With the Orlando Magic in “win now” mode, the Lakers would be wise to capitalize on the situation
With reports recently surfacing that the Magic were finalizing a deal to send Tobias Harris to the Detroit Pistons for Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova, it appeared that Orlando had decided to blow up yet another team.
The trade became that much more confusing when you considered just how high the Magic were on Harris only an off season ago when they re-signed him to a 4-year, $64 million contract. So what’s changed since then?
Harris’ numbers have dipped considerably since signing the contract but if the Magic were truly looking to clear the books, Jennings and Ilyasova shouldn’t have been considered prime candidates for the job. Owed $24 million for 3 years and $40 million for 5 years respectively, it appeared as if the Magic had made a terrible mistake.
However, looking deeper at the facts, contrarily, it now appears that the Magic’s management has finally caved to the “internal pressure to make playoffs,” quickly shifting focus, looking to add veterans to help them win now.
Pistons finalizing deal to send Tobias Harris from Magic for Brandon Jennings & Ersan Ilyasova, source told Yahoo. @MikeAScotto reported 1st
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 16, 2016
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Glancing at Orlando’s current roster, the team truly does lack veteran presence, as they only have two players over the age of 30 in C.J. Watson and Channing Frye, with the remaining 12 of their 13 players under the age of 26.
No disrespect, but seeing how the Magic view Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova as the answer to their veteran needs, maybe they’d be foolish enough to take Brandon Bass or Lou Williams off the Lakers’ hands to help their playoff aspirations.
Sitting at 23-29, 11th in the Eastern Conference, the Magic aren’t unrealistically far off from clinching the coveted eighth seed. With that in mind, the Lakers would be wise to, at the very least, give Rob Hennigan and the Magic a call to see if they want anything that LA has.
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