Grading The Orlando Magic Trade
The trade deadline chaos has begun with the Orlando Magic making the first splash. How will it grade out for them the rest of this season?
The Orlando Magic were the first to make a splash in the trade market by sending Tobias Harris to Detroit in exchange for Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova.
Pistons are acquiring Tobias Harris from Orlando for Brandon Jennings/Ersan Ilyasova. Basketball Insiders first with news of talks.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) February 16, 2016
The trade raised many eyebrows simply because Harris is only 23 years old, so the fact that the Magic gave up on him so quickly came to a surprise, but there was no doubt that his production has dropped since his solid season last year. What’s done is done, so now it is appropriate to take a look at what the Magic were able to gain out of the deal.
Ilyasova is the prototypical stretch-4 and has had a pretty solid season numbers-wise averaging 11.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. His three-point percentage (36.5%) has taken a hit in comparison with earlier seasons in his career, but Orlando is in dire need of outside shooting. Jennings has only played 23 games this season since rupturing his Achilles last season.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
Coming off the bench this season playing 18.1 minutes per game, Jennings has averaged 6.8 points, three assists, and two rebounds per game with some ugly shooting percentages. Jennings is shooting 37.3 percent from the field and 31.2 percent from deep. Besides craftiness and pizzazz, it’s confusing at first glance what Jennings can bring to this Magic team besides a sixth-man role.
Some positives to keep in mind for the Magic: Jennings and Ilyasova have experience in playing for head coach Scott Skiles during his tenure in Milwaukee, and the two can be looked at as a much-needed veteran presence on a very young an inexperienced team.
Jennings contract expires after this season, making him a free agent, while Ilyasova is set for $8.4 million (only $400,000 guaranteed). This leaves the Magic plenty of room to play with in free agency to try and throw a bunch of money at stars in hopes of luring them down to Orlando. With a bump in the salary cap set to take place this summer from $70 million to at least $89 million, the Magic have placed themselves in a great position while parting ways with a young player who obviously wasn’t working in the current system.