Does the NBA want the Toronto Raptors in the Finals?

Does the NBA want the Toronto Raptors in the Finals? by Daniel Lubofsky

The Orlando Magic need to make changes this summer to be a better team next season. Point guard Isaiah Thomas should be avoided at all costs, right?

For the Orlando Magic, right now there is no simply answer on how to make themselves relevant in the near future. This is because, strictly speaking, they’re not a tanking team anymore. They are just one that has come in well below expectations.

They have two promising young players in Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac, and capable veterans like Evan Fournier and Jonathon Simmons.

Even the ill-advised big man tandem of Nikola Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo should ensure they’re average on both ends of the court. Only it doesn’t.

Clearly then, there will need to be changes this summer, with the new front office who came on board last offseason having had a full year to digest what they’ve seen.

A piece on Bleacher Report recently suggested that the Magic could do a lot worse than approach free agent to be Isaiah Thomas this summer about coming to Florida.

However it really feels like that is an awful idea no matter way you look at it for this team. Isn’t it? Or have we reached the worrying point where Thomas is the kind of player who should be considered?

It seems like there are far more negatives than positives to signing Thomas, so let’s start there. Money would surely be the initial issue.

Thomas has spoken before about wanting the “Brinks Truck” pulled up outside when it comes to contracts. In other words, he might be expecting a hefty sum of money, even after season-ending hip surgery.

It is hard to blame the guy. After this season is wrapped up, he will have made just over $30 million in his career so far. It’s hard to feel sorry for a multi-millionaire, but his talents deserve more than that when compared to his status in the league.

His first three seasons in the NBA, he made less than $1 million per year. In year one, the exact figure was $381,193.

In Jeff Green‘s lone season with the team, in which he was paid $15 million (that broke down to $283,018 per 3-point shot made, as he made 53 of them) he was paid more than Thomas had accumulated in five seasons to act like the most disinterested man on the planet.

I have a hard time seeing Isaiah Thomas getting a contract next year. The Celtics really did that dude dirty. — Live, Laugh, Lose (@demeatloaf) March 28, 2018

It was really hard to watch Jeff Green on this team. The point is, Thomas would be well within his rights to ask for considerable cash, and the Magic are one of the few teams who could provide it, especially if they move Vucevic this offseason (there looks to be no getting out from under Biyombo’s silly deal).

Thomas is also out injured for roughly four months with another hip injury. For a 29-year-old who has missed time with a similar injury before and who is under six feet tall, that’s a red flag.

Aside from his health issues, and really they should be reason enough to steer clear, Thomas showed during his brief stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers how he could negatively impact a locker room.

You know who doesn’t need those sort of vibes around their team? A young and impressionable Magic core. They’re much better off having somebody like Simmons, who has had a rough year, but comes across as the consummate professional.

That topic of professionalism is something else that has come unstuck for Thomas recently. In Boston with the Celtics he was loved and acted accordingly. But even with his current employers, the Los Angeles Lakers, the actions of Thomas on the court have been suspect at times.

He hasn’t appeared to cause problems in their locker room, but maybe Julius Randle would disagree. Either way, there’s no denying a certain “Napoleon Complex‘”manifests itself from time to time too.

I liked a @YouTube video https://t.co/xkTZ8koYGp Rajon Rondo vs Isaiah Thomas BAD BLOOD Duel 2018.02.14 – Both EJECTED! | FreeDawkins — Vuho Gaming (@VuhoGaming) February 23, 2018

Thomas is often the target of opponents given his stature, but he should really be above the kind of reactions we have seen from him on the court.

To recap, Thomas would bring with him to the Magic a worrisome injury history, the ability to agitate teammates and opponents alike while being at the tail end of his 20’s, and likely demand to be paid up.

It makes even less sense, however, when you consider where the Magic are at right now. They’ve got the aforementioned Gordon and Isaac, as well as an upcoming lottery pick in this year’s draft.

They also have the financial flexibility to add another player of note during the summer, although actually attracting free agents will be another story. Even if they want to blow up this iteration of the team, players like Simmons, Terrence Ross and to a lesser extent Vucevic have trade value with playoff teams.

Where does Thomas, a player who is fully formed and as good as he is ever going to be, fit into all of that? Where he is now as a player does not fit in with this team’s long-term plans.

If they had snagged the eighth seed this season, perhaps adding him in the hopes of pushing on to the next level would have made sense.

A young roster with an ability to make the postseason adding a proven offensive talent like Thomas would’ve made sense for some future free agents a level below true star status.

Yet despite all of this, there is still a small case to be made that Thomas to the Magic could work. For example, if he accepted far less money to join for a couple of seasons, that could work.

If Thomas agreed to come for a season, and had the offense run through him like his Boston days, that could work out extremely well for both the player and team.

This is even more true because the Magic truly lack a point guard of any note, and there’s no guarantee they’re going to draft one this summer (even though they should).

The Magic also currently rank 25th in offensive rating (103.5), and could do with somebody to shoulder the scoring burden.

Thomas did just that with the Celtics, during his two years there when he was on the court the team had an offensive rating average of 108.9. Before going down with injury, the Lakers had a rating of 109.8 as well, proof that Thomas still has it on that end of the floor.

That being said, he’s disastrous defensively and the last thing this team needs is to get even worse on that end (108.4 defensive rating), because they’ve looked listless there for months now.

So while there are actually a couple more reasons than you would initially think for the Orlando Magic to pursue a player like Isaiah Thomas this summer, ultimately it is not a good idea.

We didn’t even touch on the fact Thomas would probably want a long-term deal so as to have some financial security before his playing days are over.

Even though the Magic could do with some of the skills Thomas has, this is a bad match. Previous general manager Rob Hennigan would have considered something like this, but let’s hope the new management has more sense. It would be a start for this franchise.