Orlando Magic: What Is Their Most Pressing Need?

It’s not secret that the Orlando Magic still have quite a ways to go before becoming relevant once again. As a rebuilding team, they have needs all over the court, and on both ends of the court. There is not enough talent on the team to become playoff regulars yet, and they need players who can score the ball at a high clip too.

More from Orlando Magic

• The most exciting NBA team you won’t see on national TV this season
• 5 NBA teams on the rise that will surprise everyone in 2023-24
• Ranking the 10 championship-less NBA teams by closeness to title
• Orlando Magic draft odds: What are the chances of landing the #1 pick?
• Franz Wagner has smashed the sophomore slump for the Orlando Magic

With so many pressing needs though, what is their biggest deficiency that needs the most attention this summer?

There are many ways you can take this conversation of course. One such avenue you could go down, is argue that the Magic should use their upcoming first round pick in this year’s draft to get the best available player on the board, and worry about how all the pieces fit together at a later date.

Talent is what’s most important in this league after all, and the more you have the better chance of winning big.

I’m not quite of that opinion anymore however. Right now, Orlando has one of the more promising, but also arguably the quirkiest, rosters in the league. Finding the right personnel to mesh with the young group makes a ton of sense. For example, they’ve got a point guard with no consistent jump shot (Elfrid Payton).

There’s a center who still can’t protect the rim at even an average standard (Nikola Vucevic) and there’s a shooting guard who is still trying to find out the best way to utilize his talents on this team (Victor Oladipo).

So finding the right players to do some of the things the current players can’t is important. It’s at this point we must also mention that Orlando was a bottom-10 team in both offensive and defensive efficiency during the regular season. They finished up 27th in offensive efficiency (99.6) and 25th in defensive efficiency (105.2).

I would think that, in order for this team to climb the ranks steadily, it would want to become an above-average team in one of those categories.

It makes a ton of sense then that this team commits to becoming a solid defensive unit. To me, the pieces are already in place, and the opportunity would appear to be there to acquire more players who can help on that end as well. Both Oladipo and Payton are excellent defensive guards, and combined they can make life miserable for opponents.

They’ve got a lovely blend of athleticism (Oladipo) and smarts (Payton) on that end to pester opponents in a number of ways. They are the foundation of any defensive movement that breaks out here.

As mentioned above, Vucevic still needs to put in considerable work to be a rim protecting center. Offensively he does great things for this team, he lead the team in scoring during the season, but it’s on the other end he has struggled. His backup, Kyle O’Quinn, works hard around the rim despite being undersized in a lot of matchups, and that is a plus for this team.

O’Quinn’s work alone is not enough there, and an upgrade at backup center may be needed to help this team solidify themselves on that end of the court.

What gives this plan to commit more to being a defense first team is the player they will draft this summer too. Many feel it will be Duke forward Justise Winslow who the team picks, if he is still on the board when their number is called. This will be especially true if Tobias Harris leaves the team through restricted free agency as well.

Winslow was the engine and defensive terror who powered Duke to an NCAA title a couple of months back, and it looks like his defense is NBA ready. He should be able to contribute on that end from day one. It doesn’t hurt that he’s athletic too.

So with the backcourt, Winslow and a new backup center, this team could quickly rise up the defensive rankings. There is one glaring drawback though, and it’s worth considering. Some of this team’s offensive possessions could be flat out disgusting.

The paint would be clogged, they don’t possess many shooters who can stretch the floor (this is why Channing Frye is so important to this team and still has a future in Orlando) and they’d slog through games.

Is it worth it then? Many of the pieces are already in place, and it makes a lot of sense for this team to draft Winslow, regardless of whether they want to be a defense first unit. Their backcourt experiment is not over yet, I’d be surprised if they drafted somebody to slot into those positions.

Their center of the future is already in place, and Frye is being paid a starter’s contract to play the power forward position. All of these facts point toward Winslow, and his tireless defensive motor, being their guy.

Live Feed

Raptors Rapture

One final point to consider as well. This team will likely hire a new head coach this summer, relieving interim head coach James Borrego of his duties. No disrespect to Borrego though, who filled in admirably and had this team buying into playing defense during his short stint as head coach when Jacque Vaughn was finally fired.

There is every chance that person will be current Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau. As we all know, his calling card is playing hard on the defensive end, even if the Bulls regressed some on that end this year.

So for me anyway, I just think all the pieces are aligning that will result in this team being a slightly above average defensive organization next season. A lot of the players are already in place, and Justise Winslow looks the perfect addition. Tom Thibodeau could yet lead this team, but even somebody like a Mark Jackson would tune up the defense the team plays.

Have I got it all wrong though? Maybe a radical change of direction is needed, and this team should become an offensive machine? With players like Vucevic, Oladipo and Evan Fournier, could that actually work better in the long term?

Next: Our Latest NBA Mock Draft

More from Hoops Habit

• The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout