{"id":4709,"date":"2026-06-19T20:05:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T20:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4709"},"modified":"2026-06-19T20:05:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T20:05:28","slug":"magic-mention-in-giannis-trade-rumors-speaks-to-the-talent-on-this-roster-team-president-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4709","title":{"rendered":"Magic mention in Giannis trade rumors \u2018speaks to the talent on this roster,\u2019 team president says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When the Magic hired Sean Sweeney as their new head coach, speculation about Orlando potentially trading for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo only grew louder.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Everyone\u2019s hungry\u2019: Overhauled Dolphins are youngest team in NFL<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s because Sweeney not only worked with Antetokounmpo as an assistant coach in Milwaukee from 2014-18 but built a relationship with the two-time NBA MVP so strong that the forward has described Sweeney in the past as one of his best friends.<\/p>\n

In addition, Sweeney\u2019s time with the Bucks overlapped for three years with John Hammond\u2019s tenure as Milwaukee\u2019s general manager when the franchise drafted Antetokounmpo with the 15th pick in 2013. Hammond, who served as Orlando\u2019s general manager for six seasons (2017-23), now works as a senior advisor to Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman.<\/p>\n

So are the Magic actually pursuing \u201cThe Greek Freak\u201d or is this just a professional connecting of the dots?<\/p>\n

While the Miami Heat are generally viewed as the most aggressive team working to acquire Antetokounmpo, according to various reports, there are other teams that could be involved.<\/p>\n

And as recently as Tuesday, ESPN senior writer Ramona Shelburne referred to the Magic as a \u201cdark horse\u201d team to acquire Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s another dark horse team that I\u2019ve heard \u2014 Orlando,\u201d Shelburne said on ESPN\u2019s NBA Today. \u201cGood young players, they kind of topped out in the playoffs. I mean, we all know what happened in that first round against Detroit. Would Paolo Banchero be a guy that they would ask for? I mean, these are big, good young players. \u2026 Jalen Suggs, good players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shelburne also mentioned Portland and Boston as potential teams that could be interested in Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Weltman was asked by the Orlando Sentinel about the idea that the Magic are a \u201cdark horse\u201d team to land the Bucks star.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, you know I\u2019m not allowed to speak about that,\u201d Weltman told the Sentinel on Thursday after Sweeney was formally introduced at the AdventHealth Training Center. \u201cI\u2019m not allowed to talk about another team\u2019s player.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think that, to me, \u201cWeltman said, \u201cI take it as a compliment that we have a lot of players that the league is interested in and that we could even be thrown into that conversation speaks to the talent on this roster. So, that\u2019s my big takeaway from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Special Olympics Florida athletes head out from Orlando to compete in USA Games<\/a><\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo, 31, has spent all 13 years of his career in Milwaukee, guiding the franchise to its second NBA title in 2021.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously I won\u2019t comment on any discussions we\u2019re having with teams or where our agendas are,\u201d Weltman told the Sentinel. \u201cI know a lot\u2019s been written about that. But I think, like, you can\u2019t get into that conversation without talent, you know? So, to me, I take that as a compliment and I know we have a lot of work to do, but we have a lot of belief in our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of where Antetokounmpo ends up, Weltman is aware the Magic have work to do to improve a roster that\u2019s already expensive with the core pieces of Banchero, Franz Wagner, Suggs and Desmond Bane.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doing all the work that we need to (do) to try to puzzle the roster out,\u201d Weltman said Thursday. \u201cI do think there\u2019s some kind of basic holes that we want to punch where we can improve the roster and augment the players that we have.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously the most important part of this whole process has been bringing Sean in the right way,\u201d he added. \u201c\u2026 It\u2019s been a busy time organizationally but we have been at work on the draft and free agency, so hopefully we\u2019re putting ourselves in a position to have a good summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Sweeney, he said he\u2019s looking forward to working with a young team that\u2019s reached the playoffs the last three years. The new coach said he\u2019s already made \u201clots of communication\u201d with the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny time we played Orlando, they were always a hard-playing team \u2014 competitive, tough \u2014 and so that\u2019s something there,\u201d Sweeney said. \u201cThere\u2019s obviously talent here. A number of talented guys that I\u2019m excited to coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, just in the conversations that I\u2019ve had with a number of the players, (the) guys are hungry,\u201d he added. \u201cThey\u2019re ready to win. They want to keep working on building on what they\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sweeney also made it clear that roster decisions are, as expected, going to be made by Weltman and the front office.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever Jeff tells me,\u201d Sweeney said with a grin when asked how much he expects to be involved in team construction. \u201cNo, listen, I\u2019m excited about what we have here. There\u2019s a lot of guys that are talented. Clearly there\u2019s been a roster put together here that has shown the ability to win.<\/p>\n

Read more Leafs acquire Darren Raddysh from Lightning and sign him to an 8-year contract<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my job to take what has been given here to me and do the best job I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As recently as Tuesday, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne referred to the Orlando Magic as a “dark horse” team to acquire star Giannis Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-orlando-magic","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nMagic mention in Giannis trade rumors \u2018speaks to the talent on this roster,\u2019 team president says - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4709\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Magic mention in Giannis trade rumors \u2018speaks to the talent on this roster,\u2019 team president says - 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