Orlando Magic: Copying Charlotte Possible Next Step?

For the Orlando Magic, this coming season will see them once again finish with what they hope will be one final trip to the lottery before making a real playoff push next season. Make no mistake though, this team got better and deeper this summer.

In fact, given how the Eastern Conference is pretty weak anything can happen. Still though, cracking 40 wins will prove pretty tough. This makes next summer already something to be looked at, and for this team to move forward, they could do worse than look at what’s happening over in Charlotte.

Apr 14, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green (8) drives toward the net as Philadelphia 76ers guard Hollis Thompson (31) defends during first quarter of the game at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /

First though, a brief recap on the Charlotte Bobcats (Now Hornets) and why doing as they have done makes sense. The team was historically bad for the last half decade, before turning a corner last season. They won seven games in the lockout shortened 2011-12 season. In Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist however, things were meant to get better. They have gotten better, because these young studs got some help, but more on that in a minute.

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Victor Oladipo

and hopefully Elfrid Payton, the Magic also have young players with which to build around. We know already Oladipo can be a top level player in this league, and he is also an excellent defensive player like Kidd-Gilchrist. Walker and Payton are incomparable, at least right now, so it’s too early to say if Payton can turn into the scoring threat Walker is right now. Nevertheless though, we can see where there are similarities for these teams.

For Charlotte the big change occurred the summer before last, when they brought in Al Jefferson during free agency. Most said they overpaid for what they saw as a limited big man. That was until he got down in the paint and throttled the opposition on a near nightly basis.

His nickname is ‘The Big Classic’ for a reason, for he is such a throwback to the big men of old. Bottom line though, they paid the money they had to in order to get him to what looked to be a desperate situation in Charlotte. The fact it worked out is great, but not all acquisitions can be like this.

So next summer, it is very possible the Magic will overpay just to get an established name on board. It makes sense, given they will have the money and what they hope is a budding young and athletic team around them to entice free agents to come take a look at the Magic. It’s not like Orlando is a hard sell either, it’s a desirable place to come and set up shop if you’re a player. Who that player will be though, is critical in their advancement as a team.

Ironically enough, Jefferson himself could be available next summer. He’s probably in Charlotte for the long haul given that he will be in his thirties by then and looking for money and stability. Nikola Vucevic could become a free agent himself though, and so it is something to think about. What this team will still really need next year to take them to the next level though is an elite scorer, and they should throw a lot of money at getting a great one down to Orlando to join this team.

Potential free agents next season (depending on contract extensions yet to happen or if they take their player option) include the likes of Jeff Green and Rudy Gay. It is unlikely Gay will leave money on the table in Sacramento to jump elsewhere, but he is a big name player, and one who can score really well.

If you’re asking this writer, I’m not a fan of his game at all, but if Orlando absolutely overpaid for his ball hogging services, I could see why. He’s not in the top tier of players in this league, but if the offence runs through him, he is the rung below that.

So what the Magic should do this season is define the type of team they are, really find their identity. Once they have decided if they’ll be more offensive or defensive, high tempo or low, they can go and get one of the better players in the league who would fit into that system they will have created perfectly. It’s exactly what Charlotte did, getting a big man in the paint that their own homegrown guards could play around, and it wielded playoff success in year one of Jefferson being on board.

We could talk about the Hornets then grabbing Lance Stephenson this summer, a shrewd piece of business, but really the Magic are too far away to think about things like that. Right now they need to zone in on the players who will be available next summer, and given them more money than their worth to come to Orlando.

The new television deal coming down the pipeline means the salary cap is expected to rise anyway, so they are in a good place. This piece is also not directing criticism at Jefferson, most people thought he was overpaid but if anything the opposite has proved true. The team did do what was necessary financially to acquire him though.

So you see, while there are any number of possibilities for this Magic team going forward, which is exciting it itself, they could do worst than look at what Charlotte has done. In fact, don’t be surprised to see them aggressively go after a big name next summer, all while paying a lot of money to get them in their pinstriped blue jersey.

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