National Basketball Association

Five trade deadline targets for the Orlando Magic

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:36 a.m. ET

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Fansided, Ricky Scricca/FanSided via Orlando Magic Daily

Dec 8, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari (8) drives as Washington Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. (22) defends during the first half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The Orlando Magic have some kinks to work out if they want to make good on their playoff push. The current NBA trade market has quite a few interesting possibilities to explore.

There is certainly no shortage of needs for the Orlando Magic and chances are it would take more than one solid deal to make this team a legitimate playoff contender.

They could use a pick-and-roll ball handler, a versatile post defender, someone who can knock down threes off screens and in spot ups and someone who can complement Aaron Gordon’s style of play at the forward position.

Fortunately for the Magic, there are players who can fill all of these roles who are at least rumored to be on the market. Some of them can even fill more than one.

But the front office and fans have to be prepared to give up a key asset to get a decent return – Serge Ibaka, Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton, Mario Hezonja and just about everyone else all be possibilities.

It is clear the roster as it stands is not enough to attain the franchise’s goal of a playoff berth. A move is all but inevitable.

As long as they are not ready to mail the season in and go home, here are five players the Magic should target before the trade deadline.

Danilo Gallinari

Despite the Magic getting the fifth-most open 2-point shot opportunities in the league, they are fifth-worst in the league at converting them. The Magic also get themselves the third-fewest free throw opportunities while making them at the second-lowest clip.

Missing out on these easy shot opportunities really add up throughout the course of a game and especially during an 82-game season. If Orlando wants a quick fix to ramp up their offense, they have to find a way to start converting open shots, getting to the foul line and sinking free throws.

Fortunately, the Denver Nuggets appear to have several players they could shop around.

There are 24 players in the league who shoot at least 5.5 free throws per game. Of them, Danilo Gallinari has the third highest free throw percentage.

It is also worth mentioning that on open shot opportunities, Gallinari has a better effective field goal percentage, a higher 2-point field goal percentage, and about the same 3-point field goal percentage as the Magic. His numbers here are not necessarily elite, but they are enough and they are consistent across last season too.

If nothing else, Gallinari is dependable, and dependability would go a long way for Orlando.

Those free throw numbers are no coincidence either. He is an extremely crafty offensive player who knows how to exploit tight defense and closeouts to his advantage, getting him to the line where he converts almost 90 percent of the time.

On this play, he drives to the basket and gets himself an and-one from Defensive Player of the Year candidate Andre Roberson. Roberson puts his hands straight up to defend in order to bother the shot without swiping or swatting at it and risking a foul. But Gallinari knows where his hands are and manages to draw the contact for a three-point play.

These tactics are not just good for creating easy buckets. Consistently drawing these calls can frustrate opponents and cause matchups to get into foul trouble. And if a team is using their best defensive player on him (like Roberson), that foul trouble can really impact a game.

Not to mention, the career 37 percent 3-point shooter can help the Magic space the floor and complement Aaron Gordon if they are played together. Defenders cannot afford to sag off him, because he is also great at using late closeouts to initiate contact and draw fouls.

The play below happens in transition, but you can see how he is instinctually able to turn a late closeout into three shots at the line.

Even if he is not exactly an offensive dynamo, his skill set could do a lot to improve Orlando’s offense. In return, Denver is looking to shore up their defense somehow, possibly with a frontcourt piece like Serge Ibaka.

In that case, more players or assets may need to be involved to match salaries on both sides. Mario Hezonja could be a part of the conversation. And the Magic would have good reason to be interested in Wilson Chandler too.

Wilson Chandler

Nearly 10 percent of the Magic’s possessions involve a pick and roll where the roll man gets the ball – good for the highest rate in the NBA. They are also the second-worst team in the league at converting these plays.

The Magic need a better roll man, and the highly versatile Wilson Chandler could be their answer.

Not only can he finish at the rim, but he can also hit pick-and-pop jumpers and because of the attention he demands as a shooter. He can also be a huge threat to slip screens.

Another reason the Magic are so inefficient at finishing the pick-and-roll is that a lack of credible shooters permits defenses to freely collapse in on rolling bigs. Even if Chandler does not act as a roll man, having him lurking on the perimeter forces defenses out to contest.

When they do contest, Chandler still hits. According to NBA.com, when a defender is “tight,” Chandler’s shoots 31.1 percent from three – better than Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.

His ability to catch and shoot would also be useful for the Magic, who run handoff plays like this all the time.

Additionally, Chandler is a long (6-foot-8 with even more wingspan), athletic, and high IQ defensive player who can defend in isolation – even though he is not quite “elite,” the Magic could feel reasonably good about him getting switched on to almost any kind of player.

Playing him and Aaron Gordon together could work very well as both are highly versatile defenders whose offensive skills complement each other.

While Gordon is not exactly the best shooter, Chandler consistently demands attention when he spots up or comes off a screen beyond the arc. When Gordon gets screened away from his man, Chandler as a 4 is much better suited than Serge Ibaka to guard a wing player.

Again, the Nuggets will likely be looking to bolster their frontcourt defense so to swing Gallinari or Chandler the Magic have to prepared to lose Serge Ibaka. Other pieces might need to be thrown in to match salaries, but Chandler has a lot to offer Orlando on both ends of the floor.

Zach LaVine

Zach Lavine is an integral member to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ highly-touted young core. But Tom Thibodeau is rumored to not be ruling out letting one of his big three go in exchange for a veteran interior defender… like Serge Ibaka.

There are no indications other than speculation to suggest the Wolves will break up that young core. But if LaVine is indeed on the table, it will not be for cheap.

Ibaka is on an expiring contract so Thibodeau could very well want another asset, like a draft pick, thrown into the pot.

If Orlando can put together an enticing package, adding LaVine would work well for a number of reasons.

Off-screen shots, spot-ups, transition scores and the pick-and-roll are the biggest parts of the Magic offense, both as a percentage of their total plays and compared to how frequently other teams run them.

LaVine excels in each of these areas.

This season is LaVine’s first full season as a shooting guard instead of the point, so he actually has more ball-handling experience than some give him credit for. This season he has performed very well as the ball-handler on the pick-and-roll, which is more than can be said about the Magic backcourt.

Elfrid Payton, who runs the pick-and-roll more than any other Magic player, is one of the least efficient in the league at converting these plays into points.

In a hyopthetical Magic uniform, LaVine obviously would not be asked to play point guard or even to act as a primary ball handler very often, but to add a player who can take some of the ball-handling load off of Elfrid Payton would be huge.

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The Magic take spot-up jumpers on around one-fifth of their total possessions, more frequently than any other play type tracked on NBA.com. Unfortunately, they are actually very mediocre at actually hitting these shots, scoring exactly 1.00 point per possession.

LaVine is near the top of the league at hitting spot up jumpers, scoring 1.19 points per possession. That sounds like a negligible difference, but in the course of 100 possessions, that .19 points turns into 19.

The Magic also dish to players coming off screens at the seventh-highest rate in the league, despite hitting those shots less than 40 percent of the time. Again, that is a very mediocre rate of efficiency for a shot the most teams and players can hit with relative ease.

It is not because they cannot get open shots either. The Magic love to run pin-down screens for shooters at the corners, sometimes to a dribble handoff from a center, and get very clean looks much of the time. They just do not convert those looks at the rate that more elite shooters do.

LaVine, on the other hand, sinks threes off screens at a rate many shooters would envy.

When the Magic played LaVine and the Wolves earlier this season, he gave Magic fans a peek at what can happen when he heats up, burning Orlando’s defense again and again off screens from Gorgui Dieng, Karl-Anthony Towns and whoever else would help him get an opening. He finished with 37 points on seven 3-pointers, and most importantly, his team left with the win.

Lastly, LaVine could help the Magic in transition. Orlando gets themselves no shortage of transition opportunities, whether it be from turnovers, blocked shots or rebounds. These opportunities are often squandered, though, as they are one of the worst teams in the league at finishing them.

No one who has watched either of the past two Slam Dunk Contests should be surprised to learn that LaVine is pretty damn good at finishing in transition.

Even when he first entered the league, at the combine he registered ridiculous numbers on his vertical and in speed drills. Of course, that athleticism is useless without actual basketball skills, but very few defenders can catch LaVine when he flies downcourt for an open dunk.

At the end of the day, LaVine is a blossoming offensive dynamo and it should be no wonder that he is giving the Wolves more than 20 points per game.

He has all the athletic talent to be an elite player. This season he is showing the NBA universe that he is developing basketball skills to match. Not to mention, based on what the Magic like to do and need to become more efficient at doing, LaVine would be an excellent fit offensively.

But whether he is actually available and for what cost is another question entirely. Theoretically, the Magic have pieces that could entice Thibodeau. LaVine is a Minnesota fan favorite for good reason.

And chasing after him seems like a dream more than a reality at this point.

Nov 23, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) dribbles the ball as Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) defends during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Terrence Ross

If Zach LaVine is indeed off the table, Terrence Ross could offer the Magic a similar set of skills and athleticism.

In fact, Ross might be an even better shooter than LaVine for Orlando’s purposes. Even though LaVine’s raw 3-point percentage is better than Ross’ percentage. Ross is more effective off screens and spotting up than LaVine is.

That is very important for the Magic because it makes him easier to plug directly into the offensive sets Frank Vogel already likes to run.

Although not quite as jaw-droppingly athletic as LaVine, Ross can still run downcourt and throw down transition dunks as well as anyone else in the league.

He is also a much more realistic target. The Toronto Raptors are very serious about challenging the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017, and they know they will have to make moves for a defensively sound power forward before the deadline to do so.

With Paul Millsap off the market, that leaves Serge Ibaka as a prime target.

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With Ibaka on an expiring contract, the Magic would do well to get some valuable pieces in return for him instead of letting him leave in free agency. It does not take much speculation to figure out what this return might be, because the Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder nearly agreed to a trade for Ibaka last offseason too.

It was so substantial the Raptors ended up balking — Norman Powell, Cory Joseph, Patrick Patterson, and the number nine overall pick in exchange for Ibaka alone.

If the Raptors and Magic make a trade, it obviously would not be of that magnitude. But Ross alongside Patrick Patterson or DeMarre Carroll for Ibaka would help both teams fix their weaknesses without creating any new weaknesses on either side.

The pieces exchanged would fit seamlessly into their new teams and help both ramp up their playoff efforts.

Dec 23, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (7) handles the ball during the first quarter of the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Goran Dragic

The tanking Miami Heat have been the subject of quite a few trade rumors already. And point guard Goran Dragic is right in the middle of them.

If the Magic are indeed trying to win now, Elfrid Payton might not be the point guard for them especially if the team’s lack of shooting continues to hamper his ability to drive inside.

Dragic would give the Magic a solid, established ball-handler who can run the pick and roll and knock down threes at a respectable clip, which is more than can be said about Payton at this point in his career.

On the flipside, Dragic is something of a defensive liability whereas Payton has shown lots of promise on that end of the floor for a lot less money.

Dragic is currently two years into a five-year, $50-million deal with the Heat. That is quite a bit more than Payton’s current four-year, $11-million deal.

To acquire Dragic, Orlando would have to give up at least two or three key players just to match salaries. Even if they put together a package that would work money-wise, the rebuilding Heat probably want picks thrown in as well.

While he is undoubtedly a solid, above-average point guard and would probably be an upgrade for the Magic, any deal which the Heat would agree for Dragic would likely hurt the Magic more than it would help, both in the short and long run.

Not to mention, the Magic’s problems go much deeper than ball-handling and scoring from the point guard position.

If they are to make a major deal before the deadline to make a playoff push, they should go after a player who can offer either a serious, high-octane scoring punch that fits the team’s offense or who can offer production on both ends of the floor.

Putting Dragic in a Magic uniform would not make them a playoff contender and it would lock up serious money for the next couple of seasons.

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