Orlando Magic: Brandon Jennings Is The Answer

Brandon Jennings is headed to the Orlando Magic, and he’ll give the team a much needed offensive boost and a little star power to boot.

In a somewhat shocking move, the Orlando Magic traded Tobias Harris to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for point guard Brandon Jennings and forward Ersan Ilyasova. The fact the team made a move before the trade deadline wasn’t the surprising part; however, it was trading for two players who both have question marks hanging over them.

For now though we’re going to focus solely on Jennings, without doubt the bigger name of the two who the Magic have acquired. Still only 26 years of age, he hasn’t looked quite the same since tearing his Achilles tendon in January 2015.

While some players never fully recover from an injury like that, the Magic may have actually found the perfect floor general who can lead them on a late charge back into the playoff mix.

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There are many reasons for this, but let’s start with the injury. Obviously it would be ideal if Jennings had never had to go through that ordeal, but as a result, it’s now acceptable to bring him off the bench. Is that what Orlando is going to do? Maybe not, and we’ll come to that in a bit. But it’s a possibility for this team.

Jennings started in only one of the 23 games he appeared in for the Pistons this season. With Reggie Jackson the man running the show there, he came off the bench and scored 6.8 points per game. A lowly number, but he was only playing 18 minutes a night.

A guy of his skill level is capable of so much more, but because he was stuck behind Jackson in Detroit anyway, the Magic have the luxury of discovering at their own pace which is the best way to use their new guard.

When Jennings entered the league, he did so after famously opting to play a season in Italy professionally instead of going to college. But while he was known for that reason when he entered the NBA, it took him some time to establish himself, oftentimes doing so while appearing to play the game selfishly.

He played in every game two of his first three years in the league though, and by his third season was averaging a career high 19.1 points per game.

As a rookie, he famously scored 55 points against the Golden State Warriors.

Along with Monta Ellis, he was part of an exciting backcourt that led the Milwaukee Bucks to the playoffs. Even with that modest list of accomplishments, a guy who has achieved all of that would be seen as one of the main men on this young Magic team, if not for that injury.

Even before missing time through rehab, the career of Jennings had stagnated somewhat. Now he gets a fresh start as a leader on a young team, and he may do so either as a starter or off the bench.

Acquiring Jennings will have a knock on effect on the other players in the locker room as well. Guys like Victor Oladipo and especially Elfrid Payton may have thought their positions were under no threat and that they could continue to make mistakes as they became better players.

Suddenly a player like Harris, signed to a four-year extension last summer, has been shipped out, and direct competition in the form of the veteran Jennings has taken his place on the roster.

Nobody’s position on this team is safe anymore, and the hope is that it lights a fire under Payton. Is he still the starting point guard on this team? It would seem foolish to throw in the towel on him just yet, but it’s also fair to say he still turns in underwhelming performances on many nights for the Magic. Perhaps bringing Payton off the bench for now is the smart move?

This leads us to the biggest advantage in signing a player like Jennings. He has real offensive quality for his position. All right, so he’s not going to be named to the All-Defensive team anytime soon, but the Magic already have two above average defenders at the guard position in Payton and Oladipo and look where that’s gotten them.

But he can score in a variety of ways, and that to me is the key to unlocking the potential of the rest of this team.

With Jennings on the court, his defender will have to stick with him at all times. This hasn’t always been the case with the shot shy Payton. Jennings may only be a career 35 percent three-point shooter, but he’s about much more than just long range shooting. Besides, he’s still an upgrade over both Payton (32 percent) and Oladipo (33 percent) when it comes to shooting threes.

But with Jennings clearly able to create his own shot, it will open up the court for others on this team.

In terms of my own thoughts on the move, honestly I’ve never really liked Brandon Jennings as a player. Point guards aren’t supposed to be selfish, and although he was averaging 7.6 assists a night only two years ago, he’s always looked to be a player out for his own numbers before all others. There’s an arrogance there, despite having never achieved a great deal in the NBA.

He possesses some of the worst attributes of a guy like Kobe Bryant, without having half the skill set.

Playing isolation offense and trying to drag teams through games himself, these are things Jennings has brought to teams and which I personally never liked. However, this is exactly what a young team like the Magic needs right now, and if he can stay healthy, he’ll give the team a big boost on some nights.

Unlike Payton, Oladipo or the many inexperienced players on this team, Jennings is not afraid to take over when needed.

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When he does so, he’ll be capable of creating his own shot, which in turn will lead to more room for others to operate. He’s an offensive upgrade over everybody else on the team, perhaps maybe center Nikola Vucevic (the two of them could form a tasty pick and roll duo too). The price to acquire him was steep in letting Harris go, but the Orlando Magic needed to make a move.

What they got in return was a guy perceived as a selfish player, but who will help them in the short term to grow. In other words, exactly what they needed. Brandon Jennings is headed to the Orlando Magic, and he’ll probably start for the team as well. Brandon Jennings is going to be a hit.