If you have not heard the news by now, the Orlando Magic led off the trade deadline with a major deal, shipping out forward Tobias Harris to the Detroit Pistons for guard Brandon Jennings and forward Ersan Ilyasova. The hits kept coming as the Magic appear very close to trading Channing Frye to the Los Angeles Clippers for even more cap relief.
Yes, the Magic’s rebuild plan seems to be taking even more steps forward than anticipated as the team potentially cleared enough cap room to sign a max contract this summer even with the bloated cap increase. And that was just with today’s moves alone and not the additional cap increase that is expected to come.
There is quite the amount of moving and shaking going on with the Orlando sports teams on a busy Tuesday across the sports spectrum in the city.
Harris was, of course, a major player in the community not just for his status on the court but also for what he did off of it. He was the DeVos Community Enrichment Award winner at last year’s Black Tie and Tennis Gala and was actually speaking to children in the area on behalf of a ministry he was associated with after learning of the trade.
Harris had his struggles on the court this year in some ways and was failing to live up to the contract he signed this summer. He quickly became a flash point for the team’s shortcomings through January.
The Magic became clearly in need of some changing. They went through with the deal to “shake things up” as Rob Hennigan explained it.
“I think we’re right in striking distance for a playoff spot,” Hennigan said. “Our team, I feel like, has played well the last few games. We have to continue to sustain that momentum and add to that momentum. Absolutely, the goal is to make the playoffs and the goal is to win which is what we’re trying to do.”
The Magic will have their work cut out for them. Jennings and Ilyasova fill a shooting need for the team and do help complement several players already on the roster, but neither are as good as Tobias Harris was individually.
It will be interesting to see how the team responds.
Rafael Ramos inks extension
Orlando City defender Rafael Ramos inked a new contract with the Lions, Paul Tenorio of the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Ramos started nearly every game he played in last year on a minimum reserve contract and proved his worth. His pace on the wing was incredibly useful in Orlando City’s attacking scheme and he showed plenty of skill defending, if not feistiness and sometimes a lack of composure. That can be OK from a 21 year old.
Ramos along with Darwin Ceren earned a bump in pay from the team after the expansion season.
Orlando Predators add former NFLer
The Orlando Predators announced Tuesday they have signed offensive lineman Nathan Isles.
Isles spent the last year on the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad, joining them on their Super Bowl XLIX run. He joined the Arizona Cardinals in the preseason before heading to the Arena Football League.
“Nate has the combination of size and strength that you look for in an AFL offensive lineman,” coach Rob Keefe said in a press release. “He has a great opportunity to contribute early and we’re looking forward to seeing how he makes the transition during training camp.”
