Orlando Magic: Making Sense Of The Crowded Frontcourt

By Adam McGee | Aug 20, 2016

Feb 23, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) reacts to an officials call during the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

After two seasons of puzzling personnel moves, the Orlando Magic might finally have a chance to stumble upon an elite frontcourt tandem.

From the outside at least, there hasn’t been a whole lot that has made sense about the moves made by Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan over the past 18 months or so.

Hiring Scott Skiles felt strange at the time and proved to be an even bigger mistake as time went on. Even if Tobias Harris was re-signed purely to give the team an option of trading him rather than giving him up for nothing, that strategy has to be questioned considering the two players who were received in return are already playing elsewhere.

Although trading Victor Oladipo, arguably the team’s best young player, on draft night was a surprise, bringing back Serge Ibaka in return seemed to paint a clearer picture of the Magic’s plan.

More from Orlando Magic

Ibaka is positioned towards the forefront of the league’s leading shot-blocking power forwards, and therefore seemed like the perfect complement for the offensive minded Nikola Vucevic. For whatever questions and uncertainty the Magic faced at other positions, at least it seemed as if the frontcourt was in order.

Then Bismack Biyombo signed on a four-year, $72 million contract and the questions were louder than ever.

To be clear, that move only bolstered the talent available to Orlando between the power forward and center spot, but in doing so it created its own uncertainty and uncomfortable fits. That’s something that a team who already seemed intent on starting Aaron Gordon at small forward could have done without.

Things don’t get any clearer in the bigger picture either, as Serge Ibaka’s contract will expire next summer and the Magic will have big decisions to make again. The buzz around the team has been that Vucevic could ultimately end up being traded, but there’s no guarantee that’s what would be best for the Magic over the coming years.

Vucevic has well publicized deficiencies in his game and doesn’t exactly encompass the modern NBA center, but they certainly don’t debilitate the Montenegrin to the point of being ineffective.

For example, Vucevic doesn’t find himself on the Greg Monroe end of the center scale, because although defense isn’t his forté, he can stretch the floor with a reliable midrange jump shot. It appears as if the 25-year-old is finally prepared to work on expanding that now too, if recent radio appearances are anything to go by.

"“I have been working a lot on it this summer,” Vucevic said. “It has been going pretty well. My confidence from 3-point shot has been growing. I think it is something I can add to my game.”"

Almost more pressing than the details of Vucevic’s game is his contract though. Vucevic will be owed just under $37 million over the next three years, and for a player who gets close to averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, that makes him one of the league’s last remaining bargain contracts.

If the Magic are serious about becoming a winning team, they can’t just move on from Vucevic without a second thought. For as much as he ultimately may find himself far from the top of the pecking order in Orlando, the Magic won’t be able to find another player who can contribute as much as he will for an average of $12 million per season.

As a result, figuring out minutes between Orlando’s three high quality big men becomes a question of role as much as anything.

Vucevic has made it very clear how he sees himself within the team, and his comments detailed in a recent piece by Zach Lowe don’t seem like the words of a player who feels he should be asked to compromise minutes or responsibility.

"“I believe I will be the starter — the best player on the team, and the guy who has been here the longest,” Vucevic said. “I’m not taking anything away from Bismack [Biyombo]. I just believe I should start.”"

With Ibaka’s standing in the league cemented following years of being a key starter on a championship contender in Oklahoma City, it would be shocking to see him come to Orlando to come off the bench. As the one true power forward of the three, it would seem like a certainty that he won’t have to do that either.

As such, it comes down to Biyombo, the youngest of the three and also the player with the most still left to prove, having only truly broken out with the Raptors last season. Biyombo’s personality would certainly indicate him to be the most selfless or at least patient of the group in this scenario, but will Orlando be happy for him to be that?

After all, Biyombo is the highest paid man in the Magic’s frontcourt, his contract runs longer than Ibaka and Vucevic’s deals, and he is the closest in age to other young players who would seem to be a part of Orlando’s core (Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezonja).

Magic coach Frank Vogel suggested to Zach Lowe that his team “will explore” a two-center tandem of Vucevic and Biyombo, although he’s enough of a realist to understand that “it won’t work against a lot of teams, but it might work against some.”

That suggestion means that it boils down to either or between Biyombo and Vucevic.

An Ibaka and Vucevic partnership sounds like it would be incredibly potent offensively, combining Vucevic’s touch and desire to score down low, with the capability of both men to step out a little to ensure that the paint doesn’t get overly congested.

On the other hand, pairing Ibaka and Biyombo together (i.e. “the Congo line”) could make for the league’s most imposing defensive duo. Vogel is a coach who has always treasured strong interior defenders, and on a team where there remains so much to be figured out away from the frontcourt on offense, it would seem like a reassurance to know those two guys can consistently keep the score low enough for the Magic to be in games.

I’d expect Biyombo and Ibaka to lead off for Orlando when the season opens up, but it remains too soon to make definitive decisions. Vucevic is far from some spare part who belongs on the scrap pile, and as the season progresses there’s little question that the Magic will be required to turn to different combinations.

More hoops habit: Orlando Magic: 2016 Offseason Grades

As opposed to what came of some of the team’s other deals in recent history, at least these problems the Magic now have up front can be deemed as “good” problems. Now the challenge for Vogel will be to find a way to manage minutes so that everyone remains content.

Home/Orlando Magic