Magic Q&A

[itnas123]

Who do you expect to have a good breakout season for next year

[shorty]

May 25, 2014 5:01:21 GMT itnas123 said:

Who do you expect to have a good breakout season for next year

44. Definitely Jennings. His season averages aren't too great right now due to various roles and backup positions, but he'll be full time starter next season and be featured heavily. 

[malice]

Again... we face off. I think I'm yet to beat you in a playoff series (I think this is the third time we've met?)... tell me 4 things that will happen in this first round match-up of the only two teams in the league to make the playoffs EVERY season.

[shorty]

May 25, 2014 9:50:26 GMT malice said:

Again... we face off. I think I'm yet to beat you in a playoff series (I think this is the third time we've met?)... tell me 4 things that will happen in this first round match-up of the only two teams in the league to make the playoffs EVERY season.

1. The Pacers will be more cohesive than the newly regrouped Magic, and that will show in this series
2. Rebounding will be key since neither team is superb offensively, and both are great defensively. Whoever can dominate the boards and give themselves extra opportunities to shoot the ball will win the close games.
3. Ron Artest will once again be the deciding player in Indianapolis. If he plays well, slows down Pietrus, and doesn't shoot 9/25, then Magic will have a good shot to win. If not, Pacers might upset
4. Tony Parker will have a great series over 2nd year player Brandon Jennings


#45

[bloop]

On paper, do you like your team heading into next season?

[somerandomguy]

you can go back about 2 days, you get offered the same deal the Lakers gave (or you gave them) for Deng + all the other stuff that was in that trade. Do you agree to the trade knowing what happens after the deal is made?

[shorty]

May 26, 2014 8:25:31 GMT somerandomguy said:

you can go back about 2 days, you get offered the same deal the Lakers gave (or you gave them) for Deng + all the other stuff that was in that trade. Do you agree to the trade knowing what happens after the deal is made?

46. Tbh if I had hte power of hindsight back then, I probably would have kept the pick, kept the core, and traded Brandon Jennings to the Hawks. An entire season's of work was just tossed away for a future building project that didn't pan out. The two injuries to Marion and Cedric (who were technically two starters for us for 90% of the season) didn't help, but that pick turning into Damien Lillard and it sucks to know that.

[shorty]

May 26, 2014 5:52:09 GMT bloop said:

On paper, do you like your team heading into next season?

47. We are all over the place right now in terms of salaries, age, and title window. The team isn't in optimal shape right now and we will have to do some work to fix that. 

[BrazilianDude]

I love me some love. Do you think you have up too much?

[shorty]

May 29, 2014 17:21:54 GMT BrazilianDude said:

I love me some love. Do you think you have up too much?

48. WEll it's like what me madre told me, "love makes the world go around" (or something like that.. I dk lol). So we do not in fact have too much  young love on our squad. 

[tyfreak]

After the recent youth movement, do you see the Magic competing this season?

[shorty]

May 30, 2014 1:26:52 GMT tyfreak said:

After the recent youth movement, do you see the Magic competing this season?

49. Well, we certainly aren't done making moves, so I would say that we can still compete and win 50+ games if we maximize our DC. We lost some quality veterans in Deng, Simmons, and Artest, and that loss will not be easy to replace. All three of those players have been a part of many successful campaigns (including meeting up in the 2008 Finals), and they are all seasoned and proven playoff winners. It won't be easy to replace them, but at the very least we should be able to make the playoffs, and hopefully we can catch on fire if the FBB gods are kind to us. We still have Shawn Marion who is a seasoned vet as well, but he hasn't played in the playoffs in two seasons now so we don't expect him to help us out evne if he does play. 

[bloop]

Why love out of the other young potential stars you could be pursued?

[mrclubz]

It must have been a heart breaker losing Steve Francis then losing out on Lillard which you could have picked with the Pistons 1st but you ended up trading it. How can your team recover from that lost?

[shorty]

May 30, 2014 14:31:28 GMT mrclubz said:

It must have been a heart breaker losing Steve Francis then losing out on Lillard which you could have picked with the Pistons 1st but you ended up trading it. How can your team recover from that lost?

Well, in a way we already have. We would've had to move on from Francis either way because the guy isn't going to be around forever, and we managed to get Luol Deng in return who helped us get Kevin Love. Lillard will be a great player in this league, but we now have players who are still young, but aren't unpolished rookies. It's a good core going forward and we'll probably still continue to make moves to get even better. 

[shorty]

May 30, 2014 13:15:56 GMT bloop said:

Why love out of the other young potential stars you could be pursued?

51. It was simply what was available to me. Love is a great player, and he has a bright future ahead of him. Knicks showed the most interest out of everyone, and they happened to have the right players that I needed as well. Knicks offered a package that was young, uncamped, alot of rebounding, and players who will fit an offense suited for Brandon Jennings. It was a good fit, and so I pulled the trigger. Undoubtedly there are other young stars to pursue, but those teams either weren't willing to give up on them, or they didn't have the pieces/salary needed to get a deal done. 

[somerandomguy]

you must have different expectations between the team you now have after the Knicks deal and before when you were trying to compete in the playoffs with Ron Artest. What is your vision for this team now as opposed to before?

[shorty]

May 31, 2014 10:11:52 GMT somerandomguy said:

you must have different expectations between the team you now have after the Knicks deal and before when you were trying to compete in the playoffs with Ron Artest. What is your vision for this team now as opposed to before?

52. In terms of expectations, they are definitely lowered, however it's not necessary in a bad way. Before with a more veteran, and championship ready squad, the expectation was to win now, and after the trade, we want to transition into an outside-oriented team and understand that winning a championship is not the #1 priority for this season. We still expect to win, make the playoffs, but it won't seem like the end of the world if we lose in the 2nd round. I wouldn't count ourselves out either, but it's a nice feeling to not have our backs against the wall due to conerns about age, and stuff

[malice]

You state that your expectations are lowered - what kind of time-frame are we looking at for a return to the very, very top?

[shorty]

Jun 1, 2014 3:18:40 GMT malice said:

You state that your expectations are lowered - what kind of time-frame are we looking at for a return to the very, very top?

53. Two season, give or take one. It would take Brandon Jennings stepping up, continued improvements in Kevin Love, or acquisition of another impact player to put us there. The two ways to achieve that is by trading or development. 

[itnas123]

With the Bobcats starting PG out for 90 days do you elect your team to become the best in the East?

[shorty]

Jun 2, 2014 5:41:40 GMT itnas123 said:

With the Bobcats starting PG out for 90 days do you elect your team to become the best in the East?

There are several good teams in the East, and we are still trying to find our identity down in Orlando. Being the best, will not be easy. As for us, I wouldn't call us the best. It's a loose term anyway, and I wouldn't use "best" unless there's indisputable evidence supporting it.