7. The emergence of Mario Hezonja
The Magic can’t have everything go their way, not after the season they’ve just had. Which is why even nice things that happened are coated in a certain sadness.
So it is with Mario Hezonja, who had easily the best season of his three-year career with the team and seized his opportunity when others went down with injury. Unsurprisingly, he had career highs in most major statistical categories, while also looking like the player who excited overseas before landing in the NBA.
Here is where it gets difficult, however, as Hezonja is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Given how the organization has treated him so far, he has every right to want to play elsewhere.
Even worse is the fact that fans weren’t sad to see the Magic not pick up Hezonja’s fourth-year option last summer; such was the low level of play he was bringing to the team.
That all changed this season though, but no matter what happens next, we’ll always have the memories of that breakout game against the Detroit Pistons, and “Super Mario” getting his mojo back.
If anything, Hezonja slipping through the team’s fingers should serve as one final reminder — in the same way Victor Oladipo and Tobias Harris have shown — to evaluate talent better.
With this front office entering its second offseason at the helm, and with a head coach it’ll be appointing to come soon, evaluating talent better looks more likely than at any stage during the rebuild so far.