Orlando Magic: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason

A quiet offseason for the Orlando Magic only served to remind us that they have a long-term vision for what this roster could look like.

Despite this NBA offseason taking a series of surprising and unexpected turns, the Orlando Magic were an organization that resisted the temptation to really shake things up. Their roster coming out the other side of a hectic free agency period is essentially intact from the previous year.

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They weren’t involved in any big trades and failed to get meetings with any of the big name free agents who were on the move as well. This didn’t matter however, as their timeline shows that they are not yet ready to rise to true contender status.

Another year of battling for a playoff spot, as they did last season, will be enough to show continued growth.

Stability and consistency were two problem areas for the Magic in recent seasons anyway, so returning a young core and head coach Steve Clifford for a second season to continue trying to make this an elite defensive unit was what was required.

The franchise were not completely dormant however, having a first round pick in the NBA Draft and signing players to the team.

All of this combined to ensure that the Magic will continue to fly under the radar, although recognition for what they are doing is beginning to come in from certain places, while others remain unconvinced by what they are doing.

Here is a complete look at the Magic’s offseason, including grades for each move made to their roster as they go about trying to create another shock and potentially sneak homecourt advantage in the first round of next season’s playoffs.

Drafted Chuma Okeke

The Orlando Magic were picking outside of the lottery for the first time in a long time at the NBA Draft, their selection not carrying the weight of previous years.

A young core of Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac, Mohamed Bamba and Markelle Fultz (themselves all past top-six picks) already in place and growing together.

The organization’s selection reflected this, as they took Chuma Okeke from the Auburn Tigers with the 16th pick. This pick seemed puzzling on the surface for a couple of reasons, with Okeke tearing his ACL during the NCAA tournament and having surgery to repair it in late March.

He won’t be able to contribute right away and as a forward he may never help at all.

The frontcourt of the Magic is crowded as it is and it seems unlikely that a prospect like Okeke will be able to force his way into the conversation. Of the young players already mentioned, three of them play in the frontcourt themselves.

With Wesley Iwundu also requiring minutes as a wing and  a number of centers on the roster too, it will be hard for Okeke to break through.

It was interesting that the team went in this direction at all, when they could have taken a young point guard as insurance in case Fultz doesn’t work out.

D.J. Augustin and Michael Carter-Williams will hold it down until Fultz comes back, but should he not pan out, selecting a young player with some upside on a cheap deal would have made sense.

The only positive to Okeke joining the Magic may come from the fact he is currently out of action. He won’t crowd the rotation for a while and will likely spend some time in the G-League once he is healthy. Anything they can get from him after that would be a bonus.

The organization have been clear in their desire to built a roster out of long and athletic players who can guard multiple positions. It made sense with their lottery picks, but here was a chance to do something different now that it looks like they have enough of these guys.

The Magic missed a trick here, with the worst-case scenario being a wasted first-round draft pick.

Grade: D

Drafted, then traded, Talen Horton-Tucker

In the second round, the Orlando Magic opted to take a forward in Talen Horton-Tucker before the Los Angeles Lakers purchased him in order to complete their own roster. This is a move that will go under the radar, but once again it could come back to hurt the franchise.

Horton-Tucker is only 18 and a player that young still has so much improving to do. If the Lakers liked him enough to actively prise him from the Magic, and go on to offer him a rookie deal, they must see something in his abilities. LeBron James-led teams always do.

Horton-Tucker shot 40.6 percent from the field at Iowa State last season and has a notable 7’1″ wingspan, despite only being 6’4″.

Given that the Magic are trying to build a roster of offense-altering players, and that he can shoot a little too and figures to improve as he gets older, why didn’t they take the Chuma Okeke approach with him instead?

They would want to be very high on Iwundu to not have this guy as a cheap insurance policy should he not take another step in his own development. Horton-Tucker will surely spend time in the G-League this season, but he could have been doing so for the Lakeland Magic.

Unlike Okeke, he also doesn’t represent as much of a logjam either.

With Evan Fournier hardly a fan favorite and coming into the final two years of his deal, the Magic would be wise to look at alternatives and more defense-friendly young players to plug in to some of his minutes.

Wesley Iwundu represents this way of thinking and he was valuable in spots last season.

Horton-Tucker could have in time been that guy as well, had he stayed in Orlando and his career had taken the best case scenario route.

Instead he’ll become a question mark over in Los Angeles instead, but one that we may not have seen the last of, even if he doesn’t stick with the Lakers either.

Grade: C

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+

Re-signed Nikola Vucevic

In a move that surprised some, the Orlando Magic re-signed Nikola Vucevic to a four-year, $100 million deal, to ensure he plays out most of the remainder of his prime in Orlando. You can go either way with this one, but what is puzzling is the money involved in bringing Vooch back.

It is unclear exactly who the Magic were bidding against in order to ensure Vucevic returned, and in doing so they have tied up a lot of money to a roster that can not yet be considered a contender. It is also possible that having Vucevic as their best player has taken them as far as they can go.

This will be an even bigger issue should Mohamed Bamba show signs of being the player it is hoped he can be.

Khem Birch was also brought back for two more years, his defensive abilities a real reason for the Magic’s late-season surge last year.

Given that there are plenty of capable centers in the league that could be gotten for a better price, this could be seen as a negative and safe move by the front office.

But letting Vucevic walk was too big of a risk. The Magic don’t attract top-tier free agents unless they are contenders and allowing their best player to leave didn’t make sense either.

The price was steep, but Vucevic was a first time All-Star last year. It is hoped he can replicate this success again this coming season.

He has averaged a double-double in five of his seven campaigns in the pinstriped blue and is building his case as a top-15 all-time player for the Magic. That is a lot to give up when there’s been little else to cheer about since 2012.

This franchise is getting back on its feet and Vucevic is a large reason why.

Coach Clifford runs the offense through him predominantly and it worked to great effect last season, so the hope is with Vucevic continuing to expand his game away from the basket that this will continue.

The Magic will be good and likely a playoff team at least while Vucevic is around. That is good enough. For now.

Grade: B

Re-signed Khem Birch

If bringing back Nikola Vucevic was a risk, inking Kem Birch to a two-year, $6 million contract was anything but. When Mohamed Bamba went down with a season-ending leg injury last year, it was Birch who stepped into his minutes and the franchise improved noticeably as a result.

They had a defensive rating of 102.7 when he was on the court during the regular season, compared to 107.6 (eighth in the league) on the year as a whole.

He received some recognition from the media and was the force defensively that was needed to help push them into the playoffs.

https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic/status/1153808149687631872

If anything the only concern here is that Birch won’t get the time he deserves on the court. Vucevic has to play and Bamba is the young player who they are investing in. He has appeared to return the favor as well with how he’s looking these days.

Again, his contract represents value and it can be easily moved if there is just no place for him in the rotation.

He is the perfect insurance policy should anything happen to Vucevic or Bamba for long stretches and as of right now is the best defender of the three. He is a no-nonsense player who doesn’t speak out in the media about a lack of playing time and only ever has positive things to say.

In short, he’s the type of player you want to have around as you grow.

Still only 26 himself, the best is surely yet to come from Birch. The fact that this won’t be happening for another organization is a small win for the Orlando Magic, Birch being a much cheaper alternative to other rim-running bigs like Clint Capela and DeAndre Jordan.

A great move to bring him back.

Grade: A

Re-signed Terrence Ross

The one absolutely crucial and obvious piece of business the Orlando Magic had to take care of this summer was bringing Terrence Ross back. They did that and it was a great move for all of the reasons that we already know, such is the great fit that exists between player and team.

Ross knows he’ll be the Magic’s sixth man off the bench and finding a player who is not only comfortable in that role, but who also excels in it, is not as easy. He is instant offense for the team, posting a career high 15.1 points per game last season.

He did this while averaging 38.3 percent from deep.

Ross also became the first player in league history to make over 200 3-pointers (217) without ever starting a game, living up to his nickname of “The Human Torch.”.

The Magic ranked 22nd in offensive rating during the regular season (108.2) and need all the help they can get to improve this number. Ross will provide that.

Not only is he loved by fans but like others also on the roster his timeline is more in line with where the Magic are at right now. They’ve moved into the category of playoff hopeful and Ross has the ability to swing games and help to get them there.

Four years and $54 million is not crazy money to secure his services either.

As was pointed out when discussing Nikola Vucevic, it does lock the organization into what they’ve got now, but Ross is the kind of player that will always have value. He moves well without the ball, but is underrated at creating his own shot and for others.

You could see him being the fourth-best player on a championship-winning team and the hope is that one day in future he can be that in Orlando.

Grade: A

Overall verdict

Like it or not, this was the summer the Orlando Magic were destined to have and in many ways it was the best-case scenario for them as well. They didn’t get any worse and ensured they will be fighting for a playoff spot again this season.

They continued to believe in their young core, instead of panicking and making shortsighted moved like the previous front office.

Bringing back Khem Birch and Terrence Ross made sense, two guys who are becoming more important to the franchise’s culture and whose importance cannot be underestimated.

Some will argue bringing back Nikola Vucevic was a bad move and they may yet be proven right. We could reach a point in two years where this version of the team has peaked, but they are unable to change things up because of the money already committed to certain guys.

Until then, Vucevic will continue to put up big numbers and help them win games.

The organization did what they had to and what they could in free agency and in re-signing players and Al-Farouq Aminu adds veteran depth as well. The draft-night selections and moves were strange, especially for a front office that so far hasn’t had too many missteps in this area.

Players like Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba still have a ways to go before we can know if they were the right or wrong pick.

But this was a chance to draft a point guard as insurance if Markelle Fultz doesn’t work out or even trade down and try and get something small of value if they didn’t see the draft as a way adding talent.

A good summer, a quiet summer once again, leaving the Magic continuing to head in the right direction. The slow rebuild continues, but we’re beginning to see the makings of a real team here. They will be improved this season.

Grade: B-