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Orlando Magic fans hoping for their club to make an in-season deal to address their shortcomings at point guard—and, admittedly, many of them in the comments section of this site believe Orlando would be wiser to draft a point guard than trade for one—may be disappointed when the NBA trade deadline expires Thursday.
That’s according to a new report from Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports, we confirms the Magic’s widely reported interest in Detroit Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson, and adds it’s ultimately unlikely the Magic and Pistons will strike a deal.
The reason, says Zillgitt: the Pistons have set “a high price” for Jackson, one that Orlando is unlikely to meet.
ESPN writer Marc Stein’s earlier report on trade talks between Orlando and Detroit named Jeff Green and D.J. Augustin as players the Magic might send the Pistons in a deal for Jackson, which package seems to be on the low side in terms of value, even considering Jackson’s falling stock.
Once considered one of the NBA’s top young point guards, Jackson is slumping through the 2016/17 season, possibly owing to a knee injury which sidelined him for Detroit’s first 21 games. The Boston College product is shooting 42.8 percent from the floor and averaging 15.2 points and 5.6 assists per game.
Augustin, C.J. Watson, and Elfrid Payton have run the point for coach Frank Vogel and his Magic, with mixed results. Orlando acquired Payton’s rights the night of the 2014 NBA Draft hoping to make him the point guard of the future, but his inability to hold onto the starting gig ahead of the older and more limited Augustin and Watson signals—to some observers, anyway—that it may be time for the Magic to look elsewhere for long-term help at arguably the game’s most important position.