Darius Garland to Orlando? Why the Magic should think BIGGER
Most of us expect the Orlando Magic to be bold, to be brave, but to still be pretty conservative. Are we thinking too small? And is this the time for the Magic to Strike? Today on Locked On Magic, you are locked on Magic. Your daily Orlando Magic podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And you are indeed locked on Magic. Today is May 30th, 2025. My name is Philip Rossik. I’m the senior writer over at Orlando MagagicDaily.com. Credential member of the media since the 2011 season. Long, long time ago. Uh you can follow me, of course, on Twitter, Philip R_OMD, and on Blue Sky, Philip RR. On today’s episode of Lockdown Magic, I went over what I did in the lockdown mockdraft yesterday, but are we thinking too small? Is this the time to push all the chips in? We’ll discuss that and one writer’s idea that makes some sense, but may be impossible. We’ll get to that coming up here in just a moment. First, we want to thank you again for making Lockdown Magic your first listen of the day and make it part of your day every day. We truly appreciate all those who listen whenever you listen. but our first first time our first uh first listeners our everyday listeners especially appreciate all of you join the club you’re all part of lockdown podcast network your team every day so magic Twitter magic social media was kind of sent a buzz uh yesterday by uh uh Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com on on his podcast covering Cleveland Cavaliers noted that the Cleveland Cavaliers are in a weird place they’re about to become become a second apron team as Evan Mobley’s extension kicks in which is now a super max extension because he won defensive player of the year. Um the Cavaliers are in a place where they don’t have a lot of wiggle room and this is a reality that is hitting every team in the league as they start to pay their players more and more. You know, one thing player one thing guy teams around the league are going to have to do better of is defining who max players are. There’s a reason why everyone was ticked off that the Magic gave Fron Vager a max, that Evan Mobley got a max because now that market is set that you still have to give your rookies max contracts and all of that what that means. Now, we’ve talked a lot about the first apron. The Magic are flirting with the first apron this summer. The second apron is even more restrictive. You can’t aggregate salaries, so you can’t trade two players for one. You can’t take on more money than you send out. That’s a carryover from the first apron rules. You can’t you can’t use any exceptions or even traded player exceptions in in trades uh or to sign free agents. You can pretty much only sign your own free agents, sign minimums, and sign rookies. Being in the second apron is extremely ownorous on top of the luxury tax payments and if you’re repeater, the repeater tax payments that come with it. It’s the reason why we all think the Boston Celtics are going to essentially break apart their team and and begin to deconstruct their roster this offseason. It’s why Chris Sports feels very available, Drew Holidayiday feels very available while why some teams are sniffing around for Derrick White. And this is one of the reasons why Ca the Cavs kind of maybe think they might be in the market to do something big. Again, this is a big I think this feels like the first summer that a lot of teams are really beginning to realize and understand the new rules of this collective bargaining agreement and are now acting like, oh, we’ve got to do something about this. And that’s why it feels like there’s going to be a lot of movement this offseason. There’s going to be a lot of big players traded because there are teams that a if you’re a second apron team, you should be competing for a championship. There’s there are a lot of second apron teams that aren’t competing for championships. uh Phoenix mostly, but there’s a lot of teams looking to cut payroll. The Cavaliers, I don’t think should be that team. Cleveland should enter next season. You know, if you look at rosters now, yes, they lost in the in the second round. Again, Cleveland should enter next season as the favorite to be the top seed again. Like, they’re they’re still really good, but they’re probably losing Ty Jerome. They’ve got to be really smart with what they do. And so, inevitably, one of the considerations that the Cavs are going to have to make, and Chris Federer of Cleveland.com suggested, is that they have to be at least open to moving one of their big salaries, Darius Garland or Jared Allen. And so, that is that is one of the story lines kind of bubbling underneath the surface here. That is one of the storylines that’s kind of present and Fedor suggests that there is a framework for the Cavaliers who trade Darius Garland to the Magic for Jaylen Suggs. Now, getting this math to work is really difficult. If the Magic were to complete a Darius Garland trade, and Darius Garland fits a lot of things the Magic need. He is a truer point guard. He is excellent off the dribble. He’d worked really, really well with Paulo and France. Last year, Darius Garland averaged 20.6 points per game, 6.7 assists per game. He shot 40.1% from three. He’s a career 38.8% shooter. Played 70 games the first time in his career. Played 75 games last season. From a basketball standpoint, Darius Garland is better than any point guard option we’ve discussed. And if it costs you Jaylen Suggs, that’s the price of getting an all-star. and and and we’ll talk more about the Jaylen Suggs situation here in a minute. You’re only trading Jaylen Suggs for an all-star like that. Um, and the question the question then becomes, do the Magic need to think bigger? Is Anthony Simons too small? And not size small, but just I I would agree with this. like Anthony Simons, Colin Ston, Kobe White, Austin Reeves, all the guys that we’ve talked about, they are half measures. They are just they are compromises. They’re flawed players who give the Magic something they need, don’t get me wrong, but they are flawed players. And essentially what you’re doing is adding a player to your already established core. You’re not shaking up the core. And the reality is we don’t know if this core works. And and look, I I am of the belief that that half measure is fine. That this isn’t this is about improving the team you have and figuring out how far they can go together. We saw what they looked like together in the first round against the Cavs last in 2024. Last year, everyone was hurt. We didn’t get to see what this fully looks like. And so I think it is worth saying let’s see if we can grow this supporting cast around this group to make it better. Build the culture, build a better roster, build more shooting, and then see what sugo can do together because we don’t know what the upside potential is. Now there probably a lot of people out there saying, “Oh, this is what it is. Like France can’t shoot. Palo’s inefficient.” All that stuff. We’re not at those existential questions yet. I still think those are two steps down the road. But that’s also the problem. Maybe we do need to be thinking bigger. Maybe we do need to consider what’s on the table. Now, I would say this math, NBA math is really difficult these days. It unless the Magic are declining every team option they have, the Magic are right around the First Apron. And first apron means you cannot take back more money than you send out. You can’t you can’t gain money in a trade. For the Magic to make a Darius Garland for Jaylen Suggs trade work because Darius Garland is going to make $39.4 million next season will be over 40 the next two seasons. And so that’s essentially means the Magic are a second apron team or or or well above the first apron uh for the next two years under Darius Garland. That you know you if you’re making a Darius Garland trade, your windows open. You’re winning a championship now. you’re competing for a championship now. And I would look at this team and I’d say the Magic are two or two maybe one or two maybe three steps away from considering themselves to be serious title contenders. And a lot of that is just Paulo and Fron need to prove that they can elevate the team and and win in a playoff series. Like the Magic haven’t won a playoff series yet. I I I I think we’re all very encouraged by what we’ve seen from the stars in the Magic Stew playoff series over the last two years and generally encouraged by how the team performs in the playoffs. Um the Magic losing in five games played better than I think a lot of us expected against the Celtics. The Magic certainly played better than any of us could have expected against the Cavs. The Magic though still have to win a freaking series. They haven’t done the thing yet. They haven’t gotten to the next round. They haven’t flirted with the conference finals. The Magic are still trying to figure out if the base formula works. A and so that is that is where the Magic are at. But you can get really good really quickly in this league. a full healthy season from Paulo, an improved season, you know, a continued improvement from Fron, more spacing, more shooting that I it’s not crazy to think the Magic could be a title contender next year or or could quickly become the plucky team that everything breaks, right? You know, do what the Pacers did last year, do what the Pacers did this year, what the Knicks did this year, and find themselves in a conference finals with a chance to win. We cannot dismiss this idea had out of hand even if it would take jumping through a lot of hoops to make it work because yeah it’s easy on the Cav side makes less money than Garland not an issue on the Magic side again if the Magic you know declined all their team options you know reneg on those bird rights which is not not hard to do they would have to gut a lot their depth and then become an apron team to make this work. And so I don’t I I I would agree with this. We aren’t thinking big enough. We aren’t sitting here saying the Magic should go allin on a Giannis, on a Trey, on a LaMelo, on a Darius Garland. There are those options. There are those possibilities. But it doesn’t feel like it’s the right time. And this is the existential question bubbling under the surface. And I want to talk more about this. No matter how much Jeff Waltman wants to build slowly and develop and do all that stuff that we talk about so much, have conditions changed that require this to be the time to strike? We’re going to get to that coming up here in just a moment. But first, today’s episode of Lockdown Magic is brought to you by our friends over at Door Dash. Let me make sure I have that sponsor right. I do. Good. Excellent. Uh NBA fans, you know what time it is. Playoff season means big performances and even bigger rewards. Door Dash is bringing the heat with a slam dunk deal for Dash Pass members during the 2025 NBA playoffs. It’s called they swoosh, you score. Anytime a player drops 50 or more points in a playoff game, Dash Pass members score a free three-piece crispy tendies crispy tenders combo from Wingstop the very next day. Just place an order of $20 or more. Use the code Wingstop 50 at checkout and that combo is yours. Crispy, delicious, and totally free. That offer is valid noon to midnight the day after the game. Terms apply. No matter what your go-to move is after an epic game, celebrate it the next day by ordering rings and reliving the highlights. Imagine being rewarded with free fruit just because someone went off for 50. And with Dash Pass, you get $0 delivery fees and exclusive perks like this one. How much would you save over a season? So, here’s the play. Sign up for Dash Pass to unlock this and more exclusive deals all season long. When any player scores 50 plus or more in a playoff game, Dash Pass members can grab a free threepiece crispy tenders combo from Wingstop the next day with a $20 or more order and code Wingstop 50. That’s Dash Pass, your door to more savings, more flavor, and more ways to win. Terms do apply. bubbling underneath the surface of all this is opportunity and and and it and it’s not merely opportunity for the Magic. The Magic are a quasi established team. Like everyone recognizes they are a playoff team now. Everyone recognizes even if they don’t particularly like either player that Paulo and Fron are legitimate options are are legitimate all-star threats. This is a team that everyone kind of even even if they don’t believe they have title contention aspirations or or aren’t there yet, everyone recognizes, no, the Magic are good team. They’re a playoff team. They’re they got some flaws. They got some things to figure out, but they’re young. They got time. The reality though is windows in this league open very very quickly and especially with the way the CBA is now and especially let’s just looking around the league the things we’re talking about Boston selling off parts Cleveland selling off parts Milwaukee potentially selling off parts um all these teams that have spent so much they are everything just feels up in the air around the league. It just feels like this is a this summer is a big turning point. You know, Shams of ESPN has not been the only one to say this, but everybody is expecting a very busy and active off season around the league. Not only are there just a lot of stars who seem like they are in play, everybody feels like they’re trying to reset themselves. And then you add to it that there is this opportunity in the East. Not only are the Boston Celtics the two seed the the defending champions this year, they feel like they’re going to take a step back. Now Boston, to their credit, I I don’t think we should completely count Boston out, but being without Jason Tatum is a major loss and they’re probably going to lose another one of their veterans. It’s it’s hard to believe that they’ll be the two seed again. Now, they could. It’s it I’m not gonna completely throw them under the bus, but it’s going to be a year of change for the Celtics. The Milwaukee Bucks, you know, no longer considered a heavy favorite in the East, but they could trade Giannis this summer. They’ll be without Damen Lillard for the entire year. They’re kind of a middle of the pack team. Indiana is expected to be aggressive. They’ve got, you know, they’ll they’ll pay the tax for the first time in a long time. New York, maybe they split off some parts to save some money, but they’re not going anywhere. And then you have up andcoming teams like Orlando and Detroit. You have Miami, which is always in play for a big player, and they’ll make the sacrifices, it seems, to to grab a big player and stay relevant. The question you have to ask if you’re the Orlando Magic is, is this the opportunity? Is this the window? an early window with Paulo still on his rookie deal, by the way, to go make a push and try and do something. Honestly, this was the biggest lost opportunity of the season. And it was, look, it’s no one’s fault. It’s injuries, but the Magic being unable to take advantage of the East this year of a little bit weakened East this year and get to the next round and say, “Okay, this is what we really need.” having to instead spend this season trying to piece together a roster and hold this thing together before it bursts at the seams. The Magic know they have to strike. The Magic know they have to improve and have to get better at offense and scoring and shooting and all that stuff. They have to add a good offensive player. But now you look at this East landscape and if Cleveland’s going to trade one of their main guys, if if Boston is falling apart, if Milwaukee is falling apart, is this the window to strike? Is this your best chance to sneak into a finals to establish yourself as that team to set yourself up long term as this is the team we’re going to be? And yeah, there might be tweaks. We might have to deal with some apron issues here soon, but this is our team. Good luck to the rest of the conference. The throne is empty. No offense to the Pacers or Knicks. The throne is empty right now. We don’t like honestly, we don’t know who the best team in the Eastern Conference is going to be next year. Cleveland is a safe assumption, but what are they gonna do? is Indiana even in this playoff run has shown enough inconsistency to make you think is this just a bit of circumstance a bit of hot play the way they played last night in game in game five that’s not what a championship team does now that they may win game six they may make it to the next round but that’s not what a championship team does Oklahoma City took care of their business and I know they had a home court advantage and all that stuff but when the when you take a game off the thunder it’s it’s shocking When you take a game off the Pacers right now, it’s like, okay, you know, Indiana’s tough. They’re give them more credit. They they win. They find ways to win games. That’s important. But nobody’s scared of them. Nobody’s scared of New York. And again, I’m not saying this to be offensive. I’m just saying this is opportunity. No one like no one considered them title contenders before the year for a reason. And no one and everyone’s still shocked they made it this far for a reason. Now, they earned it. I’m not taking that away from them, but Oklahoma City is heavy favorites to win the title. And honestly, I I think they’re against either team, they’ll win in five if if not a clean sweep. Oklahoma City is really good. But you got to get there first. And if I’m the Magic, this is part of my consideration. This is part of what I’m thinking about as I look at this off season. The opportunity is there for us to take a big step. The door is open. It’s it’s a freaking money in the bank ladder match right now. And it’s whoever gets to the top of that ladder and grabs the briefcase. If you know what a Money in the Bank ladder match is, it’s it is a huge challenge. It is a big deal. And again, I don’t think it will take very much for the Magic to become contenders in the Eastern Conference, become serious conference title, conference championship contenders. And this is why you have to consider striking now. This is why you have to consider putting some skin in the game, putting some assets in to build your team that’s going to be your perennial title contender. This is why this summer is so critical and not one that you can sit out or get wrong because of all those uh apron concerns. You’re building the team you’re going to be for the next three years this summer. And there’ll be tweaks like there’ll be little things like yeah he could trade a window Carter he could trade a cole Anthony you could trade a goat you could you can move some pieces around. It’s easy to move the side pieces around but you’re locking in you’ve already locked in your top three players. You’re grabbing a fourth player that’s going to boost your team and make them even better. And the hope is and the belief has to be that doing that this summer not only gets you out of the first round but establishes you as a perennial contender. And frankly, if the Magic are looking at a move and not seeing that vision, then it’s not the right move. It is the time to strike big. Maybe the Magic aren’t pushing all their chips in. Maybe the Magic aren’t aren’t expending all of their assets, but this is the time. The Eastern Conference is wide open. Everybody has questions. Nobody knows who the top team is, and everybody around the conference knows it. The Sixers could be back. They’re going to get the number three pick. They’re going to get uh uh Dylan Harper probably. They’re they’re chopping Paul George. Sorry. They’ll get Ace Bailey or or VJ Edgeco. The Heat are always in contention and the lockdown mock, they got Durant. Things are going to happen. The Magic don’t have to keep up with the Joneses. They need to run their own race. But they need to be they need to have an eye on everyone else around them and understand that everybody senses this opportunity. And if you sit down and let it pass by, you’re going to get lacked. You’re going to miss the window. the championship window for the Magic as a roster may not be open, but the opportunity to win a championship, to win the conference is open. And the Magic have to realize that and act accordingly. And that leads us to the inevitable question that everyone seems to understand, but nobody seems ready to talk about. So, let’s talk about it for a few minutes. It’s the Jayen Suggs conundrum. We’ll get to that coming up here in just a moment. There’s been a lot of comparisons between the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics. And a lot of it is just born out of Paulo and Fron are wing creators. Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown are wing creators. They’re kind of building a very similar team. Um the comparisons never ended there though. Jaylen Suggs has always been compared to Marcus Smart. And Marcus Smart was the heart and soul of that Celtics team, a flawed player, but gave them an energy and a spirit that elevated them to a new level. To be sure, even though the Magic still finished second in defensive rating this season, Jaylen Suggs is the kind of player that gives the Magic spirit. He gives them fight. He He is the one that gives them a little bit of an edge. And frankly, like even though the Magic finished the season strong and still had all these good numbers, losing both Suggs and Mo Vagner like really damaged this team’s edge and their physicality. And that’s why even though the defensive numbers were still good, it sometimes felt like the defense was inconsistent. I I am still like Jaylen Suggs is still really important. And I would say this, I I even though a Darius Garland trade might make a little bit of sense, I don’t think the Magic are interested in trading Jaylen Suggs quite yet. I don’t think the Magic want to move him. I think the Magic want to add to their core, not change their core. But this is where the parallel continues. The Celtics ultimately decided that Marcus Smart was the player who was holding them back. They traded him to Memphis and got Christoph Sport Borzingis in that deal. Eventually, they also got Drew Holiday, which is really what put them over the top for a championship. But they understood that Marcus Smart was a big salary piece that they needed to get that last piece that they needed. And I don’t think we’re at this step yet. So, I’m not going to advocate for trading Jayen Suggs. I I don’t think the Magic should entertain a Jaylen Suggs for Darius Scarland trade. I think they should investigate it. I think they should look at it. They should game it out. They should understand what the financial consequences of it are. But I don’t think they’re going to do that. It’s knowing Jeff and and knowing how he operates. That is not something they’re looking to do. They want to see what Jaylen Suggs looks like with this core, especially if they add another shooter or creator and let Jaylen be this ultimate 3 and D weapon. But at the end of the day, Jaylen Suggs is also a $33 million player now. Um and and it’s frontloaded obviously so it decreases over the life of the contract. Jaylen Suggs is a $30 million contract now. And that is not something that you know you you throw away. And ultimately if the Magic struggle to get out of the first round, if the Magic hit a wall in the second round and can’t break through, if they get to the conference finals and lose, if they get to the finals and they see, okay, this formula works to a point. How do we tweak and make this even better? Yes, Jaylen Suggs is the core piece that gets moved. He is only the core piece that gets moved though for that last piece. And that’s why, look, the Darius Garland idea is not going to go away. In fact, I would argue this about that Darius Garland idea. This summer is not the summer to do it. It’s next summer, the summer after. M Garland is a $40 million player. Jaylen Suggs is a little bit less. That’s when it becomes perhaps a little easier to do. The Magic, you know, will be flirting with the First Apron again or flirting with the First Apron this year. They’re probably a First Apron team next year because of Paulo’s extension. Um, which again, he’ll if if he makes all NBA, he gets paid 51 million a year. This just I want just, you know, be prepared to wrap your my head around that number. It’s 42 or 43 if he doesn’t make all NBA. It’s 51 if he does. This is just the reality, folks. Like, this is it. I’m not making a value judgment or or or saying anything. This is what they’re allowed to make. This is what they’re making. But the salary cap increases faster than player salaries can. A player salary can rise by maximum of 8% year-over-year. The salary cap’s going to increase by 10% for the next five, six years um as the league catches up to its new TV deal. Um, so it might be I I would have to game this out a little bit, but it might be easier to make that Garland trade in two years than it is today. That’s that’s all I’m saying. And like I said yesterday, what I found in the lockdown mock draft is that Orlando does have options. And so I’ll say this again, Orlando has this tool in their back pocket. They have, you know, Jaylen Suggs is not going anywhere. When he’s healthy, everyone knows how good he is. And look, he’s coming off a knee surgery. He’s got to prove himself and prove that he’s healthy again. But he’s not had the same injury. It’s not been a recurring issue with him. And until it’s a recurring issue, I I’m not going to label a player injury prone. Like, he’s had injury issues, but they’ve been different injuries. And so, again, it’s just learning the right times to impose impose and inject yourself, to do the things that Jaylen Suggs does. and just avoiding some bad injury luck. It I mean injury is kind of luck at the end of the day. Um there are things Suggs I think definitely can do, but we’ll get to that later. Jaylen Suggs’s future is set with this team. The path that he is going to go down is set with this team. He’s either going to become the clear-cut third option, the guy that boosts everything this team does on both ends of the floor, or eventually the Magic going to hit a point where they’re like, “We’ve hit our ceiling with this team, with this core. We need to see if we can reconfigure it somehow, if we can upgrade it somehow.” And that upgrade is undoubtedly a Jayen subs trade. Now, again, I don’t think it’s this year. I think it’s several years down the road. I I don’t think we’re at that point yet. But very very clearly Jayen Suggs has value. Very very clearly Jayen Suggs is a big contract you can move. Very very clearly if the Magic are hitting some financial problems and they can find an upgrade, Jayen Suggs is the guy that you can move to get it. That’s the reality of the situation. That’s the reality of gaming this out year over year over year. That’s just how it is and that’s how other teams are going to view the magic. But obviously there is still a lot of work to do. Obviously still there is still things to learn and discover before we get to that point. And so while the Magic should be thinking big, while the Magic should be doing more, they also need to stay with their core and see what it can do. It is a big summer. I don’t need to tell you that it is a it is going to be an active summer for the magic and we’ll see what they ultimately come up with. I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of Lockdown Magic. You can of course find me on Twitter, phipr_omd and on blue sky, phipr. You can subscribe to the podcast at Apple podcast. Search your tune in handling Google Spotify and all of them you download podcast to your podcast enabled listening device. For the latest on the Orlando no magic and you can also check us out on YouTube. Just search for locked on magic. We just cleared 4,000 subscribers. Very, very, very, very supportive of that. Let’s get to 5,000 before the start of the next season. Tell your friends. You can for the latest on the Orlando Magic, be sure to check out Orlando Magicaily.com. You can find us on Twitter there, Omagic Daily. And for even more Orlando Magic content, be sure to check out my Patreon page, Orlando Magicub, at patreon.com/orlandomagichub. As always, thank you for your support. Now that you’re done making Lockdown Magic your first listen of the day, make the Locked On NBA Big Board show your second listen today. NBA draft expert Rafael Barlo reacts to every workout, interview, and rumor leading up to the NBA draft. Find Locked on NBA Big Board on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. We will get to some more draft stuff next week. I maybe I’ll try and get Raphael on to talk a little bit about where the Magic drafting and who to look for, what to look for. Um we’ll do some more draft stuff. We kind of skipped draft stuff this week. We’re not forgetting the draft. It’s still there. still important. We’ll get to that next week. But until then, have a great weekend. Enjoy the rest of May. June is nigh. We’ll see you all then for Orlando Magic Daily Lock Magic. This has been Philip Rossman. Well, thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of Locked On Magic.
The Orlando Magic are expected to be active this offseason as they look to improve the team. The question is how big do they need to go and are we thinking too small?
With the Eastern Conference in complete flux, this could be the time to strike and think bigger than everyone thinks. That is what a few Cleveland writers are saying as the Cavs try to navigate the second apron. Could the Magic push for Darius Garland and speed up their title window?
It all leads to the inevitable conclusion that the Magic could trade a player like Jalen Suggs to get that final piece.
0:00 Intro: Is it time for Magic to strike?
5:48 Darius Garland trade possibility for Magic
15:03 Eastern Conference landscape and opportunities
20:43 Magic’s window to become perennial contenders
24:25 Jalen Suggs’ future and potential trade value
Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOMagic?sid=YouTube
Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA
#OrlandoMagic #PaoloBanchero #NBA
Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
WayFair
Give your home the refresh it needs with Wayfair. Head to Wayfair.com right now. Wayfair. Every style. Every home.
Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.
Door Dash
Sign up for DashPass and when any player scores 50+ in a playoff game, DashPass members can grab a free 3PC Crispy Tenders Combo from Wingstop the next day, with a $20+ order and code WINGSTOP50. That’s DashPass: your door to more savings, more flavor, and more ways to win. Terms apply.
Valid only at participating Wingstop locations. Fees (including service fee), taxes, and gratuity still apply. Orders must have a minimum subtotal of $20, excluding taxes and fees. Offer valid on 4/15/25-6/22 /25 or while supplies last. Valid for one (1) promotional redemption per customer. DoubleDash promotions apply only to your DoubleDash add-on order, not your primary order. DoubleDash orders are not valid for the purchase of alcohol. No cash value. Non-transferable. Discount applies to subtotal only; does not apply to fees, taxes, and gratuity. Not valid for pickup. Limit one per person. Not valid for the purchase of alcohol. Fees, taxes, and gratuity still apply. Must have an active DashPass account. Use promo code WINGSTOP50 to redeem. See full terms and conditions at drd.sh/qnAXuU
FanDuel
Right now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.
FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
15 comments
We are a healthy season away from a championship
We can't count on what we did in 2024 other teams got better since then while we stayed the same
Trade Franz for Garland.
In addition to making a big trade,I think the Magic front office need to invest in better shooting coaches and assistant coaches that specialize in strong offense as well. It’s crazy how players that can shoot, come to the magic and suddenly become non factors shooting wise.
I think the best move for the magic is to try a trade for a 20 pt scorer in the 15-20 million range and keep Suggs until trade deadline at minimum and see how he performs before making any trade. Last season he looked like he could have easily become a 17-20 pt scorer when his 3 started to drop but then he got injured. I think a healthy Suggs combined with a cam Johnson(if u play him SG)Anfernee Simons etc is a damn good back court. A back court like that combined with a healthy and improving Franz and Paolo would mean disaster for the eastern conference. Or if that backcourt does not work out by trade deadline, you got Suggs ready to go as a big trade piece to get that real 3pt shooting/playmaking PG.
If they gonna spend 40 million a yr on a player I'll spend it on lamelo before I pay garland that much money
Need a C more than a PG
Lmaooooooo i hate the logic of this fan base. If we can get Garland for suggs you do it. Suggs stays injured
We need to take a page out of the thunders playbook. Look how the roster is built almost half of their team is draft picks. We need a consistent Center to be a threat down low and get rebounds. And we need everybody that's on the bench and on the floor to be able to shoot three-pointers. And play solid defense. We don't need to mortgage our future when our bench still can't make threes or defend at a high level. We need to see who makes it to finals and build a team that can defeat them. We cant sit on our hands. Id rather they get a a bunch of 12 mil 3&D guys then 1 40 million guy. With a traditional point guard playmaker Jalen Suggs continuing on how good he was doing this season. An overhaul the entire bench. Garland and Ball have injury history. Anfernee simons is too expensive for our cap limitations. Sexton white ty Jerome. We need to pluck players on the rise. Players who have had a breakout season but are still affordable and we can pay them more as the years go on and the salary cap increases.
These Suggs hypotheticals have to stop it’s so freaking ridiculous. The Magic CANNOT WIN WITHOUT WHAT HE BRINGS. Suggs is better than smart ever was bc he doesn’t take the dumb shots, and make the dumb decisions Marcus used to.
Garland is a better player but just as injury prone as Suggs..
Why wouldn’t we trade Franz? It seems he and Palo occupy the same space on the floor and his sub 30 % 3 point shooting ( with volume by the way) makes him expendable. Also blaming the bench for all the magics problems is a bit of a cheep shot. Outside of AB I don’t think a one of them knew what there roll was.
Suggs is injury prone though we can’t run it back if Suggs doesn’t stay healthy.
Imagine not trading for a 2X all star point guard because you want to keep a 3 and D wing player. 😂
We need as Magic fans to stop talking about trading any of our top 3 players Paolo, Franz and Jalen! Everyone else is up for discussion even AB. But let’s not go 3 steps backwards just for a fancy name.🤔🤷🏼♂️