Hoops Habit
Fansided

Orlando Magic: Their All-decade least liked starting five

By Luke Duffy

ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 25: Jeff Green #34 of the Orlando Magic gets introduced before the game against the Washington Wizards at Amway Center on November 25, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Manuela Davies/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 25: Jeff Green #34 of the Orlando Magic gets introduced before the game against the Washington Wizards at Amway Center on November 25, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Manuela Davies/Getty Images) /
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Power forward – Jeff Green

Jeff Green‘s 69 game tenure with the Magic in 2016-17 was, not a good one. He was paid $15 million to spend one season in Orlando, and was the very personification of mailing it in. The Magic as a whole were bad, but it is hard to remember a time where Green even smiled on the court, and his body language was terrible.

He averaged 9.2 points per contest and was an ugly 27.5 percent from deep. He did this while averaging 22.2 minutes per game. Green did nothing to endear himself to Magic fans, but looking back this wasn’t all his fault. In fact, he has gone on to be perfectly fine for the Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz since departing Orlando and has just landed with the Houston Rockets.

There was no incentive for Green to ever do anything more than show up and collect his bloated paycheck. He started only 11 games and was a part of a crowded rotation that featured Serge Ibaka (until he was traded for Terrence Ross), a younger Aaron Gordon who they were trying to feature, and Mario Hezonja who they were hoping wasn’t going to turn into a bust (he did).

Add in the confusing Vucevic/Biyombo tandem, and a head coach in Frank Vogel who struggled to make the disjointed roster fit, and it is no wonder Green didn’t seem engaged. The Magic limped to a 29-53 record, while also having the second-worst offensive rating (103.7) in the league, and with that Green was back out the door.

Green could have so easily been left off this list, and instead found himself alongside the countless others who played for the Magic in the past decade who were simply just there. All he had to do was not look like he’d rather be doing literally anything else than play basketball and get paid millions to do so.

Fans knew that this version of the Magic was really bad, and most nights that season they were tough to watch. What didn’t help was having a mercenary show up for the bulk of one season to take their money and provide nothing on the court but an expression of sadness. Then again, it was the front office who offered him that kind of money, and he was right to take it.

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