Short-Term Shot In The Arm

There are a couple directions the Magic could go. They could go for a stop-gap option. George Hill seems the most likely candidate for something like that. He’s got good size and has shot over 40.0 percent from the arc in five of the last six years. He’s in the second year of a $57-million three-year contract with a salary of $19M this year and $18M next with a $1 buyout for next year, per Spotrac.

Hill would fit neatly the slots held by Timofey Mozgov ($16M) and Grant ($2.6M), though the Cavaliers would presumably need an enticement of some sort to take back Mozgov’s un-voidable contract given Hill’s cheap buyout. This is a move made to maximize the team’s current chances and take advantage of Vucevic’s terrific, contract-year play.

A similar, lower-level upgrade would be Austin Rivers, who at $12.6 million is in the final year of his contract and under-performing on an under-performing team. It would presumably cost the Magic Terrance Ross in addition to Grant to match up and Rivers three-point shooting has fallen from last year’s career high 37.8 percent to 32.3 percent. Also he’s never been much of a playmaker or a defender, making him a mediocre fit at best. So perhaps…

Buy Low: Out-of-Favor Backup

There are a couple languishing backups who like Augustin are a bit under-sized and as a result haven’t been given a lot of opportunity. Frank Mason was a three-year starter for Kansas, but due to his size (6-foot) and age (almost 25) has not been given a real opportunity in Sacramento. He has another year still remaining on his contract at $1.378 million, per Spotrac.

Mason has the dynamic De’Aaron Fox in front of him and he’s having a tough year shooting 17.6 percent from behind the arc. It’s overshadowed the fact that he’s improved from shooting 40.4 percent on his two-pointers to making half of them so far this year. Meanwhile he’s creating 3.2 assists to just one turnover a game.

Tyus Jones is also languishing behind a Jeff Teague and a revitalized Derrick Rose. In the last year of his contract (which is $2.44 million, per Spotrac) he seems a likely trade option, while at 22 would be offer an interesting look-see. The 6-foot-2 Jones is a career 33.4 percent from behind the arc but is shooting just 29.3 percent this year. Meanwhile his two-point shooting is just 37.1 percent, well off his 46.0 percent career numbers. Jones’ handle is pretty phenomenal; he has a 4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in his career, and is over 5:1 (2.8 to 0.5) this year. He’s also averaging 1.1 steals in just 18.3 minutes per game.

Next Up: Swing for the Fences