Arron Afflalo is coming back to the Orlando Magic, where he had the two best years of his career.
The last time Arron Afflalo played for the Orlando Magic was during the 2013-14 season, where he had a career year.
He was acquired as part of the larger deal that saw cornerstone Dwight Howard shipped out to the West Coast.
After averaging a career-high 16.5 points per game the previous season, he surpassed that number by putting up 18.2 points on fewer shot attempts. He accomplished this by becoming a lethal outside shooter, knocking down 42.7 percent of his three-pointers.
Orlando turned that great season into Evan Fournier via a trade with the Denver Nuggets the following summer. Denver then traded Afflalo away before he could make it through the year.
Although he’s never been able to put up the same numbers, Afflalo still turned those two seasons into over $20 million with the New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings.
Now, he returns to the city where he statistically had the best years of his career. ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Magic and Afflalo have agreed to a one-year deal.
Free agent Arron Afflalo has agreed to a one-year deal with the Orlando Magic, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 25, 2017
The contract is expected to be worth the league minimum, meaning he will make $2.3 million next season.
Afflalo is a great outside shooter, knocking down 41.1 percent of his three-point attempts last year and 38.6 percent over the course of his career.
As you can see from the chart below, he’s deadly from any location behind the arc. He has taken 33 percent of his shots from the outside throughout his career.
His midrange and finishing ability around the rim leaves a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, he relies way too heavily on that midrange shot when he could increase his outside attempts. This reluctance to bomb from downtown is part of what held him back from meeting his true 3-and-D potential.
Defense is the other aspect holding him back. Although he’s a strong player at 6’5″, he doesn’t defend nearly as well as he should. On paper, especially, his numbers aren’t impressive.
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
The UCLA product plays mostly shooting guard, but also some small forward. He will have to fight to earn his minutes as Orlando is already flush with guards. Terrence Ross, Mario Hezonja, Evan Fournier and Jonathon Simmons are expected to be ahead of him on the depth chart.
That doesn’t mean he won’t find playing time as he’s far-and-away the best shooter out of that group, which combined to shoot 34 percent throughout the 2016-17 season.
Despite the anticipated lack of playing time, it doesn’t mean this signing was a bad one by any means. He will be a good mentor to some of the young players on the roster, as he’s the consummate professional.
Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far
What’s not to like? The contract means that Orlando has zero risk with this signing. Given all the positives Afflalo can potentially bring to the table, they deserve passing marks.
Grade: B-