I’m not gonna lie, I was a little bit disappointed when the trade deadline came and went without D.J. Augustin’s name popping up in any trade announcements. In fact, his name didn’t even come up in trade TALKS, much less finalized trades. If GM’s were discussing him, they didn’t leak it. This is disappointing to me because Augustin is the exact type of player that teams trade for at the deadline so they can have a steady backup point guard who then manages to outplay the starter to become the starter himself. Augustin is also a fixture in mid-season trades, or at least he was until the Magic decided that he was part of their core for some reason.
I get that Augustin is injured and might not be back until after the All-Star break, but that’s when a playoff team would most need his services anyway. Markelle Fultz and Michael Carter-Williams have the point guard position on lock, so it wouldn’t take much to pry Augustin away. Just a second-round pick would probably do it. If teams are still reluctant, attach a second-round pick to him, I don’t care. Augustin getting shipped away would also be good news for Fultz fans who are afraid that Fultz’s role will see a reduction once Augustin comes back. That’s what I’m afraid of, anyway. I hate it when vets on bad teams take away minutes from exciting young players.
You’re telling me that Andre Drummond for D.J. Augustin and a second-round pick wouldn’t have worked? Tell me, are you opposed to fun lineups such as Vucevic and Drummond starting together? How can you honestly oppose something fun like that?