Magic Hour 2033/2034

[false9]

Hello, friends. It's a currently a strange time in the real world, but the sim world remains a constant. Let's have a quick look back at last season.

Last season was a bit strange. I thought my team was going to be generally crappy and my only goal was to get under the tax apron. While there were not the usual avenues to dump salaries, we churned our way out of the tax, at the cost of Josh Mitchell. The cherry on top of all this was competing for the division and somehow landing a playoff spot. Even more surprising was a first round series win over the always tough Nuggets team. We were swiftly eliminated by the Wizards in the next round, but I was satisfied. While the results were nowhere near close to the heights of the previous 3 seasons, I considered the season to be a sucess.

Heading into the offseason, we had a ton of roster spots to fill, and a ton of cap space. We brought in Marvin Bagley to fill out the other big man spot. Heading into free agency, we had our sights set on the big names while also wanting to retain Jaren Jackson Jr. We hoped for the ol' order of operations max strategy- which was a partial success. We landed Chris Pallies and retained JJJ, which lead to a glut of bigs, but we can work with it. For full disclosure, I would absolutely swing a big man for a SF. We've also got a decent enough bench.

"Decent enough" might also be an accurate description of my team. Pallies and Bronny getting hit in training camp hurt, but I suspect we'll be competitive enough for a playoff spot. We'll need to resolve the big man glut to have any exciting prospects in the playoffs, but finding a good SF is easier said than done (unless reading this piqued your interest, X team looking to trade their SF).

With that, I'll take your questions.

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: The Magic have always excelled at making the playoffs even when trimming down to reset. What qualities do you look for in a team sans superstars to give yourself a chance at the division in post-Boban builds.

[NOLa.]

Richard Hunt has improved a lot since he was drafted just last season. Is his success at the PG spot, especially at distributing the ball, crucial to compete with the Nets and Bucks since you have a great front court trio in James, JJJ, and Bagley?

[AngryBanana]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: I’m picking up some signals here in regards to your belief in Bronny. You’re asking for a SF and talking about how he got hit in TC. Do you not see him as your head guy anymore, do you have higher hopes for JJJ now?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[false9]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: The Magic have always excelled at making the playoffs even when trimming down to reset. What qualities do you look for in a team sans superstars to give yourself a chance at the division in post-Boban builds.

One of the things I picked up from experienced GMs was having an identity and building a team around that. I've always favored stout interior defense, rebounding and three point shooting. It turns out having players fit your gameplan is a good idea- even your 8th man playing 8 minutes a game should fit in with your tactics and strategy. FWIW, I would like to try a run and gun team with pace and 3 point shooting set to 10 one season, but this will not be the season for that.

[false9]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: I’m picking up some signals here in regards to your belief in Bronny. You’re asking for a SF and talking about how he got hit in TC. Do you not see him as your head guy anymore, do you have higher hopes for JJJ now?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

While he got hit in back to back TCs, my commitment to Bronny is steadfast- for this season and after I super max him. However, I prefer him at SG.

As far as who "the man" is on the team, we'll see. I have high expectations offensively for JJJ, Bronny, and Hunt.

[false9]

Richard Hunt has improved a lot since he was drafted just last season. Is his success at the PG spot, especially at distributing the ball, crucial to compete with the Nets and Bucks since you have a great front court trio in James, JJJ, and Bagley?

Spot on- we'll be in need of offense and having a great PG is always part of sim-success. Hunt isn't a great distributor yet, but for this season I expect a high scoring output.

[logpmess]

With such a young team, who do you look to step up as a locker room leader for years to come? What is your assessment of your depth at guard? Who can we see step away from the back to be your main back up for that position?

[Keepit100]

Do you see any similarities between Hunt's game and Acuna's when he was on the Magic? Or do you think you are working with a different style PG now?

[false9]

Good eye. I think Hunt has a higher ceiling in terms of INS, but overall they are similar in many other ways. If he develops into an Ernie-type PG, I'll be pleased.