Orlando Magic: Is There A Positional Logjam?

The Orlando Magic have toiled in mediocrity ever since Dwight Howard forced his way out back in 2012, but with a high pick in this year’s NBA Draft, the Magic’s rebuild might not take as long. But as you look at Orlando’s roster, one thing sticks out; they may have a logjam at guard.

Those guards are veteran scoring guard Arron Afflalo and rookie standout Victor Oladipo.

Those two players both play the shooting guard position, and both are very competent players worthy of starting. Having two good players is certainly not a bad thing, but if one player could be used better on a different team, or position, something could be arranged. Although this may not be the most pressing need for Orlando, it is something that could come up in the future, and might need to be adjusted.

Oladipo and Afflalo are both listed as shooting guards, and both are exemplary players that exceed at their position, however one of them will eventually become the lead man for the job, and the other could be left out. Now there’s a few different options that the Magic could choose, they could either change Victor Oladipo’s position to point guard, once Jameer Nelson leaves, or they could trade Arron Afflalo. Victor is currently averaging 13.8 points per game, 4.1 assists per game, and 4.3 rebounds per game, while playing great defense, all in 31.8 minutes per game. At 6’4”, Oladipo does have the ideal size to play the point guard position, and with his speed and elite hands, the change from shooting guard to the point could possibly happen, which allows Afflalo to man the shooting guard responsibilities. I don’t think this is a move that the Magic really want to make, and I think Oladipo would play best at shooting guard, but it is an option if nothing else can be done.

I don’t list “trade Victor Oladipo” as a solution, because I believe that the rookie guard out of Indiana is the future of the Orlando Magic. However, the idea of trading Arron Afflalo is still on the table, allowing Oladipo to play the shooting guard spot. Afflalo is someone whose name has been thrown around in trade talks, and at 28 years old, and averaging 19.3 points per game, he is an attractive piece for teams to trade for during the offseason, especially teams that could use an upgrade at the shooting guard position, like the Dallas Mavericks, or the Detroit Pistons.

The Orlando Magic may have larger problems to handle at this moment, like what they want to do with their high draft pick, but its something GM Rob Hennigan and head coach Jacque Vaughn might have to look into down the line.

Shawn McFarland covers the  New Orleans Pelicans, the Boston  Celtics, and the Orlando Magic for HoopsHabit.com, make sure to follow him on Twitter at @McFarland_Shawn