Orlando Magic: Best Move They Did And Didn’t Make

The Orlando Magic entered the offseason with cap space, and left with an eclectic combination of players. What was the best move they made? And did their other moves distract them from what they already had?

Most teams have a plan in the NBA.

Some are adding the last pieces to a contending core, while others are offloading expensive veterans to add young talent and draft picks. One team may use its cap space to sign players, another may auction it off as a dumping ground for unwanted contracts. But most teams have a plan.

The Orlando Magic are seeking to be the exception to the rule this offseason, as they have made multiple transactions that seem to be in conflict with each other.

Do the Magic know who they wish to build around? And are they making the right moves to improve that core? What was their best move — and their worst?

Best Move: Re-signing Evan Fournier

The Orlando Magic last made the playoffs in 2012 under former head coach Stan Van Gundy, the end of a six-year playoff run. Those teams had a definitive offensive mindset, surrounding All-NBA center Dwight Howard with shooting at all four positions. Four years later, the Magic have completely replaced those shooters with younger players who, in general, have little luck from downtown.

Evan Fournier is this roster’s exception, as evidenced by his 40 percent shooting from deep last year. The French wing can shoot, even when opposing teams glue a defender to him. At 6’7” Fournier is as tall or taller than other shooting guards, allowing him to get his shot off.

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Fournier had a breakout year in 2015-16, setting career marks in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and three-pointers made. After starting 40 games total in Denver and Orlando over his first three years in the league, Fournier started 71 for the Magic. As other pieces around him were traded, it became even more necessary that the Magic keep Fournier around as a young building block.

Last season Fournier hit 156 three-pointers, by far a career high and a number that led the team by a significant amount, since the players returning to the Magic totaled 155 three-pointers combined. None of the new pieces, with the possible exception of Serge Ibaka, are sharpshooters from distance. Fournier is yet again on his own.

Fournier is not a franchise player; while he thrived in an increased role last season, he has displayed neither the playmaking skills nor the defensive ability to be a team’s best player. The Magic have their sights set elsewhere for that role. But his shooting and youth made him a top target for Orlando in free agency, and in an offseason of puzzling contracts Fournier’s was reasonable and necessary.

Best Move They Didn’t Make: Empowering Their Budding Star

Most teams who lose their superstar fall hard enough to draft a franchise cornerstone, and the Magic had a few bites at the apple. In 2013 they drafted Victor Oladipo, a player with the outline of a star who had not yet made the leap for Orlando. He was traded in June as part of a package for Serge Ibaka.

Their second shot yielded Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton, both top-10 picks from the 2014 draft. Payton has spent the two years since showing he is a player with specific strengths and specific glaring weaknesses, and while he is still young enough to grow, the question for Payton is whether he is an NBA rotation player, not whether he is a star.

That leaves the Magic turning to Gordon as their franchise cornerstone. The 6’9” forward out of Arizona is already one of the league’s most popular young players after his performance in the 2016 All-Star Dunk Contest. While Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine ultimately defeated Gordon, their back-and-forth duel granted celebrity status to both.

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On the court he is a combination of elite athleticism and tantalizing potential. His counting stats all increased in his second season, especially his rebounding and scoring after a quiet rookie season limited by injuries. Box score metrics indicated he was a positive player at both ends of the court, a difficult feat for any sophomore player but especially one on a losing team.

The Magic moved him up and down the roster, trying him at various positions. Per Nylon Calculus’ Playing Time Estimator, Gordon spent time at four positions last season. His defensive versatility allows him to guard all five positions, and even this early in his career he has shown the makings of a future All-Defense player.

Offensively Gordon is more limited, as he struggles to score anyway further from the basket than a dunk. For a team already starting a non-shooter at the 1, slotting Aaron Gordon at the 3 severely hampers the Magic’s ability to score points. At least at this point in his career, he is best suited to play power forward.

Therein lies the problem for the Magic as currently constructed. Their largest move of the offseason was trading for a power forward, Serge Ibaka. The price Orlando paid (Oladipo) makes it clear they plan to make Ibaka a key part of their plans next season. A three-player rotation with Gordon, Ibaka and center Nikola Vucevic looks like it would fit well together on paper.

Orlando didn’t stop there, however, signing center Bismack Biyombo to a four-year, $72 million contract. They gave $15 million to Jeff Green, a combo forward best slotted at power forward. And after trading their first-round pick in the Serge Ibaka deal, their top draft selection was Stephen Zimmerman, a center out of UNLV.

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That would be a thorny backcourt to parse out even with Aaron Gordon. Biyombo didn’t come to Orlando to play 15 minutes off of the bench, but Vucevic has put up All-Star level offensive numbers as the starter. Serge Ibaka is a free agent next summer, and will neither accept a diminished role, nor look favorably on Orlando as a place to re-sign if he is marginilized in the rotation.

That leaves Gordon to play small forward, a position he is not equipped to handle on offense. Playing alongside Serge Ibaka and Nikola Vucevic will mitigate his shooting deficiencies, but his growth as a player should have him heading towards larger positions. His ceiling involves using his speed and athleticism to punish larger defenders; if matched against small forwards those strengths are less useful.

In the end the Magic need a star, and Aaron Gordon presents their best shot at one. If his opportunities to grow are limited, then the Magic will find it difficult to grow themselves. After a confusing offseason of throwing money around and signing redundant rotation players, Orlando faces a season of proving.

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Will the defensive upside of playing Biyombo, Ibaka, and Gordon together outweigh the offensive deficiencies? Can Gordon develop his jumper to become a credible offensive threat on the wing? These questions bear even more importance after this summer.