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Why Frank Vogel Can’t Save The Orlando Magic All By Himself

By Dan Schultz

Apr 23, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel coaches on the sidelines against the Toronto Raptors during the second half of game four of the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Toronto 100-83. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 23, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel coaches on the sidelines against the Toronto Raptors during the second half of game four of the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Toronto 100-83. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Orlando Magic desperately need new head coach Frank Vogel to try to help pull them from out of the mess they are in right now

It seemed like just yesterday when the Orlando Magic were one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. They had Dwight Howard as their cornerstone piece and in the prime of his career, guiding them to an appearance in the NBA Finals in 2009.

He was surrounded by a superb cast of perimeter shooters like Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, J.J. Redick, and Jameer Nelson.

Not long after getting to The Finals, things quickly unraveled for the Magic. Howard openly clashed with head coach Stan Van Gundy, which ultimately led to both leaving the organization in the summer of 2012.

Since then, the Magic have been largely irrelevant. To their credit, they have collected a few nice pieces over the years. Players like Nikola Vucevic, Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon, Mario Hezonja and Evan Fournier are all promising prospects.

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But chances are none of them will be even remotely close to what Howard was in his heyday.

It seemed like the Magic were finally recovering when they hired Frank Vogel to be their new head coach earlier this summer. Vogel had done an incredible job with the Indiana Pacers, only to be let go due to the team under-performing in the eyes of team president Larry Bird.

During his six seasons with the Pacers, Vogel mostly performed wonders with an underwhelming squad. He came one game short of reaching the NBA Finals in 2013, including getting the best out of both Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson.

He has proven to be a great motivator, and someone who guys love playing for given his passion and knowledge of the game. When he was let go from the Pacers, there was no doubt that he would land another head coaching job very quickly.

The Magic pounced early, using their young pieces as a major selling point in eventually landing his services.

Everything seemed to be going great, until the team decided to deal Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis in exchange for Serge Ibaka. This was a shocking move, especially considering how much Ibaka has regressed in recent years.

Acquiring Ibaka creates a bigger logjam at the power forward and center positions. Now, Ibaka will have to battle with Vucevic, Gordon, and Bismack Biyombo for starting minutes.

This will undoubtedly stunt the development of whoever is asked to come off the bench, given that all four of these big men could start on a handful of NBA rosters.

Losing Oladipo in this trade could also prove to be a crippling blow, especially given that both Fournier and Hezonja play a very similar style of basketball. The Magic will certainly miss Oladipo’s explosiveness and versatility when it comes to handling and shooting the ball.

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Unfortunately for Vogel, he really has his work cut out for him. At least when he was with the Pacers he could rely on his superstar

Paul George

to carry the team.

With the Magic, there’s no clear-cut star alpha dog. This is a team that has plenty of above-average players, but no one that can be considered a blue-chip kind of talent when looking towards the future.

The Magic will most likely be one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference this year. Vogel is an outstanding coach, but he will have to juggle a lot of egos and find ways to keep everyone happy with playing time.

Also, the jury remains out on if Elfrid Payton will ever learn how to shoot the ball, which is just one of the many issues their back-court currently has.

In order for him to be successful in the long run, Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan must stay away from making trades like the one he did for Ibaka.

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Vogel will do his best this year, but the front office also has to step up and help get him the talent he needs if they want to get back to the Finals one day.

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