Orlando Magic HQ Podcast – Ep. 182 – “Reinforcements“

Orlando Magic HQ Podcast – Ep. 182 – “Reinforcements“

Live from Orlando Florida you’re listening to the Orlando Magic HQ podcast the voice of magic fans join us every week for a unique fan perspective on all of the latest Magic news and updates the show starts now what’s up magic fans welcome back to another episode of the Orlando Magic HQ

Podcast brought to you by the believe podcast Network and bet online where your host Al myself Anthony today is Friday January 12th and we’re taking on the Miami Heat tonight and in today’s episode we’re going talking about the return of Marquel folz is wend Carter Jr

A player to monitor as we get closer to the NBA trade deadline and is Malcolm Brogden um on the magic radar but before we get into all of that just a quick word from our sponsors bet online with NFL playoffs right around the corner and the NBA season in full swing batt line

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To use promo code believe B A V to receive your 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit bet online where the game starts um just a quick little reminder before we fully jump into the episode we do have our Instagram subscription option um this is a a platform that we

Just created recently that uh replaced our patreon service we just had our first um Q&A Roundtable uh live uh that we did this past week where we were able to to talk Hoops um in person with some of our uh subscribers and we we’re talking Magic Basketball literally all day long every

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Go into our Instagram page Orlando Magic HQ and sign up man let’s let’s talk Magic basketball um Al the week in review so the last three games since we recorded our last podcast we had a an a a major win against the Denver Nuggets 122 to 120 uh we ended up finally

Getting back at the Atlanta Hawks and and getting a win there 117 to 110 um and then an unfortunate ass beating by the Minnesota Timberwolves uh 113 to 92 just a quick summary from you Al when you think back of this last week uh what are some major things that kind of stood

Out to you uh with the magic um the first thing has got to be shooting right so you look at both games Denver and Atlanta 17 three-pointers made for the Magic in those two games we ended up winning those games um and it’s just funny man you think about the

Number of injuries that we’re dealing with France being out Wendell being out ji being out and yet we find a way to go into Denver on the last day of a 4 game Road Trip uh West Coast road trip and you find a way to beat the NBA champs

That was an impressive impressive win I cannot think of a better game honestly like a more surprising outcome I guess than when we went to LA a few years back with Marquel healthy BJ Johnson and those guys and we ended off pulling off that game so a very very impressive win

By the Magic in that game against the Nuggets um and then the Hawks to your point they’ve had our number the last uh maybe year or so where every game we’re leading by double digits they come back and in the last minute they steal the game from us De John Murray has done

Multiple times for us hitting the big buckets so I was afraid coming down into the wire with that game and thinking he’s going to do it again thankfully though the magic were able to put it away um paoan Caro man being the leader being the allstar that he is going to be

Here next month put it away for us so impressive outcome I think back to last week both of us were kind of negative we were like hey so many injuries I think you said 0 and three I think I might have said one and two surprisingly

Enough the magic went two and one so we got to be really pleased with the outcome um as we’ll talk about later things get hotter in the week ahead but uh impressive outcome considering the injuries we need to get any win that we can in this month such a tough schedule

And the way I’m seeing it man 12 days into the month we’ve won two games keep finding a way to keep chipping atting winning maybe a few more um and after that hopefully we’re healthy but shooting man that was a key thing for me when we shoot the ball well Paulo looks

Incredible and the team win wins games what about you what was your takea away from this past week I I think really the the fight um against Denver and Atlanta you know good teams find a way to win no matter what it is that they’re going through uh injuries circumstances

Adversity the magic are seeing that now um injuries is is a a problem plague that we continue to go through season after season after season and we have choices we can either you know blame our season on the injuries and just continue to let it uh get away from us or we do

Something about it now the great things um or the the fortunate things now is that we have people that allows us to be able to do that Paulo banero is playing out of his mind jayen Suggs is stepping up um so without fron um who is somebody

That we rely a lot of our game on um outside of apulo the magic are still finding a way to get it done the unfortunate part is reality it at some point um is going to hit right reality is is going to set in we can’t expect

For the magic to go on this unreal run with the roster that they have um with us dealing with injuries and at some point it not running out on us and that’s exactly what happened against the Minnesota Timberwolves um as much as I love Goa as much as I love Mo they just

Were not enough for Carl Anthony towns who went five for five from the three-point line which is absolutely insane Rudy Gober had a really good game and this is us um losing the whole entire like the whole game we were just getting stomped on and this is without

Anthony Edwards really having a a huge massive impact so um it was unfortunate uh it hurts even more so that was on a home court um I had some family go into um I had some family that went to the game that you know they they don’t go to

A whole lot of magic games they really don’t follow the magic all that much but they wanted to go because of the experience and and because there’s a lot a lot of excitement and it was a terrible showing it was it was a really like I promise you guys this is a season

That we’re really good you guys just went to like a really bad game I promise you we’re good I promise Scouts Honor um but you know it it is what it is the great news is that reinforcements they are coming uh we got word that Joe Les

Um did not show up on the injury report so we’re going to bring him back um you Jonathan Isaac it was confirmed kind of confirmed right that you know it was him dealing more so with illness than it is um any injuries you got Marquel folz

Back um you know we’re we’re still a little unclear with Wendell Carter so little by little we’re getting our guys back and that’s going to be the most important thing because now that we’re looking at it right um we we we talk about one of the greatest strengths of

This team is the fact that we hung our hat a lot on our second unit our second unit being the best second unit in the NBA the guys who were saying that and beating on their chest the loudest Joe Eng Les he hasn’t been he hasn’t played

Because of injuries so now I’m really interested to see like is this Joe Engles impact for real we we talked about it we joke about it um everyone is is screaming and yelling to my face like Joe Engles is the reason why we’re so successful okay now I want to see it now

I want to continue seeing that that Improvement like prove me super wrong don’t just prove me wrong prove me super wrong um and and I’m hoping that we’re going to see really really big impacts from from implementing Joe Engles back into the lineup yeah I mean it’s more shooting

It’s more playmaking two things that we’re lacking right now with all the injuries um but how can we talk about last week and now talk about Caleb Houston man I think that he struggled a bit with u Minnesota no doubt about it but prior to that good to see him

Finally kind of take that mindset of I’m open I’m shooting it which he’s never been afraid to shoot the ball but man he had a great we week um it’s so great again to see Paulo with some Shooters around him even though again like chuma wasn’t shooting it well but he is known

To be a three-point shooter so the defense was be at least keeping him honest and paying attention to him so it was fun to see I mean it makes you wonder again what the magic could look like you know eight months from now if they make some trades and free agency

Goes our way if we had some shooting but talk to me about Caleb Houston what were your thoughts on him and how he how he performed this week um given the freedom of to create and kind of be uh a more involved players in our in our in our

Game plan yeah man I mean shout out to the front office Caleb Houston you know 6’8 um being able to shoot behind the three-point line like he has been he’s shooting 38% from three-point line this season just 28 games so far so um he’s he’s definitely an an added value he’s

Not just a a throw in you know the magic they don’t like their second round picks as it is um and Caleb Houston has has done really really well for us he’s done so well that honestly I’m not even mad at the fact that J Howard isn’t on our

Roster right now because of the impacts that we’ve seen from Caleb Houston this is somebody who’s grinded it out in the g-league um has played extremely well there and is translated in into the NBA as simple as that so one it gives me it gives me hope it gives me um some

Optimism that you know what we’re doing with J Howard is definitely the right move and and eventually he’ll develop right um and Caleb Houston he’s he’s just stepping up man he’s he’s taking advantage of his opportunities he’s going in there um he’s making the right reads he’s not forcing anything he’s

Taking what the defense is giving him um it’s not just three-point shots like a majority of his game is at but there’s times where he’s driving down the lane he’s he’s moving without the basketball he’s dishing it back out so I like what I’m seeing from Caleb Houston Caleb

Houston is is a fun watch um he’s the purest shot that we have on thisam team shout out to him who just celebrated his 21st birthday he’s still so young um and every single time and Jeff Turner talks about this all the time and I couldn’t agree with him more that every single

Shot that he takes it looks good I’m I’m shocked I’m more shocked that he missed it um then when he makes it like you you expect for every every single ball that he throws out there you expect for it to go in and the shooting is is awesome

He’s opening the floor up and he’s uh he’s adding some very very valuable minutes at the moment yeah I think for sure he’s earning himself more minutes in the rotation whenever it is that we’re fully healthy you got to play him again he he provides us with a skill which is

Shooting that we lack in so I mean if Off the Bench some way somehow he can get minutes with a Joe Engles with a Gary Harris whatever that may be again that we need three-point shooting he’s providing us with that I know we talk all the time about hey should we trade

For a shooter should we do whatever for a shooter we may have one in house we may have someone here that we can continue to develop um he is Young he’s only a sophomore in the NBA second year so he’s going to struggle at times like

He did on um on Tuesday night but at the end of the day keep giving him shots he he’s going to make a decent majority of them um but it’s exciting to see the growth again you think about the last two drafts by our front office Jaylen

Sus France Vagner Paulo and Caleb again you gotta be excited for what’s to come with this little core that we’re developing um so it’s definitely great to see yeah and listen Marquel F returned so talk to me about Marquel um obviously we weren’t expecting for him to pick up

Right where he left off we knew that there was going to be an adjustment period uh we knew that you know as much growth as we’ve seen with his shot we we just couldn’t expect for him to be able to just go out there and start drilling three-pointers or or drilling his

Mid-range um but give give me your first initial thoughts of Marquel FZ returning uh to action for the magic first things first man it’s good to see him back on the court let me let me start with that um but I will say if you’re a magic fan I mean I’ll speak for

Myself in this case I recall being an opening night saying to myself man I’m excited for this year because number one it’s the first time we’ll see Marquel kind of be healthy to start the season um see the team be fully healthy which that lasted about two months but Marco

Fults man it’s it’s it’s worrisome what we’re seeing unfortunately and in particular I’m talking about the free throws that he took the other night I’m talking about the jump shots that he’s taken the last couple of games um I’ll ask you do you see some resemblance into who he used to be when

We first got him where that shot just doesn’t look clean doesn’t look comfortable taking it um in particular a pass from Paulo to the corner wide open three he passes set up he actually goes to the basket instead to take a contested fadeaway shot that he missed

Horribly so what let me ask you that real quick are you concerned with his shot at this point in time I’m more concerned with the fact that we’re already getting to the point where we’re coming really close to the Midway point of the season this is the

Part where people are really supposed to be rolling right and the fact that um you know we’ve he he’s behind now um it’s just we know what Marquel is able to do we know what he’s good at we know what he’s not good at um I don’t want

Anyone to to necessarily think that these last game few games are uh is is what he is now like give him a month give him a two months and he’s going to be a completely different player and everyone’s going to be changing their tune at the same time like Paulo Baner

Or France vogner they’re they’re our guys right we really need to start asking the tough question of is Marquel folz really the right point guard for them and we we don’t know that yet we haven’t been able to truly truly really see um if he is we know what he is what

He’s not is he’s not someone that we can rely on as a thread behind the three-point line what’s concerning is him giving up a wide openen three-point shot to then drive to the basket into traffic and then it leads to nowhere so that’s the part that that that’s

Concerning uh cuz before previously last season you know even if the shot wasn’t going in we were at least happy that he was taking those shots like nobody is telling you not to shoot I can’t think of one fan one person that I’ve spoke to about Orlando Magic basketball that they

Said Marquel folz please to God do not shoot the basketball nobody’s saying that people want him to shoot I don’t care about his non-perfect shot like if he’s dealing with what it is that he’s dealing with it is what it is like we we’ve we we knew that going into it

We’re not surprised by it right at this point it’s it’s part of his basketball DNA it’s just there’s no coming back from it there’s times where you don’t see it there’s times when you do see it more and unfortunately right now we’re seeing more of of that hitch right now

It could be because it’s just been a lot of time without basketball it it could be what it is it could be because maybe there’s a loss of confidence it it can be a numerous different um of things and we just don’t know what we do know is

Marquel folz is still a very valuable basketball player to this team he’s still the best point guard that we have on this basketball team so until the magic do ultimately end up making a decision on him this is the guy that we have to run with I like the fact that the

Magic I like that they’re not starting Marquel fols I like that they’re not starting window Carter like I like that they’re bringing them off the bench it could be because because they’re still trying to graciously bring them back to speed but a part of me also kind of

Feels like listen if we’re we we were rolling without you guys so if you want to get back to that point then you’re going to have to also prove it and show it like I really hope that that’s an aspect of it you have to earn it back

Because it’s even so much so that we have Jaylen Suggs running the point guard position he’s he’s our he’s our starting point guard so I I I’m not too worried about Marquel FZ just yet but the real question would be if there’s an opportunity to enhance

Your team make your team better at the NBA trade deadline knowing that we really haven’t had a whole lot of opportunity to see Marquel folz this season would you be open to making a move on Marquel folz if not if the right opportunity came

Up I mean I think I think you have to right at this point you’re riding the thick of things you’re riding that eighth to fourth seat in the East you know race uh your two young stars are playing out of their minds right now one of them will definitely be an All-Star

This year you you got to right you cannot continue this game of evaluating evaluating evaluating like at some point you got to know what you have um but going back to Marquel real quick I pulled up his stats for a second because I’m like wait have I seen him hit a

Three-pointer this year he has not zero of them how many has he taken uh said the number here three of them the whole season okay it’s only seven games whatever but more worrisome man is the free throw shooting so free throw shooting if if I were to just ask you to

Guess I don’t know if you have the numbers pulled up or not what is the percentage of free throws Marquel folz has hit this year just give me an estimate real quick we’ll go 60% I would love that it’s at 37.5 that is the lowest since even even

His Philly days he was hitting 47% in Philly so I my thing is I but dude it’s weird so I this is my thing we saw the videos in the summer right and his shot was looking beautiful we kept talking about the three-point shot I I don’t like conspiracies but I’m

Gonna throw you I’m gonna throw this one at you the whole neat thing bro that wasn’t it I’m sorry but it wasn’t something happened and my thinking is did he overwork the shoulder you know in the off season it was feeling good he was shooting threes a lot more something happened when he

Heard it again we’re back to score one or what bad fall the shoulders injured again but something definitely changed man because even watching him in warm-ups today there was a video that someone posted on Twitter and he made the three-point shot he made it but the

Form is back to the little like low kind of gather to like a very slow release we back to that again so something happened unfortunately and tying it all back together again talking about the trade de line give him three weeks to show you what he has hopefully he’s healthy hopefully he

Is able to Showcase some skills but man if this if in this three weeks he Cann show you that he’s ready to step up and be ready for the playoffs to your point he’s an expiring contract you gave him a chance you paid him really well to give him a

Chance if there’s some point guards out there that make more sense You’ got to pull the trigger his contract will be valuable because it’s expiring you got picks you know that you need shooting again man I got to tell you I’m probably one of the biggest Marquel folz fans I

Have I think two or three of his jerseys I want to K this I want him to succeed in Orlando like I really really do but dude like I’m looking at his stats again eight games in 2020 18 games in 2021 60 last year seven so far this year there’s

A trend unfortunately that it’s not looking good so I’m hoping for the best I hope that in a week something magically heals and he’s back to being the Marquel that we love saw um but if not Jaylen Su is doing really well France is doing amazing Paulo’s doing

Great you may have to turn the page here at some point Marquel F’s career average as a free throw percentage we’re looking at 72% just last year was his best year behind the three-point line uh where he averaged 31% from behind the three-point line with a one and a half attempt uh

Per game so last season was um where he was he was moving towards the right direction and obviously you know the amount of games that he’s missed um and you know how the magic operate we really we really don’t know if it’s the whole entire time is tendon nights I’ve dealt

With tendon nights before it is it is not fun um and it is painful and very very hard to play through so I can only imagine what that is at that level so I’m not saying that it wasn’t tendonitis um but we know also that if there was a

Shoulder situation it’s a lot of negative publicity that the magic are have known to protect their players from um and they just won’t share that information we we know that and we’re unfortunately we’re we’re seeing it so we can’t confirm we can’t deny we can’t

Do any of that whether it is or it isn’t um the great thing or at least the positive side of it is that he’s at least active and he’s able to play now it’s going to take some time for him to get re acclimated with with the team um

The part that’s frustrating is that there was M there were there were moments where you know he was missing like two feet from the basket like super easy simple shots that you know normally those are those are guaranteed those are you know he’s always done well around

The rim um so whether it’s mental whether it’s confidence whether it’s it’s just getting his feet underneath him um he’s extremely valuable to what we’re trying to accomplish and again there there’s no better point guard on this team than Marquel folz and we just got to be patient we got to give him

Time and if something does come around like at the end of the day I want it to be clear like I’m not I I love Pao Banker I love fron vogner I love every single player I fell in love with all these players these players are you know

Part of of what makes this team fun to watch but at the end of the day man I’m I am more a a magic supporter than I am a supporter of these individual players so whatever is is right for the team to me is the most important

Aspect is is the most is top priority so if there’s a deal out there that’s going to better your team and you have to part ways with with as much as it would be tough part ways Marquel fultz then that’s just something that you have to do we’ve we’ve tried

We’ve tested um and we’ve done all that we can I’m not saying to to go out there and and make it your mission to move him I’m not saying that at all but if an opportunity comes up that you can’t say no to then that’s this is what needs to be

Done you know what’s crazy if I would have told you back in October hey man we’re going to have Wendell Carter for like nine games halfway through the season and and Marquel only seven games knowing what we knew last year right that the the impact these two guys had

On the Orlando Magic and how much they meant to us at that point guard and Center position you would have thought we were a lot team again we would probably yeah we’ll probably be you know along with the Pistons again and San Antonio fighting for a you know a

Lottery OD instead of a playoff spot and yet here we are January 11th 12 today and the magic are you know fighting for the fourth seed in in in the Eastern Conference so when you think about that that’s why in my mind I’m like okay we

Got to make decisions not again in the summer unfortunately but make a couple of moves that make sense today where you’re not risking you know your financial flexibility for the summer you’re not risking any crazy draft capital but again we talked about it last week guys like tyus Jones guys like

Hey what about a um Rosier from from Charlie like those type of guards that shouldn’t cost you you know an arm and a leg but yet they would give you some shooting some scoring and help Paulo and France kind of get ready for this playoff push that we’re going to so to

Your point if it makes sense we got to consider it even though again we’re all tied to dis guys we want to see them all succeed together but unfortunately the time is coming we’ve been talking about this for two three years where decisions will have to be made eventually and

Unfortunately whether it’s for health reasons whether it’s for whatever reasons things are playing out in a way that they’re dictating themselves right now we’re looking at Paulo France really Jaylen sucks col Anthony as that core of guys anyone outside of that at this moment to

Me it’s an option to be moved yeah but at the same time like the magic have to be careful too because you don’t want to make um a decision for today for the playoff this year like it’s not it’s not about making the playoffs this year this

Is this is about making the playoff every year after this season this is about changing the culture of the Orlando Magic it’s about winning an NBA championship um so just because you said the name Terry Rosier does does he do that probably not right so who is the

Point guard of the future right like who who’s who’s going to be the person at the helm that you know is be riding with fron and poo banero for the next you know 5 6 7 8 n 10 years right that we hope um the only person that you can

Really hang your head on right now is Anthony black and that’s because he’s who you drafted maybe Cole Anthony because you’ve invested in those players but you really don’t you don’t know what we do know is nobody can sit here confidently and say that person is Mark

Holz for a lot of different aspects shooting injuries you name it uh we wish that wasn’t so because everyone genuinely likes marel fols there’s a very small minimal number of people that I’ve spoke to that says they’re not for they they don’t support markol Mark folz

Is exactly what you want um out of a player it’s just man just a string of bad injuries uh a string of just dealing with Unfortunate Events and you know at the end of the day man it’s it’s you you have to be able to protect your future

Um and your future is Paulo and and and France and and jayen Suggs who I’m now incorporating into that core because here’s the thing all these injuries they scare me they scare me because what’s happening is now you’re forcing forcing Palo ban Carol to do more and what I

Mean by more is poo ban Caro as much as I love his mid-range um I love his ability to be able to stretch the floor but his bread and butter is utilizing a 6’1 250 lb frame and playing Bully basketball and sometimes too much of it

We’ve seen where he forces it he has the body that he’s able to do that but at the same time man that opens up so much risk of him getting injured so now he has to carry so much more of that load because he doesn’t have healthy players

Around him um scares me of him opening up to possibly getting hurt like the other day when he messed up his his ankle and he screamed like you you can hear him cursing cursing up a storm through through the TV of him messing up his ankle right after fron and you’re

Just kind of like man this is th this is so unsurprisingly the Orlando Magic right and he leaves but then he comes back and then he plays is like a whole another level like as if he went to the back and they shot him up with some you

Know painkillers you know what I mean cuz he came out and he just he just played crazy basketball and then he played again and then he played again and then he played again so my my fear is I don’t want to wear down I I know that he’s he’s really really young but

No pal ban Carroll I’m fearful for what this season looks like like one loss in the magic already dropped to the eighth seed in the East like every game matters so much so that yep what I don’t want also is I don’t want us to lose the respect that we’ve already kind of

Acclimated already like we’re playing against the Miami Heat and yet Jimmy Butler isn’t playing against us again because they know that they don’t need Jimmy Butler to beat us like those are the things that that kind of go through my mind um so whether it’s Marquel folz whoever we

We need this team to be healthy we need players to to elevate the same way that Paulo has been elevating his game yeah you talk about again injuries talk about marel another name I’ll throw out there to you too that has been hurt he’s questionable for tonight’s game in

Miami um Wendell Carter so we saw Mark stain report recently that uh he’s a name that he keeps hearing uh that is a player to monitor as we approach a trade that line um I’ll pass it on to you real quick but what what are your thoughts on that on

What Del Carter kind of being on the Block perhaps Mark stain is probably one of the few reporters that I believe because he’s kind of linked a few things to the Magic in the past that have turned out to be true um so that kind of

Surprised me that he reported that um so what are your thoughts are you against it are you for it are you willing to entertain it what are your thoughts on on W they potentially being out there and being shopped around yeah I mean listen with the Magic The Magic needed

True Center wo Carter is just not he’s not a true Center he’s just not uh he’s not mentally in my opinion uh it’s my opinion that he prefers playing the four than he does the five um at the same time like you you love Wendell because

Of the story him playing for Chicago we ended up trading nicoa vuvi he comes in and there’s there he dealt with a lot of injuries in Chicago and then he comes in and we we sign him to an extension and the extension is is a cheap contract and

Then he’s outplaying his contract right um so you gravitate towards that at the same time I I feel like the experiment that we had of of Gogo pazi is that you know he’s he was a a true Center in the aspect of you know seven-footer rim protector he’s doing

The little things like he’s not he’s not trying to be your primary person offensively and I feel like you know there’s times where Wendell he’s he’s trying to do that like he wants to be the best player on the team I don’t need my Center to be the

Best player on my team I just I just don’t you’re not Shaq you’re not Dwight I I don’t I don’t need that we have that with Paulo we we have that with France those are those are our guys I’m sorry that’s just what it is we need support

Systems and I think that you know that that might be an adjustment for Wendell I think also that um from a mind State maybe he doesn’t like coming off the bench maybe you know he doesn’t like the success that that Goa has so I don’t know when Wendell is

Interesting um this is another one of those things where during the NBA trade deadline if somebody’s calling and asking this is a player that you have to talk about this is a player that you have to be open to listening to um you know how other teams value Wendell

Carter um I don’t I don’t believe the magic will be sellers I I think the magic will be buyers like I I really I really do think that they’re not just trying to get rid of their players if if the magic going into the NBA trade de line and do absolutely nothing I

Wouldn’t be upset I wouldn’t be surprised it’s just what it is that we have a good basketball team like we we’re we’re exactly way ahead of what we thought we would be playing um at the same time if another team is asking us and there’s something that

Makes sense then by by all means man I told you the the most important thing is this team over over any of the players not named Paula fron and Jaylen I agree with you so that’s the thing man it’s hard because again we we saw the success that Wendell had the

Last couple of years Health always been an issue he has not played I think more than 65 games I think his his his NBA career so durability is an issue with him um and you talk about the magic always dealing with injuries so he’s one

Of those that you can expect to miss a bunch of games every year um but again it kind of sucks in a way that things have played out the way that they have um I’m a fan of his just like Marquel I’m rooting for him I hope that he

Figures it out but I don’t know man I said it jokingly kind of in our in our group chat the other day like I feel like something happened to Marquel and Wendell well like their superpowers got stolen like what happened to these guys they were incredible last year and yeah

Man and this year they’re just like they can’t figure it out whereas W Del defensively doesn’t look like the same guy that he was last year he was a great team Defender not quite the case this year offensively he can’t quite figure it out either so it’s a little bit

Unique of a situation with those two guys but to your point if a team calls think of a Portland think of a I don’t know San Antonio and they offer you a good guard in exchange for Wendell and whatever you got to pick up the phone

And and say hey you know what let’s talk let’s see what what’s going on um so I don’t think we move him this trade that line maybe in the offseason if anything but I think the front office likes Wendell I think Wendell likes it here he

Just has to fight his rhythm and get back to who he used to be because right now unfortunately he’s not playing like not even 50% of who he was last year yeah so another another player that was link to the magic is uh Blazers guard Malcolm Brogden a player that was

Drafted by John Hammond um in Milwaukee um and this this is something that I would I would definitely consider man Malcolm Brogan would be an awesome awesome veteran to add to this team um the as I’m looking right now the Blazers right now they’re they’re getting beat

By the Thunder by almost 62 points um the Blazers is just a team that that Malcolm brogon has no business being on this is someone that can really be serviceable um be able to help a team uh win games and the the Blazers just don’t have a

Direction for him so we believe that this is a player that will be on the Move um it was reported that the Knicks and magic and the Sixers will all emerge to be potential suitors what are your thoughts on Malcolm Brogden I mean he fits right in man when

You look at his stats right now 14 points almost 15 points five assists most importantly 41 % almost 42 from three-point range um almost an 80% three uh free throw shooter I mean to your point he’s a guy kind of a a taller guard 6’4 good Defender the front office likes him they

Drafted him they he won Rookie of the Year under their leadership in Milwaukee you got to think there’s some connections there we need vets we know that we need guys who can come into the locker room and be good vets um makes a ton of sense um only concern with him

Much like Marquel much like Wendell is the injury concerns he’s a guy that has not really played a full season I don’t think ever in his career he’s known for missing games um so you would have to trade something where it’s not very valuable we’re talking about chuma we’re

Talking about maybe a Marquel for an meaning the expiring contract of Marquel to Portland so it wouldn’t have to be a major trade asset just because you don’t know what you’re getting in him um contract wise I just closed a tab but do you happen to know what his trct situation is right

Now right because I think that’s another thing to think about um two years 45 mil 245 so actually so he’s on the contract next year as well age 32 so I mean for that kind of money let me ask you this so I know we’ve talked about

This guy many many times but I’ll say it again for that kind of money that age would you rather go Malcolm Brockton and he’ be your point guard or would you rather go buddy heeld and he’ll be your starting shooting guard what would be your decision between those two guys so

Here here’s here’s my thing um if Anthony black is still like if you if if the plan is Anthony black to be your future which I I do believe right you’re talking about a six7 point guard um in Anthony black that you literally just drafted you’re investing in him

Um it it it wouldn’t make sense to bring in a veteran point guard like Malcolm Brogden uh until Anthony black is able to kind of take over the Reigns um or even just as as as a veteran um now if you’re asking me about Buddy heel I mean

Buddy heel like to me that’s that’s that’s number one priority in the off season if nobody trads for him like you go after buddy healed and you you you pay the man what he wants um realistically but um you know we we were talking about this um you know the other

Day during our uh subscription live like if if you wanted to make sure that buddy heeld is on your team a deal in my opinion that would make a whole lot of sense is maybe a Gary Harris chumo KK for Buddy hee in Indiana Gary Harris is

Somebody that um is from Indiana uh their contracts are are somewhat similar uh even though buddy healed his contract is is going to expire so he’s going to be a free agent next season you know if there’s some type of confirmation that you’re able to convince him to stay here

Long term he already expressed that he’s not happy in Indiana um you swing the deal a little bit with a player like chumo KK who has dealt with injuries but is healthy now has shown some bright spots this season um you know maybe Indiana does something

Like that I don’t know but um if it’s if you’re telling me if you’re asking me which one one in between now I’ll take Buddy hee in a heartbeat in a heartbeat without without questions without remorse bring do whatever you have to do to bring buddy in a magic uniform and

Then nickname him the man that would be amazing but I mean I gotta tell you again you look at the stats right now buddy heel just a guy that healthier also right so great shooter we know that um but not for nothing man I I Jaylen sucks a lot to

Grow that’s a point guard but I don’t mind him being the point guard that brings the ball up to half court and then passes it on to Pao or France to create like I’m okay with that for the time being um but any one of the two

Guys would be an improvement to what we have today that let’s make that very very clear and to what we’re saying the assets wouldn’t be too much I don’t consider an expiring contract of Marquel if he’s not going to fit long term a valuable asset I don’t consider Gary

Harris chuma Kiki and and a pick a Val like a massive asset and then by a pick I mean maybe Denver’s 25 first rounders if you’re really trying to get a trade done and secure it that should get it done so I hope those are things that we’re hearing about the trade deadline

Is less than a month away now um we better be involved in that buddy conversation that that Brockton conversation because either one of those guys will make us a much better team overnight the moment they land here putting a magic Jersey and go on the court with Paulo and France we are a

Better team right away so ideally we’re hearing those things as we approach February 8th it just it makes so much sense like Pao Bank Caroll in the paint they’re already collapsing on him France Vagner driving to the basket every chance he gets they’re already collapsing on him they’re these guys are

Dying for a threo a massive threo threat to be open in the corner the top of the key to be open to be able to take the shot to uh alleviate some of that pressure that they’re getting in the pain like those are the type of players that you need to surround with

Three-point Shooters and the fact that we haven’t done that yet to the level that we’re expecting um goes to show that it’s only a matter of time like this isn’t rocket science this isn’t like we don’t need analytics for this this is this is standard basketball that’s been played

The same way for a very very long time you need to give them shooters it’s just what it is so NBA Trend deadline as you said is right around the corner it’s going to be exciting to see um you know what the magic end up doing uh and you

Know as we hope even though the magic decide to kind of keep everything close to the chest we do hope that the magic are involved in every single conversation um out there because the magic should be out there looking to find ways to improve this team uh coming

Up this week we have tonight against Miami Heat Saturday against OKC Monday in New York and then Wednesday at Atlanta um these next four games uh what are your predictions let’s first say that again the tough schedule continues so we’re back on the road again four tough games

Miami OKC back to back the Knicks and Atlanta the Knicks are playing really really well since the trade uh so a tough schedule again Atlanta always gives us a hard time so I am hoping that at some point this road trip I’m hoping Saturday if not Monday New York we see

France again I know we’re hearing now that ji is no longer dealing with the hamstring injury if more it’s more of an illness so hopefully he can come back as well so that would make a big difference if our depth is back um we would only

Have Gary Harris left I think to come back at that point so we’ll see what happens there but if you can find a way and I keep saying this if you can find a way to keep winning some random games that you’re supposed to lose so for instance to tonight in Miami Jimmy

Butler is not playing Kari might not be playing if that is the case and you can steal that game in Miami that would be amazing from there you go to New York you go to Atlanta find a way to win one of those two games so ideally if we can

Go two and two that would be the perfect scenario for the magic um again keep competing with those teams that are near you in the standings um because again the East is going to come down to the very end um so that’s that’s my prediction two and two this week for us

Yeah so for for these weeks uh I mean this week I’m I’m not I’m not too fond of the fact that all these games are away you’re you’re going against Miami um then OKC and the backto back um Monday against uh the Knicks Wednesday against Atlanta so being optimistic I

Would say I would put us at two and two um Miami uh not having Jimmy Butler to me that that is a a disrespect in a sense so hopefully the magic take that off you know offensive and and go out there and ball out OKC they’re they’re just playing really really good

Basketball um and then Atlanta I I feel like Atlanta we we just have their number after they beat us one time um you know the beginning of the Season uh I I I really like the matchup that we had and they they’re they’re playing a little disr basketball right now also so

I I’ll say I say Miami and Atlanta um OKC would be tough um and hopefully man Cole Anthony has a crazy game in Madison Square Garden that’s that’s my uh that’s my prediction so we’ll see what ends up happening uh the magic finally getting their reinforcements back hopefully we

We see a better showing from Marquel folz um hopefully Joe Eng Les um comes in picks up right where he left off and he’s able to kind of lead that second unit um Jonathan Isaac we’ll see how long it takes for him to kind of get over that that illness um and then

Hopefully we get to see one do back as well so a lot to keep an eye out for um fron it was also said that you know Jeff Turner during the broadcast said that he should be back soon I’m not sure if he was supposed to say that um or if he he

Knows something that we don’t know which you know you would imagine um but hopefully we get to see frons in pretty soon so on that note it is a wrap I appreciate everyone for listening this show was brought to you by bet online catch you guys next

Week for all the latest Magic news and updates visit orlandomagic hq.com and follow us on Instagram at Orlando magicq and on Twitter at om magicq also remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel And subscribe and leave a festar review on your favorite listening platform

In this episode of the Orlando Magic HQ podcast, Anthony and Al discuss the team’s recent wins against Denver and Atlanta, highlighting the importance of shooting for their success.

They also express concerns about Markelle Fultz’s return and his shooting struggles. The possibility of trading Wendell Carter Jr. and targeting Malcolm Brogdon in a trade are also discussed. They conclude by making predictions for the upcoming games.

Takeaways:

Shooting has been key to the Orlando Magic’s recent wins
Markelle Fultz’s return has raised concerns about his shooting
Wendell Carter Jr. is a potential trade target
Malcolm Brogdon could be a valuable addition to the team
The Magic should be active in the trade market to improve the team
Predictions for the upcoming games

Timeline:
00:00 The Week in Review
03:21 Impressive Wins Against Denver and Atlanta
04:44 Shooting as the Key to Success
05:13 The Fight Against Injuries
08:37 Caleb Houstan’s Performance
10:03 Markelle Fultz’s Return and Concerns
13:30 Wendell Carter Jr. on the Trade Block
17:47 Considering a Move on Markelle Fultz
21:32 Malcolm Brogdon as a Potential Target
30:34 Trade Deadline and Potential Moves
43:23 Predictions for the Upcoming Games

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