Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris. (Photo : Getty Images)
Recent rumors have emerged that the Orlando Magic has put one of their core young players, wingman Tobias Harris, on the trading block as this year's NBA trade deadline draws near.
SB Nation reported that the Magic are "listening to offers" from interested teams on the combo forward, who had been playing rather inconsistently "throughout much of the season".
However, the report clarified that Orlando is not "openly shopping Harris, rather showing willingness to talk about their small forward", which means he may or may not be dealt this trading period.
One of the reported reasons why the Magic are trying to deal Harris is to have more "veteran presence" in their locker room. The team could be gunning for veteran role players to swap for the Islip, New York native, particularly those who have been mentioned in recent trade rumors such as Minnesota's Kevin Martin, Detroit's Brandon Jennings, and New Orleans' Tyreke Evans.
Right now, the only veterans in Orlando's roster are 30-somethings Channing Frye and C.J. Watson with the former also rumored to be attracting a lot of interest from other teams.
The Magic are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference standings with a 23-28 record, but they had been 3-15 in 2016. It is clearly an indication that everything will go downhill for the young team unless they make a substantial change before Feb. 18.
Today's Fastbreak's Nekias Duncan suggested a trade sending Harris, Watson, and Devyn Marble to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Tony Snell, a 2016 first-round pick and a 2018 lottery-protected first-rounder.
Even though he is currently injured, Noah will instantly solve Orlando's locker room leadership issues. If he ends up playing for the Magic next season, he would also be a nice complement for Nikola Vucevic up front.
Gibson and Snell are instant improvements off the bench in both offense and defense. Gibson, though, can even be the starting power forward if Scott Skiles favors him over Aaron Gordon. Moreover, both of them are veterans that lead by example.
As for the picks, a detailed explanation can be found in Duncan's article as the protections on both of them are complicated.
Meanwhile, for the Bulls, the team will get a young, athletic small forward in Harris that can be Jimmy Butler's Scottie Pippen in the long run. Unloading Noah and Gibson will also help them unleash the full potential of rookie Bobby Portis, who is miserably playing only 16.0 minutes per game.
