Paul George Rumors are Back | What are the Orlando Magic’s offseason plans?

Paul George Rumors are Back | What are the Orlando Magic’s offseason plans?

those pesky Paul George rumors are back so what is kind of the Orlando Magic’s ideal summer what are they actually going to do plus why waiting on extensions might be the right idea and it’s NBA Finals catchup day here on locked on Magic you are locked on Magic your daily Orlando Magic podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday you are indeed locked on Magic today is June 10th 2024 my name is Philip rosik I’m the senior writer over at orlandomagic.com you course follow me on Twitter at Philip rror on today’s episode of lock on Magic those pesky Paul George rumors are back so what is what is your line of Mads ideal summer what do we actually expect them to do we’re going to talk about all that plus why waiting on extensions for fron vogner and Jaylen sugs might be the better idea for this team we’re going to get to that coming up here Plus update you on what’s going on in the NBA finals in just a moment but first we want to thank you again for making lockdown magic part of your day every day no matter when you listen to us whether it’s first in the morning whether it’s right when we upload upload we truly appreciate you making lock on Magic part of your day every day remember there’s a great lock on podcast covering every single team in the NBA to search for locked on and the team you’re looking for the lockon podcast Network it’s your team every day today’s episode of lockon magic is brought to you by LinkedIn LinkedIn jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster post your job for free at linkedin.com loock NBA that’s linkedin.com loock onba to post your job for free terms and conditions apply so we are coming up here two weeks to go till the NBA draft three weeks to go until free agency begins at June June 30th at 6 PM eastern time so we will have a very special episode on June 30th when that happens um it is going to be a busy free agency for the Orlando Magic we’ve gone through free agents we’ll do another kind of uh case four against coming up here and I think I know who we’re actually going to do this week um case four and against we’ll do one of those we’re kind of going through things here very peace meal but obviously we want to follow the news and the magic are notoriously quiet about everything and that’s okay you know honestly like I’ve had some magic people yell at me for pointing this out but like look it’s okay that’s how you do your business that’s how you you don’t have to tell us anything we’d love to have something just because there’s a vacuum to fill we got a news hole to fill here but I know I I’ve never believed that that it’s a necessarily a bad thing that the magic are very very quiet about freeny and and they certainly don’t negotiate things through the media so personally I am always very skeptical when I see reports like the one I’m about to share with you it’s not that I don’t believe the reporter is not being told told this I Mark Stein is a 100% respected reporter I would not share this report if I did not feel like it had legitimacy or had backing but I just want to reiterate that I think it’s very very clear that this is not necessarily coming from the magic this is still speculation from the outside in that sense what I’m about to share is not anything new it’s not it’s not an update to anything that it’s not new information it’s just reiterating reporting that has been out there really since February and so here it is Mark Stein in his newslet newsletter said quote heard it again this week Philadelphia is not the only Eastern Conference team to monitor when it comes to trying to sign Paul George away from the LA Clippers or Orlando continues to be mentioned by various League observers as a natural Suitor for George as well as Golden State’s Clay Thomson I want to reiterate what that what that says there Orlando continues to be mentioned by League observers as a natural sutor that does not mean that the magic are 100% interested in going after Paul George or Klay Thompson but there is a lot of professional dot connecting and obviously it’s in Paul George’s agent’s interest to try and convinced Philadelphia like hey Orlando wants to spend too or or convinced la like we got two people two teams interested in our guy Pony up that extra five5 million doll per year or whatever however much it is to to keep those players we’ve gone through this a little bit I don’t know if we’ve done the full numbers and the full accounting so that might be something to work on later this week that the magic can have anywhere between about 30 and $50 million in cap room realistically I believe our friend Keith Smith the spot track has the magic at about $45 million in projected kapper and why is there such a wide range it’s because Joe Engles has a team option for $ 11 million Mo Vagner has a team option for 8 million that $19 million is the 30 to 50 there there’s some other math going on there but basically Orlando can free up1 19 extra million dollars by declining team options on June 29th for Joe Engles and moer we said this I know I’ve said this to people for a long long time if the magic cut if the magic do not pick up that team option on Joe Engles that is a sign the magic are up to something big I I don’t think that they would let Joe Engles walk if they did not have something big planned or they did not intend to use that money I would say that over the last week or so my gut feeling is that the magic will decline that team option uh our friend my friend uh our friend Keith Smith said on this show that he anticipates the magic will decline the team option on Mo Vagner just to create create the extra cap room with the understanding that they will bring Mo Vagner back on the room exception which is about the same as the $8 million that he’s declining so there’s some cap math that’s going to go on we’ll go into some more cap math here uh in a little bit in our second segment about the extensions for for Jaylen and France I would sit here and say this though I don’t think Paul George or Klay Thompson are the answer those two players are going to cost you at least $30 million and look they would make the magic better I’m not going to sit here and pretend otherwise but those are short-term fixes they are short-term fixes if you’re adding them your need to win and win big increases dramatically those are not players that you’re necessarily going to be able to flip again to get that kind of extra player that you need to get over the top if you’re bringing those guys in it’s because you believe you are ready to win with them over the next two to three years and frankly it’s not that I don’t believe in this magic team or Pao or any of them I don’t think the magic are at that stage you add veterans like Paul George and Klay Thompson at the money they’re asking for they’re both GNA ask for 30 maybe 35 million dollars a year um which yeah again the magic can pay they have the cap room to pay them um you you bring those players in when you need that last player to get you over the hump to get you to the championship that’s to me when you make those deals and honestly I think the magic need a little bit of a more of a long-term solution I think the magic need to be thinking how do we keep building and growing this out how do we keep expanding what we’re doing rather than saying this is it let’s push our chips in again it’s not so much that they’re pushing their chips in but I think you got to be playing two three steps ahead I don’t think I’ve kind of established this yet so let me establish this in this second this is my ideal summer for the Orlando Magic I think the magic need to get sign a starting guard I prefer a point guard um I’m I’m I think Malik monk is probably the best player out there but he’s not a true point guard I think tus Jones is a stop Gap option I think deangel Russell would be a big play but I have concerns about him in the playoffs and I think that’s ultimate what matters for this team um a training for Anthony Simons I think would qualify qualify for this I think the M if the magic of $50 million in cap room the magic need to spend 23 to$ 25 million on that c of that cap room on bringing in a starting caliber guard preferably a point guard to complete this starting group to me that is the Big Ticket item of the summer if you’re thinking about this the other way then essentially the magic have five players they got to replace on their roster Gary Harris Marquel folz um Joe Engles chuma Ok Goo patat those are the five players were looking to replace now essentially you so you’re signing a guard to replace Gary Harris you essentially hope that Anthony black fills in those Marquel folzman you hope that jet Howard can help fill in the Joe Engles minutes you don’t want him between him and Caleb Houston one of those two guys needs to step up and guard the Joe Engles minutes and if you don’t believe in that go get a wing and so to me that’s where I’m either drafting or signing another Wing player I like Malik Beasley a lot in this spot I really like Malik Beasley um as a potential three-point shooter he’s used to starting Milwaukee so he can give you some some spot starts when guys get hurt but maybe you can bring him off bench gavius call well Pope’s going to cost you $20 million a year there’s a few other mid mid tier options I think later we’re going to I’ve got all these episodes planned I just got to get get to kind of writing and clarifying my thoughts before I share them with you um but essentially free agency wise I want to add three players so we got five player five essentially five players to replace and obviously you know you move Anthony black up you’re replacing him with someone you know we’ll get to that you got three players I think you’re trying to sign a starting point guard number one number two a midlevel wing guy someone at that 12 to 15 million year range that’s going to be a wi Wing player some might say buddy heeld I saw some people speculating that buddy heeld could end up getting a minimum contract if that’s the case that’s money well spent in my opinion know he really struggled in Philadelphia um just didn’t work out coming back from Indiana had a really bad start to the year in Indiana I thought he was going to be a $2 million year player he’s certainly not going to be that 15 feels like too much with the way that his season went you can probably get a really quality shooter like buddy heeld at a bargain price bring him into this fold see what you can do with him obviously defense is a concern with him as well but we’ll go through some mid-level options but I think add a mid-level player and then finally the last need get that third Center maybe you just resigned Goa bat I’m not against that goa’s fine you still need kind of a starting caliber big to help fill in the minutes that or help fill in the games that Wendell Carter is going to miss right now I haven’t looked too deeply at the kind of minimum Center Market obviously Isa hartstein and and Nick Claxton are kind of on the high end I’d be looking at Andre Drummond um Andre Drummond solid veteran good Defender knows his role played a really big part in Chicago with Chicago you can use him as a backup center very comfortably if if Mo vager doesn’t work out for whatever reason or you just need defense that night guy that’s going to accept his role and I think play really really well that that is you know lose you lose some versatility offensively um obviously but get a veteran in I’m all for getting veterans in like him and I think he would be a really valuable player and give this team a new dimension that they don’t have and if you’re doing it at near the veterans minimum if you’re doing it at less than $8 million a year even a one year even if you’re doing a oneye eight million contract and you’re still signing Mo Vagner to an8 million contract I think you’re doing pretty good uh 8 million seems steep honestly you could probably get him at four um you could probably get him real cheap and again the magic have some money to burn so to me that is the ideal offseason it isn’t for me the big thing for me this off season and the reason why I’m not a fan of chasing after Paul George or chasing after Klay Thompson the reason why I don’t like that idea is it feels like you’re kind of throwing all your money at one player and I don’t think that’s the path for Orlando Orlando needs to keep adding depth they need to keep adding uh they need to kind of fill out their roster like I said you’re essentially replacing five players this offseason um from your roster again Anthony black might slide up jet Howard might slide up so you’re looking to replace them you can fill those guys with draft piics you know go get Jamal Sheed who you know worked out for the magic or KJ Simpson in the second round go get um you know kwn George like I talked about last week or or go get a quality Wing player a rookie Wing player to kind of fill in those minutes uh and and be a g le guy or you know get f it in with veterans there are a lot of options and to me what matters for the magic this summer is a improving the roster getting a little bit older but B um but B also uh establishing depth and keeping flexibility you want to you know the big thing for me is to set the chessboard you need to have the contracts you’re willing to trade and players who you’re comfortable stepping up into bigger roles or combining into other players for the time when you don’t have the free money the magic have this summer The Magic have free money this is their this and next summer might be their last summer with free money and it’s because of the decisions coming up with fron vager and Jaylen sucks so we’ve hinted at this in various conversations we’ve had throughout the throughout the summer why might it be better to wait on fron and jaylen’s extension even though it’s something that is so important I’m gonna explain why it might be better to wait coming up here in just a moment but first it’s time for quick work with my friends over at eBay Motors passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you’re into speed power or style eBay Motors has you cover with more than 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you will always find exactly what you’re looking for and with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors you’re burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it’s easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins keep your Rider die live at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusion Supply eBay guaranteed fit is only available to us customers we want to thank you for making lockdown magic part of your day every day for your next listen be sure to check out the lockon sports day 247 streaming Channel if you’re tired of the hot takes if you’re tired of the uninformed analysis from people who don’t know these teams for the biggest Sports stories of the day lock on sports today is your place to go it is a free 247 Sports stream Channel program to you every day to bring you the biggest stories in sports from the local experts who know their team best get the best of the lock on podcast Network the biggest stories of the day from the lockon podcast network with all the can’t miss analysis opinions and news streaming 247 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app it’s part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day so we’ve kind you know I I think I’ve kind of made it clear like I’m not in for going after the Superstar this isn’t the summer to chase a superstar let Pao let Pao continue to explore its canvas and refine what it means for him to be a star you’re still kind of learning what you need around him let fron Vagner figure out what whether he’s a number two like let’s let’s let’s figure that out you know I don’t think anyone’s ready to make that conclusion and no one wants to get in the way of what fron and Pao are doing and so while I think both Paul George and and Klay Thompson can play very complimentary roles and I’m very much in favor of finding a horor grant give me a give me a player with championship experience that’s gonna help make this team better Klay Thompson certainly fits that bill I’m not going to be upset if we get here if we’re if we’re doing an episode on July 1 or late late in the evening June 30th I’m not going to be upset if we’re sitting here and if we’re sitting here and I’m talking about one of those players in I I will be surprised but I’m not going to be upset it’s not what I think this team should do like I said I think this team should be really focused on kind of spreading that money around setting up their chess for because as Jeff welman has made very very clear their time is coming the free money the magic have the ability to spend as much as they want um that time that that time is coming to an end you’ve got this summer and next summer so if there’s a little bit of urgency to spend it’s because we know the time to spend is almost up because after next season fron vogner’s gonna get paid if he gets a Max he gets a salary starting at roughly $38 million jayen Suggs is going to get paid uh he is probably looking at a contract starting at $25 million a year just I I want you to get used to some of these numbers it’s going to happen and and you know we’ll you know we’ll argue don’t focus on the number focus on percentage of the cap um fron vogner’s Max is 25% when poo B Caro becomes a free agent in two years his max contract will start at I believe $42 million and he’s getting a Max it’s done there’s no negotiating that but here’s the thing I would argue the most important thing to Magic do this offseason or next is secure extensions for pao and fr for poo for fron vogner and Jaylen suck they can’t do it for Palo B yet I would AR that the most important thing to Magic do this summer is to secure the future for those two players that doesn’t mean they’re putting pen to paper quite yet as the Philadelphia 76ers are reminding us it’s actually very advantageous to wait and so why are we you know why are we talking about next summer as potentially a cap room summer as well it’s actually really quite simple it w it won’t be as much as this season but let’s just say the cap increases the way we expect it to increase that that it goes to 151 $155 million the difference is the difference is and the reason why the Sixers waited to sign an extension for Tyrese Maxi is Cap holds I believe I mention this concept to you all and if you listen to our podcast with Keith Smith hopefully you caught up on what cap holds mean but cap holds are essentially these placeholders that allow a team to retain the right to resign a player using whatever rights are kind of asserted so in this case we’re talking about bird rights bird rights is this rule under the salary cap that allows a team to go over the cap to resign their own free agents up to any amount so long as that player played three consecutive years under the same team were under the same contract so like why is why are the Knicks in a tough spot with Isaiah hartenstein it’s because he only signed a twoe deal with the Knicks he’s only played two years with the Knicks they’re Limited in what they can offer him and go over the cap so the Sixers and by extension the magic with France voger and Jaylen Suggs the Sixers own Tyrese Maxi’s bird rights they’re going to give him a Max contract he’s expected to sign a fiveyear $25 million contract and again fron vogner’s number is going to be higher than that if he signs a Max but he’s going to sign a Max and if it it was I don’t know if it’s a sure thing that he was gonna sign a Max last summer but waiting was always the right choice because your cap hold is only 250% of your previous year salary that means his rookie coming off his rookie contract remember he wasn’t a super high pick his cap hold is only $ million if he signed a Max contract last summer he would be paid $ 35.3 million and that would be the number that counts against the Sixers cap the Sixers would be costing themselves 22 million dollars in room if they had signed Tyrese Maxi last summer that that would that would prevent them from chasing Paul George and again it is very I mean I would if I were making a guess Paul George is going to be a Philadelphia 76er that would be that would be my guess the Magic The Magic are in the same dilemma we don’t yet know how much cap room they’re going to have in 2025 we’re gonna actually re I’ve actually made it a point to revisit this after the dust settles and we get a sense of how much money the magic spend this sum but the magic only have $ 56.4 million committed to the 2026 season so next summer they only only have $ 56.4 million in guaranteed contracts that includes picking up team options for poo Bano Anthony black jet Howard and the number 18 pick number 18 pick vogner’s cap hold is only approximately 17 a half million jayen suggs’s cap hold is approximately $23 million so realistically sign jayen Suggs don’t sign Jaylen Suggs um you’re you’re kind of be at about the same amount Jaylen Suggs is probably going to sign for a probably a little bit more than that cap hold number but if fron vogner is indeed going to get a Max or anywhere near a Max that’s going to be double his cap hold so as we’re sitting here the magic are operating with $ 64.2 million in cap in cap room for the summer of 2025 if the salary cap does indeed increase to $15.1 million and so the difference is$ 17.5 million that that includes I believe the $17.5 million I have for fron VOD so if you double that if you say Okay fron is signing a deal worth 38 you’re already eating into half of your cap room for next summer this is what bird rights do bird rights allow you to double dip a little bit because you can go over the cap to sign your own players you just have to count that cap hold amount that 250% of the previous year salary under your books to enable yourself to have that right and like I like I think we made this point uh this this year with Gary Harris with Marco folz you can activate and deactivate cap holes as needed it’s it’s it’s a purely cap mechanic it’s not something you have to sign it’s not something you have to declare as you’re signing players you you deactivate it or use them as necessary so it’s you know the order in which you sign players actually kind of matters um it’s a weird it’s a weird cap Quirk but this is why it might be advantageous especially with fron Vagner maybe not so much with jayen STS but especially with fron Vagner to wait on extensions because the magic could be in a position to spend again next year this year’s free agent class is considered okay not great next year’s free agent class considered a little bit better I I think think it’ll Shake Shape Up and Shake down a little bit I don’t think it’ll be as strong as as it’s looking right now but again you can use cap room in trades so you align yourself a little bit with some contracts then you absorb more money in in you absorb more money in trades that is a thing you can do as well and so the magic have to consider the magic have to consider whether it’s worth to wait and whether this isn’t the summer to fully spend their money whether it’s also next summer that they should add a little bit now they obviously have to plan because their payroll is going to increase pretty dramatically fron is going to get 30 plus million probably $35 million a year at minimum Paulo banero is going to sign a deal that starts at $40 million a year roughly $40 million a year that’s going to happen in the summer of 2026 it’s it’s happening just be prepared for it the magic know they’re going to start gonna start being up against the cap and start being up against the apron and all these different rules and so again going back to our original conversation the magic have to keep some flexibility they have to be able to move very nimbly and so I think this sum is really about arranging the chess board it’s not about going after one player or one guy that’s going to soak up all the attention it’s actually GNA be about setting this team up not only for sex success this year that matters but setting them up for Success down the road and obviously there is negotiation that’s gonna have to come is France voder really worth the max that’s gonna be something that’s going to be debated should be debated I I think you do it just to take care of it if you either believe in the guy or you don’t um but again it it would be to the Magic’s benefit to wait so maybe that Max is on the table and you say hey it’ll be here next year for cap reasons we want to keep you a free agent with Jaylen Suggs maybe you want to get him a 23 $23 million and you just want to get that done now would not surprise me if that is the case but it might again be beneficial to wait as well because at the end of the day the magic do have restricted free agent rights on both they can match any deal anyone puts up for them and so it’s all this summer despite the Magics need to spend and improve the roster it’s still about flexibility we’re going to close Today’s Show talk a little about the NBA Finals as we make our way a little bit around the league here on Monday’s update on what’s going on what we’ve seen from the NBA finals in two games coming up here in just a moment but first it’s time for a word from our friends over at LinkedIn when you’re hiring for your small business you want to find quality professionals who are right for the role that’s why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has 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NBA to post your job for free terms and conditions apply the Boston Celtics take a 20 lead on the Dallas Mavericks as the NBA Finals continue and look we want to be keep an eye on the NBA Finals we want to keep an eye on what’s going on at the highest levels because that’s what’s going to tell us what works for the Orlando Magic and obviously you know the easy thing to say is Boston’s a really good shooting team but what was really interesting in game two on Sunday night was Boston didn’t shoot the ball really well that that kept Dallas in the game and turnovers were a big issue for the Celtics um but at the end of the day Boston like the end of the day I can’t help but think Dallas plays similar ilar to Orlando and Boston is really the ideal of what Orlando wants to become Boston has Jason Tatum who can guard one-on-one um they have you know who can def who can play one-on-one and score you know in a lot of ways like I’ve seen people compare what Orlando is trying to build with Jason with Palo banero and France vogner to what Boston’s done with Jason Tatum and jayen brown and obviously they’ve had a long process of trying to figure out how do we avoid the kind of your turn my turn um play that has limited their effectiveness in a lot of ways or limited their ability to finally lift the gold trophy at the end of the year um and like look this year really feels like they figured it out like Jay Brown’s having a great finals Jason Tatum isn’t shooting well but it doesn’t matter because that is Boston is Boston’s looking like downright spursy with their passing like it’s just everyone’s moving the ball they know where they going to is going to be and even on top of this like if we’re going to talk about like what Orlando’s trying to be as well the way Boston is defending the way they’re together the way they switch the way everybody takes personal responsibility that’s just downright impressive like look the Celtics were the best team in the league all year it should not be surprising that they look like the best team in the league in the playoffs they’ve got two losses in this playoffs they’re dominating this series against the Maverick and even though they didn’t play a great game too it never felt like the game was really in danger like yeah Dallas had the lead in the first half but when Boston made their runs and you always do those runs we GNA come and the Spurs when they just hit a bunch of Threes was coming Dallas just left the door open they you know missed free throws like they you know they turn the ball over they relied very heavily on isolation ball they’re struggling to get the ball moving sounds really familiar to the magic to be perfectly honest um obviously Luc is a higher level player than Pao Kyrie Irving’s been kind of hot and cold this series I think he’s played okay um there are others are just not hitting shots PJ Washington isn’t hitting shots Derrick Jones Jr isn’t hitting shots Maxi kba just looks downright unplayable right now um they Dallas is struggling to get the ball moving and again that’s that’s by Design and yes luuka had a triple double so you know they were better in game two than they were in game one but Dall but Boston is really decided where going to switch everything and try and make Luca beat us with his scoring and if Luca scores so be it so what and Dallas I think did a really good job attacking switches a lot better in game two they they look to get the ball to Gafford in the post a little bit more or PJ Washington the post when they got guards to switch on they did a much better job in my opinion um a forcing turnover so those mistakes helped Dallas a lot and getting down the court much quicker um I think honestly a key in this series is is Dallas has got to play faster and that is not how they play Luca likes to play slow and that to me honestly that plays into Boston’s hands again this feels like the magic all over again the magic I think are a little bit bigger or more versatile defensively that’s why they give Boston some some trouble but Boston gives Orlando a lot of trouble because their switching bothers Orlando too because they they don’t they aren’t able to pass the ball and kind of create uh create tension in the defense Boston is so comfortable switching one through five um that they really bog down offenses it’s it it’s really impressive to watch and this is like one of the Magic’s big weaknesses um you know when when Boston gets in the paint you watch Jason Tatum fling those passes to the corner like they know where everybody is going to be and again yeah at the end of the day Celtics made shots they got to the foul line made the free throws Something Magic don’t do Dallas didn’t do that in the first half um this is really just this is a battle of a team versus a star and look Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown are really good players I’m not taking anything away from them this is a battle of a team in Boston that is playing at a really high level really together the way every championship team the way we think about championship teams playing and a team in Dallas that is very heliocentric and star dependent that frankly I don’t want to say they don’t trust each other but you know this is what happened in game seven like in in the Magic’s game seven this magic team is super together I think there was a lot of trust but in game seven Paulo understood very quickly because fron and Jaylen weren’t playing well that he had to carry the whole team and he ran out of gas and that’s a big reason why Orlando lost game seven like the play of game seven for the magic was when Cleveland was when Donovan Mitchell fed it to Darius Garland he missed a three Cleveland got the offensive rebound and Mitchell fed it right back to Garland same spot they took it again he made the shot I believe that made it a seven-point game that was a when you felt like the game was over and B when you understood that’s the difference Cleveland trusted you know Don Mitchell trusted his teammates to make shots and they delivered for him Paulo couldn’t get you know Paulo wasn’t passing at the same level that he was late in that game and I I don’t blame him like who earned his trust in that game um the ball I trust I I trusted the ball in his hands the way he played that game and you know that’s kind of what happens in these games you know that’s what happens in these pressure games you really find out what you trust and what you believe Dallas right now and this is again B Boston is designed is designing for this Luca’s trying to trust his teammates Boston’s giving him very little and Luca is having to carry the whole load you’re not winning a championship doing that again Boston’s defense is really tough to crack Lucas is trying to pass the ball did a much better job of that in game two than game one obviously I think Dallas has a win in them um you know Boston did not play a great game too um but they did enough to win um but this is the difference this is you know Boston is a team playing on all cylinders the kind of team everybody wants to be and Dallas like frankly the way Dallas played reminded me a lot of the match magic in both good and bad ways you know the magic obviously struggled in their two games in Boston they beat him in Orlando Orlando is a team that that has historically given Boston problems like size hurts them size and versatility does hurt them it’s the same thing that’s the same thing they do to other teams um being able to put a lot of size on them hurts Dallas doesn’t have that um but the way Dallas is playing is very reminiscent of how the magic play when they get stuck and why there is a little bit of a ceiling on Orlando and why they have to elevate themselves and that’s kind of where we are in the finals is will Dallas Get Enough from the others to push Boston a little bit is Boston going to get in their own way they did a little bit in game two but they tightened up when they had to especially in that third quarter that’s kind of been the series so far and as I said at the very beginning of this Dallas has to be more perfect than Boston Boston can make mistakes Dallas has to do more correctly to compete with the Celtics than the Celtics do and the Celtics right now through two games and obviously we saw the same thing happen with Orlando and Cleveland through two games Boston just looks like a significantly better and better prepared and and more serious and engaged team we’ll see what Dallas comes up with in game three on Wednesday but that’s going to do it for me today I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of Locked on Match course find me on Twitter Philip rror OMD you can subscribe to the podcast and apple podcast you’re tuned in himay Google play Spotify Odyssey and all podcast to your podcast enable device for L on the Orlando Magic be sure to check out orlandomagic daily.com you can find us there on Twitter Atomic daily and also be sure to check out my patreon page I’m still going through player evaluations I’m GNA start draft profiles here pretty soon um you can check that out at patreon.com orlandomagic HUB again that’s patreon.com orlandomagic Hub and as always thank you for your support now that you’re done listening to us be sure check out the lockon sportsday 247 streaming Channel on YouTube and now available on Amazon Fire TV and the free Fire TV channels app lock on sportsday here for you 247 covering the top sports stories of the day with the local Experts of locked on plus our national shows covering every leag find locked on sportsday now available on the free Fire TV channels app that’s going to do it for me today though on tomorrow’s episode of lockdown magic it is draft Tuesday we’re going to talk about players who have been through the training center what the what the magic who the magic are looking at or that we know they’ve been looking at at the Advent Health Training Center as draft workouts continue or begin I guess um we’ll talk about a little bit what the magic are kind of looking for where the magic might go on the draft we’ll do that tomorrow we got got plenty more coming this week France ogner player evaluation is coming Wednesday we’ll talk some more cap stuff and and and kind of mid mid-level free agents I think on Thursday we got a lot still to go this week the draft is going to come very very quickly free agency is Gonna Come very very quickly we’re almost to the to the to the good part of the offseason we’re gonna get to all that very very soon but until then for Orlando Magic daily lock on Magic this been Phil Roser right we’ll see you again next time for another episode of lockdown Magic for

The Orlando Magic are back in the rumor mill with league observers still believing the Orlando Magic will chase after big-name free agents like Paul George or Klay Thompson. That still feels like some professional dot-connecting.

But what is the Magic’s ideal summer? What are they actually looking to put together? It is not about adding one star. It is about assembling the chess board to help create flexibility and avenues to improve the roster this year and beyond.

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