Could a Deron Williams-to-Orlando Trade Work?
By Isaac Harris
With rumors coming out of Orlando that they are searching the trade market for scoring help, could Dallas come calling with Deron Williams?
After hiring Frank Vogel and trading Victor Oladipo for Serge Ibaka over the summer, the Orlando Magic made a lot of noise in hopes of making the playoffs this coming year. They signed Bismack Biyombo to a larger deal and made it known around the league that defense was going to be their identity.
But can they still score the basketball?
The Orlando Magic currently rank 26th in the league in point scored and 28th in the league in field goal percentage while sitting at a 10-12 record in the Eastern Conference.
Word came out a couple of days ago that the Magic will be searching the trade market in hopes of finding scoring help. Josh Robbins, from the Orlando Sentinal, had this to say in regards to Orlando finding scoring help.
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“The Orlando Magic will sift through the trade market in an effort to add a scorer, a league source with knowledge of the situation told the Orlando Sentinel.”
Should Dallas make a call?
The Mavericks currently sit at the bottom of the league and look to have hardly a shot at making the playoffs. They are currently sitting on two, starting veterans that are going to be free agents this summer and one of those is Deron Williams.
So with Dallas out of the playoffs (probably) and Williams contract expiring, should they try to ship him to Orlando to help their scoring efforts?
The Magic do have Elfrid Payton and D.J. Augustine in the back court but Williams would be an offensive upgrade over both whether off the bench or as the starter. His current contract is right at $9 million this year so the Magic would have to make the salaries match.
Orlando is sitting on all of their future first round picks so getting a future first could be the most logical trade scenario for Dallas. The Magic could simply ship out Jeff Green to a cap friendly team to make room for Williams.
If Dallas tried to get more for Williams and Orlando was willing, a larger trade centered around Nikola Vucevic and Deron Williams (and other parts) could be something to consider.
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It is unclear whether Dallas will even explore trading Williams before the deadline, but if Orlando came calling for the right price, Dallas should listen.