Orlando Magic: Pros and cons of trading for Dennis Smith Jr.
By Luke Duffy
Dennis Smith Jr. is a player that could clearly help the Orlando Magic, but do the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to trying to trade for him?
The story of Dennis Smith Jr. with the Dallas Mavericks has been a strange one this season. The “will he, won’t he?” narrative around whether or not they’ll keep the player to pair with rookie sensation Luka Doncic seemingly flipping on a daily basis.
Smith is bound to be ruffled by the organization’s different stances on whether or not to move forward with him on their roster and the six games he missed recently through nondescript illness before returning with a bang to score 17 points in 37 minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers seemed to suggest he was on the way out.
Which is where the Orlando Magic come in. They are sure to be active before the February 7th deadline, although whether that will be as buyers or sellers yet, we are still not sure.
It is not every day a second-year player like Smith, who also fills some of their needs, becomes available, which is why the Magic have to monitor this situation closely.
They have fallen to 20-29 and are 3.5 games out of the final playoff spot in the East. Big wins against the likes of the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets (in back-to-back games) were negated by tough losses to the Brooklyn Nets (twice), Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards.
The defeats to all three were damaging, as they are organizations also vying for a postseason berth. Victories against these teams would have put the Magic right back in the hunt.
But is Smith the answer to their problems? Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of trying to trade for him, to see if doing so would help the Magic long-term, or if it is a quick fix solution to get this season back on track only.