After a surprisingly hot start for the Orlando Magic in which they won 8 of their first 12 games, the team has returned to their losing ways of recent years, posting a pedestrian 4-27 mark since then. The Magic roster is flawed in various places and with the trade deadline approaching rapidly, we can expect them to be one of the more active teams on the market.
According to NY Times’ Marc Stein, the Magic have a plethora of young guards they’re willing to unload, including the likes of point guard Elfrid Payton and wings Evan Fournier and Mario Hezonja:
Rival executives expect Jeff Weltman, Orlando’s new team president, to aggressively hunt for new homes for the likes of Evan Fournier, Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja, given that Nikola Vucevic’s broken finger is likely to preclude dealing the center.
Stein added that the only thing hindering the availability of Nikola Vucevic is an injury, which is interesting considering he’s been one of their most productive pieces for years now. The same thing could be said for Payton, Fournier, and Hezonja as all three have been prevalent cogs in Orlando’s muddied rotation.
Every member of this trio of names being discussed holds some decent value on the trade market, making it clear that a rebuild is in the cards for this second to last place Orlando Magic club. Payton and Fournier are both averaging career-high points this season, with the former also doing the same thing with his assist numbers.
Elfrid Payton has done a solid job trying to run this pedestrian Orlando offense but his scoring and shooting stroke remain a glaring issue and could drastically decrease his trade interest. As for Hezonja, the 3rd-year wing hasn’t panned out as expected after he was drafted 5th overall by the Magic in the 2015 NBA Draft. This will be his third consecutive season averaging less than 7 points and 20 minutes per game, likely making him the most expendable of the three.
With the trade deadline now less than a month away, we should expect discussions to begin gaining some serious steam, especially with the Magic seemingly desperate for any sort of shakeup.
