Orlando Magic: 3 fun and outrageous free agent additions

1. J.R. Smith

Has it really come to this? Surely the Magic can do better than a 34-year-old who has been one of the most unique and meme-worthy players of the last decade. If talking yourself into Crawford and Waiters was a stretch, this is even harder again.

But despite his shortcomings and ability to torpedo a team’s chances of winning a championship on the big stage, J.R. Smith has also won a title and spent a lot of his career around guys like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. Does that automatically qualify him as somebody you’d want to have around your young players?

Absolutely not, but as we’ve said already, the reality of being out of the league has a way of focusing players who have seemed erratic in the past. You only need to look at the Los Angeles Lakers and former player Dwight Howard to see this way of thinking in action. Howard wasn’t even all the way out, just on his last chance, and is now one of the best backup centers in the league.

Smith, like Waiters, has no problem taking all manner of shots, and he is certainly a smooth offensive player capable of scoring. In fact if he came off the bench for the Orlando Magic, he would be featured in a way that he hasn’t been for a long time now. A key person off the bench, perhaps even their sixth man for a stretch.

Smith is a career 37.3 percent point 3-point shooter, and has been in, and knocked down shots in, some big games. Thinking of Smith playing for a fanbase in Florida is almost too perfect of a combination. If Crawford merchandise sold well, and it would, imagine what Smith could do.

With the news that Kyrie Irving could be out indefinitely once again with a shoulder injury, the Orlando Magic should be even more invigorated to chase the Brooklyn Nets, and their seventh seed, above them. At the very least, they should be looking to solidify their positioning in eighth from would-be chasers as well.

The three players mentioned to help the cause are far out choices, who go against everything the front office has built to this point. But bending their rules for the final stretch of this season could provide the team with the offensive spark it needs.