Orlando Magic: What to expect from D.J. Augustin this season

With the Orlando Magic officially bowing out of the Isaiah Thomas free agent race, they now look to veteran D.J. Augustin to lead the team at point guard. Here’s what to expect from him this season.

With the Orlando Sentinel’s Josh Robbins reporting late last week that the Orlando Magic have officially stopped pursuing free agent point guard Isaiah Thomas, it looks as though they will be moving forward with D.J. Augustin at starting point guard for the 2018-19 season.

Robbins also reported that the Magic are more than likely finished pursuing free agents this offseason. Pending any trade involving big men like Nikola Vucevic or the newly acquired Timofey Mozgov, the Magic look to have shored up their point guard situation for next season.

In my last piece, I wrote about how acquiring a young point guard in Jerian Grant from the Chicago Bulls was a good move to add some depth and contend with Augustin for the starting role. Grant is improving and hungry, but with that being said, Augustin is the right move to start the season and hopefully stay healthy enough to maintain his starting position.

Orlando is Augustin’s eighth team in what will be his 11th season in the league. He is the definition of a journeyman, but the funny thing is, Augustin has produced at almost every stop during his time in the league. Sadly, he just can’t seem to stick.

For his career, Augustin has averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game. He has started 226 games throughout his career and has had four different seasons where he shot better than 40 percent from 3-point land. He has had seven seasons where he has averaged better than 10 points per game as well, including last season.

I think when D.J. Augustin is brought up in people’s heads, the one word that consistently comes up is “solid.” Augustin is just a solid dude. He doesn’t do any one thing spectacularly well, but does everything a point guard needs to do. He’s a good scorer, a good passer, an okay defender given his size (a generous 6’0” and 180 pounds), and a good leader. He is also exactly what the Magic need from an experience standpoint given that he has been to the playoffs before multiple times.

What you can expect from Augustin this season is consistent, solid play and an ability to get the ball in the hands of the Magic’s young guys. Augustin will never be looked to for a bucket, but can get you 10 and five a night while playing 28-30 minutes. He will be great in the pick-and-roll/pop with Mohamed Bamba and Johnathan Isaac, just as he was good in the pick-and-pop with Nikola Vucevic last season.

Last year, Augustin averaged 10.2 points, 3.8 assists (his highest since 2015) and 2.1 rebounds per game (highest since 2014) in only 23.5 minutes per game. He also had a near career high in 3-point percentage at 41.9 percent. This year, he will probably take on 5-7 more minutes a game and could see some career high numbers given consistent starter’s responsibilities.

Going with Augustin as the starter for this upcoming season is the right move, but probably signals two things. One, the Magic don’t expect to be a contender in a weak Eastern Conference this year. A move to get a more established point guard would have showed that the Magic were serious about contending for a lower playoff seed this year, but in all honesty, that still would’ve been a long shot.

Even if they got I.T., the Magic are still a year or two away from making any serious moves. Having such a young team, with an average age of 25.9 (as of the 2017-18 season, that number is going down this year) doesn’t bode well for any sort of playoff appearance. That’s not to say that Augustin isn’t a good option, but he won’t singlehandedly win the Magic games like some other point guards could.

Second, this move shows that Orlando is serious about getting the young guys the ball and having them develop. With a scoring point guard like an IT, Orlando’s younger players could have been stunted in their development. This move shows that guys like Isaac and Aaron Gordon will be heavily involved in the team’s offense and get a lot of shots.

Augustin doesn’t need to have the ball in his hands at all times to be effective. He’s a great drive-and-dish guy, so expect a lot of open shots for the wings. He runs the pick-and-roll well and with a rim-running center like Bamba to throw lobs to all game, that could be an exciting tandem. Augustin won’t require a lot of shots to get points and is a smart, experienced player who knows when and where to shoot.

Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far

Going on his third year in the sunshine state, the Magic are only the second team where Augustin will have spent more than two seasons. It has to be a great vote of confidence for him, that for the first time since his Charlotte Bobcat days, he will be called on to be the starting point guard. I expect his solid, consistent play to continue and who knows? Maybe D.J. Augustin turns into the point guard of the future for Orlando this season.