NBA
Orlando Magic Might Be Buyers At The Trade Deadline With “Real Interest” In Toronto’s Fred VanVleet
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated07 Feb 2023
The Orlando Magic had 22 wins in the entire 2021-22 season and the team has already matched that record in 2022-23. Their 22nd win was on the road this past Sunday vs the Hornets and the Magic are a young team still trying to build on their success. Rookie Paolo Banchero has been a huge part of that success but NBA insiders say that Orlando may in fact be buyers ahead of the trade deadline.
Reports say that the Magic have “real interest” in Toronto’s 28 year old guard Fred VanVleet. There have been rumblings of trade talks in Toronto for months now and discussions are becoming more serious with the deadline looming on Thursday at 3:00pm EST.
VanVleet is in his seventh season with Raptors and could be on the move in the Magic find a way to strike a deal. Florida Sports Betting sites have the Magic at (+100000) to win the Finals this season.
Report: The Clippers and Suns “have been often mentioned as (Fred) VanVleet suitors.”…“The Lakers, Magic and Timberwolves have also registered interest in VanVleet,” via @JakeLFischer
(https://t.co/P6aF2pChP3) pic.twitter.com/FbGcg66rNz
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 7, 2023
Orlando Magic put their name in the running to try and land Fred VanVleet before the deadline
In the offseason, Toronto tried giving VanVleet a four-year, $114 million contract extension but he turned down negotiations until the offseason. He’s currently on an expiring contract and recently hired new agents in hope’s to gain a contract earning $30 to $35 million per year.
His points, rebounds, and assists are right around where they’ve been for the past three season but his shooting efficiency is down drastically. His three-point percentage is the lowest of his career at 34 despite having a 38 career percentage from deep.
VanVleet had a very slow start to the season and he’s picked up his pace over the last month or so. NBA insider Matt Moore noted that Jalen Suggs could be a part of a trade deal along with cash consideration as the Magic have a lot of young core players they’d like to keep.
The Raptors have been very busy in trade discussions in the past week or so. Toronto has been getting calls from al around the league regarding VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr., and O.G. Anunoby. It will be interesting to see what the Raptors roster looks like at the end of the week when the trade deadline is over.
