Back To The FlopTop💂🏾’s Future

Oh, Elfrid the #FlopTop💂🏾 Payton, we’ve come such a long way. When Henny traded Dario Saric and a future first for EP the year after drafting Victor Oladipo, we were there. When the front office prioritized Elf over Ola for the backcourt going forward, trading Victor a week before signing Evan Fournier to a team-friendly, $85M/5-year deal, we were there. When Payton saw yearly growth in advanced stats, PPG, and usage percentage, while reducing his turnover percentage, we were there. When the #FlopTop💂🏾 began flirting with triple-doubles every other night, tying Draymond Green for the 5th most triple-doubles this past season with five, we were there. When Elfrid had this dope put-back slam followed by the intense stare-down, we were there. Why is Elfrid suddenly under the hot seat? Where did it all go wrong?

Elfrid reminds Taj Gibson of Payton’s explosiveness.

With six shark-guard prospects circling the lottery waters of this deep draft pool, ten bonafide starting point guard options in free agency, and the ever-growing number of trade prospects at the position, Elfrid’s days as the defacto starting 1-guard on the Magic could be over. Would the #FlopTop💂🏾accept a backup position to continue building something in Orlando? Something tells me Elf would do so in a heartbeat, without murmuring the slightest complaint; he cares about this city, team, and fan-base that much. That said, not only does Payton most certainly desire to start; he deserves the proper opportunity to thrive in a situation where his specific skill-set has the best chance to succeed. Where does Elf’s value land in this historically deep point guard market?

Jeff Weltman and John Hammond, the Magic’s new pair of J’s, are focused on bringing Orlando its first Larry O’Brien trophy by 2030. Left with the sixth, twenty-fifth, thirty-third, and thirty-fifth picks in a draft holding ten potential franchise cornerstones, with plenty of potential sleepers available late, Jeff and John share the responsibility to select the best players available for a fan-base yearning for a successful on-court product. With roughly $15 Million in cap room this summer after renouncing Jeff Green and Jodie Meeks, Weltman and Hammond don’t quite have the room to overspend on a max contract, which isn’t that big of deal since this free agent class features seven stars who likely won’t shine in Orlando, anyway. The best path for the J’s to find a building block worth crafting their vision around is via pulling off a blockbuster trade or nailing draft picks. The Magic’s roster is full of solid assets, none of whom are landing much value on their own; however, package two or three of Orlando’s players together, not to mention any of their four draft picks, and maybe Jeff and John can find “their guy.” Last time, we reviewed some stuff the Magic could do without trading Elfrid Payton; let’s take a look at some scenarios where The 6th Man might be able to stomach losing their favorite #FlopTop💂🏾.

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** Warning: Trades Involving Elfrid Payton Ahead **

Elfrid questions his front office’s decisions.

Mavs receive: #25, #33, #35 and Elfrid
Magic receive: #9 and Wes Matthews

The Mavericks and Magic are both rebuilding on the fly; Dallas has Harrison Barnes locked down as their “hybrid” of the future, Orlando has Aaron Gordon. Depending on if the Mavs still view Elfrid Payton as a potential franchise point guard will determine the outcome of this trade scenario decision; Dallas would shave $15M off of their total salaries by swapping out Wes Matthews with Elfrid, scooping up three shots in the deep end of the draft pool to replace their outgoing ninth overall pick. The Magic do this trade for the obvious reason of collecting a second top-ten pick in the crazy upcoming draft. At #9 Overall, the Magic are guaranteed Frank Ntilikina, Lauri Markkanen, or one of the eight more highly promoted prospects slipping down to them. Orlando could pair up Jason Tatum and Ntilikina, De‘Aaron Fox and Markkanen, or possibly even Dennis Smith Jr. and Jonathan Isaac with the sixth and ninth picks; rolling the dice on two of these ten electric youngsters, while keeping Aaron Gordon, allows the Magic to show off three players next season, all of whom are capable of becoming All-Stars.

Sure, the Magic’s roster would be overloaded with expensive shooting guards after bringing in Wes Matthews, leaving the front office nothing to spend on in free agency this summer. The fact is, this part just doesn’t matter as much when Orlando is still vying for true franchise cornerstone. The Magic’s best path to finding this diamond in the rough is through the draft, so fixing up the rotation and opening up extra cap room can be settled in separate manuevers; the point is that the top ten picks in this draft may outweigh any single player, pick, or asset currently held by the Magic, Orlando can’t worry about small things like taking on bad salaries or fixing the rotation for “fit” until it has found a championship-caliber centerpiece. Those types of players aren’t signing in Orlando anytime soon and can only be traded for in dire circumstances, usually with an inflated price tag attached; this year’s potentially legendary draft, let alone the top prospects available in next year’s selection, offer the absolute best opportunity for the Magic to find a guy who could one day potentially develop into an All-NBA talent.

The #FlopTop💂🏾 in full-flop.

Pistons receive: #25, Elfrid Payton, Bizmack Biyombo
Magic receive: Andre Drummond

Stan Van Gundy is perfect in every way except one: he Forgot About anDre. Okay, if anyone can say, verbatim, “Andre Drummond is not the next Dwight Howard,” its Stan Van; that being said, Drummond, still just 23 years old, is clearly one of the best young bigs roaming around the association. Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, Nikola Vucevic, Myles Turner, Steven Adams, Kristaps Porzingis, Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns are the only young “centers” left who even pose an argument; Andre Drummond is a better rebounder than all of them. Drummond’s lack of offensive skill-set does not suit well for today’s pass-and-kick game; but, if Andre develops to his potential of protecting the paint and running the rim at an elite level, while remaining a master-rebounder, he could become the best big man in the league. For the rest of his career, Andre’s floor can only bottom out around the production of Tristan Thompson, an inefficent scorer from anywhere outside of three feet from the rim who you can at least count on for 10+ rebounds per game. In the right system, however, Drummond could max out his potential as an elite rolling pick-setter in the form of a Dwight-lite or Deandre Jordan, a 3-time All-NBA, 2-time All-Defensive center in his own right. Perhaps under the guidance of an optimistic coach like Frank Vogel, who has found success molding Roy Hibbert and rookie Myles Turner into defensive stalwarths able to anchor the paint for playoff teams consistently ranked in the top-five defensively.

With rumors constantly circling the future of Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond in Detroit, it seems Stan Van has at least made both available, if not on the trade block outright. Orlando should focus on its point guard needs elsewhere, but Drummond is too tall and lean mound of reboundedly-skilled to completely give up on. The Pistons are susceptible to taking lesser value than Drummond’s actual worth to escape anDre’s death row deal, even if it means temporarily replacing him with a slightly expensive center in Bizmack Biyombo. Bringing in the floppy potential point guard of the future is the cherry on top of the salary-shedding sundae that lies in front of a trade-hungry Stan Van, who giddily sips on a Diet Coke in anticipation of the Magic’s decision on the proposal.

Giving up two rotation players and two late picks in a draft full of not-so-silent sleepers is a lot, but Weltman and Hammond get “their big guy” in return; and, since no picks or other core prospects are given up, the Magic go into the draft with the following roster:
C: Andre Drummond, Nikola Vucevic
PF: Aaron Gordon, Jon Leuer
SF: Mario Hezonja
SG: Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross
PG: DJ Augustin, CJ Watson
the 6th, 25th, 33rd, 35th picks
and $15M in cap space.

Knicks receive: #25, Elfrid Payton, Bizmack Biyombo, Evan Fournier
Magic receive: #8, Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee, M

Elfrid considers life in New York with Kristaps and friends.

Elfrid needs outside threats to drive and kick to like Ron Baker, Kristaps Porzingis, Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Carmelo Anthony, and Terrence Ross. Throw Bizmack in the mix for reserve pick-and-roll man duties and big lineups next to Kristaps Porzingis to best take advantage of Elf's talents. Although the Knicks are likely to hold onto their eigth overall pick in hopes of finding another young stud for themselves to build around, the New York market, fanbase, and critics continuously demand a winning product now, now, now. If Carmelo is riding out his contract, and Kristaps is still thought of as a building block, then Bizmack, Ross, and Payton fill out the rotation to perfection. Stepping back into the draft with the #25 pick, Phil Jackson’s posse can attempt to swoop a sleeper to further add to the Knicks’ rotation.

For the Magic, this isn’t necessarily a no-brainer. Though each player may not independently hold much value on the trade market, Elfrid, Ross and Biz are highly beloved by fans, and starters in Orlando in their own right. Giving up on both, let alone a first round pick, to bring in two ugly three year contracts in Joakim Noah and Courtney Lee wouldn’t be an easy sell, even with both players’ local support. Once again, the decision comes down to the value of a top-ten pick in this uber-talented draft. Cap space for the Magic would actually increase by $3M, and next year’s team would be dancing with two belles from this year’s ball. Bad contracts, positional overload, and balancing the rotation for “fit” can again be worried about with future maneuvers. For now, Orlando must take as many chances in the lottery that the league will permit; the double power-ball can’t win itself.

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