Orlando Magic: 3 trade candidates before the deadline

1. Terrence Ross

Terrence Ross ticks every box for a contending team, and it is the reason he tops this list. At 29, he is currently in his prime and is a career 36.8 percent 3-point shooter on just over five attempts per game. Ross also has two years left on his deal after this one, meaning that if another team traded for him, they could keep him with their core for a number of years.

The Orlando Magic have been smart in the ways they have configured some of their contracts, and the money owed to Ross will decrease slightly over the next couple of seasons. Vucevic’s deal is constructed similarly, and it makes guys easier to move, as opposed to harder as sometimes as they get older their production drops, but the money owed increases (see Griffin, Blake and Love, Kevin for more high profile examples.)

This makes Ross even more appealing, as he will eat up less money on a contender, going from $12.5 million to $11.5 million the year after, and is also easy to move on if it doesn’t work out. To add to the pros of going after Ross, he is used to coming off the bench and can go through stretches where he is among the top sixth men in the league.

Any organization looking to bring him in should view him as a Seth Curry type of figure. We have seen with the younger Curry how the Dallas Mavericks have missed him this season, while the 76ers have benefitted from bringing him on board to replace Josh Richardson. Ross likely isn’t as good as Curry, but the gap between the two is not huge either.

Defensively you might not be getting a lot from Ross, but his nickname is “The Human Torch” for a reason. He can come off the bench and pile up points in a hurry and does his best work off the ball. Just set screens and watch him run through them until he finds a way to get open. The former Slam Dunk champion may not be as explosive as he once was, but he’s still got hops.

All of this makes Ross the most valuable trade chip that the Orlando Magic have right now that they would be willing to part with. They would look for something of note in return, and they’d get it too. As the NBA trade deadline nears, franchises who think they’re close to going over the top will look for ways to get better. Terrence Ross is among the most ideal candidates in the league right now.