2 players Magic must avoid signing in 2024 NBA free agency
06/29/2024 11:30 PM
With free agency rapidly approaching, the Orlando Magic find themselves with money burning a hole in their pocket and a concerted desire to get better after being one of the true feel-good stories of the 2023-24 NBA season.
If they make the right moves, fans could be looking at the fresh new contender in the East, with the potential to remain in contention long after the Boston Celtics have to break up their championship core, but if they screw it up and commit money to players who fail to live up to expectations, well, fans could be looking at a ton of wasted potential and what-could-have-beens, which, considering the history of the Magic, would be a bitter pill to swallow.
While no one knows for sure what the right moves to make are for the Magic, if Orlando is wise, they will strongly consider not making these moves, as these forwards may prove to be mistakes for a team that can’t afford to take unnecessary risks.
Two players the Orlando Magic should avoid in free agency.
2. DeMar DeRozan
As one of the few teams in the NBA with max contract cap space, the Magic have a chance to sign the bell of the free agent ball in Paul George, the 6-foot-8, 220-pound Indiana Pacers draftee who has made it to nine All-Star games, onto six All-NBA seasons, and a slew of other accolades that ranks from All-Defensive teams to a Most Improved Player win.
If the Magic are able to pull off the deal, it will go down as one of the greatest free agent signing in franchise history, as even now, George is one of the best two-way wings in the NBA with the potential to elevate any team that signs him even if he is approaching the end of his prime. Play him at the four between Fritz Wagner and Pauo Bancaro, play him in the backcourt next to Jonathan Issac and as Jalen Suggs, or even just keep him at his natural small forward spot, no matter how head coach Jamahl Mosley decides to deploy George, he would unquestionably elevate the team’s ceiling into the future and serve as a focal point of an offense that could seriously use the help.
If the Magic don’t land George, however, conventional wisdom may suggest that Orlando should target the next best wing in someone like DeMar DeRozan, but frankly, that feels like a mistake, as all volume-scoring wings aren’t the same.
On paper, there’s a lot to like about DeRozan; he’s a clutch scorer who ranks 31st overall in NBA history in points scored and has a serious desire to win the big one as his career approaches its end. And yet, because he doesn’t shoot 3s well and doesn’t even want to shoot 3s, a team sort of has to build their offense around his unique playing style if they want him to be a Top-3 player or hope that he’s down to play a sixth man role after spending the entirety of his professional career as an offensive focal point.
Could it work? It’s certainly kept the Bulls in the playoff picture even if they have never finished higher than sixth since DeRozan landed with the team, but considering the Magic aren’t exactly loaded with the sort of 3-point specialists who can complement the USC product as he drives to the basket, there are certainly better options on the open market and available via trade.
1. Tobias Harris
Alright, so if the Magic don’t want to sign DeRozan but still want a bigger wing who can score in free agency, they should probably turn to their former friend Tobias Harris, who played for the team from 2013-16, right?
Well, if Orlando wants a player who picks up close to 18 points and 6.6 rebounds a game, then yeah, Harris is a solid enough option if he isn’t playing on a five-year, $180 million contract, but if the Magic are explicitly looking for a player like George who can take over a clutch possession, quarter, or even a game when it matters most, they should probably look elsewhere, as the former Philadelphia 76ers player just isn’t it.
Initially landing in Philadelphia at the 2019 trade deadline, Harris was supposed to serve as a sharpshooting four-man between Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid, but when the former left in free agency, he was tasked with becoming the final member of the team’s Big 3, filling up the offensive stats sheet to hide Ben Simmons deficiencies while holding up on defense against multiple different positions depending on who the now-Nets forward was guarding.
Instead, the Sixers found themselves with an incredibly overpriced roleplayer who always seemed to underwhelm when the team needed him most and was leapfrogged by Tyrese Maxey as the team’s long-term star next to Embiid by his second season.
If the Magic can sign Harris for something like four for $80 million, then yeah, they absolutely should, as he can help the team as a role player, but if they instead want him to serve as an offensive focal point worthy of changing up the team’s offensive identity, then they would be better off trading for Lauri Markkanen, as he fills that role so much better.
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