Orlando Magic: Channing Frye Now Unmovable?
By Luke Duffy
Despite looking like his days were numbered with the Orlando Magic, has Channing Frye now become crucial for this team?
Between now and the trade deadline, the Orlando Magic are a team that may pop up in more than a few trade rumors. This is because they finally have the roster to compete for a playoff spot, however look like they’re one or two moves away from really making some noise in the Eastern Conference.
As things stand they’re a young team with plenty of upside with some nice veteran players as well, so keeping the team as it is may actually be the smart thing to do here.
But with some reasonable contracts on their books and interesting players potentially available to acquire, they would be foolish not to at least explore some of these options. For this reason Channing Frye‘s name will likely come up a bunch, as he’s a player many contending teams would like to have on a friendly contract (in the second year of a four-year, $32 million deal).
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Now, there was a time at the start of the season where it looked like Frye would almost certainly be moved. He saw zero game time in three of his side’s first four games, and the feeling was this team had moved on without him.
Brought in last season from the Phoenix Suns to be a leader in the locker room and a three-point shooting big who could stretch the floor, things did not pan out for him, on the court at least.
But even if his numbers aren’t worth shouting about he’s really turned things around with the Magic, so much so that he’s a starter now and has started 24 of the 31 games he’s appeared in. More than that though, his contribution has gone beyond the numbers to help this team to a winning record and the ability to be competitive every night.
But has he done enough to stick with this team going forward?
One thing Frye certainly has going in his favor is that he’s the cousin of teammate Tobias Harris. Now, while everybody understands basketball is a business (just ask the Morris twins) Harris is having his best season as a professional. Moving Frye, a veteran voice who also happens to be related to him, could upset him and lead to him becoming unhappy with the organization.
As a young and exciting wing player, keeping Harris happy is key.
But the biggest factor in keeping Frye has to be how he now understands his role on this team. He’s a starter yes, but he knows what’s required of him, and a look at some of his numbers tell us that. As a big who can stretch the floor, he was brought in for his three-point shooting.
Last season that did not work out so well, with Frye taking 4.6 three-pointers a night and shooting 39 percent.
By no means was that a bad number, but it took shots away from growing players like Harris and Oladipo. This season however, it looks like Frye has figured out how to be more efficient within the offense head coach Scott Skiles has implemented. He takes 3.2 three pointers per game now, but is shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc, the second highest mark of his career.
Even more interesting, is the developments in how he’s spending his time on the court. Frye uses the ball 12.9 percent of the time for his team when he’s on the court. That’s down on the 14.1 percent of last season. But, just like we’ve seen with the shooting numbers, he’s more productive in everything he does on the court.
Even though he sees the ball less, Frye accounts for 9.7 percent of all rebounds and 8.7 percent of all assists made when he’s on the court.
Last season those numbers were lower (8.9 percent rebounding, 7.4 percent assists) even though he was using the ball more. He’s scoring only 5.7 points per game (7.3 points last season) but his effective field goal percentage of 60 percent is by far and away a career high.
So it looks like Frye has figured out how best to contribute to this team in a limited capacity, something that is difficult in a league where most players want to get their personal numbers looking healthy.
Despite appearing to be involved less though, some other key numbers back up the claim that Frye deserves to be a starter for this team, even if some of his numbers are pedestrian. His offensive +/- of plus-1.1 is miles better than the minus-0.9 posted last year, and is further proof he’s a positive influence on the offensive end.
Despite being a decent defender as well, the plus-0.5 he’s posting on that end is his best mark in three seasons as well.
So would moving him now, during the season, actually have a detrimental effect on this team? The numbers would suggest yes, as Frye appears to have found the solution to quietly thrive for this team. When you consider he’s also one of the few veteran voices in the locker room, not to mention being related to Harris, really why would the team want to trade him?
Again it comes back to what this team could get in return though. Frye is certainly moveable, although you have to think future cap space will be dedicated to keeping both Oladipo and Elfrid Payton around long term.
Both Vucevic and Harris have already been paid, so a friendly contract and a steady influence like Frye could actually have more importance than many realize.
It looked like he’d be moved to begin the season, and certainly if the right offer comes along to help this team be better for longer then it’s worth looking at, but right now Channing Frye looks like a safe bet to remain with this team.
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The Orlando Magic have finally found consistency and a formula that is working for them, and if you dig a little deeper it’s clear Frye is a pretty important factor in the turnaround of this team’s fortunes–one of the more notable comeback stories of the year.