Orlando Pinstriped Post: FanPosts

The 2nd Pick in the Draft or trade down?

2013-05-22T13:22:01Z

The last time the Magic were in the Draft lottery was in 2006 where they selected J.J. Redick with the 11th pick. I personally can't remember the last time I actually watched the NBA Draft lottery. I can say though I was excited watching it unfurl as the draft positions were being announced.

Now that there is no question as to where everyone will draft. There seems to be some disappointment from a few fans that the Magic did not get the 1st overall pick. While there may be more trade value with having that pick, I still think the 2nd pick holds about the same value depending on if McLemore or Noel is on the board when the Magic pick. I also think it's a potential blessing that the Magic pick 2nd especially if Noel is off the board when they pick.

I've seen Chad Ford's latest mock draft which has the Magic picking Trey Burke with the 2nd pick. I also know he noted that McLemore would also be a possible candidate for the Magic to draft. With that in mind here lies my questions: Is Trey Burke worth drafting as a #2 pick? or Is McLemore the guy to draft? Or Do you think the Magic will trade down and hope Burke is still available or target Oladipo, or McCollum.

What do you think or hope the Magic do?

Poll

What do you think the Magic will do with the 2nd pick?

Does a Point Guard's Size Matter?

2013-05-22T06:09:16Z

There's discussion at the moment regarding Trey Burke. Burke is not a good player to draft because he's only six feet tall, he'll be inferior when playing against larger point guards, he has a large wingspan, height doesn't matter at the PG position, etc etc etc. While a height disadvantage does seem like a problem at the professional level, is it really an issue when it comes to the traditionally smallest position on the court? I figured I would look up some statistics from this past season and see if there was a clear difference between point guards 6'1" and shorter, and point guards 6'2" and taller
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There are many ways to go about determining rank through statistics, so the best course of action, in my opinion, is to pull several different advanced stats to see if there's any clear difference between the two height factions. For this post, I'll only be pulling data from two stats - PER, and win shares. We'll start with PER, which is currently the trendiest of advanced statistics. You can read up on how PER is calculated here. A descending list of guards from best PER to worst can be found here, which is what I used for my PG data

Of all the point guards who finished with a PER of 15.0 or greater,

*14 players were 6'1" or shorter
*19 players were 6'2" or taller

It should be noted that of the top eight PGs with the highest PER (Walker, Calderon, D. Williams, Wall, Curry, Irving, Parker, Westbrook, and Paul), only Chris Paul is below 6'2". However, he is the PG with the highest PER this season
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PER primarily factors in offensive statistics and does not heavily feature defensive ability. This time we will look at point guards and win shares. You can read up on how win shares are calculated here. To be perfectly honest, at this moment I find win shares to be the 'truest' worth a player is to their team. A descending list of guards from highest win shares to lowest can be found here, which is what I used for my PG data

Of all the point guards who finished with 5.0 or more win shares,

*8 players were 6'1" or shorter
*15 players were 6'2" or taller

This time, of the top eight PGs with the most win shares (Calderon, Parker, Hill, Conley, D. Williams, Curry, Westbrook, Paul), Mike Conley and Chris Paul were the only ones below 6'2", but again, Paul had the most amount of win shares among all point guards
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So what do all these statistics mean? Well, to be perfectly honest, I think it will provide different answers for different people, reinforce conclusions that had already been drawn, or may make things even more confusing. On top of that, there are several other ways to measure talent between tall point guards and short point guards that I haven't covered in this post, so this is by no means a complete analysis. Personally, what I gathered from this information is that taller point guards do indeed hold an advantage over shorter point guards when it comes to defense (as evidenced by the larger difference in win shares), but when it comes to offense, both sizes are more or less indistinguishable

What conclusions can you draw from this small sample size?

Poll

Does size matter in a PG?

Prospect Dennis Schroeder character issue or new norm with economics in pro sports

2013-05-20T22:09:17Z

Dennis Schroeder exploded on the national scene after his stellar performance at the Nike Hoop Summit. Since then he has been catapulting up draft boards and mock drafts alike. Appearing at the NBA combine armed with a rumored "first round guarantee" he engaged in several media interviews. During a Q&A session an issue was brought up that raises some concern. This concern has led me to write this post. So here is my opinion of what transpired. In an interview at the hoop summit Schroeder who plays professionally in Germany explains how his German team is one win away from advancing to the second division "whatever the heck that means" he pronounced upon his return to Germany that he quote "try my best to win the game in Bremerhaven". Fast forward to his combine media interviews and a question was asked about a rumored issue between he and his coach. Schroeder explained with a almost condescending grin that upon the eve of this big game post hoop summit that he overslept and missed practice and during this big game his coach essentially benched him! He also concedes that in the waining moments of the game coach asked him to go in and he refused. He goes on to explain the he was cold and concerned over a possible injury. Let me break this thing down for you all. Schroeder kicks butt at hoop summit smoking projected 2014 lottery candidates NBA front office promises the young pg to be a first rounder in upcoming draft. Armed with this the nineteen year old then decides or agrees not compete in Europe for fear of injury$$$$ I know our first instinct is to say oh it's just some crap league over in Europe. I think there's more to it than that. There is a moral tug of war at play here . On one side we have honor, respect, loyalty, commitment and on the other family, future, self preservation. I leave the debate to you "dennis schroeder character issue or new norm with economics in pro sports"?

I need some help.

2013-05-20T19:51:30Z

I'm trying to get my self into the Orlando Magic writing game. I didn't pay as much attention to the 2012-2013 season as much as I wanted to. I know that the team didn't do too great and that Vucevic is pretty good. But I want to know more.

If someone can help me in what I need to know going into the 2013-2014 season, or at least refer me to something that could help me out on this issue. I'd like to learn about to team so I don't look stupid when trying to interact on this site come next season.

Thanks for the help!

NBA Jersey Auction: Does the market appreciate Magic players?

2013-05-10T17:05:07Z

Yesterday NBA.com auctioned several Magic "Game Worn Jerseys". The value of these jerseys rely mainly in two factors: 1) Player popularity/market size: fans just love to have jerseys from their favourite players; and 2) Profit: Investors wants to buy low and sell high, so they'll likely buy jerseys from young players that could turn into future superstars. So how did Magic Jerseys did? Not bad.

Orlando's best sellers were Tobias Harris and Maurice Harkless whose jerseys sold for $834.45, getting more value than Tyson Chandler, and being close to Paul Gasol. Pretty good. The Magic's third most valuable jersey was, unsurprisingly, Nick Vucevic's , which sold for $720, beating another Chandler's Jersey and being just 12 cents shy of a Dwight Howard's "Game-Prepared and Autographed Jersey".

Meanwhile Arron Afflalo's sell for $521 and Jameer Nelson's for $510, just a little bit more expensive than game worn jerseys from Kenyon Martin ($500), Carlos Boozer ($475), and Earl Clark ($410). Beno Udrih's jersey sold for a respectable $370, while surprisingly someone pay $310 for Al Harrington's worn Jersey. Maybe because Harrington actually playing a game for the Magic was such a rarity!

Doron Lamb's sold for $290, E'Twaun Moore's for $270, while DeQuan Jones and Andrew Nicholson got their jerseys sold for the base price of $250. I bet that last investment will pay off in the future.

Meanwhile you can still bid for the most expensive jersey from a Magic player from last season: a JJ Redick's Milwaukee Bucks worn Jersey is currently at $844 with over ten days left to bid. Way to go JJ!

Doron Lamb's sold for $290, E'Twaun Moore's for $270, while DeQuan Jones and Andrew Nicholson got their jerseys sold for the base price of $250. I bet that last investment will pay off in the future.

Traded Player Exception

2013-05-09T14:14:25Z

I'm curious to know what others think of the TPE the Magic have. I'm not too familiar with the process, and am too lazy to research more about it, so I'm not going to put in my two cents. All I know is that they do have it and need to use it before the year starts so it doesn't affect their luxury tax (right?). So, what are some rumors or ideas that others have for this?

NBA Draft 2013 prospect profile: Trey Burke

2013-04-29T16:00:00Z

Promoted to frontpage. This FanPost was initially published on April 25th at 7:19 PM. - Ed.

With the season coming to an end, it's time for the Orlando Magic front office to reevaluate players from this year's roster and understand how they fit in the big picture moving forward. OPP is taking this period to look at how each player graded out this year and where they fit in with Magic in the future. However, it's time to look at what the 2013 NBA draft has to offer.

There are two ways to rebuild a team:

1.) You can look to reload the roster through free agency and swap players around in the trading season.

or 2.) You can take the approach that Orlando Magic GM Rob Hennigan is likely to take. And that is building through the draft, hoping to eventually land a superstar player who can turn around a franchise.

This year's draft doesn't appear to have a superstar NBA player who can turn around a franchise in one season. But that doesn't mean that there aren't players worthy of NBA rosters who can, one day, start or serve as potential role players for solid NBA teams.

The Orlando Magic will have the highest chance of winning the No. 1 overall pick in this year's lottery and will pick no lower than No. 4. Fans should be excited that the Magic have the opportunity to rebuild through the draft, especially under the leadership of a guy who has an eye for talent like Hennigan. With that said, it's time for us to look at potential Orlando Magic draft prospects -- starting with Trey Burke:

Trey Burke's 2012-2013 season:

Burke contemplated leaving the University of Michigan last year, but returned once he learned that he was projected as a second rounder -- what a decision that turned out to be. On Dec. 15, Burke dissected the West Virginia Mountaineers with 27 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds, shooting 12-of-16 from the field. A little over two months later, Burke led the Wolverines over Illinois with 26 points on 11 shots -- he also recorded 8 dimes in the victory.

Just over a month after that, Burke put together one of the most remarkable performances in NCAA history against the Kansas Jayhawks. The Wolverines trailed top-seeded Kansas by 14 points with seven points remaining, and five points with 21 seconds left. Burke scored all 23 points in the second half and in overtime, including this improbable 30-foot 3-pointer, leading the Wolverines in one of the craziest tournament games in recent memory.

Burke and the Wolverines lost to top-seeded Louisville in the championship game, but his performance throughout the season and the tournament solidified his 2012-13 Naismith Player of the Year award and catapulted him high across draft boards everywhere.

Strengths:

Burke is a strong, physical guard who has shown an innate ability to knock shots off the dribble. According to DraftExpress, he has a 6-foot-5 wingspan, despite standing just 6-foot. He's a smart basketball player and really seems to have a sense of what's going to happen before it happens. One of my favorite things about Burke is that nearly every major basic and advanced statistic improved from his freshman to sophomore season. His True Shooting % rose from 53.8 to 56.9 percent and his Effective Field Goal % increased from 50.2 to 53 percent. His assists rose from 4.6 to 6.7 while his turnovers dropped from 2.8 to 2.2 per game. In the national championship game, he finished with 24 points on 11 shots against two of the best college perimeter defenders in Peyton Siva and Russ Smith.

Weaknesses:

Burke's defense leaves a lot to be desired. He often struggles guarding the pick-and-roll, often being easily screened and left unable to fight through picks. Michigan, as a whole, wasn't great defensively (ranking 117th in the nation) and Burke played a part in that. Bigger guards never really had a problem attacking him, and in the NBA most guards are going to be bigger than him. He has great body control offensively, but didn't finish at the rim at the rate most GMs probably wish he would have, and lacks the explosiveness to make up for his height when attacking post players. There were plenty of times this year I saw him get to the rim and miss the shot, when I thought he should have finished.

Overall:

Burke is a smart guard who has the ability to shoot from anywhere on the floor and create for teammates with a low turnover rate. Isn't that what you want from your starting point guard? His defensive woes are there but Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard aren't good (or even decent) defenders yet either. I imagine that, despite what his critics say, he will find a starting spot in the NBA for years to come.

How does he fit in with the Magic?:

Ironically, Burke reminds me of a young Jameer Nelson -- an undersized, strong, scoring point guard with defensive question marks. Beno Udrih will become an unrestricted free agent and it's unclear whether the Magic will decide to resign him. E'Twaun Moore isn't a point guard and it's unclear, as of now, whether Doron Lamb can learn that role either. Drafting Burke gives him a chance to learn behind Nelson until he's ready to assume the starting role. And what better person to learn behind than a guy who's physically built the same and faced the same concerns coming out of college?

I subscribe to the theory that drafting the best player available is always the right choice, so with that said, I'd select Nerlens Noel with the No. 1 overall selection. But a team with the best odds to win the lottery hasn't actually won the lottery since, ironically, Orlando did in 2004 and selected Dwight Howard. And if Orlando doesn't get as lucky as they did in '04 and is stuck selecting 2-4, then I'd select Burke if he's available. Orlando will, eventually, need a point guard for the future, why not take Burke if you get the chance?

Promoted to frontpage. This FanPost was initially published on April 25th at 7:19 PM. - Ed.

There are two ways to rebuild a team:

1.) You can look to reload the roster through free agency and swap players around in the trading season.

Trey Burke's 2012-2013 season:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Overall:

How does he fit in with the Magic?:

Trades and the Draft

2013-04-28T21:29:58Z

Hi there,

First let me say that I love this site! Good to see a site where 98% of the comments are proactive and that everyone here who is a fan actually looks to support their team as opposed to moan about whatever is wrong. So congratulations to the developer/moderator (Evan) and also to all the contributors, I really look forward to reading this each day.

I am an Orlando Magic fan from New Zealand. So much of a fan that I flew especially to the US (and to Orlando) in 2004 when we drafted Jameer and that other guy to attend a few games because I wanted to be part of it.

I say this because you must understand that my comments do not come as fully informed as a lot of you (hence im asking for opinions). In New Zealand the only basketball games we see screened are Boston, Miami, Lakers and Spurs when they are playing another top 8 team. Therefore I have managed to watch the 2 minute highlights of every Orlando game this year. I also scrawl through the box scores trying to work out whether one of our rookies or sophomores is improving to the level we all hope. Apart from that I tune in here and read everyone’s opinions.

Now the point of my post, Trades and this years Draft. A lot of time and comments have been made about who we should/shouldn’t draft and I have a suggestion at the end of this post that I like but no one has really bought up (that ive seen). But first apart from our rooks/sophs we have three tradable contracts (Davis, Afflalo, Nelson) and two (relatively) untradable contracts (Harrington, Turk). I’m guessing that we will end up possibly losing one of our three tradables this summer in the pursuit of more young talent and to make room for the rooks further development. I’d love to hear opinions on who do you think we should trade and for whom? And also it sounds like (from the comments you guys are making) that the best we can do is buyout Turk and Harrington? How likely is it that we can trade them and get something in return?

As I said I havn't seen enough games so id like to hear from those with a bit more insight.

Finally my choice for this years draft. Trade the number 1-4 pick and Glen Davis to the Clippers for Eric Bledsoe and their number 25 pick. May need some other throw ins to make it work, but that’s the cornerstone.

Thoughts? How fair to both teams is that? Clippers need more depth in their bigs Glen Davis provides some defense and some offense off the bench when spelling Griffin and he can also play alongside Griffin and spell Jordan. The number 1-4 pick should hopefully net them Ben Mclemore which would suit their team perfectly (young talented pure shooter that doesn’t have to find and create his own shot too early in his career thanks to Chris Paul). The Magic get a young top 8? PG to run the team for the future and a mid draft pick for Hennigan to find another asset.

Cheers,

Hi there,

As I said I havn't seen enough games so id like to hear from those with a bit more insight.

Cheers,

¿Need or best player available?

2013-04-23T17:58:30Z

While this is an old question and drafting the best player available seems to be the consensus answer, I think it's not that simple. The most famous case probably was Houston drafting Olajuwon for need instead of Michael Jordan. Yeah, it definitely seems "talent" is the right choice, but you would replace any player on your roster for MJ, it's a no brainer.

If your starting SG is Afflalo of course you draft MJ. Replacing an average player for a superstar is easy, ¿But what if the player whose position you are drafting is above average, and the player you are drafting doesn't have the Lebron or Carmelo hype? What about when you have prospects like Vucevic and Harris and the best player available is Noel? We don't know what their ceiling is as with MJ or LeBron, so I guess is not that easy.

Harris and Vucevic could turn into above average NBA big men, but probably they will never be Allstars. If you knew Noel has AllStar potential then yeah, duplicate talent, but again, there is no consensus on that either. Meanwhile Orlando desperately needs to get some guards and Burke seems to be the best guard available, but just the 4th or 5th best player in the draft.

Maybe it's easier to explain it with numbers: In a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being Michael Jordan, 9 an allstar, 8 a great role player, 7 above average role player, 6 average role player, 1 being Reece Gaines, and 0 being Chris Duhon:

A) If you think Harris and Vuc will be able to become a 7 , Noel a 8 and Burke a 7, I would draft Burke. Three "7" complementary players are better than three slightly better players playing the same position. Orlando would have killed for a PG less talented than Marcin Gortat but more talented than Chris Duhon. Having a talented player playing only 10 mins a game doesn't help much, and in trades the team with the best player usually doesn't get fair value in return.

B) if you think Harris and Vuc will be able to become a 7 , Noel a 9 and Burke a 7 then of course you draft Noel, you don't let a superstar go just because of good role players.

C) If you think Harris and Vuc will be able to become a 6, Noel a 8 and Burke a 7, then again you draft Noel, the talent gap is just too big.

So who should we draft? You tell me, I'm just a guy writing stuff.

NOTE: This post assumes Noel health is OK, that Noel is better than Burke and does not take into account trading down scenarios (we don't know where are we picking yet).

B) if you think Harris and Vuc will be able to become a 7 , Noel a 9 and Burke a 7 then of course you draft Noel, you don't let a superstar go just because of good role players.

C) If you think Harris and Vuc will be able to become a 6, Noel a 8 and Burke a 7, then again you draft Noel, the talent gap is just too big.

So who should we draft? You tell me, I'm just a guy writing stuff.

NOTE: This post assumes Noel health is OK, that Noel is better than Burke and does not take into account trading down scenarios (we don't know where are we picking yet).

Draft Talk

2013-04-18T14:50:57Z

I'm curious to know everybody's opinion on which direction we should take in the draft. I personally think McLemore would be the best fit because of his potential, his shooting, and our lack of promising prospects at either guard position. Noel is too risky and reaching for Burke just because we are in need of a "PG of the future" just doesn't seem like the right move because while he is clearly one of the best players in college, his NBA ceiling is very limited. I'm also a fan of Oladipo if our pick falls out of the top 3. But this is just my opinion and now I want to know yours. GO !!!

If Orlando wins the lottery.

2013-04-18T06:21:09Z

Now Orlando needs to win the lottery, which they always do, and trade down to someone who's desperate for Nerlens Noel. Make sure that trade includes dumping a bad contract (Big Baby or Al Harrington would qualify as movable bad contracts.) Then take Ben McLemore or Trey Burke. Draft another one of the incredible guard prospects next year and they'll have enough cap space to sign two max free agents in order to address perceived weaknesses (Rim protection, individual defense, shooting) Possible 2014 targets in my opinion include Paul George, Luol Dang, and Greg Monroe. . This rebuild could be complete by 2014-2015, right as Miami's big three is splitting up. Hennigan is making it look easy.

Honestly people keep underestimating this team, as if it will take 5 years to compete for a championship. I think it's realistic to see us as the youngest, most talented, most versatile team in the east by 2014-2015. There are certainly teams in the West that are ahead of us in this progression and are perhaps even more sustainable (OKC comes to mind) but the flaws in the east are overwhelmingly apparent and there will be a void there as soon as the Heat are inevitably dismantled. It seems too good to be true and perhaps it is. Or maybe Hennigan is just that good.

Poll

The prospect of Orlando competing for a championship in the 2014-2015 season is...

Ludicrous

35 votes

Not likely

69 votes

Possible

63 votes

Probable

14 votes

A certainty

11 votes

192 votes | Poll has closed

I prefer Smart or Noel

2013-04-11T20:24:04Z

I believe the Magic can't go wrong if they draft either of these two. I wanna keep my assessments of these two players as short and simple as possible so you guys don't have to spend 30 min on this article.

NERLENS NOEL

When you think about Noel, the first words that come to mind are his great shot blocking and defensive instincts. He grabs a lot of rebounds, gets a good amount of steals and has a great motor on the court. His obvious weakness, however, is offensively he can't do much. He's pretty much only reliable when he dunks the ball in the basket. He can certainly improve his offensive game in the NBA but we've waited 8 years for nothing for Howard to become a premier scorer, so I wouldn't be surprised if Noel reaches a certain plateau too. Nevertheless, his potential to be a superior defender will make him a game changer. Then you have to be concerned about how healthy his injured knee is, but we won't know for sure until he gets back on the court.

Best case NBA comparison: Ben Wallace

Worst case NBA comparison: Chris "Birdman" Anderson (without the off the court issues)

MARCUS SMART

Now, I have high hopes for this guy because I can almost see Dwayne Wade ceiling here.

Marcus Smart: 6-4, 225 lbs, Freshman year stats: 15.4 PPG, 4.2 AST, 5.8 REB, 3.0 STL, 0.7 BLK, 3.4 TO, 40% FG, 30% 3FG, 77% FT, 6.5 FTA per gm.

Dwayne Wade: 6-4, 220 lbs, Freshman year stats: 17.8 PPG, 3.4 AST, 6.6 REB, 2.5 STL, 1.1 BLK, 3.0 TO, 49% FG, 35% 3FG, 69% FT, 4.8 FTA per gm.

The freshman year stats are very comparable. Wade obviously was more efficient when he shot the ball, but Marcus Smart (like D-Wade) is very good at getting to the hole and either creating plays or drawing a foul. It's pretty evident that Smart needs to become a better shooter but lots of players have improved their jumpshot in the NBA. Just look at Lebron James now, he's shooting 40% from 3's this season! What I like about Smart, is that he plays great defense and has been a great leader for Oklahoma State. I don't believe Smart will ever be as good as D-wade but if he could be 80% of what Wade was in his prime then the Magic would still have a great player on their hands.

Best Case NBA comparison: Dwayne Wade

Worst Case NBA comparison: Rodney Stuckey

NERLENS NOEL

Best case NBA comparison: Ben Wallace

Worst case NBA comparison: Chris "Birdman" Anderson (without the off the court issues)

MARCUS SMART

Now, I have high hopes for this guy because I can almost see Dwayne Wade ceiling here.

Marcus Smart: 6-4, 225 lbs, Freshman year stats: 15.4 PPG, 4.2 AST, 5.8 REB, 3.0 STL, 0.7 BLK, 3.4 TO, 40% FG, 30% 3FG, 77% FT, 6.5 FTA per gm.

Dwayne Wade: 6-4, 220 lbs, Freshman year stats: 17.8 PPG, 3.4 AST, 6.6 REB, 2.5 STL, 1.1 BLK, 3.0 TO, 49% FG, 35% 3FG, 69% FT, 4.8 FTA per gm.

Best Case NBA comparison: Dwayne Wade

Worst Case NBA comparison: Rodney Stuckey

Poll

Who should the Magic Draft?

Last Dance: Michigan vs Louisville Fan Comment Section

2013-04-09T00:45:16Z

If I see not a lot of people aren't commenting, I'll delete it. No point in wasting space for other fanposts.

Now to copy and paste something to meet quota:

ATLANTA -- Before Monday's title game begins, our writers on site in Atlanta answer a few final questions.

What are you most looking forward to in the title game?

Eamonn Brennan: It's really obvious to say so, but the matchup between Louisville's defense and Michigan's offense is way too awesome to downplay. The Cardinals have been the nation's best defensive team all season, great not only at forcing turnovers and turning those turnovers into points but also at using their matchup zone to squeeze opposing offenses in the half court. Michigan, meanwhile, is the nation's most efficient offense, led by the nation's best player (point guard Trey Burke) and outfitted with the best talent John Beilein has ever coached. It's all just too good.

Andy Katz: I want to see whether this game is high-scoring. I don't want to see a slogging affair. If this game can produce plenty of points, I'll be satisfied.

If I see not a lot of people aren't commenting, I'll delete it. No point in wasting space for other fanposts.

Now to copy and paste something to meet quota:

ATLANTA -- Before Monday's title game begins, our writers on site in Atlanta answer a few final questions.

What are you most looking forward to in the title game?

Andy Katz: I want to see whether this game is high-scoring. I don't want to see a slogging affair. If this game can produce plenty of points, I'll be satisfied.

Harkless or the #4 pick in the 2013 draft?

2013-04-07T22:06:06Z

The Cleveland Cavs are currently projected to land the #4 spot in the 2013 draft. Cleveland is currently pretty desperate for a long term solution at SF. So much so that one of the writers over at Fear the Sword floated this question out via twitter and according to his article on the Fear the Sword homepage, not a single Magic fan said they would take the #4 pick over Harkless. Also according to the article, "some even suggested that they wouldn't trade Harkless for the number 1 pick in the draft".

Now I love Harkless probably about as much as anyone here and think that we are looking at an all-star in the making but if they Cavs were to really offer us the #4 pick in the draft for Harkless, you'd have to imagine that it would at least make ~~the savior of our franchise~~ Rob Hennigan pause for a second to think. Anytime you can land a top 5 draft pick, you have to at least think about it for a second. We're talking about landing a guy like Otto Porter, Victor Oladipo, Marcus Smart, Trey Burke, Nerlens Noel, or Ben McLemore with that pick! That's a big deal because in reality we'd end up with 2 of those guys between our pick and theirs!

Ultimately, if I were Rob Hennigan I would still turn down the #4 pick for Harkless despite those players. The reality is that we are at the bottom of the proverbial NBA barrel. When you are at the bottom, in my opinion, potential is one of the biggest keys to the top. I see fewer players, rookies in particular, with more potential in the NBA than Maurice Harkless. I think that for the 13-14 season, you have to give Harkless a full run before you even think about trading him if for no other reason that to see his development. If he is to develop, we'd be trading away someone with a very high ceiling for an unknown commodity. Harkless has come on strong as the season has progressed too, as we all know! He is already an above average NBA defender and I think the offensive game will follow. Coming in to the season, Harkless drew a lot of Danny Granger comparisons but I think he could even pass Granger and go on to have a stronger NBA career. I'd hate to give up all of that for the #4 pick unless I was positive the guy we would draft would be better.

Now I know I'm a Harkless homer because I was really, really high on him even before the draft and as some of the commenters over at Fear the Sword were quick to point out, everyone is quick to over-estimate their own players. I do not deny that here because Harkless is one of the reasons I've still had fun this season as a Magic fan. But that still doesn't change my opinion on trading him for the #4 pick because Nerlens Noel is the only person I would feel comfortable trading him for and we'll probably have a shot to draft him before 4 anyway.

Part of the scenario to consider down the road about Mo's future is if we were to land Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker in 2014, but those are both big if's and I truly think we need to give Harkless time to continue to develop and see what we've got. And that still plays no role in this draft scenario.

So would you keep Harkless or take the #4 pick and why?

Poll

Harkless or the #4 pick in this years draft?

Harkless, I don't even have to think twice!

136 votes

The 4 pick, whoever we take will be better than Mo

30 votes

Probably won't matter because it'll be a wash ultimately

25 votes

191 votes | Poll has closed

Forbes have announced the top 10 " NBA Most Overpaid 2013", and it features several Magic players...

2013-04-06T17:16:14Z

Forbes have made a shock wave in the basketball community when they announced that Knicks SF/PF Carmelo Anthony is this years most overpaid NBA player along with 2011 MVP Dirk Nowitzki as being overpaid. Other players making the list are quite familiar to the Magic fanbase - SF Hedo Turkoglu and SG Aaron Afflalo. I think Forbes nailed a lot of correct picks-SF Rudy Gay and F Stephen Jackson are good examples- , but I think they also made a few errors.

One of the few things I think is flawed is their standards. Within the article, they attempted to address their standards with this quote " A note on making judgment calls for hurt players: we generally didn't include strong players that have missed significant time with injuries recently, like Derek Rose or Amare Stoudomire", but they change their stance when addressing why they included Turkoglu. To summarize, they list his previous lack of performance as the main reason to include him, but the title of their article pertains to the performance of the player this year and not from previous performances.

Players like PG Gilbert Arenas or F Elton Brand deserves a spot on this list. What's your opinion?