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Orlando Magic: 3 former players that would have helped the current team

By Luke Duffy

16 Feb 2001: Tracy McGrady #1 of the Orlando Magic rests on the court during the game against the Houston Rockets at the Compaq Center in Houston, Texas. The Magic defeated the Rockets 108-93. NOTE TO USER: It is expressly understood that the only rights Allsport are offering to license in this Photograph are one-time, non-exclusive editorial rights. No advertising or commercial uses of any kind may be made of Allsport photos. User acknowledges that it is aware that Allsport is an editorial sports agency and that NO RELEASES OF ANY TYPE ARE OBTAINED from the subjects contained in the photographs.Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons /Allsport
16 Feb 2001: Tracy McGrady #1 of the Orlando Magic rests on the court during the game against the Houston Rockets at the Compaq Center in Houston, Texas. The Magic defeated the Rockets 108-93. NOTE TO USER: It is expressly understood that the only rights Allsport are offering to license in this Photograph are one-time, non-exclusive editorial rights. No advertising or commercial uses of any kind may be made of Allsport photos. User acknowledges that it is aware that Allsport is an editorial sports agency and that NO RELEASES OF ANY TYPE ARE OBTAINED from the subjects contained in the photographs.Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons /Allsport /
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Orlando Magic
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1. Jameer Nelson

Forget using a time machine to bring these guys back during their actual time with the Magic. Fans today wouldn’t have any problem with a retired Jameer Nelson playing five minutes off the bench each night if it meant seeing him in the pinstriped blue again. Of all the cult heroes that the franchise has had, Nelson may be the most cherished of all.

But more than just bringing back some much-needed nostalgia, Nelson would provide a significant lift on the court as well. It is no secret that for much of the last decade after Nelson left Orlando, they had some of the worst point guard rotations in the league. Even Victor Oladipo couldn’t make it work after he was given a crack at it.

Things are different now with D.J. Augustin (who in some ways has become Nelson 2.0 for his play and that shot against the Toronto Raptors in last year’s playoffs) and Markelle Fultz, but it would be great if Nelson was there instead of Augustin, who is now 32, to show Fultz the ropes. There aren’t many better floor generals to learn from.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1244118689848258562

The stats of Nelson never really jumped off the page, and even in his lone All-Star year of 2008-09, he averaged 16.7 points and 5.4 assists. But in terms of dictating the pace and tempo of a game, few were better. Nelson got the ball to the right teammate often and typically made the right play as well.

This is something Fultz is struggling with early in his career, and which Nelson would be a great person to learn from. Again we mean no disrespect to Augustin when we saw this, as he too is capable of dictating the tempo and figuring out what the guys on the court need in any given moment, it is just that Nelson was better at it and has Finals experience from the run in 2009.

As a career 37.4 percent 3-point shooter in Orlando, he too would be of some use in this area, and the idea of running some actions with Vucevic is undoubtedly different to how it was with Howard, but exciting to think about nonetheless. Like Grant, he wouldn’t turn the Magic into a contender, but he’d be the perfect next addition as the franchise continues building both on and off the court.

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