Orlando Magic: 3 worst free agent signings in team history

The Orlando Magic have had their fair share of poor free agency signings, but these three players top the list of bad decisions.

Although the Orlando Magic are a relatively young franchise, they have had a big say in some key moments in the NBA since coming into the league in 1989. They drafted Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard with first overall picks in the NBA Draft and have made the Finals on two occasions, losing both.

They have made some really good draft picks and free agency signings (Tracy McGrady, Horace Grant), while also having their share of disappointments in both areas as well (Mario Hezonja comes to mind).

Even when they get it right sometimes, they still end up getting it wrong, and we’ve seen this with the Magic drafting Victor Oladipo (only to let him go too soon), re-signing Nikola Vucevic (just because it is still unclear one year later who they were bidding against) and trading for a known commodity in Serge Ibaka (even if that felt wrong in the moment).

But perhaps some of the worst moves the franchise has made is with free agents. They have had a hard time convincing guys to come down to Orlando to play when they haven’t been close to contention, and then when they have been they haven’t always signed the right guy. Players like Vince Carter and Matt Barnes not landing there at the right time to help properly are just two example

What follows is a list of three such individuals who, despite some success in Orlando, have to go down as the worst free agency signings in the team’s history. Be it because of the money given to them or what it meant for the organization in their quest to be relevant, these moves just didn’t quite work out.

3. Grant Hill

Is it unfair that Grant Hill makes this list? Probably, as he is arguably the greatest “what if” player of all time as a result of injuries. But the simple facts are this: Hill was signed to a seven-year, $93 million deal in 2000 when he was in theory just hitting his prime as a 28-year-old having established himself as one of the best players in the league with the Detroit Pistons.

What followed next stunted the Magic’s potential to grow into one of the best teams in the league greatly, as Hill managed only 47 games in his first four seasons with the franchise. A terrible return that meant by the time he got back to the court in some capacity in 2004-05, not only was he 32 but McGrady was gone too.

Hill was still an All-Star that year, as he averaged 19.7 points per game alongside a young Howard. Even then, it was clear that the dominant big man was the guy to build around, and that Hill’s timeline no longer matched that of the Magic. He did hang around for two more years though, although given that he only played in 21 games in 2005-06 because of injury, the likelihood is nobody else wanted him.

He signed with the Phoenix Suns upon entering free agency, meaning the Magic didn’t even manage anything in return. If we’re looking at any sort of silver lining here, it is that Hill’s injuries meant the team was bad enough to be able to draft Howard in 2004, who would lead them to the Finals five years later.

Signing Hill to pair with McGrady was meant to signal Orlando as one of the best teams in the league. Looking at the NBA during that period, it was the then-New Jersey Nets who came out of the east in 2002 and 2003. Had Hill and McGrady gotten the chance to play together and be healthy, there’s every reason to think the Magic could have taken their place.

To add even more woe to this poor decision (although again, it wasn’t at the time), Hill would spend the rest of his career after Orlando remaining pretty healthy, playing 80 games or over in three of his remaining six years (and 70 games in one of the other seasons) managing to play until he was 40. Not before taking a whole heap of cash from the Magic though.

2. Rashard Lewis

It’s hard because Rashard Lewis was a much-loved player during his time with the Magic. He was also a key component to their Finals run in 2009, and in a lot of ways was ahead of his time as somebody who could stretch the floor with their shooting from deep from both forward positions. While with the Magic, he shot 39.9 percent from 3-point range.

It was just what it cost to acquire him in a sign-and-trade from the Seattle SuperSonics that hurt. Six years, $118 million. Not only that, but the deal was backloaded so that Lewis got more money as the years went by. His productivity took a dip in unison with this, however, so by the time the 2010-11 season came around, Lewis was the second-highest earner in the entire league.

Orlando Magic

During much of the time Lewis spent there, the Magic were genuine contenders and had some depth, but they would have been so much better off with some financial flexibility to strengthen elsewhere if they’d just signed him to less money. The logic in doing so was to provide a big-time scorer to pair with Howard, which Lewis had been with the SuperSonics.

It didn’t quite work out that way though, as he never cracked 20 points per contest, with an average of 16.3 points per game in Orlando. Not a bad figure when you’ve got other talented guys like Howard and Jameer Nelson to play with, but you’d expect more from somebody making so much money.

Lewis was an All-Star only once during his time in Orlando too, that 2008-09 season, but he was gone by 2011. His parting gift to the Magic was lasting because as a result of making so much money the only team who would take him off their hands were the Washington Wizards. Who did they give up in return? Gilbert Arenas.

So not only did the contract of Lewis hurt in the moment but it also indirectly set in motion the crumbling of the Magic as contenders. Arenas joined the cause alongside Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu, but not long after Howard got disillusioned and forced his way out. Then Lewis went and got a ring with the Miami Heat of all teams, which didn’t help.

1. Bismack Biyombo

It hurts to even type. It made no sense then, and it has only gotten worse as time has gone by. The signing of center Bismack Biyombo to a four-year, $72 million deal at such a critical juncture in the organization’s rebuild in 2016 set them back a couple of years. Where do you even start with this?

You know the way people tell you that they could do a better job running their favorite team when the reality is they couldn’t because it is a tough job that only a select few can do? Anybody could see that former Magic general manager Rob Hennigan signing Biyombo after a couple of good playoff series for the Toronto Raptors was a horrendous idea.

It would ultimately cost him his job, as it was very quickly made clear that somebody who averaged 5.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game wasn’t worth the money. Even more puzzling was plunging this much money into the center position, even if 2016 was when the salary cap spiked when so many other areas on the roster needed help.

Oh yeah, and Nikola Vucevic was not only already in place but improving with each passing year. He was a liability defensively at that point, but splitting his minutes with Biyombo (which happened for a minute) was only ever going to disrupt both guys. The addition of Biyombo at that price forced the Magic into a second rebuild halfway through the first one.

Given the timing, the money spent, how much cap space the Magic had and the fact that Vucevic was already in place, this is easily the worst free-agent signing in franchise history. Credit to Biyombo though, who cashed in big off the back of some huge rebounding playoff games, and you could never fault his effort on the court.

He is just as one-dimensional a player as you’re going to see in the league today. The only reason we’re still not living this nightmare is that the smarter front office which came after Hennigan was able to give him back to the Charlotte Hornets — who drafted him in 2011 — in exchange for Timofey Mozgov. He too was on a terrible deal, but some nifty use of the rules meant he was stretched and never played for them.