Orlando Magic: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason

Signed Al-Farouq Aminu

The draft may have been a misstep but the signing of Al-Farouq Aminu to a three-year, $29 million deal was not. Aminu was an important part of the Portland Trail Blazers for the last number of years and has valuable playoff experience under his belt as well.

That is something that this Orlando Magic team still lacks.

There was little not to like about the acquisition, with the 28-year-old Aminu in theory now only entering his prime. The Magic may still be young, but they were also a playoff outfit off the back of the performances of Nikola Vucevic (28) and Terrence Ross (28).

They want to take the next step and Aminu is a veteran who can help.

He is known for his defensive abilities first and foremost and will be a good mentor for Aaron Gordon who will likely split minutes with him.

Gordon was the one player who came out of the Magic’s first-round postseason exit at the hands of the Toronto Raptors with his head held high, establishing himself as their best two-way player.

Aminu will help Gordon to continue to grow, while also providing a nice one-two punch off the bench with Ross.

The contract was not only team-friendly in terms of money owed, but can easily be moved to a contender should the unthinkable happen and the franchise are forced to take some steps backwards and return to a rebuild.

The only real issue here is how many minutes Aminu will take from the younger players and some question marks over his productivity in the playoffs. Some series he was a non-factor for the Trail Blazers and it would be ideal if that didn’t happen again in Orlando.

Still, this was a typical under-the-radar move that made sense for where the Magic are at right now.

Grade: B+