Damian Lillard of the Blazers knows the Orlando Magic opted to “blow it up” in the 2020-21 NBA season by trading away All-Star Nikola Vucevic, talented young wing Aaron Gordon and veteran sharpshooter Evan Fournier to the Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics, respectively – leaving only veteran microwave scorer Terrence Ross as part of the team’s core from seasons past.
Now, with a re-tooled lineup centered around young talents such as Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony, Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., Chuma Okeke and Jonathan Isaac (when he’s healthy), the Magic are building for the future with an eye on the draft for seasons to come – especially the 2021 NBA Draft, in which they have both the No. 5 pick (their own) and the No. 8 pick (from the Bulls via the Vucevic trade).
However, the Magic have long lacked a talented point guard to help buoy the team, relying on veteran D.J. Augustin to man the one for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. The Magic just missed out on nabbing Trae Young in the 2018 NBA Draft, instead selecting Mo Bamba one pick after Young was selected.
While Cole Anthony certainly had his moments in his rookie season last year, the Magic could always shake up their rebuild by accelerating it totally… and trading for Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers.
There are numerous trade scenarios that would work out for this trade to go through, but the Magic would have to throw in numerous picks in order to make this work.
Luckily, the team has fairly full pick coffers going forward as they nabbed two of the Bulls’ first rounders in the Vucevic trade and also have one from Denver in the Gordon trade.
In terms of actual players, again, the Magic have a bevy of similar-salaried players to choose from, but some of the Magic’s young core will likely have to be broken up to entice Portland to trade away the team’s second-best player of all time, per Basketball Reference Win Shares, behind only Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler.
Here’s one trade idea that might interest Portland, if they’re looking to stay afloat in a talented Western Conference while also getting some talented young players on their roster alongside their own (Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, Harry Giles).
Magic Receive: Damian Lillard
Trail Blazers Get: Michael Carter-Williams, Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris, Wendell Carter, 2023 1st-Rd. Pick (via Bulls)
While this is certainly one-sided in terms of players, the Magic will have to include quite a few in order to match Lillard’s huge salary going forward.
Still, if the Magic wanted to immediately consolidate their assets into making a “godfather” offer for Lillard, this is about the best they could do. Lillard would immediately transform the Magic’s offense and help the young players on the roster grow into talented role players.
Last year per Basketball Reference, the Magic were 29th in points per game (104.0) and 29th in offensive rating (105.1). The highest scorer on the team at the end of the season was Terrence Ross at only 15.6 points per game. Next up was rookie Cole Anthony at 12.9 points per game.
Lillard would immediately give them a jolt of offensive prowess, and with Otto Porter and Jonathan Isaac hopefully returning next year, he would have some solid role players around him – as well as with the continued development of Bamba and Okeke.
For the Blazers, this deal might look less than inspiring – especially considering Fultz’s torn ACL last season – but it must be noted that more picks will likely have to be included by the Magic to get this deal done.
Furthermore, both MCW and Fultz looked quite good in an Orlando uniform, with both of them showing improvement during their time under former Head Coach Steve Clifford. Beyond that, Gary Harris and Wendell Carter Jr. are excellent defensive players that should aid the Blazers on that end – even if they do lack some offensive punch.
In all honesty, it seems that neither one of these teams would be interested in this trade. The Magic are looking to rebuild the right way, and it seems immediately trading away young players and draft picks for an established superstar isn’t what most teams would call “the right way.”
From the other side, the Blazers will likely be looking for established, big-name players in return for Lillard or a huge haul of high-upside young talent or draft picks.
While the rumblings around Lillard’s camp are that he wants out soon (giving the Blazers less leverage), he is still among the best point guards in the league, and what he is worth will likely put him out of the Blazers’ price range in terms of a feasible trade with the Magic.
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