Yeah that seems to be likely.
After gauging other fan bases on how much they value their SFs/PFs and after looking at our assets (removing Fox, Ellis, Murray, Sabonis, and future 1sts from consideration), I think the list of SFs/PFs we could trade for are:
- Andrew Wiggins
- Bobby Portis
- Brandon Ingram
- Cameron Johnson
- De’Andre Hunter
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- Grant Williams
- Isaiah Stewart
- Jalen Smith
- Jerami Grant
- John Collins
- Jonathan Isaac
- Kyle Kuzma
- Naz Reid
- Taylor Hendricks
All of those guys have cons. All of them. So it comes down to who you/McNair would be willing to take a risk on. Some of those risks will cost more than others (e.g., Collins/Smith shouldn’t take assets to acquire while guys like Grant/Isaac would).
For me, I’d much rather target a PF and keep Murray at SF. He’s shown that he’s good at defending quicker wings and his extra size & length at SF will be much needed considering we have Sabonis at C. That leaves me with the following list:
- Bobby Portis
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- Isaiah Stewart
- Jalen Smith
- Jerami Grant
- John Collins
- Jonathan Isaac
- Kyle Kuzma
- Naz Reid
- Taylor Hendricks
In addition to being able to matchup and defend the larger PFs in the league, I think it’s also very important to be versatile enough to be able to defend SFs at a good level. For me, that leaves…
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- Jerami Grant
- Jonathan Isaac
- Kyle Kuzma
- Taylor Hendricks
Dorian Finney-Smith
I like me some DFS. Really good, long, versatile defender whose interior defense & rotations are underrated IMO. However, his shooting has taken a dip the last 2 seasons (.343 3P%) but that also might be a product of the team he’s on and not getting as good of looks as before. He’s also not going to give you much in terms of scoring so you’re really going to need to rely on Murray becoming that type of player (and also hope you bring Monk back). Lastly, he’ll be 31 at the start of next season and will be an expiring contract. Do we want to be in a position to risk losing him for nothing or signing him to a decent sized deal ending in his mid 30s?
Jerami Grant
In a way, Grant can provide almost everything we’re looking for. He’s a very long, athletic, versatile forward who has shown that he can be a plus defender and pretty good rim protector. He’s also a really good shooter and an efficient secondary scorer to give us another option when defenses clamp down. The cons are that you’re hoping that he can get back to being a plus defender since his offensive load will be less and that he’ll be 30 years old at the start of the season with 4 more years left being paid like a top end starter (not a star). He’s also not a good rebounder but Sabonis should help negate that a bit. You’re basically banking on him tapping back into the defensive ability he showed a few years ago but now that player is also a better shooter and secondary scorer today. Combine all of this attributes, and you got a hell of a fit next to Sabonis.
Jonathan Isaac
Isaac actually may be the best fit in the league next to Sabonis. He plays defense at a DPOY level and can easily anchor a defense. His versatility, length, IQ, rim protection, ability to defend without fouling, and ability to defend the perimeter are outstanding. The defensive fit doesn’t get much better than that. Offensively, he shot the 3 ball at a good rate on decent volume this year which should still keep defenses honest but unlike Finney-Smith, he does have more of an offensive arsenal and can help a bit more in the scoring department. He’s also a tremendous rebounder and I’m salivating at the idea of a team trying to keep both Sabonis and Isaac off the glass all game long. He’ll be 27 at the start of next season which puts him right on the same timeline as our core. The only cons is that he’ll be UFA after next season and that he’s a MAJOR injury risk.
Kyle Kuzma
He’s got the size, length, athleticism, versatility to be (theoretically) what we want at PF and he gives us another secondary scoring option to help when defenses clamp down. He’s a good rebounder and has a really good declining contract which will likely look better and better each year. My concerns are that he’s never been an efficient scorer at any point in his career, he seems like a “me” guy and would be more prone to chucking vs. playing within the flow of the team, he doesn’t strike me as a good defender, and he’s not that good of a floor spacer. Kuzma’s one of my least favorite options. I think he has too many question marks on his fit to take that risk.
Taylor Hendricks
Theoretically, he’s a tremendous fit next to Sabonis. He’s got great size, length, and athleticism. He projects as a good defender, shot blocker, rebounder, and shooter (and will only be 20 at the start of next year). The downside is that he is still mostly potential at this point and he may not help us win right away.
In regards to who Is take that gamble on, I think at this point I lean towards
Jonathan Isaac or
Jerami Grant. Both are risks for different reasons, but their risks seem the smallest when assessing the type of player we want to put between Murray and Sabonis.
To land one of these two guys, we’re probably looking at the following trades (or something close to it):
- Grant, #34, & #40 for Huerter, Vezenkov, Duarte, & #13
- Isaac & #47 for Huerter & #13
That seems like a steep price for Isaac, but I think it’s going to take a steep price for ORL to surrender Isaac’s massive potential (even with the injury concerns). This seems to be how the large majority of the ORL fanbase feels so take that for what it’s worth.
SIDE NOTE: I didn’t include Eason or Avdija in this list because their fan bases seem to have them valued more than what we can offer (if I’m taking Fox, Ellis, Murray, Sabonis, and future 1sts off the table). Also, Markkanen is excluded for similar reasons but he comes with his own defensive question marks and isn’t technically a perfect fit. Bridges was left off as well for similar reasons but I don’t think BKN would trade him for picks and rebuild since they don’t own some of their own 1sts. I think they would only let him go if someone like Murray was included.