Golden State Warriors Trade Idea: James Wiseman to Orlando Magic?

The Orlando Magic has gotten off to a 5-19 start to the 2022-23 NBA season, which ranks last in the Eastern Conference standings. With some veterans on the roster, the natural inclination is to start thinking about what potential trades could get looked at ahead of the midseason deadline.

With the Magic in the middle of a rebuild, its focus likely remains on maximizing opportunities to acquire young talent that could hopefully develop into a contributor to future success. What type of opportunities is out there to do so?

In a recent trade speculation piece, Bleacher Report constructed a deal that would feature the Magic acquiring James Wiseman, Moses Moody, 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick from the Warriors in exchange for Gary Harris and Moritz Wagner.

The Magic has shown the willingness to take a flier on young talent when presented an opportunity to ‘buy low’ when doing so. A prime example was the trade with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019 to acquire Markelle Fultz, who had been dealing with well-documented health concerns preventing him from realizing his No. 1 overall pick potential.

Wiseman wouldn’t be a buy-low target due to health reasons. Instead, it would be a chance to take advantage of a title contender not having the realistic capacity to develop the former No. 2 overall pick as he continues to get comfortable with the NBA level at the cost of short-term success. He’s appeared in only 11 games and has averages 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game.

With the Magic already having Wendell Carter Jr. as its starting center in addition to rostering Bol Bol and Mo Bamba, does it make sense to acquire Wiseman? The opportunity for him to develop probably wouldn’t be there in an already crowded frontcourt.

The main appeal of this trade for the Magic would be the opportunity to acquire Moody. Adding another perimeter player with potential doesn’t hurt in a league that is build on such production. His opportunities have remained limited, but not as much as Wiseman has experienced. Moody has produced a respectable sophomore campaign so far. He’s played 19 games this season and is averaging 5.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game.

When looking at the cost for this hypothetical trade scenario being Harris and the lesser of the two Wagner talents, it would be a worthwhile trade to make in a vacuum. Other contenders likely will want Harris and as a result, weighing how the Warriors’ young trade chips stack up compared to other options would be worth considering.