The Orlando Magic looks to be one of the most active teams at the trade deadline and the NBA trade rumors have the lowdown on their targets.
The latest news from Basketball Insiders has the Magic ready to engage on the trading front.
"League source continue to speculate that Orlando could be the team that makes the most moves around the deadline with big man Nikola Vucevic, forward Serge Ibaka, forward Jeff Green and possibly guard C.J. Watson also changing teams before the deadline," according to Steve Kyler.
While those players have all been mentioned in trade talks, Kyler gives the virtual confirmation. However, he refrains from deeming it a "fire sale" as that means the Magic mean to trade the players even if they don't get equivalent value. He further explains:
"The Magic are also not looking at cosmetic change, they'd like to land a major player and have been after the Miami HEAT regarding Goran Dragic and the Chicago Bulls about Jimmy Butler, but neither seems to be obtainable at this point in the trade cycle."
For Ibaka, the Toronto Raptors were said to be the prime suitors since they needed a power forward. However, the Magic may not be able to get a good return as rumors stated that Terrence Ross would only be offered for Paul Millsap, even though both Millsap and Ibaka are impending free agents.
One question for the Magic is how far they would go to acquire a top 20 player like Jimmy Butler. The Bulls would not trade him for small fry, so the question would be whether the Magic would be willing to send out Aaron Gordon, perhaps the player with the most upside and trade value for the team.
Trading Gordon was discussed as a possibility by Orlando Magic SB Nation blog Pinstriped Post. One of the conditions for letting go of Gordon was if they had an opportunity to get a big star.
Stars like Butler, who is on a long-term contract that's team-friendly by today's standards, are rarely ever traded. If that were the situation, then the Magic could justify the trade.