What should the Magic do with the BAE?
by Souwantmyname on Jul 29, 2010 5:41 PM EDT
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PrintThe Orlando Magic's roster is nearly complete. As it stands now we have 12 players signed. It is reasonable to assume that the Magic will pick up one more player. The questions is whether said player will be signed for the vet minimum or with our remaining Bi Annual Exception. Its also worth noting the BAE can be split up among 2 players if the Magic so desired. I have compiled a short list of desired candidates after the jump (always wanted to do that) but first Here's a look at the current roster and salary breakdown.
In no particular order is UFA Joe Alexander. Most know of him from his impressive senior season at WVU and by his not so impressive season as a Buck/Bull. If you don't know who this guy is there is a reason for that. He really hasn't done much to date. Click here for his stats. However here are my reasons to be optimistic. Alexander boasts impressive athleticism which is evident in this video for the candidacy of the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk competition. (he lost the nomination to Rudy Fernandez) With his athleticism aside Alexander has also shown some decent range (35% from 3) albeit from a VERY limited sample size. He should be considered a stretch power forward in the NBA at 6'8 230. This is also painfully obvious in that he predominately (only) has a face up game and struggles rebounding the basketball. Being 24 he still has room for growth and in the right system may have better success. Some might say we already have Ryan Anderson? Why would we need a slightly older worse version of him? My answer would be-- damn that's a good question lemme think about that one...
Umm... still thinking but one with the next option
Yes! Its VONNNNN WAAAFER!!!
As some may remember I had/have a major man crush on Von Wafer during last years FA period. There was so much to like about Wafer on his last year in the NBA. He finally earned some playing time with the Houston Rockets and produced. In 19 minutes a game, he scored 10 pts. a game with 45% shooting. He also shot an unexpected 39% from 3. This performance landed him a big money contract of 2 years 10 million from the Greek club Olympiacos. There was no way any NBA team would have offered anything close to that so he took it and jumped the pond. Wafer then subsequently bombed in Europe and was released after just one year making him an UFA. I am a little worried about the fact he couldn't cut it in Europe which is far less talented than the NBA. There are always outside factors in why players dont succeed in certain situations. Maybe he was homesick, not used to the Euro game, etc. Whatever the case is Von is probably desperate to come back to America and the NBA. Now that he's gotten the money he didnt deserve perhaps he'd be more willing to work for it with the Magic.
Patty Mills is quite possibly the most intriguing player on this list. He has shown flashes of brilliance (20 pts. for his AUS national team vs. USA in the Beijing quarterfinals) but isn't highly regarded by the NBA (drafted 25 in the 2nd round, relegated to Portland's D-League) This leads me to believe that Portland doesn't place much importance in retaining him. So can he be had for the full BAE? Should we try to snag him for the full BAE? I really don't know. I do know that we are still looking for a 3rd PG. I personally want a young developmental guard as our third. Ryan Anderson is really the only young prospect on our team that has any chance to improve/contribute for the Magic (yes I'm including Orton idk what you all say he looks utterly clueless in all areas 'end rant')
So I really want to hear what you all think. And LOOK this thread didn't even mention Chris Pau... DAMN IT!!!
This FanPost was made by a member of the Orlando Pinstriped Post community, and is to be treated as the opinions and views of its author, not that of the blogger or blog community as a whole.
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Alexander and Wafer don't make sense
Orlando needs a 3rd string PG, not a SG or SF.
by Ol' Uncle Munnerlyn on Jul 29, 2010 6:18 PM EDT reply actions
your right we should just sign Anthony Johnson who won't help us now or in the future
try thinking out of the box. There isn’t a 3rd string PG available that is worth the full BAE. Mills isn’t even worth it but that is what it would take to pry him from Portland. We can always sign a 3rd pg for the ve minimum but this thread is about maximizing the BAE with future potential
I probably know Judo! How many of you can make the same boast?
by Souwantmyname on Jul 29, 2010 6:52 PM EDT up reply actions
If there's nothing available worth the full BAE...
then don’t use it! It’ll be available next year if we don’t use it this year. There’s no pressure to use it and we’ll probably get a 3rd string PG for the vet’s minimum.
I'm a dude!
Orlando Pinstriped Post: Where game threads turn into online chat rooms!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPlLyVuMf7U
by GameManager on Jul 29, 2010 7:36 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I said there isnt a 3rd string PG that is really worth the full BAE
I think Wafer and Alexander are probably worth it
I probably know Judo! How many of you can make the same boast?
by Souwantmyname on Jul 29, 2010 7:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh ok.
I agree that Wafer and Alexander are worth it but I’m not sure the Magic really want to add $$$ to the payroll and luxury tax on positions they don’t really need to address.
I'm a dude!
Orlando Pinstriped Post: Where game threads turn into online chat rooms!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPlLyVuMf7U
AJ (or whoever) will help us if we lose a point guard.
Which, let’s face it, will probably happen for at least a few games in any given season.
Unless you’re thinking of playing Duhon or Nelson for 48 minutes.
If the third-string PG can be gotten for the minimum, so much the better. The Magic aren’t going to pay $3 million a year (including the tax) for a guy who won’t get PT, and hasn’t proven he’s an NBA player in the long term. And if a guy like Alexander or Wafer DID suddenly stop sucking, it wouldn’t be because he was the 13th man on the Magic — it’d be because he was getting regular playing time somewhere. D-league, overseas, some team that’s desperate. But the Magic have plenty of guys better than either one of ’em.
As for Mills… eh. He’s repeatedly failed to prove that he can play the point at the NBA level. He strikes me as a less crazy, less talented Nate Robinson. I’m not saying nobody needs that player. But the Magic don’t.
I call him LeBron Jim for short.
Pretty hard to judge Mills
Given he only played ten games and 38 minutes last season, and that’s his only season since graduating. Not sure how you can “repeatedly prove” anything in ten games as a rookie.
His college numbers show him as a better passer, but poorer shooter than Robinson.
by eltharion_doa on Jul 29, 2010 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Although
That doesn’t mean I think Mills is a good signing for the Magic. I don’t think he’s good enough for the NBA at all; but I don’t think his time in Portland proved that either way. He’s just too small, and not a good enough playmaker.
by eltharion_doa on Jul 30, 2010 12:10 AM EDT up reply actions
Summer league, D-League, etc.
I didn’t say he proved anything. I said he failed to prove it. It’s like the CJ Watson situation — we haven’t seen him succeed, and so he’s on the clock. The more times he doesn’t succeed, the more situations he doesn’t succeed in, the more dubious I am that he has the capacity to succeed. The evidence piles up on one side. It’s a small pile yet for Mills, but there’s no pile at all on the other side.
If a guy’s an NBA point guard, he should be playing the point with authority at these lower levels. And in the summer league, he was shoot-first. In the D-League last year, he was extremely shoot-first. Not that either one of these is a league that encourages a lot of discipline, but in the D-league at least, players can rack up the assists. Mills didn’t. (Granted, he wasn’t there that long, but still.)
And given that he came out of college with that question mark, people saying “he can put points on the board, but can he run an offense?”… well, the fact that he’s looked more preoccupied with putting points on the board thus far tells me one of three things:
a) He’s not aware that people want him to prove his skills as a distributor. Unlikely.
b) He’s not coachable — he has the ability to run the point, but not the mentality to try. Possible, but everything I’ve heard about him suggests he’s a smart kid.
c) At this point, he’s not a point guard.
I guess we could add “d) a series of flukes,” but I really don’t like that option.
I call him LeBron Jim for short.
He was playing SG in summer league
So he was kinda supposed to shoot first…
by eltharion_doa on Jul 30, 2010 5:55 AM EDT up reply actions
HOGAN SMASH
Seriously, the Hulkster amping up the crowd from the bench would be immense.
Mills has talent, but he needs game burn. He’d be better off spending a season with a team who’ll send him down for a full season in the D-league.
I'd almost forgotten about your man crush on Wafer
Never trust a fart
by AB's triple double on Jul 29, 2010 6:41 PM EDT reply actions
I'm a little worried about it myself
I probably know Judo! How many of you can make the same boast?
by Souwantmyname on Jul 29, 2010 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Wafer signed with Boston
and Alexander is useless.
by Ol' Uncle Munnerlyn on Jul 29, 2010 8:57 PM EDT reply actions
I am unlucky
I make a post about wanting my team to sign him and he goes to the team that knocked us out of the playoffs
I probably know Judo! How many of you can make the same boast?
by Souwantmyname on Jul 29, 2010 11:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Hold on...
is that Stanley Robinson guarding Joe Alexander?
I'm a dude!
Orlando Pinstriped Post: Where game threads turn into online chat rooms!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPlLyVuMf7U
weird coincedence
I probably know Judo! How many of you can make the same boast?
by Souwantmyname on Jul 29, 2010 11:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Patty Mills is a poor man's Jameer Nelson. He's similarly undersized, athletic, shoots the three and is aggressive
He’s probably missing the extra step and the upper body strength. He gives up about 15-20 pounds on Meer.
Speaking of Aussies, David Andersen is like a poor man’s Andrew Bogut. Or just poor.
Out of that list, I’d pick Mills. But not for the BAE.
Save the BAE for next year
Pick up Williams or Quinn or Diener or even AJ as insurance. If a major injury happens, the Magic have assets ready to pick up a good pg through trade.
"We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors." - Weldon Drew
I'll tell ya about the Magic It'll free your soul but it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock n roll
"I thank my teammates for letting their men blow by them." - Alonzo Mourning after winning the DPOY award
by NC Magic Fan on Jul 30, 2010 9:49 AM EDT reply actions
with the new CBA coming, what happens though if we save it, then it gets abollished?
You can follow my amazing Tweets on Twitter. Also run the @O_Rena_Chants account.
Are you familiar with the phrase
“screwed”
"We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors." - Weldon Drew
I'll tell ya about the Magic It'll free your soul but it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock n roll
"This dude is huge....I've got to go home and eat like five chickens and put a lot of weight on. It's going to take a couple months, but seriously." - Marcin Gortat about Shaq.
by NC Magic Fan on Aug 4, 2010 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions
It's a $2m exception
It’s not going to make or break anything.
by eltharion_doa on Aug 4, 2010 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions
He'd get the minimum if he was to be our 14th player.
Remember though, with J-Will signed, either him or Daniel Orton will be suiting up most nights. Most probably it’s the latter, since Gortat, Anderson and Bass already cover PF and C.
There’s not much use in signing two rookies who are just going to suit up, especially for payroll purposes. You should only overpay if you think it’s going to immediately improve your basketball team – Robinson is a project (you can say the same about Orton… unfortunately his contract was guaranteed)
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