Orlando Magic: Dwayne Bacon still has a future here

A lot has changed for the Orlando Magic since they began the year looking like an outfit that was going to get back to the postseason for a third straight year, all while picking up some signature wins along the way. The season-ending injury to Markelle Fultz was the catalyst before the roster was blown up at the trade deadline.

The change in direction was sudden, but since moving into another rebuild, has shown some moments of promise. Wendell Carter Jr. certainly looks like a big that can be built around, while Gary Harris and R.J. Hampton have shown glimpses of what they can do. This is all well and good, but the shift from competing to tanking has not benefitted swingman Dwayne Bacon.

Signed during the offseason on a two-year deal that won’t even hit $4 million when it is done, it was thought that Bacon could add some shooting to a roster that desperately needed it, having made 43.7 percent of his 3-pointers in his second year with the Charlotte Hornets. In theory, this sounded great when playing next to Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon.

Those three may have departed, but Bacon still has a future with the Orlando Magic organization.

The priorities of the Orlando Magic may have changed, but that doesn’t mean that Dwayne Bacon can’t still have an impact with this roster

It might not seem that way on some nights. Bacon has been inconsistent this year and a lot of times the game seems to pass him by. Shooting a shade under 31 percent from deep (on 2.9 attempts per night, as opposed to 2.0 per game during that stellar year in Charlotte) has been disappointing, or at least it felt that way when the team was trying to win games.

But when you take everything into consideration, it has not been all bad. Before landing in Orlando, Bacon had averaged 6.8 points per game through the first three years of his career. This year that number is a career-high 10.4 points a night. He also came into the league a less-heralded second-round draft pick, and as already mentioned is taking up a tiny portion of cap space.

The Magic are now trying to get a high draft pick this summer as well, so there is absolutely no harm in letting Bacon run wild and put up some extra shots. This seems to be the organization’s way of thinking, as Bacon had 22 points in Sunday night’s loss to the Houston Rockets, which could have big implications on their draft odds this coming offseason.

Looking ahead to next year however, and it is still possible that Bacon could fill an important role on this team. In theory, the Magic are going to have a backcourt rotation that relies almost entirely on young guys in Fultz, Hampton and Cole Anthony. Three players who all operate best with ball in hand, and if everybody is healthy, Fultz is likely the number one option of the three.

So it could be that Bacon slots in next to him, as was meant to be the case this season on a lot of nights, to provide some spacing and shooting without needing much of the ball. Right away the issue with doing this becomes blocking the growth of Hampton and Anthony, but Bacon could do the same thing for the second unit.

On top of this, the future of Terrence Ross is also one which raises some questions. He didn’t play against the Rockets, and as the tank goes into full swing, it is likely his involvement will wind down. When firing on all cylinders, and as part of a competitive roster, Ross is among the top five sixth-men in the league.