Rumor Orlando looking to trade Vucevic and Possibly Payton.

http://www.thescore.com/nba/news/1191809-report-magic-looking-to-trade-vucevic-down-on-payton

Make it happen Neil!

In what way will this improve the team defensively?

Orlando wants to trade a player named Elf on Christmas Eve?

SlyPokerDog said:

Orlando wants to trade a player named Elf on Christmas Eve?

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Shameful.

http://www.nba.com/magic/news/orlando-magic-new-york-knicks-pregame-report-denton-20161222

At this point we need more than just defense. We need heart, a desire to win and a shake up of the line up.

I don't know if he's a good fit. I just posted it so we could discuss it.

I have always like Elfrid Payton, Nikola can't be worse than what we have can he?

Would it take CJ?

One shudders at the thought of the defense with Vucevic anchoring the middle.

He's averaging a double double coming off the bench. Maybe he would be best as a PF paired with Nerlens Noel?

Other than Plums recent development, what big do we have that can match Nikola?

For the record i'm not jumping on the bandwagon, just bored with our current team's output. Anytime a center becomes remotely available it's like seeing a squirrel.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/v/vucevni01.html

The Magic just don't seem to have a clue. They traded Oladipo and kept Hezonja, who promptly goes into a tailspin. They trade for an old-for-them Ibaka because he perfectly complements Vucevic - then decide to trade Vucevic. I don't think there's a single player of theirs that I really covet. Even Ibaka is overrated, and Biyombo (who was drafted to be "the next Ibaka") is overpaid and underperforming.

And if you don't think our defense can possibly get worse, well let's trade for Vucevic and find out.

Orlando would probably want Crabbe, but I'm not sure that's enough for Vucevic. CJ on the other hand is worth more than anyone on orlandos roster, so I don't really see a deal. Maybe they'd want Vonleh? Orlando is weird, no one knows what their goals are.

julius said:

In what way will this improve the team defensively?

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Payton can at times be a well above average defender. In the first meeting last year, he and Lillard were matched up for most of the game. Lillard went 4-15 while Payton went 4-9 as they both finished with 19 points.

Rastapopoulos said:

The Magic just don't seem to have a clue. They traded Oladipo and kept Hezonja, who promptly goes into a tailspin. They trade for an old-for-them Ibaka because he perfectly complements Vucevic - then decide to trade Vucevic. I don't think there's a single player of theirs that I really covet. Even Ibaka is overrated, and Biyombo (who was drafted to be "the next Ibaka") is overpaid and underperforming.

And if you don't think our defense can possibly get worse, well let's trade for Vucevic and find out.

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Ibaka would look pretty good in Portland and we'd be able to go over the cap to re-sign him, but after what Orlando gave up I doubt they're looking to move him

Rastapopoulos said:

The Magic just don't seem to have a clue. They traded Oladipo and kept Hezonja, who promptly goes into a tailspin. They trade for an old-for-them Ibaka because he perfectly complements Vucevic - then decide to trade Vucevic. I don't think there's a single player of theirs that I really covet. Even Ibaka is overrated, and Biyombo (who was drafted to be "the next Ibaka") is overpaid and underperforming.

And if you don't think our defense can possibly get worse, well let's trade for Vucevic and find out.

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Not to mention they gave us Harkless for nothing

It'd be nice to somehow get Aaron Gordon, we need to get a three way going with the magic and the Kings...the magic are interested in Rudy Gay...

julius said:

In what way will this improve the team defensively?

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When you have a guy who scores 20 and rebounds in the paint, it tends to take the pressure off the guards...now teams leave Mason and Ed alone unless they are intentionally fouled hoping they miss

Chris Craig said:

It'd be nice to somehow get Aaron Gordon, we need to get a three way going with the magic and the Kings...the magic are interested in Rudy Gay...

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Gordon is interesting because he's young and has a ceiling, especially defensively, but his asking price is probably higher than his actual value.

Hezonja would be worth a look and I'm not even a fan of him! I just think that's an Olshey type move to find value at the bottom of another teams depth chart.

If we go after someone from Orlando it should be Ibaka.

Though, I love Vuc's game. That quick, over the right shoulder, baby left hook is VICIOUS! He's got a beautiful stroke on his jumper. He sets great picks. He's ACTIVE. He gets lots of points off of hustle and crashing the O boards. He's sneaky quick and solidly athletic. He's amazing at boxing out. Offensively and with regard to rebounding, he's everything we need in a big. He sucks on D but he tries hard.

dviss1 said:

If we go after someone from Orlando it should be Ibaka.

Though, I love Vuc's game. That quick, over the right shoulder, baby left hook is VICIOUS! He's got a beautiful stroke on his jumper. He sets great picks. He's ACTIVE. He gets lots of points off of hustle and crashing the O boards. He's sneaky quick and solidly athletic. He's amazing at boxing out. Offensively and with regard to rebounding, he's everything we need in a big. He sucks on D but he tries hard.

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What Vucevic brings commands attention from the other team's bigs and gets them off our guards....that's defense creating offense which in Stott's system is what Meyers is supposed to do and doesn't and Mason and Ed just can't. We have no low post threat and second chance pts Ed got last season are rarely seen this year

He's underrated on defense. Hes usually had a positive DBPM over the years.

riverman said:

What Vucevic brings commands attention from the other team's bigs and gets them off our guards....that's defense by offense

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He's like Zach Randolph in a Center's body.

I fully believe Vuc could average 20/10 here.

Would love to inside out with Vucevic instead of sideline to sideline above the key.

BonesJones said:

Would love to inside out with Vucevic instead of sideline to sideline above the key.

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That's the thing. We could do both. Vuc's a great passer too. He averages 2.7 ast in ORL's offense. Off the bench.

Edit: We could actually do it better since you have to guard his 15-17 footer.

Vonleh, Napier, Leonard, and PORs 2018 pick for Vucevic. Do it.

Here he is giving DWhore the BIDness!!

BonesJones said:

Vonleh, Napier, Leonard, and PORs 2018 pick for Vucevic. Do it.

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God can that happen? I think it'd take more. I'd also want to include Aminu instead of Vonleh.

Man, ORL's front office is bi-polar. They STILL can't decide if they want to win now or rebuild. They give away young players like Harkless and Tobias Harris for practically nothing. Trade Oladipo for Ibaka so Ibaka can play next to Vucevic, then bench Vucevic.

This is why Scott Skiles quit, walked away and left millions on the table after one season coaching that train wreck. If there's one thing I think the world can agree on about Scott Skiles is the man HATES to lose. He was coaching to win, realized Payton was a lost cause, wanted to bench him, but management forced him to play Payton because they "needed to develop their young talent". You can't develop what doesn't exist.

The absolute best thing you can say about Elfrid Payton is he's a poor man's Ricky Rubio. Like Rubio, Payton can't shoot to save his life. His career 3FG% (.288) is actually worse than Rubio's and his career FT% of .576 is very Dwight Howard-like. Rubio is a better passer and a better defender, but because he's not a scoring threat will never be a successful NBA staring PG. But at least Rubio can make a FT.

Do you really want a guy with a career .576 FT% running your offense with the game on the line. Remember, the Hack-a-Shaq rules don't apply to the payer who has the ball, you can foul him with impunity.

So, Skiles quits and they bring in a defensive minded coach, who, within 16 games, realizes Skiles was right, Payton is a lost cause and benches him in favor of D.J. Augustin.

I'm pretty meh on Vucevic. If the Magic are blowing it up and having a fire sale, Ibaka is the one I want. He's the perfect stretch 4 to put next to Nerlins Noel. He's shooting .422 from 3-point range, and while not the DPOY candidate he once was, he's still light years better than anyone we have and combining him with Noel would give us elite level rim protection.

BNM

I like Vucevic but he's not the 5 we need. If that's our only option, then great but I'd rather move him in a 3 way deal to the Kings with change and have Cousins come to Portland if possible. If not, I still prefer Noel. Vuc is a pretty good 3rd option if we can't get the other 2 however. He's a really good player.

Ibaka is in last year of contract; I don't think he would want to stay there. (Although, will the new CBA make it really really profitable for him to stay?)
Ibaka and Green for Crabbe or Turner (their choice) plus their choice of Leonard, Davis or Aminu. If Payton is an elite defender then we throw in their choice of Napier or Quarterman for him.

As things stand, the odd game from Plumlee aside (and he will be used at 4 if we replace him), our centers do not offer much defense, scoring or rebounding. Vucevic is not good defensively but at least he scored and rebounds which will naturally improve us.

It won't take CJ, and they won't take Crabbe because they have the same player in Fournier. I think they might take Aminu to rotate with Gordon and Ibaka, could be interested in Plumlee and might be foolish enough to take Meyers. Turner would not be a bad get for them either.

Vucevic can score and rebound but in watching him move around the paint, it looks like he wouldn't average over 1.0 block per game as the only center in an under-6' basketball league at the YMCA.