Orlando Magic: 4 role players most likely to step up next year

2. Isaiah Briscoe

Orlando was linked with a new point guard for a large portion of the summer. When the deal finally came together, although they shared the same name, it was Isaiah Briscoe, and not Isaiah Thomas, who was unveiled as a new Magic player.

Like fellow guard D.J. Augustin, Briscoe has the chance to really take advantage of the situation he has now found himself in here. This is because Orlando has arguably the worst rotation of floor generals in the league today.

As a result of this, there is no question that Briscoe will be given ample opportunity to prove himself, both as a starter and off the bench. Augustin is also 30 years old now, so the need for a young player in this position has intensified.

This works both ways for Briscoe. He has time to stake his claim and even on nights when he plays poorly, he will not see any restriction to his playing time. This is the organization that gave Elfrid Payton every chance, after all.

With the Magic likely headed back to the lottery next season, coupled with their frontcourt of the future looking set, they would be insane not to draft a point guard in 2019. That means Briscoe is already on the clock.

The Most Valuable Player of the Estonian/Latvian All-Star game last season (where he hit a cool 50 points), Briscoe has had to do some traveling since going undrafted out of Kentucky. The road to redemption continues in Orlando, where his desire stay in the league and offensive ability could see him become an ideal role player.

1. Khem Birch

Khem Birch came out of nowhere for the Magic last season, with his play causing both Nikola Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo to take extended seats on the bench. Given that they made over $30 million combined (compared to the $815,000 or so Birch earned), this was no easy feat.

The basic stats don’t do him justice, but what was notable was how Orlando had a defensive rating of 104.5 when Birch was on the court. When Vucevic was out there, that number was 106.5 and with Biyombo, it was an extremely poor 110.4.

For the season as a whole, the Magic ranked 20th, with a rating of 107.7. Clearly then, Birch was doing something right when he was playing, and the sample size (he appeared in 42 games) wasn’t too small to not take interest in either.

With Biyombo gone and Vucevic constantly a part of trade rumors, the opportunity is there for Birch to really extend on the 13.8 minutes per game he averaged last season. He may be a more traditional big man, albeit one who is competent on both ends of the court, but the Magic will still need one of them to diversify their rotations.

Isaac and Bamba could both play as 5s but have different skill-sets, while Vucevic could see himself used in a sixth man role for his under-appreciated offensive game. Birch, however, protects the rim by being physical in a way none of the others can, while being at least average offensively too.

Like others on this list, he has spent time both abroad and last season in the G League. He will not want to return to either. Clifford will surely love his approach to the game as well, which will could see him enter the rotation early on in the year.

All of which is to say that this season, and this particular situation, looks like the perfect storm for Khem Birch, one in which he will get even more of a chance to be the perfect role player for a rebuilding team.