2027-2028 Magic Hour

[false9]

Welp, we’re back at it again. You know the drill- lets do a quick recap of last season.

On paper, it was moderately successful season- 54 wins, another Division banner, and somehow we won a three way tie for the top seed. Boban made his first all star team and made All-League 2nd team. I had high expectations going into the playoffs. Pretty sweet, right? Not so much when we flamed out against Boston in the second round. Another postseason failure was disappointing and left me with a lot of questions.

I came to the conclusion that I needed to shake things up (At the very least I could position the team better and I could keep things fresh to stay engaged in the league). I made the decision to ship out Trae Young for draft picks and Aaron Gordon. This gave us cap space to be players in unrestricted free agency. We were lucky to land Ernie Acuna, who was apparently highly sought after enough to get a max offer from a rival GM. Unfortunately, we couldn’t convince Desean Hawkins to take another modest one year deal. The remainder of our signings were veterans I expect to contribute when called upon.

I really don’t know what to expect this season- after we get in some player training, I expect Bronny to be more or a scorer. We’re definitely soft inside, so if the right opportunity presents itself, we’ll make the move. We might be third best in our new division, but I think a playoff berth is a reasonable goal.

I’m projecting the below starting five:

C: Boban
PF: David Meyer
SF: Josh Jackson
SG: Bronny James
PG: Ernie Acuna

I’ll take your questions now.

[digiskunk]

How big of a hole does Desean Hawkins leave in your lineup? Furthermore, Ernie Acuna is going see a lot of minutes this upcoming season. Have any statline projections?

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Trae Young never really shaped up to his full potential running the Magic's offense. What does Ernie Acuna bring to the table that's different than Trae?

[Xist2Inspire]

Random Reporter: With the departure of veteran leader Desean Hawkins, new arrival Ernie Acuna running the point, and being placed in a new division, do you see this as more of a re-focusing season?

[false9]

How big of a hole does Desean Hawkins leave in your lineup? Furthermore, Ernie Acuna is going see a lot of minutes this upcoming season. Have any statline projections?

We’ll probably miss his scoring the most. Desean was a great secondary option, and I can’t fault him for seeking financial security in Houston. Hopefully, JJ and Bronny can step it up, otherwise we’re in trouble.

10 and 8 would be great from EA, but I’ll be look more closely at the assist rate and how the rest of the team is faring with him on the floor.

[Darth Vegito]

Talk more about the specifics of your new division. A 3 way race maybe but How much longer do you think the Pistons can sustain their dominant and consistent playoff pushes? They could conceivably finish 3rd in the division. You think they could potentially miss the playoffs this season? And do you think you have enough firepower to stay neck and neck with the Sixers without letting them get too far ahead?

[false9]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Trae Young never really shaped up to his full potential running the Magic's offense. What does Ernie Acuna bring to the table that's different than Trae?

I was never willing to put the points into Trae due to the Boban Project. He has yet to develop into the offensive player I thought he'd be, but I'm sure he will take advantage of the opportunity to blossom in Dallas. I wish him the best of luck.

EA looks like a better outside shooter and distributor. He's also got a higher PRD than Trae did- don't expect me to bring him off the bench in the playoffs.

[false9]

Random Reporter: With the departure of veteran leader Desean Hawkins, new arrival Ernie Acuna running the point, and being placed in a new division, do you see this as more of a re-focusing season?

Re-focus is probably a good word. You won't see any stealth tanking with this group. The Sixers and Pistons are worthy rivals in Division, so it will be tough. That being said, I sure as hell think this group is playoff capable. After all, we've still got BOBAN.

[false9]

Talk more about the specifics of your new division. A 3 way race maybe but How much longer do you think the Pistons can sustain their dominant and consistent playoff pushes? They could conceivably finish 3rd in the division. You think they could potentially miss the playoffs this season? And do you think you have enough firepower to stay neck and neck with the Sixers without letting them get too far ahead?

To be honest, I think both of those guys fit the win-now profile more than I do. BSH had a great offseason by landing Hartley, and Udoka looks like he's going to crush us all like empty beer cans. I anticipate another 50 win season from him and the PIstons.

The PIstons are ok for the very immediate future. I've learned never to bet against the 8x MVP. They should be a contender, assuming they don't IR their star PG in the playoffs again. As far as the future, it could be rough. Multiple training camps to survive, three supermaxes, all over 30+, on a repeater tax should not be taken lightly. Wombat will have to show some deft maneuvering, probably in the next two seasons, or he could join the list of those who've visited sim debtor's prison.

[JNR]

GWR: With Acuna taking over the point guard position, are you going to focus on a slower pace so that other guards don't take advantage of his slower lateral movement?

[WigNosy]

You've probably the GM that has embraced player training the most over recent seasons. What is your philosophy with regard to deciding how to train your players and which players to train?

[Eazy P]

Will Bronny James play a bigger role this season for your squad?

[false9]

GWR: With Acuna taking over the point guard position, are you going to focus on a slower pace so that other guards don't take advantage of his slower lateral movement?

We'll be keeping things moderate- 80 isn't terrible QKN.

[false9]

You've probably the GM that has embraced player training the most over recent seasons. What is your philosophy with regard to deciding how to train your players and which players to train?

Boban was just more for fun- I wanted to see if I could create a monster with a ton of points.

From a standard operating procedure, I like putting my points to use in immediate impact areas appropriate to the player/position . Do I really care about high DREB or STR for my PG? Probably not.

I also evaluate from a need standpoint. I thought scoring would be a problem, so I poured points into Bronny’s INS this season. Sure I only have 2 points left, but you gotta spend em to earn em is what I say.

[false9]

Will Bronny James play a bigger role this season for your squad?

Expect him to be the starting SG. If he’s not scoring, it’s probably going to be a long, boring season.