Orlando Magic: No team option, but is Mario Hezonja improving?

The Orlando Magic may not have picked up Mario Hezonja’s team option for next year, but has he shown glimpses of improvement already this season?

In a pretty unsurprising move, the Orlando Magic have elected not to pick up their team option on Mario Hezonja‘s contract.

What this means is that he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer, and the team won’t be on the hook to pay him $5.2 million next year. With career averages of 5.5 points and 1.2 assists, all while being a 33.4 percent 3-point shooter, this is a no-brainer by the team as well.

But while Hezonja has struggled to have an impact on this team, starting only 11 of 150 games he’s appeared in, is he actually turning a corner this season, albeit a small one?

Before delving further into this, it should once again be noted so that there can be no doubts that the organization did the right thing by not signing Hezonja for next season. The team is in a win-win situation because the lack of guarantee may hopefully bring out improved play from Super Mario.

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If it does, they can just re-sign him to a new deal next year anyway, or they can let him walk for nothing if he continues to struggle.

Either that, or they can move him to another team as was mooted around the league over the last couple of days.

Whatever happens, the Magic front office did the right thing, and has proven once more that it is committed to cleaning out the dead wood and bringing this franchise forward.

Yet despite what you may think, Hezonja has actually been all right to start the season. By no means is he a reason for this team’s brilliant start, but he’s contributing in small ways.

Hezonja is shooting 62.5 percent from deep so far this season. Yes this number is skewed because he’s onlt hit five of the eight shots he’s taken.

But Hezonja is currently averaging a career-low 13 minutes per game, and it is clear this team is beginning to move on without him.

These spot minutes are the only chance he has to prove himself, and in seasons gone by, he has snatched at these occasions, hoisting up bad shots and rushing everything he did on the court.

This season, he has looked much more controlled and composed, and really this confidence was exactly what he was lacking his first two seasons with the team. That 3-point shooting percentage is currently the best mark on the team as well, which is no small feat for a team that is the best in the league in that area (44.1 percent).

Hezonja’s contribution to that category has been small, but it still counts. Having better players around him means his opportunities are limited.

Orlando Magic

But it also seems to be helping to up his own production as well, putting up the fourth-best effective field goal percentage on this team (61.4) with the lowest usage rate of his career (15.7).

Again we’re working with small numbers, but Hezonja isn’t even really a part of the second unit anymore. He is used more in funky lineups and if players get in foul trouble.

Returning to the issue of confidence, however, in watching Hezonja on the court it is clear he has more this season.

Whether it’s through some of his numbers (career high offensive rating of 102.7), or else watching him approach Aaron Gordon as he’s taking free throws to chat to him in that win over the Charlotte Hornets, Hezonja is making himself more known on the court.

Is it going to turn into any sort of sustained success though? It is hard to tell, but what has been outlined above is a more encouraging start than others would have you believe.

Of course there’s still the drawbacks, such as the Player Efficiency Rating (league average 15) of 9.2 — the same awful number as last season. Hezonja’s defensive rating of 113.7 is a worrying career low, despite the team vowing to become a top 10 unit on that end of the court.

Still, it feels like the former fifth overall pick has something more to give to this team, with moments like this giving fans hope.

This team is 5-2, and while Hezonja deserves little of the credit for that, he is still a part of this team, making more contributions than in the past but with less time to do so.

The clock may be ticking on his tenure with the Magic, and it is great that they’ve gotten to the point talent-wise where they can think about moving on from him.

But when the injuries begin to pile up or Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac get in foul trouble early, there are worse people to look to than Mario Hezonja.

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