Terrence Ross – Orlando Magic
Top Trade Destination: Phoenix Suns
The Orlando Magic are rebuilding right now and after trading away Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, and Aaron Gordon at the trade deadline last NBA season, they are looking to move forward with young talents on this roster.
Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, R.J. Hampton, Wendell Carter Jr., Mo Bamba, and others highlight a group of talented young players, but Terrence Ross is one of the lone veterans still remaining on this roster.
Entering the year, new head coach Jamahl Mosley spoke highly of Ross and stated that he would like to keep the veteran wing around as long as they can given his leadership role within this young core, but all offseason long, there have been rumors that Terrence Ross was drawing some trade interest around the league.
Ross only played in 46 games last season due to multiple injuries, but he still put together a great season, averaging a career-high 15.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and shooting 41.2% from the floor.
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Now 30-years-old, the Magic wing is older and not someone teams will look to build around for the foreseeable future, but he is on a very movable contract.
Set to make $12.5M this season and then $11.5M next season, Terrence Ross is a player that multiple contending teams should be targeting. Given their cap situation, it would be hard to make this trade possible, but the Phoenix Suns would be the best landing spot for Ross at this point in his career.
The Suns upgraded their roster in the offseason by adding Landry Shamet and JaVale McGee, but they could still be one piece away from winning a title. They were within two games of winning the NBA Finals last year, but they ultimately lost to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Finding secondary scorers on their bench was a big problem for Phoenix last season in the playoffs, which is why Ross would be a huge pickup for them at the trade deadline. Being one of the best bench scorers in the league a season ago, Terrence Ross could be a guy the Suns lean on when Devin Booker or Chris Paul is out of the game and he has the experience in the league to join the team and contribute right away.
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There would not be a learning curve with adding a guy like Terrence Ross and he could absolutely be the difference in terms of bench scoring for this team to make it back to the NBA Finals. Trading Dario Saric and Jalen Smith would make this trade work financially for the Suns, but who knows if Orlando would be willing to acquire Saric and Smith.
Terrence Ross is 30-years-old, but he can still be an impactful veteran in this league. Averaging 14.0 points per game and shooting 35.6% from three-point range since joining the Orlando Magic during the 2016-17 season, Ross is definitely a key trade target that multiple playoff/contending teams around the league will be monitoring as we inch closer to the trade deadline.
