3 options to boost Orlando Magic offense going forward

1. Bring in a Jamal Crawford type

This doesn’t actually have to be Jamal Crawford, although at this point why not bring the Seattle native back to the league to see what he can do? It would cost the Orlando Magic very little and “J-Crossover” is one of the best pure scorers the league has seen in the last decade plus.

Yes he’s 39, but if rumors are to be believed, other organizations much closer to contention have come knocking recently. Crawford hasn’t gone on national television to express a strong desire to return to the league, but he never officially retired either (by that logic, the Magic should pick up the phone and see how Ray Allen is feeling about a comeback).

In his last game in the league, he put up 51 points for an awful Phoenix Suns outfit and hasn’t seen again since. Yes, if Crawford was signed he would be a negative defensively; he just doesn’t have the legs and most likely the desire to be competitive on that end anymore. But guys like Jonathan Isaac and Khem Birch would make up for that that as best they could.

The two most recent examples of players who looked to be out of the league or else finished altogether were Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony. Howard found himself back with the Los Angeles Lakers for the second time in his career. Realizing he was in the last chance saloon, he accepted his role off the bench, running the floor and not posting up anymore.

With Anthony, he was actually out of the league almost as long as Crawford. He too is a professional scorer in every sense of the word, and even less interested in defending.

He’s not the answer to fix the many problems facing the Portland Trail Blazers, but he was just named Western Conference Player of the Week, a period during which they won three straight and he averaged 22 points.

Anthony’s unwillingness to come off the bench before being left out in the cold for a year was well documented. Do you know who wouldn’t have such an issue? Crawford, who has won the Sixth Man of the Year award three times, tied with Lou Williams for the most all-time.

He’s also only ever really appeared to be the consummate professional, so potential locker room problems would not be an issue.

A move like this would seem to go against the conservative nature of how the Magic front office are trying to go about building a contender. But with little reason not to give it a shot, a move for an established firepower, a hired gun for a short period to show some of the younger guys the ropes, would be a good move.