Post by Orlando Magic on Jun 16, 2008 20:25:04 GMT -5
Orlando – Florida
The end is near my Midway faithful. The regular season concludes in a matter of weeks and the time has come to continue my draft coverage. In this instance, I am back in the motherland with the Mad Scientist to discuss his plans with CHI 08 1st. Many scenarios could potentially unfold after the always surprising draft lottery. And if I know my Mad Scientist, he has a game plan for all of them.
MS: Good morning Midway. Been quite a while here, starting to think that you were moving on to bigger and better things without paying homage to the man who put you on the map.
Midway: Wouldn’t dream of it!
MS: Correct answer my friend. Please have a seat, mojitos are en route.
Midway: Well, I come today in hopes that you could enlighten me on your thoughts concerning your acquisition of Chicago’s hot ticket pick. Rumors are starting to swirl and I figured I should nip them at the bud and come straight to the source. So, best case scenario…the envelopes are unveiled…third envelope opened and its Atlanta…second envelope opened and it’s the Clipps. Where you headed?
MS: I am headed to the nearest cabana where I buy the entire bar a round of margaritas! Obviously, this is best case scenario. As you well know, I love the position of power and getting to dictate the course of this draft would be a dream. As far as where we would like to go with the pick at that point, we have two off-season needs in my eyes. The power forward and point guard slots, which coincides perfectly with the talent coming out for the draft this year in Beasley and Rose.
Midway: The power forward slot? Now I realize you will need to resign both Jameer and Big Al this off-season and I recall your comments on finding a new replacement at the PG slot but where’s the love for Al?
MS: The things I have heard from Al’s agent so far are not uplifting to a team like ours that will be scraping the cap this summer. Al believes that his performance on our squad this year and the team’s #1 playoff seed have earned him a slot among the elite big men. Not to say that he isn’t a great big man and he hasn’t been crucial in our success this season, but when a player starts to bring that attention upon himself and away from the team as a whole…I begin to worry. Needless to say, the trading machine will definitely be warming up as we discuss options for his future…as an Orlando Magic or not. As it applies to the draft…if we can get a nice trade going for Al that can snag us either a PF/PG; we should take the player that best complements that whether it is Rose or Beasley.
Midway: I’ll let you do what you do then. Great mojito by the way, is that fresh sugar cane juice I’m tasting!
MS: Only the best.
Midway: Wow, just dynamite, but I digress. Okay, so let’s say the lottery plays out as it should and Chicago’s pick lands in its rightful third place spot. What then?
MS: This is honestly worst case scenario for us. After talks with both Atlanta and LA, we fully expect Rose and Beasley to be off the board. So in our eyes, the only man left is OJ. We truly are not interested in any other players in this draft and only see these three athletes as the only ones capable of coming into a starting role for us and succeeding. We are NOT in the market to coddle these kids and outside of the big 3, there is no one that fits the bill. So, you ask, why worst case scenario if Mayo still lies in our top three. Great question! If we decide to take Mayo with the third pick then we are faced with playing guys out of position. Let’s say we keep everyone as is, then we either have to put Jason or OJ in the PG slot. And after talking with both Jason and OJ personally, neither are incredibly enthusiastic about it. OJ has voiced that he would fill in wherever necessary, but that’s the public relations side talking. He is simply too turnover prone. So now we are faced with a situation where a trade is mandatory. As of now, we have not heard from any teams interested in dealing a PG for that pick. At least a PG that WE can get fully behind.
Midway: No Bayless for you then? On many experts draft boards he has climbed to the #4 slot and the #2 overall PG in the draft.
MS: That might be well and good for some teams. But this is a team of perfection and perfection only. I just don’t see the “it” factor that we have in our other players currently. Needless to say, if this pick falls lower than the top two…expect a trade, a big trade! We are actually discussing deals with Atlanta currently that could give us as close to a guarantee for a top two pick as possible. However, it is still in its infant stages and by no means final.
Midway: Okay, so siding with the odds here and assuming that the pick falls in the 3-5 range. What can we expect for further trades? Care to announce any other potential packages you are ready to present?
MS: Well, ideally, I’d love to complete this in one fell swoop and package all of our pieces together. Al, Jameer and the pick for two mid 80’s rated players at the PF and PG slots. Obviously if we found ourselves in the position to keep big Al, I’d also just as quickly package the pick with a sign and trade Jameer for a mid-80’s PG and not think twice. Don’t get me wrong with all this Al trade talk, he is a great player and if he were to wear Silver and Blue next year, I wouldn’t have any qualms. I am simply operating off of what is communicated to me from his agent.
Midway: Sounds like yet another busy off-season for you then and I look forward to following up in the coming months. Until then, I think I am tapped for questions. But if you don’t mind I think I’ll hang around for another drink. I am not kidding here, these mojitos are just remarkable.
MS: Love the enthusiasm. I don’t hire authentic Cubans to make 'em for nothing!
All hiring of illegal Cubans for bartending aside, this has been yet another successful trip to Orlando. Life is good.
Midway Monster.
ESPN News.
The end is near my Midway faithful. The regular season concludes in a matter of weeks and the time has come to continue my draft coverage. In this instance, I am back in the motherland with the Mad Scientist to discuss his plans with CHI 08 1st. Many scenarios could potentially unfold after the always surprising draft lottery. And if I know my Mad Scientist, he has a game plan for all of them.
MS: Good morning Midway. Been quite a while here, starting to think that you were moving on to bigger and better things without paying homage to the man who put you on the map.
Midway: Wouldn’t dream of it!
MS: Correct answer my friend. Please have a seat, mojitos are en route.
Midway: Well, I come today in hopes that you could enlighten me on your thoughts concerning your acquisition of Chicago’s hot ticket pick. Rumors are starting to swirl and I figured I should nip them at the bud and come straight to the source. So, best case scenario…the envelopes are unveiled…third envelope opened and its Atlanta…second envelope opened and it’s the Clipps. Where you headed?
MS: I am headed to the nearest cabana where I buy the entire bar a round of margaritas! Obviously, this is best case scenario. As you well know, I love the position of power and getting to dictate the course of this draft would be a dream. As far as where we would like to go with the pick at that point, we have two off-season needs in my eyes. The power forward and point guard slots, which coincides perfectly with the talent coming out for the draft this year in Beasley and Rose.
Midway: The power forward slot? Now I realize you will need to resign both Jameer and Big Al this off-season and I recall your comments on finding a new replacement at the PG slot but where’s the love for Al?
MS: The things I have heard from Al’s agent so far are not uplifting to a team like ours that will be scraping the cap this summer. Al believes that his performance on our squad this year and the team’s #1 playoff seed have earned him a slot among the elite big men. Not to say that he isn’t a great big man and he hasn’t been crucial in our success this season, but when a player starts to bring that attention upon himself and away from the team as a whole…I begin to worry. Needless to say, the trading machine will definitely be warming up as we discuss options for his future…as an Orlando Magic or not. As it applies to the draft…if we can get a nice trade going for Al that can snag us either a PF/PG; we should take the player that best complements that whether it is Rose or Beasley.
Midway: I’ll let you do what you do then. Great mojito by the way, is that fresh sugar cane juice I’m tasting!
MS: Only the best.
Midway: Wow, just dynamite, but I digress. Okay, so let’s say the lottery plays out as it should and Chicago’s pick lands in its rightful third place spot. What then?
MS: This is honestly worst case scenario for us. After talks with both Atlanta and LA, we fully expect Rose and Beasley to be off the board. So in our eyes, the only man left is OJ. We truly are not interested in any other players in this draft and only see these three athletes as the only ones capable of coming into a starting role for us and succeeding. We are NOT in the market to coddle these kids and outside of the big 3, there is no one that fits the bill. So, you ask, why worst case scenario if Mayo still lies in our top three. Great question! If we decide to take Mayo with the third pick then we are faced with playing guys out of position. Let’s say we keep everyone as is, then we either have to put Jason or OJ in the PG slot. And after talking with both Jason and OJ personally, neither are incredibly enthusiastic about it. OJ has voiced that he would fill in wherever necessary, but that’s the public relations side talking. He is simply too turnover prone. So now we are faced with a situation where a trade is mandatory. As of now, we have not heard from any teams interested in dealing a PG for that pick. At least a PG that WE can get fully behind.
Midway: No Bayless for you then? On many experts draft boards he has climbed to the #4 slot and the #2 overall PG in the draft.
MS: That might be well and good for some teams. But this is a team of perfection and perfection only. I just don’t see the “it” factor that we have in our other players currently. Needless to say, if this pick falls lower than the top two…expect a trade, a big trade! We are actually discussing deals with Atlanta currently that could give us as close to a guarantee for a top two pick as possible. However, it is still in its infant stages and by no means final.
Midway: Okay, so siding with the odds here and assuming that the pick falls in the 3-5 range. What can we expect for further trades? Care to announce any other potential packages you are ready to present?
MS: Well, ideally, I’d love to complete this in one fell swoop and package all of our pieces together. Al, Jameer and the pick for two mid 80’s rated players at the PF and PG slots. Obviously if we found ourselves in the position to keep big Al, I’d also just as quickly package the pick with a sign and trade Jameer for a mid-80’s PG and not think twice. Don’t get me wrong with all this Al trade talk, he is a great player and if he were to wear Silver and Blue next year, I wouldn’t have any qualms. I am simply operating off of what is communicated to me from his agent.
Midway: Sounds like yet another busy off-season for you then and I look forward to following up in the coming months. Until then, I think I am tapped for questions. But if you don’t mind I think I’ll hang around for another drink. I am not kidding here, these mojitos are just remarkable.
MS: Love the enthusiasm. I don’t hire authentic Cubans to make 'em for nothing!
All hiring of illegal Cubans for bartending aside, this has been yet another successful trip to Orlando. Life is good.
Midway Monster.
ESPN News.
