Orlando Magic Supporter Clan - Dunk contest winners not welcome

Sep 21, 2011
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THE NEW ERA IS HERE!

Our nucleus going forward consists of:

PHX, BoshtrichBurger, Juggalo Balla, Chops18,The_Answer3, Borgsta, CrowAboutIt, PyroCrow, flaps, LUKOZADE, darkwingduck, lions_den, matty_hawk, beez, Golden G, Omega Blue, Blackas87, lanky_wes, Wojcinski, tige19, Jimmy_the_Gent, Sw3Et, Highly Evolved, PAFCsince1870, Mitchemx, bootsmalicious, Scythe94, ekel92, Cleavy
---

And to honour one of the best ever Magic poster to ever grace this board, the one and only,

jj-redick-magic-krtphotoslive409092-SPORTS-BKN-NUGG.jpg

WALL-e!
This is a new beginning, and this is going to be a long journey back to relevancy, but this will be so SO satisfying once we get back to the top!

SO THIS THREAD IS FOR OUR TEAM, OUR CLUB, OUR SUPPORTERS, AND OUR POSTERS TO TALK EVERYTHING MAGIC!
 
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Present and proud to be named beside Niiiiiiiiiikolaa.

It's only talk but the Oladipo chat with Battier is great.


He is going to be a superstar. Love his attitude, work ethic, and everything about him now!

At first I was skeptical, but watching more footage of him has convinced me that he's something special in what is considered a 'weak' draft. ONWARDS AND UPWARDS! :)
 
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Yehh boii. Very happy to be Jameer cheers bosh :D. Lets hope I can just continue my crazy starts throughout the entire game this coming season.

Do you guys think we'll be able to get JJ back?
JJ will probs won't come back whilst we are in rebuild mode. Maybe in his latter years.
 

PyroCrow

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Dequan? Really BoshtrichBurger? :mad: :p

Really, really happy with this pick. Victor is a super high character guy who is going to help lay the foundation for culture of this organisation for the next decade! The dude is going to shame gym rats like Tobes and Mo into working even harder. He went to the gym so much last off season that he actually wore out the strip on his membership card from all the times he swiped it. If he continues to work on his left sided handles and and jump shot he could be great 3rd offensive option on a championship contending team and possible All-Star (which would be a good result from a less than stellar draft class). Even if he doesn't progress much at all he will be very similar to Tony Allen which is a pretty awesome basement potential-wise. All it stands me have just picked up a perennial All-NBA Defensive 1st team guard!

Random awesomeness:


Side note: The magic staff made him sing as part of the interview which I thought was kind of funny





I hope that we wait till the deadline to trade Afflalo so that he can mentor Oli. He had a very similar start to his career as a defensive stopper and Oli could learn heaps from him in terms of how to develop a versatile offensive game.

The great Wiggins-tank begins this season and even some of the consolation prizes like Parker et al. have franchise cornerstone potential so hopefully we can get in the lottery again. Henny and the rest of organisation are really high on Smart so if we could somehow swing another pick to get both he and Wiggins then we've got a stew brewing.

Also Osby could be interesting if he makes the roster (assuming Jones gets cut which is likely). He has a great mid range and post up game in addition to a surprising amount of athleticism
(e.g. ).

His handles are better than advertised, he played point-forward as junior but has been forced to play down low to help the team out (which might have hidden his ability to play the 3 a little bit). Another culture player (great work ethic and family man) who also has enough game to be a role player much like O'Quinn last year.



Super stoked with the draft and I'm really looking forward to seeing the young guys grow this year.

STRAP IN!!!
 
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I'll update the OP with new players associated with your names if they get traded/waived, so don't worry. :p

The more I think about it, the more I love our selection of Oli. He just oozes leadership for a young man, and that will be a culture changer for sure. Massive man love going on (slight homo) :D

I'm not too familiar with Osby, seeing as I thought we'd target a project point guard in Kabongo or Young or even Phil Pressey. Osby for some reason looks like a guy we might send to the D-League a lot and potentially cut him. Harsh, but I think that'll happen. More than happy to be proven wrong though!

In terms of trading Afflalo, I'm more than happy to trade him before the deadline, but I'd be more happy to trade him from the get-go so that Oli can start straight away.

Finally, in terms of the Wiggins/Parker sweepstakes, what would that mean for a guy like Harkless on our team if we do land one of the two aforementioned? I know it's ages away, it's just my curiosity kicking in as I don't want us to deal Harkless at all.
 

Chops18

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He is going to be a superstar. Love his attitude, work ethic, and everything about him now!

At first I was skeptical, but watching more footage of him has convinced me that he's something special in what is considered a 'weak' draft. ONWARDS AND UPWARDS! :)


First thing i did when i saw we drafted him was hit up YouTube and i was convinced it was a good pick seeing the scouting reports. I can't wait for the season to start it's going to be a exciting season to see the youth develop and play fun basketball.

If Jameer and Baby can stay fit we can sneak into a playoffs spot i believe.
 
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First thing i did when i saw we drafted him was hit up YouTube and i was convinced it was a good pick seeing the scouting reports. I can't wait for the season to start it's going to be a exciting season to see the youth develop and play fun basketball.

If Jameer and Baby can stay fit we can sneak into a playoffs spot i believe.
Win win situation if we win or lose this upcoming season. :)
 

Chops18

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I'll update the OP with new players associated with your names if they get traded/waived, so don't worry. :p

The more I think about it, the more I love our selection of Oli. He just oozes leadership for a young man, and that will be a culture changer for sure. Massive man love going on (slight homo) :D

I'm not too familiar with Osby, seeing as I thought we'd target a project point guard in Kabongo or Young or even Phil Pressey. Osby for some reason looks like a guy we might send to the D-League a lot and potentially cut him. Harsh, but I think that'll happen. More than happy to be proven wrong though!

In terms of trading Afflalo, I'm more than happy to trade him before the deadline, but I'd be more happy to trade him from the get-go so that Oli can start straight away.

Finally, in terms of the Wiggins/Parker sweepstakes, what would that mean for a guy like Harkless on our team if we do land one of the two aforementioned? I know it's ages away, it's just my curiosity kicking in as I don't want us to deal Harkless at all.


I would of thought that we would look at point guard but that suggests to me that Afflalo for Bledsoe is looking more likely and i would be happy with that.

On Harkless I'm with you i.rather not see him go he's probably our best defensive weapon and he's improving his offensive output. With Tobias in the side would it be worth playing Hark at the two ?
 
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I would of thought that we would look at point guard but that suggests to me that Afflalo for Bledsoe is looking more likely and i would be happy with that.

On Harkless I'm with you i.rather not see him go he's probably our best defensive weapon and he's improving his offensive output. With Tobias in the side would it be worth playing Hark at the two ?
Victor will be our 2-guard, so that scenario is out of the window in my opinion.

And Tobias is a stretch four in my books, with the occasional play at the three
 

Chops18

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Victor will be our 2-guard, so that scenario is out of the window in my opinion.

And Tobias is a stretch four in my books, with the occasional play at the three


Good call. Tobias is more then capable playing at the 4 he played the majority of his time there when we got him. Will be interesting to see how Nicholson gets used but i wouldn't be surprised to see him traded.
 
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Good call. Tobias is more then capable playing at the 4 he played the majority of his time there when we got him. Will be interesting to see how Nicholson gets used but i wouldn't be surprised to see him traded.
He's expendable, but his production from my point of view is greater as a bench scorer. He can score in a flurry but his defense is less than average. If we have to part with him and Afflalo for Bledsoe and another player, then so be it. But I wouldn't be giving up a first rounder next year or the year after with Nicholson and AA, like what the media have rumoured over the past few days.
 

PyroCrow

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I'll update the OP with new players associated with your names if they get traded/waived, so don't worry. :p

It was a joke. Chill;)



The more I think about it, the more I love our selection of Oli. He just oozes leadership for a young man, and that will be a culture changer for sure. Massive man love going on (slight homo) :D

Yeah this whole recruiting system from Henny just screams Spurs to me. We have a massive focus on culture now and well as education which I really like (most of our players have at least 2 years of college basketball). Oli will hopefully become our cultural lynch pin similar to Duncan's role in SA (even though he has no where near the talent).

I'm not too familiar with Osby, seeing as I thought we'd target a project point guard in Kabongo or Young or even Phil Pressey. Osby for some reason looks like a guy we might send to the D-League a lot and potentially cut him. Harsh, but I think that'll happen. More than happy to be proven wrong though!

I though the same about O'Quinn last year but he proved me wrong and he has found a niche in our team. I was also into Kabongo but the fact that he has no left hand may have played into it. Hopefully we give him, Dedmon and some others a shot with our summer league team.

In terms of trading Afflalo, I'm more than happy to trade him before the deadline, but I'd be more happy to trade him from the get-go so that Oli can start straight away.

I too would like Oli to start from the get go but I feel that it might be better for his development if he comes into that role more towards the mid-way point. Vaughn will make sure that he gets minutes, don't worry about it. Apart from the mentor stuff I mentioned I feel that Afflalo offers a lot as a trade chip and we could get significantly more for him than we might get from the proposed Bledsoe deal for example. He is on a good contract and in his prime so I feel that he could help us get another 1st rounder for the draft if we wait until the pressure is highest near the deadline.

Finally, in terms of the Wiggins/Parker sweepstakes, what would that mean for a guy like Harkless on our team if we do land one of the two aforementioned? I know it's ages away, it's just my curiosity kicking in as I don't want us to deal Harkless at all.

If it's a choice between Harkless and a high chance at Wiggins you go with Wiggins everyday of the week and twice on Sundays. I love Harkless but he isn't the once in a generation prospect that Wiggins is. It's like comparing someone like Paul George to Lebron, George is an amazing player but Lebron is Lebron. TBH I don't think Harkless is the one that you would have to worry about, Tobes to me seems like the much more appealing trade chip if it came to that. I have faith that we can get the number 1 pick through the normal lottery process (considering that we'll still suck next year) but I really hope we can also get something in the 5-10 range so that we snag Smart as our PG of the future.

Next year is the one year that you really don't want to scrape into the playoffs, trust me.
 

PyroCrow

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I would of thought that we would look at point guard but that suggests to me that Afflalo for Bledsoe is looking more likely and i would be happy with that.

Bledsoe is a great player but he will need a really good ball handling 2 along side him if he wants to succeed as a starter (which he won't get here). His turnovers have improved but they are still bad and he lacks natural point guard instincts. He could be Westbrook-lite but to me that doesn't lead us to a championship.

On Harkless I'm with you i.rather not see him go he's probably our best defensive weapon and he's improving his offensive output. With Tobias in the side would it be worth playing Hark at the two ?

If Hark can continue his development as a perimeter threat I could definitely see that working out. George started his apprenticeship playing the 2 next to Granger and that was perfect for his development. Tobes and Harkless are both natural 3's but have the flexibility to play at least 2 positions, it's a good problem to have.
 
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It was a joke. Chill;)
I know, hence the tonguey emoticon. :p
Yeah this whole recruiting system from Henny just screams Spurs to me. We have a massive focus on culture now and well as education which I really like (most of our players have at least 2 years of college basketball). Oli will hopefully become our cultural lynch pin similar to Duncan's role in SA (even though he has no where near the talent).

Agree whole heartedly. His decisions so far have been to the benefit of us, and I love his confidence as well in making decisions for the future, like the fact that he said the draftee we select will have to be on the opening day roster, which basically ruled out our involvement in drafting any injured prospects in Noel and so on.
I though the same about O'Quinn last year but he proved me wrong and he has found a niche in our team. I was also into Kabongo but the fact that he has no left hand may have played into it. Hopefully we give him, Dedmon and some others a shot with our summer league team.
O'Quinn definitely was a great story, even DeQuan Jones. But Osby reminds me so much of the Stanley Robinson pick, in that we waived him almost immediatly, even though Robinson was an athletic freak! Again, hope I'm proven wrong on this! :)
I too would like Oli to start from the get go but I feel that it might be better for his development if he comes into that role more towards the mid-way point. Vaughn will make sure that he gets minutes, don't worry about it. Apart from the mentor stuff I mentioned I feel that Afflalo offers a lot as a trade chip and we could get significantly more for him than we might get from the proposed Bledsoe deal for example. He is on a good contract and in his prime so I feel that he could help us get another 1st rounder for the draft if we wait until the pressure is highest near the deadline.
True, guess it wouldn't hurt for him to adapt to the 'A through coming off the bench. If we trade AA, then I hope he plays well so his trade stock is high! :D
If it's a choice between Harkless and a high chance at Wiggins you go with Wiggins everyday of the week and twice on Sundays. I love Harkless but he isn't the once in a generation prospect that Wiggins is. It's like comparing someone like Paul George to Lebron, George is an amazing player but Lebron is Lebron. TBH I don't think Harkless is the one that you would have to worry about, Tobes to me seems like the much more appealing trade chip if it came to that. I have faith that we can get the number 1 pick through the normal lottery process (considering that we'll still suck next year) but I really hope we can also get something in the 5-10 range so that we snag Smart as our PG of the future.

Next year is the one year that you really don't want to scrape into the playoffs, trust me.
Totally agree, but keep in mind I'm commenting with my heart and not my head sometimes, haha. One of Wiggins/Parker/Smart or even Exum would be just awesome! Would basically complete our nucleus and really put us in good stead for a successful period, hopefully! :D

If it was us to trade one of Harkless or Harris, I reckon we go Harris as well, seeing as though he is sort of a defensive liability at times. Still plenty of time until we get to that bridge I guess!
 

PyroCrow

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He's expendable, but his production from my point of view is greater as a bench scorer. He can score in a flurry but his defense is less than average. If we have to part with him and Afflalo for Bledsoe and another player, then so be it. But I wouldn't be giving up a first rounder next year or the year after with Nicholson and AA, like what the media have rumoured over the past few days.


Bledsoe per numbers are ridiculous but he is significantly lacking in typical point guard skills. I'm mean shot blocking is great but it's not what you want out of your point guard. An Oli and Bledsoe backcourt would be great defensively but they would struggle to score enough to keep opposing defenses honest. Nicholson is also a great role player statistically who will be on a good salary for a couple more years so I would be extremely hesitant to include him in any deal. If it's just AA then yes, hopefully we then flip Bledsoe at the deadline rather than giving him an extension for $7-8 mill per season, but otherwise it is a bad deal and we should walk away.
 
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Bledsoe per numbers are ridiculous but he is significantly lacking in typical point guard skills. I'm mean shot blocking is great but it's not what you want out of your point guard. An Oli and Bledsoe backcourt would be great defensively but they would struggle to score enough to keep opposing defenses honest. Nicholson is also a great role player statistically who will be on a good salary for a couple more years so I would be extremely hesitant to include him in any deal. If it's just AA then yes, hopefully we then flip Bledsoe at the deadline rather than giving him an extension for $7-8 mill per season, but otherwise it is a bad deal and we should walk away.
Bledsoe when he started wasn't as impressive as I thought he'd be. A poor man's Westbrook in that he stuffs the stat sheet, but like you said not your typical point guard.

What we need from next year onwards is a scoring player, and someone like Marcus Smart would just fit like a glove if we can't nab Wiggins/Parker (Parker may stay in college for more than one year)
 

PyroCrow

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O'Quinn definitely was a great story, even DeQuan Jones. But Osby reminds me so much of the Stanley Robinson pick, in that we waived him almost immediatly, even though Robinson was an athletic freak! Again, hope I'm proven wrong on this! :)

Harsh. Robinson was an Otis pick and we all know how much work he put into the draft process...none.

Osby has actually college pedigree and enough skill in his game to offer something as a role player. I'm not saying that he'll make the roster but I think that he'll really have a really good chance and if he does he could have an O'Quin-like impact. My prediction is that he takes Jones' spot on the roster with us taking one of our summer league PG's to fill out the roster spot left by Moore or Udrih.

Totally agree, but keep in mind I'm commenting with my heart and not my head sometimes, haha. One of Wiggins/Parker/Smart or even Exum would be just awesome! Would basically complete our nucleus and really put us in good stead for a successful period, hopefully! :D
Totally forgot about Exum! Can't wait for the Australian-Manu to reek havoc in the league :D

If it was us to trade one of Harkless or Harris, I reckon we go Harris as well, seeing as though he is sort of a defensive liability at times. Still plenty of time until we get to that bridge I guess!

Yeah I think it's sort of a race between these two as to which can improve on the opposite end of the floor quicker. Harkless needs to develop offensively and Harris defensively. Fun times!
 

PyroCrow

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Bledsoe when he started wasn't as impressive as I thought he'd be. A poor man's Westbrook in that he stuffs the stat sheet, but like you said not your typical point guard.

What we need from next year onwards is a scoring player, and someone like Marcus Smart would just fit like a glove if we can't nab Wiggins/Parker (Parker may stay in college for more than one year)

They don't need to score but they do need to be a true point. Smart scores because he has to but his game is so well rounded that he can kill you in other areas if he isn't scoring. He dictates the tempo of the game to a level I have only seen matched by Wall in recent years. What I love about him most is that he is a floor general, he makes everyone around him better and knows when to affect the game and how. Another high character guy who would fit perfectly into our culture. He isn't a cornerstone like Wiggins or Parker but he would be a great 2nd option on a contending team.
 
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Harsh. Robinson was an Otis pick and we all know how much work he put into the draft process...none.

Osby has actually college pedigree and enough skill in his game to offer something as a role player. I'm not saying that he'll make the roster but I think that he'll really have a really good chance and if he does he could have an O'Quin-like impact. My prediction is that he takes Jones' spot on the roster with us taking one of our summer league PG's to fill out the roster spot left by Moore or Udrih.
I'm skeptical on Osby, but I'll look forward to seeing what he does in Summer League. Hopefully my doubts are somewhat dispelled by then. :p

Totally forgot about Exum! Can't wait for the Australian-Manu to reek havoc in the league :D
Would love to know what college he'll attend... Hopefully it's one that will help improve his game with off-the-ball play as well as PG play! :D

Yeah I think it's sort of a race between these two as to which can improve on the opposite end of the floor quicker. Harkless needs to develop offensively and Harris defensively. Fun times!
I have a s**t tonne of faith in Harkless' offensive ability. He showed a lot in terms of scoring potential last season and it's gotten me very excited!

They don't need to score but they do need to be a true point. Smart scores because he has to but his game is so well rounded that he can kill you in other areas if he isn't scoring. He dictates the tempo of the game to a level I have only seen matched by Wall in recent years. What I love about him most is that he is a floor general, he makes everyone around him better and knows when to affect the game and how. Another high character guy who would fit perfectly into our culture. He isn't a cornerstone like Wiggins or Parker but he would be a great 2nd option on a contending team.

You've got me interested and curious... Say if Smart entered the draft this year, would we've considered picking him with Pick 2?[/quote]
 

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You've got me interested and curious... Say if Smart entered the draft this year, would we've considered picking him with Pick 2?

I have no doubt that they would have taken him with 2. Like I said he is an extremely high character player and a pure point with great size and skill. If he had more speed he would have been compared to Wall (having said that he is still has above average speed). His shot selection and turnover numbers are a function of his demanding role in the team (similar to Lillard at Weber State), with better team mates these numbers will improve. He can do everything you need at both ends of the floor but above all else he is a level headed leader which is what you need from the PG position above all else. I kind of hope he has a bad season next year just so that we can pick him up outside the top 5. This is the guy that I want to lead our team from the point in the post-Meer era.

A couple of highlights to wet your palette (though watching him in a full game is much more impressive):




 
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