any player, fantasy or not, you would like to see playing for the Magic? Maybe you think talk of Rajon Rondo coming to town is as unlikely as it is stupid. Let us know in the comments box down below, and keep dreaming that the next player your team lands will be the one that takes them to the promised land!
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