On the latest Kevin O’Connor Show podcast, O’Connor states that he has heard that the Orlando Magic are open to trading Cole Anthony, Jonathan Isaac, and their first-round picks for an upgrade.
The context for the comment about Orlando started with guest Chris Mannix stating that he thought Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz was available. Utah had the opportunity to trade Markkanen last year to the Golden State Warriors, but held out for a bigger package that didn’t materialize. Mannix and O’Connor agree that the Jazz regret not getting a deal done. The conversation then pivoted to Orlando’s possible interest in Markkanen this year.
O’Connor: I’ve heard that they are open to trading Cole Anthony and Jonathan Isaac with their first for an upgrade there, and I’m just trying to do the math in my head, getting Lauri Markkanen for those two salaries is close financially. But do they have too many, like, 6’10” shot creators?
Mannix: Yeah but Lauri’s a shotmaker too, like Lauri’s a shotmaker too. Like and thats... I mean you’ve watched them (Orlando) a ton this year. You’ve watched them in the Boston series. Their defense is championship level. Like they’re good. Banchero is good. Franz Wagner is good. They need one more shotmaker. Maybe Lauri Markkanen is not ideal, they probably want someone in the backcourt that’s more of a shotmaker than, you know, a 6’10” forward who kind of clutters things up a little bit with Paolo and with Franz. But if that’s on the table, if that’s available, I would be surprised if Orlando didn’t make a move. Like, they finished the year, what, as the seventh seed in the East. They’re one shot-maker away, one offensive player away from being a top four team again. Like they are right there.
Let’s state this again, the context was about Lauri Markkanen. One should not just assume that the Orlando players and pick mentioned are available to trade for any Blazers. If those Orlando players and that pick are truly available though, it does open up some intriguing possibilities, especially if a Markkanen trade never materializes. As Mannix states, Orlando clearly needs a shot-maker, and could probably benefit greatly from a backcourt shot-maker in particular. On paper Anfernee Simons seems to fit that bill fairly well. That doesn’t mean that Simons is going to be the most attractive for the Magic. This podcast with O’Connor and Mannix is a good reminder that teams look at lots of options, and you can never be sure that a trade that seems so perfect on paper is actually going to be the trade that comes to pass.