Paint XN Sports as one of the many sports minds surprised by the Arron Afflalo trade. The world wasn’t expecting LeBron or Melo on the other side of a handshake but no one was expecting Evan Fournier-late second-round pick underwhelming either. C’est la NBA Free Agency.
As the deal goes, the Denver Nuggets will be getting the two-way recruit in exchange for Frenchman Fournier and the 56th pick in the 2014 draft. People seem convinced that the Orlando Magic got shortchanged in the trade but something else might be in the works.
Despite having a record year averaging 18.2 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.8 three-pointers, Afflalo’s value just might not be what the rest of us believed as indicated by the market. Keep in mind, despite heavy minutes, ball touches, and a Usage Rate 23.3 percent, his PER was only a 16.0 (1 point higher than league average), and his Win Shares Per 48 Minutes (.099) don’t breach the league average of .100. On his own, he’s simply not a winner. That’s fine if he happens to land on the right team. That he hasn’t so far in his career should indicate plenty.
The Nuggets, for their part, are in the mood for Love. Kevin Love. It could very well be that Afflalo would round out a trade for the long range-shooting power forward that would include other Nuggets players Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler.
The Magic must not only see something in Fournier–as they passed up on Gerald Henderson and the 24th pick–but are also showing that they, too, could be looking into a big trade in the next few weeks. No big names have been associated with the Florida squad, but then again, Denver wasn’t attached to the Magic in the manner that just transpired. Often in free agency, it’s the deals you don’t see that get ya. If the Magic end up not chasing a big or semi-big name in the market, they’ll still be working toward their projected goal of stocking up on a deep stockpile of young talent. If Fournier and the 56th pick turn out to be as promising as any of Orlando’s other promising youngsters, this will be a team to contend with in no time. Add to that the Magic’s No. 4 and 12 picks in this round, along with Tobias Harris, Victor Oladipo, Maurice Harkless, Andrew Nicholson, Kyle O’Quinn, and Nikola Vucevic, and you have a sleeping giant in Orlando.
Though armchair general managers will protest much, in the end, it was a deal that will help both organizations and that indicates the time of demand Afflalo was garnering in the market. If it doesn’t look like much, it’s because not much was given to begin with.
